COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Kevin Sumlin didn’t shy away from the notion that the next two or three seasons will likely define his time at Texas A&M.

“Yeah,” he said Wednesday, fiddling with a pen and a highlighter on his desk before looking up. “I think that’s fair.”

The honeymoon phase is most certainly over. Sumlin, entering his fourth season, is no longer new at Texas A&M. And Texas A&M isn’t new to the SEC.

Instead of everyone finding their footing, there is angst following an 8-5 season -- and a strange sensation that the Aggies are not all that close to the top of the SEC West. Difficult as the division is, they are entering a window in which they must perform. Now.

“Here’s where we are,” Sumlin said. “What do we need to do better?”

The offense has needed depth, he said. The defense has needed talent.

The coaching staff believes -- or at least hopes -- those needs have been addressed the past three signing days. Youth can no longer be a crutch for A&M -- not after signing ESPN RecruitingNation’s eighth-rated class in 2013, the No. 4 class in 2014 and the No. 12 class in 2015.

That sort of recruiting run means you either deliver soon and compete at a high level -- or risk being fired.