Throughout the history of college football, Texas A&M and Alabama have been linked in many ways. Both teams now play in the SEC West and every game has been exciting since the Aggies joined in 2012.

Both have a historic coach that lead their team to national glory in Paul "Bear" Bryant. Both have a shade of red in their color schemes.

However, there is a new member to join the similarities of 12th man and the Crimson Tide. He's quick, light on his feet, outside of his home state and is putting up numbers in his first year like a former Alabama player. Meet Christian Kirk: the next Amari Cooper.

While many people know my pure hatred towards Texas A&M and their traditions, Christian Kirk is one thing about Texas A&M I do like. While players such as Rickey Seals-Jones, Josh Reynolds and Speedy Noil are top targets for a potential Heisman, Kirk is only 18 years old and has already made himself the true number one target for the up-and-coming Aggies.

When Kirk signed with the Aggies last February, the Aggie faithful knew they had something special coming into College Station. Similar to 2011, the fans in Tuscaloosa experienced much joy when the third-overall wide receiver prospect made his decision to join the Crimson Tide.

Both players weren't the top players in their draft class, Cooper 49th in 2012, Kirk 35th in 2014, yet both of them have made the most immediate impact to their teams within seconds of stepping onto campus.

One would have to consider Kirk to be the next Amari Cooper, just after these first few games of the season. Not only were both of these athletes starters for their teams as true freshmen, but the list of similarities go way past playing time and age.

While Kirk actually has a higher ranking across the board than Cooper, speed is where he falls short. According to ESPN's football recruiting site, Kirk was projected to run a 4.49, while Cooper actually projected a running of a 4.42. Both receivers were parsed by multiple scouts for their ability for strong-route running and their ability to produce yards after the catch.

For the 2015 season, Kirk has already had 442 receiving yards in just four games as well as four touchdowns from Allen. Cooper only had 222 yards with only one touchdown to begin his career. Kirk has 24 receptions already this season, while Cooper only had nine by this point. Kirk also has rushed the ball once this season, unlike Cooper did his entire freshman season.

Both Krik and Cooper stand under the average NFL wide receiver height and weight, Krik 5'11: 200, Cooper 6'0: 203, yet both of these players have been almost impossible to stop when catching the ball. In fact, Cooper really started to become AJ McCarron's favorite target until game five when the Tide took down Ole Miss.

Kirk, who already has turned into Allen's favorite target will have a chance to put up even higher numbers than Cooper's rookie campaign. Kirk right now is averaging over 18 yards a catch while Cooper averaged throughout the 2012 campaign 16.9 yards.

Face it, College Football said goodbye to the golden boy of receivers and found his replacement faster than Jay Leno kicked Conan O'Brian off of TV.

At the end of the day, Christian Kirk might be the sole reason Texas A&M is looking like a legitimate contender in the SEC West. The last time an Aggie had over 100 receiving yards was back in 2013, when now Tampa Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans was on his way to All-SEC glory. Now, at only 18 years old, Christian Kirk looks to take the Aggies somewhere that Evans never reached, the National Championship.

So whatever your opinion is on these two schools, love or hate, Texas A&M and Alabama aren't so different when it comes to football.

Now, as the Alabama fans play highlights in their dreams of Amari Cooper walking into the end zone, Aggie fans can only dream of the bright future Cooper 2.0 could bring to College Station.