AggieYell Mailbag

Here’s this week’s AggieYell Mailbag, sponsored as always by Tipton Auto Group:

Q: I know it’s hard to define. Words like culture, momentum, and chemistry.

Elko clearly believes that a team can be more than the total of the individuals that make it up.

You hear it when York talks. And the w/r’s. They talk about playing like they practice. Executing the plan. Et cetera…

How does he do it? (Richard23)

A: I think part of it is finding the individuals who fit the whole. That’s why you’ve seen some big name players walk with nary a word of regret from the Bright Building. Elko works hard to find people who he thinks will buy in to what he’s selling when he recruits and works the portal. They get his vision and are willing to follow him. 

Q: Has anyone asked Elko about our punter and his regression? (H273)

A: No, but bizarrely enough, the stat sheet doesn’t bear out much of a regression — which surprised me. Tyler White is averaging 44.3 yards a punt, with six of those punts being more than 50 yards. I think the problem isn’t necessarily length, it’s consistency and whether the punts are returnable. So if you ask the boss that question, you’d better be precise with it.

Q: When did the SEC start calling holding?

A: I don’t know. It was quite shocking.

Do you think the refs decided to call our last game strict because of the claims they missed a hold on the last play of the ND game and Auburn getting hosed on several plays against the Okies? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)

A: I think there was certainly an element of it. They sure seemed like they were calling the game a lot more tightly — especially on A&M — than they have at any point in the past few years.

Q: The key to the MIss St matchup will unfortunately be the EDGE rusher’s ability to contain on running plays. Mississippi States fastball is their outside running game. How much of our improvement in defending the run can be attributed to our progress, and how much is because Auburn is a crap show offensively? (Dp47)

A: They may be a crap show, but they’ve run on everyone else. A&M played the outside run and quick pass game extremely well last weekend, so hopefully they can do it again.

Q: When will Myles Garrett finally decide that he wants a ring and jumps off the sunk ship in Cleveland? (Gunsnwoodrow)

A: Considering he just signed a huge deal with a no trade clause last year, not anytime soon.

Q: What do you think is the biggest reason for the 3rd down struggles on offense. Last year, we hit 45%, this year so far, 31%. (Naytch)

A: Throwing more. It has led to far more chunk plays, yards and points, but it also will put you in 3rd and long situations now and again.

Q: During the Auburn game it seemed that Marcel may have hurt his groin. Has there been any words or rumors of a potential groin injury for Marcel? (Umpocket)

A: No.

Q: Do you think that the coaches will expand Nate Boerkircher‘s role as a receiver ?

A: I know it has been discussed. If teams continue to bracket both Mario Craver and KC Concepcion, then Terry Bussey, Theo Ohrstrom and Boerkircher will definitely get more looks.

Now that we are in October, What is the likelihood that the NCAA will decide on Rashuan Agee’s eligibility this month ? (jram)

He has a hearing on the 9th.

Q: 1. After four games have any freshmen burned their redshirt? Do you anticipate any others burning theirs this season?

A: As far as I can tell, Marco Jones, Noah Mikhail and Jamarion Morrow are the only ones on the verge of burning their shirts. DJ Sanders has played in three games and Landon Rink in two. They’re the only other ones who seem to be possibilities right now.

2. On a related note have the OL backup guys been getting any snaps? Looks like we’re losing a lot of OL starters this season. Haven’t heard anybody’s name outside of Robert Bourdon. (Pebbycree)

Bourdon and Koli Faaiu and that’s it.

Q: Is there a participation report for the Auburn game posted? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)

A: Here.

Q: You can wager on 3 games this weekend. What games and lines do you like? (Colt_Seavers)

A: I like Iowa State +1.5 over Cincinnati, Penn State to cover 24.5 over UCLA and Illinois +9.5 at Purdue.

Q: Is firing HC in the middle of the season new?

A: No. Signed, Jimbo Fisher.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of firing a coach in the middle of the season vs at the end of the season?

A: Canning a coach early allows you to get a jump on hiring a new coach (which Ross Bjork butchered) and you get a head start on rebuilding your recruiting class. Keeping the coach until the season ends allows more continuity and maybe less of a buyout. 

It would seem that players would more likely portal out sooner or at least have more time to way their options to potential portal out when a coach is fired early in the season.

It also seems more likely that recruiting would be highly affected in a negative way.

What are your opinions on this? (Spar2cus)

I don’t think there’s any doubt that recruiting would be negatively affected. But you have to be willing to work on the fly, which Mike Elko did really well when he came in. But you’re almost inevitably going to lose guys when there’s a coaching change — like Cam Coleman, for instance.

Q: 1. Who do think our kicker is going to be this week?

A: Randy Bond.

2. What do you think the run/pass ratio is going to be against State?

Depends on how the game’s going. It was 47-22 in favor of the run against Auburn. If the Aggies come out early and establish the line of scrimmage, I could see that happening again.

3. We’ve seen our offense carry the day and win the game (ND), we’ve seen the defense carry the day and in a sense win the game (Auburn), to me that demonstrates a very very good team that when both offense and defense show up in the same game, and assuming special teams at least becomes average, that we should scare LSU, tu, and anyone else. Agree?

Yes, I do. I think I said something to that effect in Monday Thoughts.

4. Do you hear any rumblings of a plan to replace Reed? (Tsip despiser)

I’m guessing you mean Reed Arena and not the starting quarterback. And yeah, I’ve been saying for a couple of years that they’ve been looking at making changes to the facility, but there have been other priorities. If the city of College Station wants to collaborate on something, I could see a new build facility. Otherwise, I’d expect renovations of Reed.

Q: I was wondering why Collin Klein is not using the TEs as much as we all heard he likes to use them. My research shows that they have accounted for about 16% of receptions and about 11% of the total yards in the passing game. Is this because our WRs are performing so well or because they do not trust the TEs enough to mix things up more except for game winning touchdowns. (Ags1995)

A: I think it’s because the wideouts are performing so well. When you have two guys who have been un-coverable and are averaging 20 and 17 yards a catch, respectively, it’s hard to go away from them. Then the next two guys are averaging 13 and 17 yards a catch themselves. I’d like to see more of Amari Niblack, for sure, but if it ain’t broke…

Q: Is LB Daymion Sanford related to a recent Aggie football starter? (Raraeo)

A: He’s related to former Aggie linebacker Donnie Baggs. His brother, Deyjhon Pettaway, is a nickel and redshirting this year.

Q: Why do they not utilize Niblack more. Big, fast, and athletic. (Color Ag)

A: My answer from two questions up probably answers this one too.

Q: Any thoughts on our special teams kicking/punting units? We have failed to capitalize on opportunities before halftime in the last two games, had a silly running into the kicker penalty, and a couple of poor punts that worked out with favorable rolls. (Goose93)

A: I thought the running into the kicker penalty was sticky-tack. It didn’t seem like Bond caught either of his misses well last Saturday for whatever reason; they seemed like pop-ups and didn’t have his regular range. The inconsistent punting is definitely a concern, but White’s the guy and he has to work through it.

Q: When we bring in a group of (top) recruits for gameday weekend, what exactly is planned for them and what are they looking for in a program. It surely is not watching the game and taking in the full experience of Kyle Field. I sit close where they are seated and get a good look at them as I head to the can. I realize for this generation the cell phone and social media is king. I bet not a single one of them even knows the score. I know I am not the only one onhere who has asked this question. So, what is done away from the game that helps us hook these young men, facilities, campus, and maybe education. (Gunsnwoodrow)

A: They get tours of campus, a look at the facilities, talk to the coaches, get to eat, and sometimes hear about the program’s plans for them. So it’s an all-inclusive sort of thing.

Q: I’m not sure if this is a question for you or for Jackson. MId year which of our commits deserve a rankings increase or decrease? (Dp47)

A: I would be out of my mind to ever talk about a decrease, but QB Helaman Casuga, in my opinion, deserves a big boost. I think WR Madden Williams does as well. But that’s just me.

Q: 1.where would you rank us in the SEC?

A: I think there’s a bunch of teams at the top and then a sizable drop-off. A&M, Ole Miss, Georgia, Missouri and Alabama seem like they’re in that top group right now. You can squabble over who’s where.

2. it seems our D-tackles are holding up pretty well. Are you as surprised as I am? Have any of our freshmen DT’s impressed you? (ThePassAg)

A: I am very surprised at how well they’ve held up and how good they’ve been in general. Albert Regis has been outstanding and DJ Hicks is really starting to become a dominant force. He has been a monster the last two games. As for the freshmen, they’re not playing much and that’s exactly how I want it.

Q: SEC officiating obviously just sucks out loud. I know coaches can be fined for criticizing. But what about players? I know they make money now, but if a player comes out and blasts the officials, are there repercussions for players from the SEC? (Tsmith3001)

A: Players aren’t fined, but they can be suspended and the program can be fined. But like I said, coaches have had about enough. I’ve heard enough from people who would know that the tolerance for repeated screwups is getting pretty close to zero.

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