AggieYell Mailbag
Here’s this weeks AggieYell Mailbag, sponsored by Tipton Auto Group:
Q: Has Jadon Scarlett gotten any playing time in first 6 Aggie games?
A: Not that I’m aware of.
What is playing availability of Jerome Myles? He was injured but not on the injury report.
He is out for the year.
Status of Jared Zirkel or other place kickers? (Raraeo)
Zirkel was dealing with a leg or hip issue a few weeks back, but he hasn’t been on the injury report. I assume he’s ok to go.
Q: When a player goes on an official visit, I know the college picks up all of his expenses, but if he brings his parents with him, do they have to pay all of their expenses or does the college pay it? (Fbfan222)
A: On an official visit, the program can pay for the recruit and up to two other guests, usually the parents. But I don’t know how strictly that rule is enforced these days, as I see more family members coming on officials recently.
Q: Not a complaint on the offense as obviously they’ve had a great year but are you surprised that we haven’t gone more up-tempo. I just feel like we heard about that in the spring and fall camp, that that was an emphasis. However, it seems we are more methodical in our pacing. Once again, it’s working, just kind of surprising. (Naytch)
A: They’re actually going at a slower pace this year than last year, but a lot of that has come from them just grinding down opponents in the second half. They held onto the ball for 7:24 more than Florida and I think something like 17 minutes more than Mississippi State. I think they can use tempo, and did against Notre Dame, but the best way to keep an opponent from scoring is to keep the ball away from them. Until someone is able to stop A&M’s running game, it’s a reasonable approach.
Q: Your take on Amari Daniels versus Jamarion Morrow getting playing time behind Owens? (BoxsterBoy72)
A: I think Morrow is going to get the first crack at it, as he’s gotten more snaps so far this season. But both should see some time.
Q: With the way NIL is these days, would KC entertain the thought of returning for Sr season if his draft grade wasn’t round 1 or 2 ?
A: I think he might. He’s getting well-compensated this season. But personally, I always figured it’d be a one and done deal.
With Moss out, would there be any chance of Tiger getting any reps? (AgFCAcoach98)
No, I really doubt they want to use him this year. They’d rather redshirt him and let him to continue to physically recover from the car wreck he as in over the summer. And, you get to keep him for another year to boot.
Q: It’s been a ton of fun watching the defense in the last three games. Of course, they’ve been playing in Kyle Field before the absolutely electric 12th Man home crowd. How much has that environment contributed to the defense’s success? What drop off, if any, do you expect from the D as they take their show on the road? Thank you. (Kneuse)
A: Good question and one that’s tough to answer without really seeing it. Notre Dame had the best offense A&M’s seen so far, but Arkansas may take that mantle from them. I don’t know if Arkansas moving the ball, if they do, can be attributed to the defense being worse on the road of if they’re just really good offensively.
Q: I’ve been very pleased and impressed with all of the coaches that Elko has put together in his staff. Obviously some of those coaches ,like Klein, will look to move on at some point for a bigger role somewhere else. What other coaches, that you know of, would be looking to leave should they continue to find success here? Cushing, Trooper Taylor, Wiggins, Bateman etc. (shanehammett12)
A: I don’t think Cushing and Bateman are in any hurry to go somewhere else. They’ve got a good situation and they’re loyal to Elko. Taylor’s at the point in his career where he’s moved around more than enough and would probably want to stay in one place for a while. Wiggins is the wildcard. He’s still young enough to move up, and with the success he had at Alabama and now with this receiver group, teams may come looking at him for a coordinator’s job.
Q: At this point in the season, what do you see as positions we’re weak in, either through skill level or lack of depth? The depth behind Concepcion and Craver worries me.
A: Right now, I think they’re solid across the board. Receiver depth doesn’t bother me because I believe Terry Bussey and ABR can be players, they’re just not getting as many looks since…well, how do you stop throwing to Concepcion and Craver? And this is coming from a guy who bemoaned the lack of receiver depth before the season.
Ignoring their depth chart spots, how would you rank our RBs behind Owens based on what you’ve seen so far? I’m liking E.J. more since the end of last season.
I’d have it Morrow/Daniels/EJ. I’m not going to put too much into running on a Florida D-line that was totally gassed late in the fourth quarter.
The WRs behind K.C. and Craver?
Bussey, ABR and then yikes. Probably Amari Niblack.
TEs? (3rd Gen Ag)
Ohrstrom, Boerkircher, Niblack, Riley, Kiotti Armstrong.
Q; We are now 42-36 vs Arky in favor of the Hogs. In what year do you think we will take the series lead.
Part 2: We are 32-24 vs LSU – CAN we take the series lead in the next 20 years? (dP47)
A: I didn’t know either of those stats and it’s really hard to say. There are too many variables involved when you look at stuff long-term. Should A&M surpass Arkansas in the next decade? Sure, if you look at 12-1 in the last 13. But who knows how things will play out in a recruiting (and transfer portal) class or two?
Q: Who is our mudder? (Richard23)
A: Moss, when healthy. Right now, probably Owens.
Q: It seems gone are the days of current players being a host when a recruit takes their official. How much interaction does a current player, especially at their position, have these days with a recruit? Do they only interact with them on an official, or do they spend some time with those on unofficials? (Divot09)
A: Oh, they interact with them quite a bit. That’s one of the benefits of cell phones and social media — they can communicate with one another when the recruit’s not even on campus.
Q: Did the trend of mid-season firing of HC begin with NIL and transfer portal?
Was the Jimbo firing the beginning of that trend?
A: No and no. People forget that two other coaches were fired the day Jimbo was. Clay Helton and Steve Sarkisian were both fired in the middle of the season at USC, and Ed Orgeron got fired at LSU at midseason. So was Les Miles.
If you’re going to have QB spy on Green, who is the best player for that?
Who on our defense that can match his athleticism?
I’d have Daymion Sanford spy him. But A&M could get creative and go with someone who is extremely athletic and use Dalton Brooks at times as well.
Q: What are you looking for from Marcel this weekend in the land of non-forking DNA?
A: Work your progressions and don’t turn the ball over.
Does Elko do something different to keep their QB under control, in the pocket, etc.?
I could see them mixing a few things up, like I said in the past answer.
Do you think the D will blitz more, less, or about the same this weekend? (Tsip Despiser)
It may really depend on the field conditions. But, defensively, A&M has been really aggressive of late. If you can keep Green contained, I’d blitz a lot.
Q: Does Bisontis come back next year or is he draft eligible? (H273)
A: He is draft eligible, and I honestly don’t know what he’ll do. But interior linemen tend to be undervalued, so that may work in A&M’s favor.
Q: If Ole Miss, A&M and Bama all tie with one conference loss And there is no head to head competition. What is next tie breaker for SEC championship? (Storm norm)
A: I had to look this one up, but it’s the record versus common opponents.
Q: Half way through the season, who is your offensive line MVP? (Umpocket)
A: Probably Chase Bisontis. He’s just been really consistent, he’s a mauler in the run game and strong is pass protection. But you can really pick any of them and it’s hard to complain.
Q: any surprise fish getting in and turning it on in the second half of the season either due to injury or game situation? Rink played early and looked pretty good, but hasn’t played much in league games – same for Marco Jones. (Rooster77)
A: So far, no. I can’t predict injuries, but I don’t think any new faces are going to emerge.
Q: Mark, is flipping commits getting to the point that there are Buyouts in the prior commit agreements? Are recruits getting advancements or contracts signed before enrollment? (Mexaggie)
A: Great question, and I don’t really have a great answer for you. I do know that some third parties have advanced money to players and some have even tried to get it back, but rules are so varied from state to state that it’s hard to nail down a definitive answer. I know if I were to do an NIL deal with a player, I’d try to have a clawback provision, but then it gets into “pay for play” and it might not make it through the CSC clearinghouse.
Q: What are your thoughts on if and how the offense adjusts if the weather forecast of near 90% and heavy rain?
A: Right now, it looks like the forecast is going to behave. It looks like the rain will come through earlier in the morning and largely be gone by gametime.
What is their field like since we have not played there in a long time? (DentonAg80)
Their field is natural grass. I don’t know how good it is or how it drains.
Q: How good is Theo Ohrstrom this year, and how high is his ceiling for next year?
A: He’s solid this year and the most complete of the tight ends. He’s improved steadily year over year, so there’s still upside there.
Who coaches TE’s and what is his reputation & pedigree?
Christian Ellsworth is the TE coach, and he worked with Collin Klein at K-State as a GA before moving to South Carolina and Nebraska, moving up to an analyst role with the Huskers before taking a similar role at A&M in 2024. He was promoted to the tight end coach job in the offseason.
Who is the best run blocker and who is the best pass blocker on the O-Line? (SGMan)
I’m not sure you can really pick one right now. They’re all playing really well.
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