AggieYell Mailbag

Here’s the latest AggieYell Mailbag, sponsored by Tipton Auto Group:

Q: With us most likely putting a run emphasis this week, what percentage do you see run v pass this week? 60% run, 40% or something else?

A: Well, they supposedly want the proverbial balance, but if they come out and run the ball with success early, I’d keep going to the well.

With Sanford playing so well in place of Scooby, and Scooby coming back, do you see Elko running Scooby and Sanford out there at the same time?

No, because neither is comfortable with calling plays. They’re both WILLs, so that would leave you without a MIKE, like Taurean York. If they decide to go with a 3-3-5, then yes.

Do you have any thoughts on the Georgia/tu game this Saturday?

I think the big question will be whether Georgia can run the ball on the Texas defense. UGA is good running the ball; Texas is great at stopping it. Georgia is great stopping the run and Texas can’t run on anyone. It seems like it could be a pass-heavy game, and Georgia’s secondary, while average, hasn’t been bombed like Texas’ has recently. 

With the early signing period being Dec. 3-5, how many do you see actually signing then? And then how & when do you see the remaining shaking out come Feb. 4th?

I expect for A&M not only to sign all of their current commits in the early period, but to have most on campus in January.

Has the insurance for the hip surgery worked out yet? (Tsip Despiser)

Nope. We’re going to a new doctor tomorrow to meet their pretty specific requirements.

Q: What’s your over/under for number of sacks the Aggies get this weekend? (Umpocket)

A: I’m going to go pretty high on this one and say six.

Q: What are your thoughts on all the different uni’s this year, do you have a favorite? 

A: If the players and the student body like it, I’m cool with it. I like the traditional uniforms, but I also like seeing the black ones once a year. I also liked the combo they used last weekend at Mizzou.

Also, how well do you think the marketing team has been this year? (Big Smoothie)

I think they’ve done fine, but now that awards season is getting near it’s time for them to kick it into high gear.

Q: Considering Klein is a 50/50 chance of leaving via a head coaching role, who do you see as possible replacements as OC? Promote from within, or bring in an outsider in this contingency? (BC93)

A: Who says he’s a 50/50 chance? I think that’s being overly presumptuous. He’s probably getting paid more here than he would at some head coaching jobs, and I think he’s going to be very particular if he decides to leave. If he does leave, I would think they’d go get someone from the outside, but I don’t know that for sure.

Q: With all the concern about a new contract for Elko, what about the possibility of locking Moffett up also? (Dustytx)

A: There’s usually a pool of money for assistants that is set in the head coach’s contract. So if Elko gets extended and gets a raise, Moffitt will too. 

Q: Assuming we make it, rank our match ups against Bama. Georgia. Ole Miss. (Richard23)

A: I think Alabama might be the easiest, but that’s a guess. They’re not that good against the run (great against the pass), can’t run (can really throw) they don’t get a lot of sacks and they’re so-so in pass protection. Georgia is very good against the run, runs the ball well and controls time of possession and wears opponents down. They don’t get many sacks or tackles for loss, so beating them would largely mean having to throw a lot, which the Aggies can certainly do. 

Ole Miss may be the toughest of the bunch, because they have the best overall offense of the three AND a mobile quarterback. They’re just ok against the run but ranked 10th overall in pass defense. So, in order, I’d go Ole Miss, Georgia, Alabama. But none are easy.

Q: If the Ags make a deep playoff run ( which seems likely ) will this take away efforts maneuvering the short portal window? (Stormnorm)

A: No. They have guys specifically tasked with that responsibility and they’re already at work. They have a D-II transfer coming in this weekend, in fact.

Q: Early in the year it felt like we tried to go deep a lot. Marcel finally connected on against UF but I don’t know that I’ve seen a deep shot at all since then? Why is that? I feel that in order to beat the Ohio State’s or Bama’s we will need to stretch the defense vertically. (dP47)

A: The reason they haven’t since then is very simple: they haven’t needed it. The short and intermediate passing game has complimented the running game very well and A&M picks up yards in one chunk play after another, running clock and wearing out opponents. Could they take more deep shots? Sure. But why would you if the other things are working? The Aggies can throw the deep ball. They’ve proven that. But they don’t need to at the moment.

(And you’re forgetting the long pass to Ashton Bethel-Roman against Arkansas.)

Q: How did we get so lucky to hire Mike Elko? (Shanehammett12)

A: Thank Ross Bjork. Not because he did such a good job, but because he utterly butchered it to the point the only coach still willing to take the job was Elko. And it just so happens that he (Elko) was the right guy the whole time.

Q: Why week after week do we continue to struggle against the cutbacks on run defense? Is is over pursuit? Over aggressiveness or just lack of discipline? Can’t understand why this can’t be fixed… I understand occasionally getting beat but this is a pattern nearly every game. (Camccri)

A: I think it’s both over pursuit AND lack of discipline. At some point, they’ve got to figure out that they’re leaving the cutback lanes wide open, and maybe they did after halftime Saturday. Mizzou came out and tried to run the same play they opened the game with and Daymion Sanford was standing in the cutback lane, blowing the play up.

Q: I’ve read and watched a lot this week about how smart and prepared this team is. It’s easy to recognize on the defensive side of the ball, of course, but Reed’s play call to KC on 3rd and 6 for a 48-yard TD is evidence that the offense is just as sharp. I wonder if you can pinpoint when we became such a high-IQ football team. Was it some point in this year? Maybe it was last year and we just didn’t have the physicality to act on it. Thank you. (Kneuse)

A: I don’t think it was last year, because they did some seriously dumb stuff, mostly on defense. But I think by training camp, everyone kind of understood the scheme and their roles. They’ve continued to improve as the season has progressed.

Q: Is Reed for sure coming back? What effect, if any, will it have on the QB room? (Gmalone)

A: I wouldn’t say it’s a 100% certainty, but I think the vast majority of people expect him to. He knows there’s still more work to be done to get him ready for the NFL and I’m sure he’s either gotten, or will get, an honest appraisal from the NFL before he makes a final decision.

As for the rest of the QB room — Zeno will be gone, and Helaman Casuga will come in. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the quarterbacks lower on the totem pole transfers, but I don’t see any of them getting pushed.

Q: Which of Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Texas will see their CFP hopes go up in smoke this week? (DriverD)

A: I think Notre Dame’s in good shape against Pitt, but the other two have their hands full on the road. I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if both lost.

Q: What do we have coming back next year on both lines? OL has some good pieces coming back and there are high ranked fish. But DL? Hicks for sure. Rink looks good, what about Evans? Potential? Must go portal? (Rooster77)

A: Does the offensive line have good pieces coming back? Not amongst the current starters. The only one I see being around in 2026 is Mark Nabou. Your current lineup would be Lamont Rogers (LT), Blake Ivy (LG), Nabou (C), one of Papa Ahfua, Tyler Thomas or Ashton Funk at RG and Robbie Bourdon at RT. I’d be portaling. 

Defensively, It’ll probably a starting lineup of Marco Jones, Hicks, Rink and TJ Searcy, with Rylan Kennedy, DJ Sanders and Dealyn Evans in the rotation. They’re already looking for rush ends and I would expect they’ll look for defensive tackles too.

Q: The development of players on this team has been truly impressive. Honestly, it’s hard to recall a time when every position group and individual showed this kind of growth across the board. You highlighted this well in your “Let me tell you what I really think” segment.

What do you think is fueling this widespread improvement? The overall development is clearly having a major impact on the team’s success in the win column. (Spar2cus)

A: I think you’re seeing a couple of things at play. First, is absolute buy-in from the players with coach Elko’s vision. Second, you have assistant coaches are who are legitimately teachers and realize there’s always room to improve your craft. With maybe the exception of the 2020 and 2012 seasons, I didn’t see Aggie teams improve during the season. This one clearly has.

Q: Have we had a record of night games this season?

A: I honestly don’t know, but I doubt it — unless you count day games that became night games because they took so long (Arkansas). Heck, Notre Dame almost became a night/morning game.

How many All Americans do we have this season? (LTGrenader)

Right now the only slam dunk is Cashius Howell. But Marcel Reed, Mario Craver and KC Concepcion all have a real shot at it.

Q: Can you tell when Reed is checking off? 

A: Yeah, look for when he goes to the line and points to his head and yells down the line. That’s him audibiling. 

Does he have complete freedom to do that whenever he wants or is he on a leash? (H273)

He doesn’t have complete freedom, like Johnny did where he just called plays himself. But he does have the ability to adjust a play at the line like he did last weekend.

Q: Everyone knows about Mark Stoops, but in hindsight, it could be difficult to remember that Elko wasn’t our first choice.

Could you do an analysis of what could have been with our coaching search at the end of the ‘23 season? (submarineAg)

A: I’ll give you a recounting of what I can remember, and this may not answer your question. The first target was Dan Lanning, and then they read his buyout. And then he was out. Then Bjork told the Board of Regents that he was down to Jedd Fisch and Kyle Whittingham, and they told him to proceed. Then he suddenly pulls Mark Stoops out of his butt and former President Mark Welsh backed him. I found out about it first, broke it, then everyone else got the news and it caused a full-scale riot. The board, realizing Bjork was trying to sell them a bill of goods, angrily told him there was no way in hell Mark Stoops would be the coach at A&M. Stoops fell back in love with Lexington in two-and-a-half hours (allegedly) and that was that. But Bjork had screwed things up so badly, and he’d lied to Fisch and Whittingham so blatantly that they were no longer interested. So they needed someone who understood A&M and its potential who would still take the job. There was only one of them: Mike Elko.

Q: Are the “spandex biker shorts” FB pants worn well above the knee the norm now? Fashion trend or just less restriction on the leg movements? (Knee pads have gone the way of the jock cup, hip/tail pads I guess.) (BoxsterBoy72)

A: I wouldn’t say they’re the norm, but some are so short they look ridiculous. But kickers are weird.

Q: The Ags are mostly done, it seems, with the 2026 recruiting class, and have a great foundation for the 2027 class.

• What key positions do you expect the Ags to push hard for between now and ESD?

A: I don’t think it’s necessary positions, but singular players: S Bralan Womack, DE KJ Ford and DT Lamar Brown. 

• Do you expect they will have to hold any spots open for kids who sign during the regular signing day?

A: I kind of doubt it, but let’s see how it all plays out over the next few weeks and if anyone interesting decides to hold off on signing due to a coaching change or something like that.

• Do you expect the Ags to sign any kickers, since Bond is out of eligibility after this season?

A: They already have one committed: Asher Murray.

• What focus areas do the Ags need for the 2027 class? I am guessing right now we need more OL, WR’s, DL, and maybe LB’s. Others?

A: Both lines, wideouts, one running back, a safety or two and definitely a couple of linebackers.

Q: Shirts burned? 

A: Shirts burned…hmm, that’s a good one. Marco Jones, Landon Rink, Noah Mikhail and Jamarion Morrow have all burned theirs. TK Norman is on the verge; he’s at four games played. DJ Sanders and Lamont Rogers are both at three games, so they will probably get some time against Samford and that’s it.

Saved?

Everyone else in the freshman class and LB Tristan Jernigan, who did not redshirt last year but has only played in one game this year. Bryce Anderson will likely also fall into this category.

Portal addition needs? 

I’d be looking for a couple of experienced offensive tackles, a defensive tackle, maybe a couple of defensive ends and possibly a corner. If someone like Cam Coleman comes on the market, I’d go after a wideout too.

Potentials (if you can answer)? (6.William.Bs)

Can’t really say at this point. Still way too early in the process. Most guys won’t even go in the portal for about seven weeks.

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