AggieYell Mailbag

Here’s the CFP week edition of the AggieYell Mailbag:

Q: Any chance Longstreet returns the Ags? (SteveAllen)

A: I don’t want to definitively say no chance, but I’d put it below the odds of me scoring with Alexandra Daddario. I mean, really, what need do the Aggies have for him? Even if a quarterback leaves, they’ll have two young guys behind Marcel Reed no matter who stays. If anything, you’d want to add a veteran. I just don’t see a fit.

Q: What are your thoughts on where and why each player went to for the Top 10 players in Texas? (Big Smoothie)

A: Shoot, I had to go back and look and see who they were. But here’s the top 10, and my opinion on why they ended up where they did:

1. Keisean Henderson, Houston. The Coogs offered him early, it’s close to home and he likes the chance of playing fast.
2. Felix Ojo, Texas Tech. NIL.
3. Jalen Lott, Oregon. A chance to be part of the Nike mystique, an excellent recruiter (Ra’shaad Samples) and an opportunity to play on a winner.
4. Boobie Feaster, USC. NIL.
5. Jaimeon Winfield, USC. NIL.
6. KJ Edwards, A&M. Close to home, the Aggies got on him early and he knows he’ll probably get a shot quickly. NIL doesn’t hurt either, but everyone had a chance to top the Aggies and he stayed put.
7. Jermaine Bishop, Texas. They were in early, pursued him very hard and locked him down quickly. I think he also really likes the staff over there.
8. Davian Groce, Florida. For whatever reason, a lot of in-state and nearby schools kind cooled on him even as he put up numbers. That left the door open for the Gators.
9. Bowe Bentley, OU. Proximity. They’re the closest school to home. Also having a senior quarterback next year doesn’t hurt, because he can compete for the starting job in 2027.
10. John Turntine, Texas. It’s where he always wanted to go.

Q: According to Ferdinand Chew on Aggie Discussion, he is saying A&M is expecting to hire Zach Sparber Rutger Co Defensive Coordinator. Do you have any Information on this? (FbFan222)

A: I’ve heard rumblings about it, but I don’t think that anything’s done by any stretch. There was some discussion early in the week, but I think they’re kind of busy right now.

Q: Who do you like better at RT for this game, Fatheree or Crownover?

A: Crownover. Not even a question.

Has ARA been injured this season? If so, what is the injury and how much did that affect the OL? What is his health status now? (SGman)

Yeah, he was banged up. He came out of the Missouri game and didn’t start against South Carolina, but he came in when things started going south. I think he should be pretty close to fully healthy for this one.

Q: Does our defense come out aggressive (blitzes) against Carson Beck?

A: Mike Elko wants to affect the quarterback. That means getting after him. So yeah, I think they’ll be aggressive.

Does Klein try to stretch the field early or does he simply run right at Miami? From what I can find (stats), Miami does have a tendency to give up deep passes. I see 39,15+yard completions, and 19, 25+ yard completions. The 25+ yd. completions are like 9% of all completions given up.

Considering how much attention is being given to the trenches, I’d consider taking a deep shot early. Especially if corner Damari Brown, who is listed as questionable, doesn’t play.

Will we try to use our TE’s more in passing? Maybe down the seam in a zone? (Tsip despiser)

I think they (Nate Boerkircher and Theo Ohrstrom) will get a number of passes thrown their way, but the top priorities will likely remain the big three wideouts.

Q: With our coaching changes do you feel we broke even or improved?(recruiting and player development) (X-Ray Ag)

A: I think A&M’s going to miss Collin Klein, but Holmon Wiggins deserves a shot. Klein was a good recruiter, and while Wiggins is no drop-off (probably an improvement in that capacity), they’ve got to find a wideouts coach.

As for Jay Bateman to Lyle Hemphill, we’ll see. But I do think Hemphill has a better idea of what Elko wants from their past history at Duke. Elko clearly trusts him.

Q: Can we really expect Scooby and LeVeon to bounce back and make a difference?

A: Yeah, I think you can.

Were we on a downhill slide at the end, and that’s who we are, or with the time off, will we be better?

I think they ran out of gas a little bit. They lost the discipline they played with for most of the year. In terms of rest and recovery, they’ll be in much better shape. It’s just a matter of what’s between the ears.

Did Hicks fade away at the end of the season? Albert Regis?

Regis didn’t fade out. He had 5 tackles against Texas and he’s made himself into an NFL player. Hicks, on the other hand, did. He had two tackles in the last three games and wasn’t a serious factor in any of them. He may have run out of steam, because he played a lot more this year than in past years. But he’s also been prone to being up and down in the past.

Who will be the man that steps up and brings the moxy we need to punch Miami in the mouth from the get-go?

1. Reed-Adams?

2. Cashius Howell?

3. Scooby?

4. Dalton Brooks? (Richard23)

How about Tyler Oneydim? He has played like a man possessed the second half of the season and nearly separated Arch Manning’s soul from his body. I would not at all be surprised if it’s him.

Q: 1. Does Coach Elko hire a WR coach or will Coach Wiggins be dual-hatted like Coach Bateman was? Similar question for QB coach?

A: I think he will stay the receivers coach but they have some folks who can help him in that area. They’re definitely going to hire a new QB coach.

2. Do the coordinators count in the 10 offensive/defensive coaches allowed to recruit off campus?

Yup.

3. If Coach Peterson follows Coach Klein, does Coach Elko likely look internally or outside?

He has some options internally with Ishmael Aristide, who worked with Peterson anyway, and Bryant Gross-Armiento, who coaches the nickels. I think those two guys will be the leads at corner and nickel and they may bring someone else in to work with them.

4. How do the current likely hires (TE & LB) stack up as recruiters vs. Xs & Os guys?

Don’t know much about the TE coach yet, but Travis Williams has a reputation as being an excellent recruiter and he had some solid success as a coordinator at UCF.

5. Of the possible hires needed, what position groups do we want our strongest recruiters? Teachers? (Me_JustAvgIllini)

I think I’d want the best teachers at the skill positions, like corner and wideout. A&M has the good fortune of having men who are really good recruiters as well in Wiggins, BGA and “Coach Ish”. You can kind of stash good recruiters at places like running backs coach and tight ends coach. I want a technician for the O-line, and Adam Cushing is that.

Q: This game has, to me, a very similar vibe as the Texas game and I’m afraid it may go that way. What do you think will be big differences between that game and this one? (Naytch)

1. It’s at home.
2. The Aggies will be in much better shape physically.
3. They’ve had three weeks to be pissed off about that game and learn from their mistakes.

Q: It may be just me, but it seems like watching Elko’s pressers that you and he have a really good rapport. He seems to joke around with you and doesn’t do that with anyone else except maybe Olin a little. Do you agree and if so how do you think that happened? (Klloyd11)

A: I’d like to think we do. Elko has no pretense about himself; he’s a regular dude and acts like it (outside of the fact he’s really smart). I learned a long time ago not to take myself overly seriously, because pomposity revolts me (I was a real arrogant snot when I was a kid, and I’m still embarrassed now by it). I think he knows who he can have a little give and take with, and that tends to be me, Olin and Carter. There’s also the fact that Olin and I were on the beat when he was the DC, so he’s known us for six, seven years. With Brent Zwerneman gone (for the moment, at least), we’re kind of the old guard, and he’s familiar with us.

Q: I mimicked the CBB quadrant system model for CFB. keeping the same number of quadrants, but making the ranges proportional to the number of teams in football. Q1: Home vs. 1-11; Neutral vs. 1-19; Away vs. 1-28. Q2: Home vs. 12-28; Neutral vs. 20-37; Away vs. 29-50. Q3: Home vs. 29-60; Neutral vs. 38-75; Away vs. 51-89. Q4: Home vs. 60+; Neutral vs. 76+; Away vs. 90+. Any existing power rating metric (or combination of more than one) could be used to rank teams or the NCAA could create their own NET like they did in basketball.

What are your thoughts on the CFP adopting a tiered strength of record type metric? 

A: I think you’re way smarter than me because I had to read this four times to figure it out. I would hope they do use something like this, but after the way they butchered the selection process this year, I have no idea what the heck they do.

Do we see Moss in very limited action similar to Owens in the t.u. game last year? Or is it likely more all or nothing? Would you let the game play out some before throwing him in? (RoosterTAMU)

If he’s healthy, he starts. This isn’t the situation last year where Owens almost had to play because the cupboard was bare or the cups were broken. I think Moss is in better condition and, if that’s the case, he brings a little more to the party than the other guys.

Q: In this new “NIL” era, what isn’t allowed in terms of player compensation? I can’t think of any process or methods that would get a school penalized. Even tampering seems to be part of the game now and overlooked. (Colt_Seavers)

A: I’m not even sure what is and isn’t permissible, save for the ban on “pay for play” (which is clearly ignored by everyone). There is an organization called the College Sports Commission that reviews NIL contracts, but the vast majority are approved without incident. It’s just a madhouse.

Q: I know they coached different positions, but who was worse for the team: Addazio or Mazzone? (3rd Gen Ag)

A: I think Addazio was. Mazzone operated a very flawed and ineffective system, but he didn’t butcher things. Addazio was so bad with the offensive line it affected the rest of the team. And when you have young men who’re 6-foot-5 and 315 pounds saying they’re sick and tired of the abuse they’re taking, that tells you a lot.

Q: Have you heard any players who have entered the portal who favor A&M? (Ag20)

A: No, but the portal hasn’t officially opened yet. I know there are players A&M has already expressed interest in, but I don’t know if it’s reciprocated.

Q: When will we really know the whole story on Moss? (Aggdoc)

A: Maybe after the game, maybe in a few months, maybe never.

Q: Any interest in the Florida tight end Henson(sp?) (BroncDoctor)

A: Hansen. And personally, I’m very interested in him; I think he’d be a perfect fit for how A&M uses their tight ends. He’s big, experienced, can catch the ball (30 catches this season) and has one season of eligibility left. Oh, and he’s from Weatherford. That doesn’t hurt either.

Q: What are your thoughts on volleyball and Jamie Morrison was outstanding coach. Should we give him raise more money to stay Aggies home? (Aggiedogs)

A: I think Jamie Morrison has done a phenomenal job. I said a few months back he was the best coach on campus and he sure has brought a lot of people around to that way of thinking. He loves A&M and has committed himself to building not only a good program, but a strong volleyball fanbase at Texas A&M. I don’t think he’s going anywhere, but he’s also going to get a pay raise.

Q: Has there been any kind of analytics for transfer portal impact players by position? Asking because we need some OL which it typically seems like skill players are highlighted more than dudes in the trench (outside of say a DE). (Aggiefox27)

A: Oh, I’m sure there has been. It’s not anything they’d want to discuss publicly, but this group clearly does its due diligence when it comes to transfers. A&M had three AP All-Americans, and all three were transfers (Ar’maj Reed-Adams, KC Concepcion and Cashius Howell). Howell, in particular, was not a big time target when he went into the portal, but A&M brought him in, developed him and has gotten a solid return on their investment.