AggieYell Mailbag

Here’s the latest edition of the AggieYell Mailbag:

Q: 1. Does Terry Bussey return both kickoffs and punts? Backup, since Williams’ departure?

A: Probably. As for the backup, that’ll probably be an open competition well into the summer.

2. Do you expect Coach Wiggins to try to stay with 50/50 run vs pass mix with the roster turnover, especially the Line?

That would appear to be the plan. We’ll see how adaptable they are.

3. Following up with above, who picks up KC’s carries in the run game?

Mario Craver, Bussey, maybe someone new. They have options. And let’s see if Wiggins keeps using jet sweeps.

4. Given a new play-caller, personnel changes and desire to get Reed more consistency, might we see even more screens, jet sweeps and other quick game?

Hard to say, because we have no idea how Wiggins will call a game.

5. Who’s the returnee no one is really talking about, but should be? (Me_JustAvgIllini)

Where’s the love for Daymion Sanford? 57 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception and crickets. If anything, there’s griping about the linebackers. He will be a preseason All-SEC pick for me.

Q: I get NIL and the portal but how does A&M pull starters from LSU and Bama? Those schools have $$$ too. (Richard23)

A: LSU is a pretty easy one to explain, with a coaching change that led to the arrival of a polarizing coach. They may not have liked him, he may have not have liked them, so out they go. In the case of Wilkin Formby, he wants to be a tackle but Alabama moved him to right guard at midseason. He wasn’t playing badly at right tackle, but he filled a big need and did a good enough job they didn’t want to move him back. He wants to be a right tackle. Portal time.

Q: Any activity on the basketball recruiting side, or will that be slated for later in the year? Does that usually not start up until after the playoffs are done, or is there activity going on behind the scenes now? (Rick77)

A: The 2026 class has already been signed, so they’re on to 2027. That tends to pick up in the summer for most programs.

Q: Why are the early season baseball events at Globe Life (A&M plays in one next weekend) only broadcasted on FloCollege and not on a main network? Are ESPN or the other networks not willing to pay up for those games between top teams?

A: It’s college baseball. It’s not a major needle mover for ESPN, especially in February and early March. They’ll start paying attention in conference play and probably couldn’t care less until then.

Also, which Olympic sports or performances have you enjoyed, if any? (RoosterTAMU)

I have not watched a single second and don’t care.

Q: Why do baseball teams congratulate their own team after a game instead of the other team? Seems a little weird.

A: If another team beats me, I don’t want them coming over expecting congratulations. 

How do you like our pitching so far? I know where you stand on the hitting.

Honestly, I have my concerns. Shane Sdao and Weston Moss were a little iffy in their first starts, which I did not want to see. The bullpen, besides Clayton Freshcorn, has given up some runs. I was really impressed with Aiden Sims and Gavin Lyons, though.

What is your early season take on the new additions to Earley’s staff?

So far so good. Still very early to make any determinations.

if you could have free, excellent season tickets, and not have to do any work, to football, basketball or baseball, but only one, which one would you take? (Boo yah)

That’s tough. Probably baseball, because it’s not on TV as much.

Q: What is the process the S&C department goes through in determine what the players Ned to improve on the most? 

A: I don’t really know, but it stands to reason that they observe the first few weeks of workouts and drills to make a determination.

Are there specific plans for each position group or even for each individual player and how is that determined? 

For position groups, absolutely. And it seems like there would be some adjustments from player to player.

What ability do the players have in saying what they’d like to improve on? (dP74)

Probably not much.

Q: Scratch this is you’ve addressed it previously. Now that Wiggins has his offensive portal additions, what might he do the same as Klein? Differently? What might Wiggins do better? And what he could potential struggle with? (Dunerb)

A: This is kind of an impossible question to answer, because we have no body of work to base it on. Hopefully he’ll diversify the offense a little bit, but we don’t know what that would look like.

Q: What happened to Ole Miss basketball? I thought they gave Beard plenty of NIL money to keep him there. Couldn’t tell it by the team they had on the floor last night.

A: That money may have come too late to help the 2025-26 team. Let’s see if they spend a lot this offseason.

Who on this year’s men’s basketball team do you think will be on next year’s team? (Guick Draw McGraw77)

Mackenzie Mgbako, Pop Isaacs, Ruben Dominguez, Josh Holloway, Jeremiah Green and Neiko Mundey (redshirting freshman) all have eligibility left. Zach Clemence looks like he should have another year as well, though that depends on him getting a medical redshirt. Jamie Vinson and Chris McDermott also have eligibility, but I don’t know if they’re going to want to stick around.

Q: Would you, would you dare to discuss football salaries of A&M coaches with its younger sister in Austin. We all saw some money was put in Elko’s contract for his coaches but also saw an article about how the tu coaches under the Shark got huge raises. Makes me wonder because I remember RC quietly complaining that Wally Groff would not increase assistant salaries and not even to what other schools were paying such as younger sister in Austin. (DentonAg80)

A: That was 25 years ago and not even comparable to today’s situation. A&M assistants are paid comparably to Texas’, and in the upper echelon nationally.

Q: Should we anticipate getting a glimpse into the changes that Coach Wiggins will make in the offense during any Spring scrimmages or practices that are open to the members of the media? (Mrklndrm)

A: I think the chances of that are slim to none and slim is packing up to leave town. In an era where spring game are getting canceled because coaches have become so paranoid of anything getting out, I think there’s almost no chance they show us anything interesting.