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Texas Recruiting Notes 2024: Bags Don't Beat Bankrolls
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
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Lunch with Liucci: Billy Liucci joins TexAgs Radio (Monday, December 4) By Billy Liucci December 4, 2023 Segment 1 (00:00:00 - 10:45:21) I have a lot of thoughts on Texas in the playoffs. They are deserving by the way it's set up. They deserved to be in over Alabama. You could argue Florida State. Should Florida State be in over Texas, over what everyone knows but won't say, how rancid the Big 12 was? Should Alabama be over FSU? They beat No. 1 Georgia and beat the same LSU team that was FSU's best win by about the same. Alabama's only loss was to another playoff team. With Jordan Travis, FSU was not rolling people. Is 12-1 Alabama more deserving than a 13-0 FSU? There were a lot of teams that would have gone undefeated after that Alabama game with Texas' schedule. There are more teams that would have navigated that with one loss. No one looks at it that way. It will fall back on these imaginary moving target metrics. They are not doing what they said they would do, put the four best teams in. As things stood, Texas would have been at or near the front of the discussion where you are talking about Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and Florida State for the last couple of spots. It doesn't make sense to me how they put Texas in without much of a doubt. They did not ask the counterpoint questions. That's all we got when A&M was considered. That's all Florida State got. No one ever said, "Notre Dame lost to Clemson in the conference championship." Before, Notre Dame beat Clemson without Trevor Lawrence playing. We talk about FSU not having Jordan Travis. Travis could not hold Lawrence's jock at quarterback. Clemson slaughtered Notre Dame with Lawrence. There were crickets. They put Notre Dame in back in 2020. There is no consistency. They don't give the real reason. No one will be happy when they are left out. I am very happy they are going to a 12-team playoff. I would like eight. I don't think the No. 13 team in football will win a national title. They could do that in basketball or baseball but not in football. In no particular order, the eyeball test says the best four teams are Michigan, Washington, Alabama and... That is where it is tough. Georgia or Texas. Everyone is talking about Florida State. FSU just beat Louisville. I have an opinion that has nothing to do with A&M. Oklahoma State lost 45-3 to Central Florida. They lost to South Alabama 33-7 at home. Those are disgraceful losses, and that is who Texas played in their conference title game. Louisville lost to Pitt, but they have been a good football team. FSU held them to six points. FSU won in The Swamp. That's a big difference between Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. FSU did it with a third-stringer. I think I would put Texas in there. I think I would go with Alabama too. I would be wrestling with Texas, Alabama and Georgia. Texas had the easiest path but one of the two toughest games. Georgia, how do you put them in over Alabama? I can't put Georgia in over Alabama. I couldn't put Alabama over Texas. To me, the best teams, those three are fighting got two spots. Segment 2 (10:45:21 - 11:15:17) Is Georgia better than Washington? Probably. Washington had a stretch where they weren't dominant. They barely beat Arizona, but look at Arizona now. Segment 3 (11:15:17 - 23:06:17) We have not talked about Elijah Robinson. There are a lot of things out there these days that were flat-ass wrong. One youngster in particular races to our site every time something happens. 75 percent of it is wrong. I will be wrong sometimes. It is not going to happen a lot. If you are reading or hearing stuff and I am holding back on it, there is probably a reason why. Elijah Robinson was never staying. He was always wrestling with a tough decision. His leaving is tough for the program, players and fans. There is not a negative thing I can say about that guy. One thing with portal and coaches leaving is don’t say the whole thing is falling apart when the transition is going to be rough. I mentioned Brian Kelly. People at LSU were like, "What the hell did we just do?" He was a wildly successful coach at Notre Dame. People forget when A&M hired Jimbo, there was a rough transition. I know, ultimately, it didn't work, but it wasn't cause Jimbo could not handle the job. People freaked out with Steve Sarkisian too. Look at how Kelly and Sark have turned out. Losing Elijah is tough, so you go hire Sean Spencer the next day. Mike Elko knew that if he lost him, which was possible, this was his answer. The key is to have an answer. Elko would have loved to keep Elijah. You lost a coach. You will lose some players as a result. I know everyone expects a mass exodus. I don't think it's that. You will lose guys that hurt. You have to replace them. You go find better. You go find the equivalent. My point is, as fans and on social media, try not to ride the wave so much, because all it does is feed the wave. This place is not burning. If you lost a veteran player at a position that is not All-Conference, for whatever they are making in NIL, you go get another one of equal or greater value if you are good at what you are doing. I know losing Elijah hurts, but if a couple of players go because of that, you can bring guys in. This has not been a national championship team or program. They are 12-12 the last two years. Who are the lay-down first-rounders? Is McKinney Jackson a first-rounder? He is a damn good player. I hope he is because that kid poured a lot into this place. He played and practiced hurt. My point is that the program is not where it needs to be, and that is why there is a coaching change. There needs to be a culture change. Part of it is coaching, but part is players too. I don’t think any one guy is bigger than the whole thing of what you are trying to get accomplished. I don’t think any one coach is either. Elijah will be as close as you get to that. I see people saying, "They should have made him the defensive coordinator." Some people go, "Well, Elko is the defensive coordinator, really, anyway." That is not true. He did not call the defenses at Duke on game day. That was Tyler Santucci. Elijah has never called a defense in a football game. As a head coach when you have a lot of money to spend on coordinators, is that the direction you go? He might be a great coordinator, but right now, he has never called a defensive play. Tyler Santucci has only done it for a year. In the perfect world, you keep Elijah, and he ascends to be your defensive coordinator, but you don't do it out of fear of what might happen. There is tough decision-making involved. I have watched coaches and A&M do things out of fear. Example: "Don’t let Dameyune Craig go because you have Evan Stewart committed or Cameron Coleman committed." Then what happens? What has happened at that position in a five- or six-year stretch? That type of thing does not win long term. Segment 4 (23:06:18 - 29:14:16) This is the first coaching change we have seen at Texas A&M since the portal has been like it is. Jimbo was hired six years ago. There was a different landscape. It was just graduate transfers. Other guys had to sit out. It was not even called the portal. It's a different day and age. With the transfers, when guys say they are going in, there is a 48-hour period. Walter Nolen might go in, but they are meeting with A&M and Elko today before that is official to see if they can make it work. If there is not a way, wait to see who comes in. If a guy goes in, he does not have to transfer. Unfortunately, a lot of that will happen. They will test the market. They will be lied to. Elko and the staff will go into the portal with the intent to upgrade the roster and change the culture as quickly as possible. The goal is not to have a massive turnover, but there will be. You will not have answers immediately. Wait and see how things play out. Oklahoma State lost virtually every meaningful player last year, and they played for a Big 12 title on Saturday. They beat Oklahoma. They managed to field a football team and, in their conference, have a pretty damn good season. How does Sean Spencer do here? Who does Mike Elko hire as his offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator? That's what really matters. When you lose a player, who do you bring in? The first and second most important things are the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. Elko thinks that the defensive coordinator thing is important so he can be a head coach. He wants to be a head football coach. Let's wait to see who those are before we judge this first coaching staff
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
Longhornfrenzy replied to texifornia's topic in 🤫$9.95🤫
Yesterday was almost as good as it gets for Texas fans. Texas in the CFP aggy decommit The favorite aggy coach bolts to Syracuse Nolan portals. Here's hoping for more meltdown's today🤘🏼 -
Allegedly, there is a coach out there, I won't say who it is, who is trying to mess with the Texas A&M current roster. If you are A&M, use all the ammo at your disposal to thwart those things. That is for any school and any coach, especially anyone who worked here. That's what you will be dealing with We all know who you are referring.. 😁
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Texas A&M Football Lunch with Liucci: Billy Liucci joins TexAgs Radio (Friday, December 1) By Billy Liucci Segment 1 (00:00:00 - 17:03:14) Let's talk about the portal. I think Mike Elko will run a high-character program. That is the vibe I have always gotten from him. He has been at Texas A&M, Duke, Wake Forest and Notre Dame. I think you will see Elko attack the portal more aggressively than what we have seen in the last couple of years. I don't think it's only because he's a new coach. It does not matter who the coach would have been. You will have attrition. On top of that, I think Elko will, year in and year out, use the portal as a recruiting tool and weapon to replenish the roster. When they added guys last year, they needed depth. I don't think that will be the approach. I know they did not try to do that with Tony Grimes and Josh DeBerry. I think you will see Elko get the best player in the country at whatever position they can get them at. There will be a pecking order. Sitting at the top is the cornerback. That will be a serious agenda item for Elko. Receiver could be a position they need to attack. Imagine if you don't bring back Evan Stewart, Moose Muhammad or both and if Ainias Smith doesn't come back for a sixth year. Recruiting-wise, Cameron Coleman could go to Auburn because of something there with Dameyune Craig. Allegedly, there is a coach out there, I won't say who it is, who is trying to mess with the Texas A&M current roster. If you are A&M, use all the ammo at your disposal to thwart those things. That is for any school and any coach, especially anyone who worked here. That's what you will be dealing with. Adding Drelon Miller would be massive. Getting back on the Micah Hudson sweepstakes would be massive. There is some perk up there with the change from Jimbo Fisher and starting anew. To reel them in, it depends on who your receivers coach hire is. I would rather not go through this thing of, "Who uses their COVID-19 year, and who can't?" You can go up to seven years at this point. That list will probably include... One of these people will stay, but in my opinion, Max Wright, Layden Robinson, Ainias Smith potentially and Moose can come back. I would not be surprised if McKinnley Jackson could come back. I don't expect he will. Edgerrin Cooper could return. I do not expect him to. Linebacker is a third position I could see them go portal-heavy. Demani Richardson is finishing his fifth year as a starter. I think Tyreek Chappell and Shemar Turner are two I would really watch the most in terms of going to the NFL when they have normal eligibility. I am less optimistic about them holding onto Chappell. Turner is a Dallas guy, so there could be people telling him if he does not go in the first or second round, he could stay and get a nice NIL deal. Chappell would as well if he wanted. Turner would be more likely to come back if I am speculating. I am going to say something that is going on all over college football right now in the portal. Every school in college football is going to lose players they do not expect to lose or don't want to lose. Sometimes, fans will overact and not realize that it was actually the program that said we would be better off without this distraction. That goes for everyone. Everyone will lose guys that the fans don't want to lose. Sometimes, the coaching staffs at the respective places will say, "Go." Some of those coaching staffs will go, "Damn. That guy was going to be good. We needed to hold on to him." Here is what is happening now. Across college football, you have prominent players, almost through their agents, who are demanding more and more and more. They are threatening that if they don't get it, they will transfer. These coaching staffs have to figure out what is worth it and what is not. I am speaking for everyone in college football. You have a bunch of jackasses that put NIL together with no guardrails. They failed us at the state and NCAA level. Now, you have kids demanding. Forget they are demanding exorbitant amounts of money. If you are doing that, the school can say, "Hey David, we will give you this much, but if you want that much, you have to find it somewhere else. Good luck to you." A lot of these kids will transfer with very high expectations that aren't met and wish they had stayed. Wish they stayed in starting positions, where they were happy, whatever it may be. I have gotten a ton of calls about this. Kids are basically saying they need a bonus now, saying, "Add to the NIL deals by next week, or I will go in the portal." What will happen is a bunch of these schools that blink and do that to keep David Nuño on the roster will still go in the portal. This is where, from school to school, you see who is smart and who isn't. It's like playing liar poker. See who is bluffing and who isn't. A lot of these young players will transfer and wish they hadn't. Elko said it when he was at Duke a couple of weeks ago. Lane Kiffin has always talked about it. Matt Rhule talked about it. It's not all that was thought of when this concept of Name, Image and Likeness came out. It's gotten so far away from that. Schools like Texas A&M, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, USC, Notre Dame and more, to the donors and alumni, you say, "How bad do you really want to win?" This is a weird period of time. Wherever you think you are, you have to step up and elevate because somebody is better. If every player on your roster comes in and demands... Make up a number. Let's say half a million dollars. They will try to get it on the open market. They need to get that number from one school, and you will lose that player. A&M will have to figure out how to do the exact same thing. They have to be one of the schools that looks at the nation's best cornerback. We are going to try to pluck him from this school. You have to play that game. It's just a weird, awkward, no-rule game everyone is playing right now
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Recruiting Country: The latest recruiting news surrounding the Maroon & White By Billy Liucci November 29, 2023 Key notes from Ryan Brauninger (Segment 1) I started hearing from Texas high school football coaches on Sunday. They are excited and expressed that A&M made a very wise decision. In his introductory press conference, not only did he mention the TXHSFB Association and had great things to say, he did it early on. It was a priority to him. I thought that was very wise. This message that the TXHSFB doesn't matter anymore? That could not be further from the truth. Jason Howell and I work directly with those coaches day to day. Those coaches are massive assets for us at TexAgs. They are massive for Texas A&M. Most will do whatever they can for the kids they coach. They are a massive asset. They impact these kids' lives. It bothers me when people post they don't matter. Just like on Twitter, when you have the veil of anonymity to post whatever you want without your name attached to it, you get more bold and brazen about tweeting whatever. This is a good reminder this time of year: Don't associate somebody's ability to post and send with their ability to be right. You better make sure the people you are listening to know what they are talking about. There is so much out there being passed around by people who think they know but have no idea. This is a busy time of year. You are always on call right now. Over the last 12 hours, I know for a fact that coach Mike Elko has begun contacting the current commit class. The initial response has been insanely positive. I would expect you to see multiple commits to reaffirm their commitment. When there is a coaching change, you can re-official visit. I put stuff on Billy Liucci's Premium Board about it. There is a real incentive to subscribe to TexAgs. We are posting big and small recruiting nuggets. I believe he talked to Dealyn Evans, Myles Davis, Miles O'Neill, AJ Maddox and Dominick McKinley. There are parents getting on the phone call list. Elko is being meticulous with his day. Hiring a staff is important. He is meeting with players as much as he can. The next most important is the commits and recruits. Next, it's the coaches and trainers who have a bond with the recruits. He has the ball rolling. Jason and I will start reaching out to get quotes. There are certain people on campus who want to get some face time with him who are massively important to what he wants to do. Every time his phone rings, he is talking to people who matter. Key notes from Billy Liucci (Segment 2) People are beyond thrilled. Some of the key veterans and leaders. There will be a chance to keep guys in school that people don't think of. Elko understands. He has a vision and plan for this machine. When it comes to NIL, not only acquisition but in terms of how to leverage that of guys turning pro that shouldn't. He has seen that at A&M. Guys like Fadil Diggs and Shemar Turner. That part of the NIL is significant. Mike Elko had a sales pitch and plan for this place. I would bet a million dollars that he was the most impressive person they talked to because he was knowledgeable of this place and because of who he is. I am not going to try to get Twitter likes with coaching moves. If it happens, we can post it on the site and then go post it on Twitter. I am not going to wildly speculate for tweets. I am not going to lead the subscribers astray. In the first couple of days, I am not going to get in the way of them making hires. I see names. Some people at other schools have contracts, and the schools can claim tampering and this and that. Position coaches? Buyouts matter. I will be careful in particular on how we handle this. It will be interesting to see where Mike Elko swings in terms of his two coordinators
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
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Lunch with Liucci: Billy Liucci joins TexAgs Radio (Wednesday, November 22) Segment 1 (00:00:00 - 9:29:24) *Billy singing* “Hello, my friend we meet again. Been a while. Where should we begin? How bout some COACHINGGGG?” *More singing* Is it Jeff Traylor or Jedd Fisch? I don't think it's either. Sorry to squash the Jedd Fisch rumor. I'm going to turn Jedd Fisch into a dead fish. Run to Twitter! Let's randomly speculate! People pull anything I say about Jimbo Fisher. The reality is it doesn't cost me a moment of my day. A lot of what was said about Fisher is that he almost got it. They were 9-1 in the COVID-19 year. That team was built, if not for the schedule change, to probably go 12-1. If Ohio State plays more than five or six games, they have more of a chance to lose than be in the CFP. COVID-19 is what kept Trevor Lawrence from playing. I have had your back on feuds, but on the SEC Mike feud, I might have had his. He was wrong about Sam Pittman vs. Fisher. Look at tenures. Kevin Sumlin, to me, in hindsight, UCLA was the death knell, but there is always something you see before that. They rose to No. 4 after the Kyle Allen-Kyler Murray thing. They started beating people. One loss to Alabama and in the playoff field. They played Ole Miss and got beat by a true freshman Shea Patterson. Those two, that was it. For Fisher, Alabama and Tennessee this year, you could have won those games, and none of this would be going on. You win one of those two, and Fisher is still coaching here. For losing back-to-back the way they did, they played well enough that it made it worse. A large part due to horrific blocking in the second halves. The frustration mounted, and I don't think he could recover. Segment 2 (9:29:25 - 26:15:23) Creed is as populare now as they have ever been. The Vikings are playing them now. Rangers did it in the World Series. They are back on tour. They are meme’d everywhere. They were played at Kyle Field for the last couple of weeks. I like them. I need a drive around in the car video with me singing, and then Scott Stapp is riding shot gun. I was in Kansas City Monday night. It was a blast. I got to sit up in the suite with the Kelces and all Travis’ buddies from high school. We get on a giant bus, and it's like a limo inside. The first song that came on was Bad Bunny. Everyone was vibing, and then the Chiefs lost. We have this show. We have what I am writing. We have Friday's show for two hours. We can start talking football now. I know there is stuff out there about Evan Stewart from Texas sources. Those guys have been foaming at the mouth, waiting for him. It's a bizarre obsession. They are dying for Stewart to not succeed at A&M. If he didn't miss two or three games, his numbers would be fine. There are reports that he is not traveling this week and won't play. That is still TBD. He was in the building at team meetings yesterday. Putting Stewart on transfer portal watch? I would too. A lot of the higher profile guys during a coaching change will have options. I would also say let's see who they hire and see if that changes anything. Not just with Stewart in particular but with other guys. We are stating the obvious. I think there is a good chance that would have happened with Fisher still here too. Maybe your best chance is with a change. The key in 2023 is to determine what is going to take to keep Stewart. Texas had people who mortgaged their souls to keep Xavier Worthy last year. He has won some football games this year. It's worth it. For anyone who knows, he had one foot out the door. At LSU, their people don’t know. I had a person say Brian Kelly should sue me because I said he might be interested in the Michigan job if it opens up. That same person might throw a fit if they heard that Malik Nabers was allegedly telling a lot of people that he was likely to go into the portal. LSU got wind of it and made sure he didn't leave. That's been the best thing that has happened for them. When these things happen, you have to decide who you go all in on and reach a certain point where it may take too much to keep said offensive lineman, so instead, we can go get a comparable offensive lineman, who is as good or better and get a starting SEC cornerback. That's roster management. As of yesterday, there is still a chance Stewart can play this weekend and travel. That is not a done deal. If he doesn't practice all week, he won't travel. I don't know if any player says, "I can't let that losing streak get to 10," but most of the dogs, will say, "Man, it's LSU. We beat them last year, and they want revenge. They want to embarrass us." There is a word that starts with "F" LSU. They think they will embarrass us. Ain't happening. There are guys that will feel that way. That is who I want on that football field. That's it. I hope Stewart is suited up and out there playing because he is competitive as hell. I like what Moose Muhammad has done. Max Johnson is a guy who wishes he could play. He would do anything in his body to go play this weekend. I want Jaylen Henderson to feel the same way. Conner Weigman would like another crack at them. If you don't have that, sit your ass at home. There are plenty of guys that feel that way, but there are too many that don't. It's not an A&M thing or a Fisher thing. It's a losing thing. if you lose enough, that happens. I give Texas a hard time, but they are winning. Ainias Smith has tried. They lost to Ole Miss, but it was one of their better offensive performances. They handled South Carolina. They pummeled Mississippi State. They have played good ball since the bye. Jayden Daniels wants his Heisman coronation in Death Valley. The last guy to do that? Joe Burrow. That was a better LSU team and a worse A&M team. I have not heard anything about guys wanting to sit. That encouraging. The practice has been very well attended since Elijah Robinson took over. They want to go out and win. The question is can they score enough to keep pace against LSU? A&M has a top-10 defense. They have a weakness. That weakness does not match up well with LSU's strengths. This quarterback's strength is avoiding pressure. That is not a favorable matchup. Ole Miss wasn't either, and they scored 38. Segment 3 (26:15:24 - 42:22:11) I am willing to talk about more than the timeline. Right now, as we sit here on Wednesday, I think today and yesterday, I know the goal was to really narrow it down. Ross Bjork and Justin Moore are spearheading this search. Right now, they are narrowing it down to a couple, maybe three. It was a wide net early and went down to a large handful. They vetted everybody, and the decision will be, "OK, we are going to go after this guy and continue to interview and carry through the process on another candidate or two.” As of today, you are looking at two or three guys emerging. From what I have talked to other coaches and agents around the country, it will narrow down to three finalists right about now. Let's say Kalen DeBoer. Do I think he is still a candidate? The games this weekend do matter. He is still in the Pac-12 championship. Coaches that have an opportunity for a playoff berth? Let's take him for example. That's a tough one. He will not leave a job unfinished or let himself be distracted while attempting to complete this storybook achievement. Because of that, if he was your guy, you would have a tough decision. You figure it out. Dan Campbell is not in it, just like I told everyone Dan Lanning wasn't going to be in it. It wasn't even remotely even true. With a guy like DaBoer, I say the same thing with Campbell. If you could get Campbell, you would wait until after the Super Bowl and figure it out. If you felt as certain as certain could be, you wait. You figure it out. If you are not 100 percent certain, I don't think you can wait. My guess is that A&M does not have that level of certainty. I would not knock Mike Elko off the list of candidates. There is Ryan Day smoke, but I am skeptical of it. I am skeptical if that's not an agent drumming up stuff. I would continue to include Day as a candidate. That is not who I would expect them to land. Go lose to Michigan and see if that gets interesting, at all. There are, in my mind, people who are way more likely than Day. One of which I will not say today. By the way, it is not Matt Rhule. I mentioned him in that big list, and people kind of zeroed in on him. To me, if this search were a year ago, if I were A&M, I would be going full tilt at Luke Fickell. Maybe he just made a bad hire with Phil Longo. They have not had a great year at Wisconsin. They have been very thorough across the street. Everything you have thought of, they have thought of. I don't want a search to go by without leaving a stone unturned. I do not feel that way. Guys like Fickell and Rhule, even though they have only been at their schools for one year, they probably look at A&M and go, "Damn. If it's a year earlier, I am there." Hell, Lanning might have been. That $20 million buyout might have gone up to $50 million with the Nike stuff. If you sign for seven years, it would be hard to leave after one. I do not think it will be him. You better hire someone who really understands what they are walking into with this conference and in this state at this stage. A&M has not won, but the expectations are here. The talent level is here. You are coming to win an SEC title and compete for national championships. There is a bigness to this thing that not everyone is cut out for. The past does not mean it cannot happen in the future. A&M has to get the right guy. I think the right guy still has to be equipped to handle how big this job is and what the expectations are. The people outside can call it unrealistic. That's stupid. It's a fair expectation. There is somebody out there. Urban Meyer, I don't believe is the guy. You have to find the right coach. You look at every team that is won. A&M has talent. Their roster is equipped to win titles. They were last year, and they will be next year
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
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Negative Recruiting Your Own School: The aggy Screenshot Megathread
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Scattershooting A&M's coaching search: Bjork & Co. casting a wide net By Billy Liucci November 17, 2023 I've spent a few days doing some serious sourcing and checking in at virtually every level of what can still be described as the early stages of the Texas A&M coaching search. And since I've pretty much been providing every pretend insider on Twitter and across social media with their “updates” via various TexAgs Radio and podcast appearances, I figured I'd provide you all — and all of those who have zero shame in claiming my information as their own — with some thoughts and insight on the process while also providing a “wishlist” of my own. For starters, there is what's been described to me as “incredible interest” in this job. Not surprising at all, but I've been told that even Ross Bjork and those assisting him in the head coaching search have been pretty floored by the coaches who have reached out. I also had a well-placed source tell me yesterday that the Aggie AD has visited in some capacity with no fewer than 15 candidates as the Aggies prepare to whittle down the initial list. I'll mention several of those candidates scattered throughout this article. • Let's start with three names I'm certain Bjork and the Aggies will meet with or have met with already: Duke's Mike Elko, UTSA's Jeff Traylor and Lance Leipold of Kansas. As I said during last night's “Ask Liucci” segment, I fully expect these three to remain real players into next week. As Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman reported on Thursday, and as I'd been saying was going to happen, Bjork met with Traylor a couple of days ago via Zoom for what was described to me as an “introductory meeting.” That's how most of the initial meetings between Ross and the various candidates will go. The hopeful timeline is still to have something locked in and ready to roll prior to the portal opening on December 4. • I mention the early part of next week because, after a full week of intros and paring down the list, I'd expect a little more of that from Bjork (who will be flying to some of the destinations) and the Aggie brass beginning again on Sunday. Sometime around the middle of next week, I think you'll start to see the list whittled down to a small handful of finalists. The hopeful timeline is still to have something locked in and ready to roll prior to the portal opening on December 4. Or in the days following the Aggies' regular-season finale at LSU. • I continue to hear great things about Elijah Robinson's first week as the Ags' interim head coach. Practices have been incredibly lively and energetic (and fun!), and participation is off the charts (not many guys missing due to being banged up). Robinson has not only impressed everyone in Bright and in the Aggie locker room, but he's also turning heads department-wide. E-Rob was so impressive during the Monday presser that I've received several calls since from folks who matter telling me how proud they were to have the revered defensive line coach currently sitting in that chair. It's still a longshot, but Robinson has impressed enough that the possibility of him beating LSU and making a strong case for the job isn't out of the realm of possibility. • Dan Campbell? If you've been listening, I tried to make it pretty clear from day one that the Aggie AD would absolutely attempt to gauge preliminary interest in the job but also cautioned that the A&M legend and Detroit Lions head coach wasn't going to be a real option. He's one of the hottest names in football, and loves Texas A&M University more than I can put into words, but Campbell is also the most loyal and appreciative person I've ever met. He has poured himself into the Lions and the entire city of Detroit and believes the organization and city are on the verge of something special. He is going to see things through in the Motor City, but I still hold out hope that he's the man running the show in Aggieland someday a little further down the road. Maybe A&M's head coach following this particular hire. • I've mentioned more than once that the response is about what you'd expect for a job the magnitude of Texas A&M to draw on the open market. Forget what a lifetime Aggie-hater like Joel Klatt says; the reality is that everyone in the coaching profession understands that the A&M head coaching position is no worse than a top-10 job nationally and probably significantly better than that, all things considered. The former Texas A&M TE said in a Friday media availability that he would do everything he can to help the University in its search for its next head coach. Regardless, the interest the job has drawn includes more than a couple of names that would probably shake up the national conversation quite a bit if word got out. I won't reveal anything at this time because I still think we're talking about “extreme longshot” type stuff, but the thing to keep an eye on here are coaches who, for whatever reason, may be unhappy or feel underappreciated at their current spots, no matter how great the talking heads and that particular fan base would convince you they currently have it. Think Jimbo Fisher at Florida State, Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma… there are plenty of examples and they're out there annually. To whatever degree, I think the current list possibly fitting that criteria would include Riley at USC, Dabo Swinney, Ryan Day (if he loses to Michigan again next weekend) and Brian Kelly (though Michigan is the one to watch when it comes to the current LSU head man). • The conference that is most interesting to me right now in terms of potential A&M targets? The Pac-12. I guess I'll start by explaining in a little better detail than most why Oregon's Dan Lanning isn't an option. The short and sweet version? That $20 million buyout everyone references is actually north of $40 million and possibly even approaching $50 million. There's apparently a Nike component that was added after one year in Eugene that makes Lanning's buyout the most prohibitive in college football if not in college football history. I guess I'll start by explaining in a little better detail than most why Dan Lanning isn't an option. The short and sweet version? That $20 million buyout everyone references is actually north of $40 million and possibly even approaching $50 million. Moving around the league, however, there are some interesting options if you're Ross Bjork and A&M. Remember when I first talked about the hire and said the likelihood would be that the Ags would not be spending Jimbo Fisher-type money on his eventual replacement but that the right coach could certainly draw the Aggies up to make something big happen? Washington's Kalen DeBoer would certainly fit that description. The word I've heard is that the man who currently has the Huskies sitting at No. 5 with a Heisman candidate in Michael Penix Jr. leading the charge and a 100-11 coaching record is absolutely on the Ags' early list. He has staying power, as well, but the issue could center around timing, as the Huskies could be playing for a while. Additionally, UW is already reportedly negotiating a raise and extension, so DeBoer will be a tough — but not impossible — pull. A couple of names that several rival coaches around the country consistently mention to me are Oregon State's Jonathan Smith and Jedd Fisch of Arizona. Smith currently has the Beavers at No. 11 as they prepare to close the regular season with showdowns against Washington and Oregon. I've been told he's impressive as hell and someone who was on the Aggies' very early radar. The same can be said for the 47-year-old Fisch, who one Pac-12 rival said has been the toughest staff/team for his squad to prepare for and play against over the last two seasons. I know the two names aren't going to generate big waves on TexAgs or throughout A&M's social media circles, but they've certainly drawn at least some level of early consideration from the Maroon & White and have tremendous reputations nationally. Just a couple of names to file away when focusing on the big names and also the more likely finalists. Matt Rhule certainly made a name for himself in this part of the country for his turnaround in Waco of the Baylor Bears. • Matt Rhule has only been at Nebraska one year, but what he did at Baylor makes him somewhat of a known commodity in this part of the country. I’d simply file this one away as a name to watch if, and only if, Rhule made it clear to the decision-makers in Aggieland that he would be interested. Certainly someone who possesses a lot of the traits laid about by Bjork stated he’s looking for in the program’s next head coach. • Moving through the Big 12, Leipold is a surefire candidate, in my opinion, and Bjork may also give Kansas State's Chris Klieman a look. An interesting possibility for the Aggies? How about TCU's Sonny Dykes? The second-year boss in Fort Worth checks more than a few of the boxes Still, if there's a most likely candidate from A&M’s former league, I think Leipold is the one to watch the most closely. • Finally, don't 100 percent rule out the coaches publicly saying they're not interested in the job. While I don't even envision Lane Kiffin donning the Maroon & White at Kyle Field or Coach Prime leaving his sons, Shedeur & Shiloh, and Travis Hunter behind in Boulder, comments such as the ones each coach made this week when asked about the A&M job have been made by basically every coach who has ever left one program for another. There should be a video library dedicated to such viral sound bites over the years
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Lunch with Liucci: By Billy Liucci Segment 1 (00:00:00 - 15:42:03) It was a wild week. I said it last night, I had to mix in some family stuff. It's fine. Everything is good. It was stressful. This stuff is not fun. There is an adrenaline thing of chasing down a story, getting the story and juggling it. So many of these kids' parents listen. It's one of my favorite parts of the job. They can become lifelong friends. It is annoying when you put a story out, and you have people trying to go out of their way to villainize the person who put the story out because the kids found out via social media. There are things you can say bad about me. The one thing you cannot say is that I do not consider other people in everything I do, especially in this instance. It's a small group. I like to look people in the eye and say, “You do not know a damn thing about me, the process or what went on.” My first concern was not letting anything out prior to that game. That was a fun night for the kids. They had a freaking blast. I was careful in not wanting to be manipulated in any way in terms of the timing. There were people who had an idea or knew and were saying they didn't agree with it. It was people who mattered. That decision was made at the highest level, and that was my thought. I did not see it being walked back because of the level of decision it was. Ross Bjork said it was his recommendation to the Texas A&M’s President. They took it to the board. The people at the top had to sign off on that. Once they did, there was no walking it back. It takes a toll on you walking around that stadium that night knowing what might happen. Some people don't like us because they dont like success. There has been a success here, and they hate when you talk about things like this. I'm calling that small group right now. Selfish would have been announcing that during College GameDay when kids are sitting at the hotel. I waited until the national people were getting word at 6:45 a.m. on Sunday morning. I was making phone calls, stressing and wringing my hands over it. A. You want the story. We deserve the story. I had had it since the inception of it, but at the same time, it meant a lot to me to make sure it was done, and there was no stopping it. B. I wanted Jimbo Fisher to know. I was as positive as I could be that he knew before leaving that building Saturday night without calling him, thus interfering in the process. It was tough. Here's the thing with Jimbo Fisher. Kevin Sumlin made comments about the toll the job took on his health and family. Jimbo came up from West Virginia, didn't have a lot, and went to Samford to play football. He wasn't a five-star. Forget what you think about him. Think about the human here. He worked his way up to the peak of his profession. He was coaching in front of 100,000 people, doing what he loved, not knowing that was going to be his last time to coach here. I don't know if Jimbo will ever coach again. I think he will. Is he even 60 yet? He loves it. Maybe he does, but not in that type of environment. All of a sudden, he is fired, and he has $75 million. Maybe he goes and sits on his farm in West Virginia. There is a human element we forget sometimes. He has $75 million, but do you think that guy wasn't devasted when he got the news? In the moment, it's OK to consider the human there that failed at what he was paid to do. I was thinking about that yesterday. There's a human side. There is a family side too. I am not saying you should not fire coaches. Of course, you should. That is the sport. They are compensated very handsomely, but that doesn't change the fact that it's not really a day to celebrate when you make a change when the guy isn't winning as much as you want or expected them to. This machine, and this is why I think they to be careful about who they hire, this thing does not have championships. We don’t have trophies around here. I was just talking to Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic. The expectations are absolutely reasonable. They are not based on history. Even though A&M historically hasn't won like powerhouse programs, expectations have nothing to do with history. I said prior to the Mississippi State game that a win wasn't going to be enough. Before that meeting, I felt bad energy/vibes coming out of Ole Miss in terms of the wolves circling. Ole Miss, the wind was blowing in a certain direction. These road trips get you. Segment 2 (15:42:03 - 20:57:00) The thing about the Kevin Sumlin vs. Jimbo Fisher graphic, was not only was it annoying, but people would fall into the "Should not have fired Sumlin" rabbit hole. That wasn't the point of it. They need to make a good hire this time. I really like the message Josh Pate has said about A&M. It is a tremendous job. You could win massively here. You have to find the right guy, and they haven't. You hope they aren't heading to the dark ages. A&M needs this hire to hit. You see programs that have a lot of history going through dark periods more than A&M has, This will be a 7-5 team or 8-4 with a ton of talent. I know, some of it will go out the door during the transition. I think a lot of that would happen anyway. That was part of the concern. It happens to everyone. This is really important for Ross Bjork, the decision maker, to get this one right. Get the right guy and get him quickly, and don't give me this crap, I don't want to hear. Segment 3 (20:57:00 - 22:53:08) "The board told Jimbo he was let go on Saturday. He stormed out of the locker room and left for the ranch. That is not true. There is a lot that is not true that I get. Don't give me the "We need a strong coach. He needs to be organized and be friends with everyone." That is something you put on your list that we desire. Have that on the list. Plenty of people check that box and can recruit lights out. Everyone can put elite players on the field. The biggest part of the job is keeping this team together as much as you can because if you do, you have a winner on day one. Segment 4 (22:53:08 - 36:01:10) I love it for Elijah Robinson. He deserves it. The players are happy with it, and I think coaches on staff, like Bobby Petrino and D.J. Durkin. They will respect that. This could be fun for Elijah. This could be a good audition for him. Not only around here but for anywhere. Elijah is Elijah. He is real. He is lovable. He will show love but also push you and make you better. There is a reason he is paid as much as he is to be a position coach. They could not afford to lose him. He is an elite recruiter. Of everyone on that staff that you want to keep, no matter what your next head coach is, it's Elijah Robinson. Period. It doesn't mean it can't work without him. You can't get caught up on one coach or player during a transition, but I think it would be incredibly important and beneficial to the next coach if he is a prominent member of that staff. I can't even put into words how far that would go in terms of keeping guys here, recruiting efforts and putting together the right staff. The connection of Elijah and Terry Price, I would have said the same damn thing about TP when Kevin Sumlin was fired. Fisher retained Price. We all know what TP's value was. Elijah is the exact same way. How cool would it be to see Elijah go 3-0? Go beat LSU in Baton Rouge, and go win a bowl game. Have this team get to nine wins. All of these things are important in terms of retention and setting the coach on the path to win right away. You have the potential to say whoever walks in there, has a loaded roster from day one. I don’t think we will quite be able to say that because of the damn portal nowadays. Durkin is a hell of a recruiter. He is a pro's pro. He is another guy who is loved in the building. He is doing a great job on the recruiting trail. Guys like that stand out. Between that and making a quick hire, you have the potential to retain a lot of this. You will lose some. There are no two ways around this. You will lose guys you want to keep, and they will make a big deal of it on social media. If you hire the right coach and they sell it right, you can have a contending team on day one at Texas A&M. This week, they are talking to people. You would love to see it wrapped up in a couple of weeks. From the end of Mississippi State to the end of LSU is two weeks. You would love to see a decision by the middle of that week following LSU. There isn't a name that has floated to me that I have not thought about. I think Kliff Kingsbury is a really intersting one. Go get Dan Lanning. Go get Dan Campbell. Go get Kalen DoBoer. Look at what he is doing right now at Washington. Those are highly unlikely, but if you start talking about these other candidates, I like a lot about Elko. Kliff is intriguing. Somebody mentioned Todd Monken. He is doing great work with the Ravens and Lamar Jackson. He won a couple of national titles with Stetson Bennett at Georgia. It's day one. I try to tell y'all exactly what is happening, and what is exactly happening is there is not a standalone candidate. There are not two or three. There's a list. They will use the search firm that A&M is contracted out to. They will use that to weed out a lot of it so A&M can narrow it down. There is no one or two guys sitting at the top of a list right now. As of Monday morning, that is not the case. I know people say every AD walks around with a list in his pocket. Well, yeah. Ross probably has a list, but this is different because of the money you are paying Jimbo. All those guys I mentioned will get calls. They may get advice on who they should hire. Mike Elko, if he had not left for Duke, he would have been the perfect inside promotion. What's even better is now he has Power 5 experience. There is one person I haven't dove into it, but had Luke Fickell not taken to the Wisconsin job last year and been at Cincinnati one more year, would Fickell be the guy that every A&M fan would want? I don’t know if he would come. When we think about these things, don't forget about stuff like that. Segment 5 (36:01:10 - 44:27:09) Not evolving to the game was part of it, but Jimbo certainly tried in terms of recruiting, portal and NIL. Offensively, was slow. There was a lot. Maybe tried to do too much of it on his own. That's hard to do. Sometimes coaches don't realize that. Some personalities want to do everything on their own. It worked for him at FSU. College football is so unique in how much it changes almost every five years. Whether it be the rules, style of play, the portal, NIL, or realignment, it's ever-changing. They don’t have a recruiting coordinator yet. They never added that. They don’t have a high school relations guy. They made hires, but they weren't out there. The other thing that got him is there was some misfortune with those quarterback injuries. Has the caliber of the staff gone down? I think some of it, though, was big misfortune. People don't like hearing that, but it's real. In 2020, they would have been really damn good in a regular season. They might have been better. A&M had the layout to be the second-best team in the SEC that season. Who is to say that if Ohio State had played more games, they would not have dropped one? A&M would have been 12-1. Ohio State loses one game, and A&M is in there. Describing his tenure, it was really close. They could not quite get over it. There are a million reasons why. It was not just one. When they were putting together that No. 1 class, had they finished off the 2020 season in style... Maybe you get additional recruits. That was the moment, dropping those road games, that was your chance. That is when it could have flipped
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Fat Hamm I spoke at length last night with Jasper LB and Texas A&M commit Tyanthony Smith after he turned in a 14 tackle performance in a playoff win over Columbia which included 3 tackles for loss as well as an interception. He's had an outstanding last 3-4 weeks in terms of his production. Anyway, my audio was giving me all kinds of issues due to the massive amount of rain water my phone took on throughout the course of the game while shooting highlights. Regardless, I did stay after a chat with him for about 10 minutes to get a feel for where he's at with recruiting and the status of his commitment. Here are some key takeaways from our conversation. - First off, Tyanthony has grown. He's gotten noticeably taller and longer. He's going to hold 225-230 pounds without a problem, and I could see a scenario where he gets even a little north of that. It's a very intriguing frame for a college strength coach. - As I've been saying, Taurean York is playing a large role for Texas A&M. Tyanthony admires his work ethic, mentality, and talked a lot about how Taurean's mindset as a freshman was something he would like to emulate. Tyanthony views Taurean as a mentor and an example. - Another key cog in this recruitment for Texas A&M is DJ Durkin. I said this a bunch over the spring and summer when A&M began to surge for Tyanthony, but Durkin did yeoman's work in taking the Aggies from the back of the pack to firmly in the front. The overall play of the defense this season, specifically the development of the linebacking corps, has been important, as well. - Smith told me he's locked in with Texas A&M right now. He and the Jasper staff did confirm that Texas had begun making a push, but it's currently inconsequential. - There was a ton of speculation about his commitment wavering when fellow southeast Texas natives Drelon Miller and Weston Davis both left the A&M class. After talking with him, it's evident that he was not a fan of that hearsay. While he acknowledged his both Miller and Davis, Smith was adamant that he made his decision for his own reasons and those reasons stood alone far beyond the influence of his peers. - I don't get the idea that there would be any other threat to A&M currently outside of the Longhorns (who he still didn't give too much credence to). We spoke very briefly about LSU, but Smith was quick to shoot down any thought of them being in contention. - Kyle Field and the 12th Man did what they typically do on visits. He mentioned their impact on not only games but also the visit experience
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Quick rundown of where A&M stands with current commits & targets By Ryan Brauninger I'm just going to be frank with y'all: it wasn't easy coming up with the subject matter for this week's recruiting article. It's not because we are void of angles to look at this thing, either. Rather, it's because no matter how you mix it or shake it, it's all going to come out tasting the same right now. In a vacuum, a three-point road loss to a top-10 Ole Miss team while on your backup quarterback would be a complete non-factor on the recruiting front. A snapshot of the game all by itself would indicate an uptick in offensive production, while the defensive performance would be written off as an outlier. I'm sure Saturday's game has been presented as exactly that in the recruiting phone calls emanating from the Bright-Slocum Complex this week. At least, it should be. The snowballing problem is that this isn't a vacuum, and the wave of negative recruiting has turned into an avalanche. By now, you're all very aware of the arrows being flung in the direction of the Texas A&M football program in its current state. It has to be a tumultuous time in the recruiting war room right now, but the good news is that — at least at the time of pinning this article — we haven't been told there are any more commits on the verge of re-opening their recruitments. That may be short-lived, though, as visits are being scheduled and phone calls are being taken. Up to this point, you'd have to give the A&M coaching and recruiting staff major kudos for the work they've done. The effort to keep things afloat during the bye week was more than commendable, and the reason recruiting is still a high-stakes game for this cycle is because of the caliber of players they'd been able to get in the boat. Still, they haven't taken advantage of their opportunities on the field that would have gone such a long way into rewarding the sweat equity they put in off of it. Let's take a quick peek at the current situation with each commitment as well as a few of the staff's top remaining targets. QB Miles O'Neill - Nothing to report on as of now. Seems locked in. On the visitor list this week. QB AJ Maddox - Same as above. AJ appears to be solid. WR Jaylan Hornsby - Visited Rutgers last weekend. WR Cameron Coleman - Has taken multiple visits with Florida State upcoming. WR Debron Gatling - No visits. Commitment holding strong. ATH/WR Ernest Campbell - TCU looks to be the biggest competition. Frogs are pushing. TE Eric Karner - Hasn't visited anywhere since committing in the summer. OL Ashton Funk - Locked in. Michigan did attend a recent game, but he's an Aggie. OL Coen Echols - Very much expect an Auburn visit soon. Tigers have been pushing. OL Blake Ivy - Not much intel comes out on him. LSU and Texas had been involved. OL Isendre Ahfua - Haven't heard anything definitive, but we are watching Utah and Washington. DL Dealyn Evans - Remains committed but seems shaky. Still keeping an eye on Florida. DL Dominick McKinley - Lots of phone calls but no visits set as of now. DL Gabriel Reliford - Visited LSU and USC, with the Tigers being the biggest threat. LB Tyanthony Smith - Solid in his pledge. I've heard Texas is re-engaging. LB Jordan Lockhart - Seems solid. Should be at Texas A&M this weekend. LB Tristan Jernigan - Has visited Ole Miss, Miss State and Alabama. Watch out for Saban. S Myles Davis - Locked in right now. Let's see if he visits Texas later this month. S Jordan Pride - Recently visited Florida, but I think the Aggies can hold on here. CB/ATH Terry Bussey - My latest report sounded good for A&M, but his phone is ringing. WR Micah Hudson - Aggies are not out of the race and could get him back on campus. I'd lean toward Texas Tech still. ATH/WR Drelon Miller - Keeps giving A&M chances after his decommitment. LSU feels good about where they're at. CB Kobe Black - Supposed to be in College Station for an official visit this weekend. We'll see if that happens. He plays in Bryan on Friday. ATH/HBack Hunter Andrews - Expected to return to Kyle Field on Saturday. Visited Utah last week. That's about as succinct as I could be with the current climate of each kid. I should say that the volatility of the entire situation could cause information to become outdated pretty quickly, though. As always, we'll continue to do our best to give y'all the best lay of the land we can provide. My best advice for recruiting fans would be to buckle up. Whatever happens, there are sure to be some twists and turns over the next couple of months
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