Jimbo 2022: Balls To The Face

[dcar00 14035]

1 hour ago, statsman said:

Conundrum for the Ags…have the recruits sign contracts where they have to return money if they transfer out? But, then you have signed contracts. 
 
 

I can't imagine they would be stupid enough to have a recruit sign a contract but then again....

[Hookem2147 20932]

 

[BabaYaga 15212]

2 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

A&M won’t get caught and punished, but step back and think about the Aggies you know, and then step back further and think about the type of Aggies who would illegally pay bag money to football recruits.  These guys will not be patient, reasonable financiers who keep coming back year after year regardless of results.  They’re going to throw a shit fit after (I’d guess) 2 more years of A&M lagging behind the top SEC teams, and then that money isn’t going to flow as much.  

If enough of the SEC big-boys get fed up with the Ags, they'll be under the bus soon enough

[Bigbend1812 12889]

16 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

 

Aggy Bob.

[Soccer Dudes Dad 91]

22 hours ago, quigley said:

I don't think that explanation is sufficient here though. Overton's dad is the AD at Kennesaw St, so the family is both very familiar with the system and not relying of the son for financial solvency. If Overton picks A&M over Georgia and Ohio St, two schools that pay and that have a great history developing DL, that would be a signal that a family in this position thinks things will be ok.

While I'm sure the AD job at a such a wealthy university as Kennesaw State is quite lucrative and has the Overton family living quite comfortably; I'm going to go ahead and guess that this has significantly more to do with "offers they couldn't refuse," rather than development on the DL.
That is of course unless the university's private jet, villas in Nice, and bonus stock options aren't really that attractive...

[Yesh 904]

I'm just waiting for one of these kids or their family to publicly admit what deal they got, thinking incorrectly that it is NIL and it is legal now.  I'm curious when they were offered these deals how it was presented.  Are the boosters trying to blur the issue and mention NIL so the family feels better about it, or is it still perfectly understood that this is not above board and they need to keep quiet.

[Doc Reeves 6434]

3 minutes ago, Yesh said:

is it still perfectly understood that this is not above board and they need to keep quiet.

It would be impossible not to when it came time to do your taxes

Edited February 4, 2022 by Doc Reeves

[CowtownHorn 5126]

19 minutes ago, Bigbend1812 said:

Aggy Bob.

Becoming a wannabe aggy suits him well. I stopped listening to that station years ago. And even when I did, I would skip his show. Him and Dan were the worst. They love them some sooner and aggy on The Ticket.

[Bevo 13527]

13 minutes ago, Doc Reeves said:

It would be impossible not to when it came time to do your taxes

I think crypto keeps taxes from being an issue for the recipient. The money isn't kept in a bank account. So only if the sender fails an audit will there be issues.

[Horn Dog 9674]

19 minutes ago, Yesh said:

I'm just waiting for one of these kids or their family to publicly admit what deal they got, thinking incorrectly that it is NIL and it is legal now.  I'm curious when they were offered these deals how it was presented.  Are the boosters trying to blur the issue and mention NIL so the family feels better about it, or is it still perfectly understood that this is not above board and they need to keep quiet.

Pro-Tip for any of these recruits or their family members-

  It would be wise to take screenshots/recording of these conversations as these funds are being offered to you.  Threatening to release this evidence will likely double or even triple your net if you play your hand correctly on the way out.

[Doc Reeves 6434]

1 minute ago, Bevo said:

I think crypto keeps taxes from being an issue for the recipient. The money isn't kept in a bank account. So only if the sender fails an audit will there be issues.

Crypto is great. Unless momma wants a new Cadillac or you want to put some of it down for a house for grandma. Crypto can be a tool for wealth building but I’m nit sure that’s what these kids/families are interested in

[Vertigo 20267]

4 minutes ago, Doc Reeves said:

Crypto is great. Unless momma wants a new Cadillac or you want to put some of it down for a house for grandma. Crypto can be a tool for wealth building but I’m nit sure that’s what these kids/families are interested in

It can be a double edged sword though. It is so volatile that you can hand a guy a thumb drive worth $100K, and by next friday it is worth $60k. Then the kid is knocking on the door wanting more.  

Edited February 4, 2022 by Vertigo

[Horn Dog 9674]

Cryto is also currently tanking.   Are these kids gonna be content when their funds have decreased 50% between signing day and 1st day of practice?   Are the donors gonna keep pumping money in to keep everyone happy and from complaining on social media?  Will all the uncles be happy enough with their diminishing share?   So many pieces to juggle.   This will be such a intriguing and interesting experiment to watch from afar. 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Horn Dog
Vertigo beat me to it while I was typing.

[Codaxx 5602]

1 hour ago, dcar00 said:

I agree that someone needs to turn.  My point would be that it's easier if a journalist(if we have those anymore) is digging around the periphery with the people just outside the nucleus of the player.  sometimes it's one of the players "posse" that stops getting some of the juice that starts the ball rolling.

Then again, a journalist would have to care enough to do it and maybe it's not a big enough story.  The bigger problem I see is that 99% of the public doesn't know the difference between NIL(which can't be promised to a recruit legally) and bags of cash(which can be given to everyone) and that is what aggy/Jimbo is counting on.  It's a smart bet to be honest.

In theory all this doesn't matter if we have a coaching staff worth a shit.

I havent heard from Yahoo guys in forever. They were last group that actually did some investigative reporting. Everyone else is basically just a collection of fluffers. They are just too afraid they wont get their question asked at the next media event to say anything negative

[Napoleon 8607]

1 hour ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

His dad worked in the Texa$ 8-4 AD. 

Then they already know what a shithole B/CS is.
 

1 hour ago, Deej said:

Saban will pay a recruit to take a bag from aggy, then flip him and have him spill.

My guess (and hope) is that a&m will become the Wyoming of the SEC.

Players will take bags to go there and then real school will come along a poach players.

Family gets paid early, kid develops, kid gets payday to move on, kid plays a year or two at a better school and then goes to the NFL.

[fattyflattie 4636]

1 hour ago, RGBIII said:

Think its 100 a year and 80 up front

And a car. Per some rant guys. Car+80 then 100/yr.  But who the hell knows. 

[RomaVicta 29793]

There is a cycle of argument about this:

A&M cheated on an unprecedented scale. It's self-evident. (I agree)

The NCAA will do nothing because they just don't. (I don't agree, but it's possible)

Everything has changed. This first year of NIL has given us a recruiting year like no one has seen. I think it's likely the bag man schools kept their game up until they could figure out how to convert it to NIL. Non- or little league-bagman schools embrace NIL rules or just submit to it. 

One school, went all out bagman. They either mistakenly thought they were just doing the NIL thing or thought they could just label all payments as NIL and that's that. This school overplayed their hand and have drawn the attention and resentment of everyone in college football from Alabama to the worst team on A&M's schedule. 

If all of these schools demand the NCAA take action, decisive action, the NCAA has incentive. They are on the verge of vanishing as a governor of college football, this is their chance to get right back in the middle of it. 

The collective of schools including the mighty could fund enforcement, influence penalties for rule breaking, and rat the offending school out in the name of righteousness.

Looking to past NCAA actions in the old world is not necessarily apt when thinking about what may happen today. A school has cheated outrageously and unexpectedly. There must be an instrument to investigate and punish that school if the common belief is true.

The NCAA is the handiest instrument. If not them, a new one will be created or found soon. What can a conference do to punish a school? Do they just need a majority to vote to punish or expel?

A tangential thought, how funny would it be if the Aggies got kicked out of the SEC. Texas delivers all the ratings the conference needs from the state and beyond. They may just be expendable as an example. Twist the knife by inviting Tech or Oklahoma State.

 

[billfromlaketravis 11362]

I think if aggy is investigated, they'll be able to retcon the bags as NIL payments. This is a university that defrauded state and federal agencies after Hurricane Harvey. 

I think we underestimate aggy in many ways. We shouldn't underestimate their ability to cheat and cheat effectively. 

We should hope a Sean Stopperich type steps forward and blows the whistle after aggy payroll fixes the glitch. I don't doubt aggy's desire to buy recruits, but when they pass the hat for a scholarship player that is always hurt, I'm not sure they'd get (m)any takers. 

SMU was busted because they stopped paying some players when they arrived on campus. Aggy seems to have the recruit bag game down cold. We'll see how they do with players that don't pan out. 

 

[Deej 76568]

31 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

There is a cycle of argument about this:

A&M cheated on an unprecedented scale. It's self-evident. (I agree)

The NCAA will do nothing because they just don't. (I don't agree, but it's possible)

Everything has changed. This first year of NIL has given us a recruiting year like no one has seen. I think it's likely the bag man schools kept their game up until they could figure out how to convert it to NIL. Non- or little league-bagman schools embrace NIL rules or just submit to it. 

One school, went all out bagman. They either mistakenly thought they were just doing the NIL thing or thought they could just label all payments as NIL and that's that. This school overplayed their hand and have drawn the attention and resentment of everyone in college football from Alabama to the worst team on A&M's schedule. 

If all of these schools demand the NCAA take action, decisive action, the NCAA has incentive. They are on the verge of vanishing as a governor of college football, this is their chance to get right back in the middle of it. 

The collective of schools including the mighty could fund enforcement, influence penalties for rule breaking, and rat the offending school out in the name of righteousness.

Looking to past NCAA actions in the old world is not necessarily apt when thinking about what may happen today. A school has cheated outrageously and unexpectedly. There must be an instrument to investigate and punish that school if the common belief is true.

The NCAA is the handiest instrument. If not them, a new one will be created or found soon. What can a conference do to punish a school? Do they just need a majority to vote to punish or expel?

A tangential thought, how funny would it be if the Aggies got kicked out of the SEC. Texas delivers all the ratings the conference needs from the state and beyond. They may just be expendable as an example. Twist the knife by inviting Tech or Oklahoma State.

 

NCAA punishment: banished back to the Big12. 

 

[The Deuce 1094]

8 minutes ago, Napoleon said:

Then they already know what a shithole B/CS is.
 

My guess (and hope) is that a&m will become the Wyoming of the SEC.

Players will take bags to go there and then real school will come along a poach players.

Family gets paid early, kid develops, kid gets payday to move on, kid plays a year or two at a better school and then goes to the NFL.

It will be interesting to see how they juggle it. Lots of moving parts that will require attention on aggy’ send.

 

Assuming the deals with the players are 4 annual installments + up front signing bonus, ROI probably doesn’t even begin to occur until year 2 (year 3 being most likely). 
 

They aren’t going to be able to play everyone as a freshman. If you do start the freshman, you’ve now crippled yourself for recruiting that position for the next 2 years. If you don’t play the freshman, your losing $ on your investment each year he waits his turn, while simultaneously having to defend them from being portal poached. 
 

If aggy snags player X for $480k ($100k pr/yr + $80k up front), and that player doesn’t start year 1, they are out $180k with nothing to show for it. It’s now off-season…. Portal defense time. Aggy now has $300k left to offer player X. Any poacher willing to match that $300k would be getting said player at 35%+ discount from original aggy purchasing price. Now let’s say year 2 comes around. Player X starts getting rotational snaps and showing flashes of becoming a star. Season 2 ends. Player X is now primed for breakout year. Aggie has now paid player X $280k of the $480k deal. ROI is still very bad, as you’ve paid player X almost 60% of their contract and have only gotten 1/2 a seasons play out of it. Portal defense time. Poachers now see a stud in the making. $200k left on the contract for aggy. 4 schools make the move….. 1 lands him. 
 

Over 1/4 million spent by aggy for 1/2 seasons production. 
 

 

 

Now this is just one scenario, but it’s most definitely a plausible one. How long would their bagmen put up with paying 1/4 million for 1/2 season production? Time will tell

[Duane Moore 5236]

1 minute ago, The Deuce said:

It will be interesting to see how they juggle it. Lots of moving parts that will require attention on aggy’ send.

 

Assuming the deals with the players are 4 annual installments + up front signing bonus, ROI probably doesn’t even begin to occur until year 2 (year 3 being most likely). 
 

They aren’t going to be able to play everyone as a freshman. If you do start the freshman, you’ve now crippled yourself for recruiting that position for the next 2 years. If you don’t play the freshman, your losing $ on your investment each year he waits his turn, while simultaneously having to defend them from being portal poached. 
 

If aggy snags player X for $480k ($100k pr/yr + $80k up front), and that player doesn’t start year 1, they are out $180k with nothing to show for it. It’s now off-season…. Portal defense time. Aggy now has $300k left to offer player X. Any poacher willing to match that $300k would be getting said player at 35%+ discount from original aggy purchasing price. Now let’s say year 2 comes around. Player X starts getting rotational snaps and showing flashes of becoming a star. Season 2 ends. Player X is now primed for breakout year. Aggie has now paid player X $280k of the $480k deal. ROI is still very bad, as you’ve paid player X almost 60% of their contract and have only gotten 1/2 a seasons play out of it. Portal defense time. Poachers now see a stud in the making. $200k left on the contract for aggy. 4 schools make the move….. 1 lands him. 
 

Over 1/4 million spent by aggy for 1/2 seasons production. 
 

 

 

Now this is just one scenario, but it’s most definitely a plausible one. How long would their bagmen put up with paying 1/4 million for 1/2 season production? Time will tell

Don’t care. Got Jimbo. 

[cafe society 2841]

4 hours ago, Bigbend1812 said:

They will probably send them to put Listeria in the Blue Bell….

Nah... collie chlamydia.

[Codaxx 5602]

36 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

There is a cycle of argument about this:

A&M cheated on an unprecedented scale. It's self-evident. (I agree)

The NCAA will do nothing because they just don't. (I don't agree, but it's possible)

Everything has changed. This first year of NIL has given us a recruiting year like no one has seen. I think it's likely the bag man schools kept their game up until they could figure out how to convert it to NIL. Non- or little league-bagman schools embrace NIL rules or just submit to it. 

One school, went all out bagman. They either mistakenly thought they were just doing the NIL thing or thought they could just label all payments as NIL and that's that. This school overplayed their hand and have drawn the attention and resentment of everyone in college football from Alabama to the worst team on A&M's schedule. 

If all of these schools demand the NCAA take action, decisive action, the NCAA has incentive. They are on the verge of vanishing as a governor of college football, this is their chance to get right back in the middle of it. 

The collective of schools including the mighty could fund enforcement, influence penalties for rule breaking, and rat the offending school out in the name of righteousness.

Looking to past NCAA actions in the old world is not necessarily apt when thinking about what may happen today. A school has cheated outrageously and unexpectedly. There must be an instrument to investigate and punish that school if the common belief is true.

The NCAA is the handiest instrument. If not them, a new one will be created or found soon. What can a conference do to punish a school? Do they just need a majority to vote to punish or expel?

A tangential thought, how funny would it be if the Aggies got kicked out of the SEC. Texas delivers all the ratings the conference needs from the state and beyond. They may just be expendable as an example. Twist the knife by inviting Tech or Oklahoma State.

 

I think the only way it gets looked into, is by people like Jimbo continuing to open his mouth. I do think he invoked the Ole Miss defense. People forget that Ole Miss got their punishment eased after the initial ruling. Their defense was basically, "Hey, you have MSU, LSU, and other on these tapes. IF you are going to punish us, you need to punish most the SEC West". NCAA lowered the penalties quietly and avoided a big media shit show. I believe that is what Jimbo was indicating, when he said something about I know things. That is the biggest reason I dont think anything happens. The NCAA is happy to come down on a lone wolf, but they are deathly afraid of admitting the obvious that there is systematic cheating going on. 

[Vertigo 20267]

33 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

There is a cycle of argument about this:

A&M cheated on an unprecedented scale. It's self-evident. (I agree)

The NCAA will do nothing because they just don't. (I don't agree, but it's possible)

Everything has changed. This first year of NIL has given us a recruiting year like no one has seen. I think it's likely the bag man schools kept their game up until they could figure out how to convert it to NIL. Non- or little league-bagman schools embrace NIL rules or just submit to it. 

One school, went all out bagman. They either mistakenly thought they were just doing the NIL thing or thought they could just label all payments as NIL and that's that. This school overplayed their hand and have drawn the attention and resentment of everyone in college football from Alabama to the worst team on A&M's schedule. 

If all of these schools demand the NCAA take action, decisive action, the NCAA has incentive. They are on the verge of vanishing as a governor of college football, this is their chance to get right back in the middle of it. 

The collective of schools including the mighty could fund enforcement, influence penalties for rule breaking, and rat the offending school out in the name of righteousness.

Looking to past NCAA actions in the old world is not necessarily apt when thinking about what may happen today. A school has cheated outrageously and unexpectedly. There must be an instrument to investigate and punish that school if the common belief is true.

The NCAA is the handiest instrument. If not them, a new one will be created or found soon. What can a conference do to punish a school? Do they just need a majority to vote to punish or expel?

A tangential thought, how funny would it be if the Aggies got kicked out of the SEC. Texas delivers all the ratings the conference needs from the state and beyond. They may just be expendable as an example. Twist the knife by inviting Tech or Oklahoma State.

 

Aggy won't get kicked out of the SEC, but I can see a scenario where they get called to the carpet at SEC headquarters and read the riot act. They have gone full crazy ex mode this year by trying to keep us down and they have overstepped publicly multiple times. If Greg Sankey wants to tank them, he can tank them. He can force their scheduling out of their bullshit OOC slate, take away their November bye game, and give them shitty bowl slots, among other more subtle things.

[Bruh Man 3160]

This tweet is stunning...

I guess @Bruh Man and @George Clooneywere right all along.

For the last 2+ years we've taken heat in here from the likes of @Hank_Hill @Rickylovesweed @texifornia @Ricky Butler etc. for having the audacity to acknowledge the monstrosity of a football program A&M is building. Now look you guys in here begging the NCAA and corrupt media to save us. Sad!

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Bruh Man

[Bill Lumbergh 7170]

I don't understand why Jimbo feels the need to be so adamant/public about the situation when he knows the alumni are buying players.  Just play it like Saban and Georgia and don't talk about it.  I mean defending the integrity of the players because they are accused of NIL deals when instead they got bags is dumb.  
 

I think their pride was getting hurt.

They just signed the biggest class of all time, but the headlines are all about how much they're paying for it.

I guarantee you the guys involved in financing all of this have been getting pissed that not only is their financing operation getting a lot of public attention, but also that the national press isn't saying "a&m now belongs with the big boys if college football" like they'd hoped, instead they're saying "a&m has no business with the big boys of college football, so them landing this class proves they're cheating." They're not being celebrated, they're being laughed at.

So of course Jimbo throws a temper tantrum on national tv and now their cheating is getting even more attention bc he denied it all in the least credible way possible.

The other issue that might have motivated him is the response they're getting from future recruiting targets. The word is clearly out there how much they offered top targets in the 22 "draft." If you're a 23/24/25 recruit, what are your expectations? All of the publicity this has gotten has given them a real problem for future classes unless they intend to sustain or increase what they're willing to pay. Whether they like it or not, they just set market expectations with this class.

[Hank_Hill 18493]

11 minutes ago, Bruh Man said:

This tweet is stunning...

I guess @Bruh Man and @George Clooneywere right all along.

For the last 2+ years we've taken heat in here from the likes of @Hank_Hill @Rickylovesweed @texifornia @Ricky Butler etc. for having the audacity to acknowledge the monstrosity of a football program A&M is building. Now look you guys in here begging the NCAA and corrupt media to save us. Sad!

 

Lol this is the worst/most lacking in substance I told you so of all time. Keep being you bruh.

[Leanderman 2267]

Might be time to put a few FEDEX Drivers under a bright light and ask where they recently made deliveries (I will let myself out).

 

[statsman 5425]

Don’t count on the NCAA. Cam Newton and Johnny Manziel experiences showed where they are on this. Auburn and TAMU said if they received any penalties, they would see the NCAA in court. 

[cafe society 2841]

34 minutes ago, Bruh Man said:

This tweet is stunning...

I guess @Bruh Man and @George Clooneywere right all along.

For the last 2+ years we've taken heat in here from the likes of @Hank_Hill @Rickylovesweed @texifornia @Ricky Butler etc. for having the audacity to acknowledge the monstrosity of a football program A&M is building. Now look you guys in here begging the NCAA and corrupt media to save us. Sad!

 

We can always count on you to reprise your role as the pivot man on the aggy circle jerk.

[Laxtonto 11934]

29 minutes ago, statsman said:

Don’t count on the NCAA. Cam Newton and Johnny Manziel experiences showed where they are on this. Auburn and TAMU said if they received any penalties, they would see the NCAA in court. 

A&M always says that UT and their hold on Texas politics is what is holding them down.
 

Fine. Let’s own it then find some TT alum in the State AG office and offer him a move up if he can catch (wink wink) A&M scamming the NIL system. 
 

I say this tongue and cheek, but any real dive into payoffs/NIL is either going to have to IRS driven or state driven. The NCAA can do nothing without subpoena power and as much as they whine and throw thier hands in the air about it, are perfectly happy about this situation.

Hell you can change out the principals in all of this and use Bama, UAB and Auburn in the example instead, but the only way any real evidence or real penalties come about is of the evidence comes from a state or federal agency because the toothless NCAA   do anything unless a kid or parents eats out a school ( and then put themselves at risk to the same federal or state actors).

[Sejjr 3246]

aggy is truly the most fragile ego in all of sports, and it is not even close. The fact that they continue to insult everyone's intelligence with their defensive arguments is totally on-brand. Everyone knows what went on this cycle. Their gamble will probably payoff; it certainly did in the short-term insofar as the "Recruiting Title" is concerned. But as we have seen since time immemorial, aggy is it's own worst enemy. They are so starved for acceptance and respect and bragging rights that they can't keep their mouths shut. This makes them low hanging fruit for punishment. If you piss off enough of your league mates, and arrogantly challenge them to a backyard brawl and threaten to turn them in if they talk, then you really are poking the bear. It only takes one pissed off coach with a connection at Yahoo Sports to get the ball rolling. 

While it certainly appears that the NCAA is neutered and dying a slow death, they might also be like and old and cornered predator, looking to take one more bite before they wander off into the woods to die. 

[Wishbone 4739]

So aggy had a great recruiting class. Did they buy it? Yes. Illegally? Of course they did. Too obvious. Are these desperate moves by one of college football’s most successful programs at underachieving. You know it is. Will it lead to the coveted “natty” and respect they are so desperate for from the rest of the league? Hmmm…more than likely it will be remembered for being just another event in a historical line of:

 

[RollingPresidential 632]

Perroni's write up should be something special this year.

[Horn Dog 9674]

1 hour ago, statsman said:

Don’t count on the NCAA. Cam Newton and Johnny Manziel experiences showed where they are on this. Auburn and TAMU said if they received any penalties, they would see the NCAA in court. 

I generally agree that NCAA will do nothing.  But I wonder if the SEC has any enforcement mechanism in place... like cut it out or you are getting kicked out.  Now before you laugh your ass off contemplating the idea of the SEC policing cheating, I find it hard to believe all the other SEC teams are gonna just sit back and take it.   Even if it is handled quietly, there will either have to be some action or it is gonna be balls out cheating from here on out.

[GTX Horn 1707]

1 hour ago, billfromlaketravis said:

I think if aggy is investigated, they'll be able to retcon the bags as NIL payments. This is a university that defrauded state and federal agencies after Hurricane Harvey. 

I think we underestimate aggy in many ways. We shouldn't underestimate their ability to cheat and cheat effectively. 

We should hope a Sean Stopperich type steps forward and blows the whistle after aggy payroll fixes the glitch. I don't doubt aggy's desire to buy recruits, but when they pass the hat for a scholarship player that is always hurt, I'm not sure they'd get (m)any takers. 

SMU was busted because they stopped paying some players when they arrived on campus. Aggy seems to have the recruit bag game down cold. We'll see how they do with players that don't pan out. 

 

Depends when the players received the money because I think under Texas law, they can't receive NIL money until they actually begin classes at a post-secondary institution.

[Beantown Express 2.0 6554]

1 hour ago, Bruh Man said:

This tweet is stunning...

I guess @Bruh Man and @George Clooneywere right all along.

For the last 2+ years we've taken heat in here from the likes of @Hank_Hill @Rickylovesweed @texifornia @Ricky Butler etc. for having the audacity to acknowledge the monstrosity of a football program A&M is building. Now look you guys in here begging the NCAA and corrupt media to save us. Sad!

 

I still find it interesting that 7 of the top 25 and 17 of the top 94 players in the country decided to go to A&M.  I can see this with Bama as you are pretty much guaranteed a National championship.  You can add in programs like Ohio State, Georgia, or even Clemson that could pull a ton of top players based on recent championships but what is it that A&M actually offers (assuming we believe Jimbo and they aren't paying players).  Is it the championship pedigree?   Their last football title was closer to the Civil War than this year.  Is it the upward trajectory of the program?  They lost 4 games last year just like Jimbo's first year.  Is it the great coaches?  These kids committed and/or stayed committed when they didn't even have a D coordinator or O line coach.  What if we look outside of football reasons?  Academics of the university?  uh-huh.  Beauty of the campus and city where it resides?  uh-huh.  

This whole thing reminds me of an old Simpsons episode (Camp Krusty) where Bart changes his grades from a D to an A+ and Homer tells him, "a D turns into a B+ so easily, you just got greedy".  They could have cheated and got a number one class with say, 3 5 star players but they just got greedy.  Maybe they will get away with it but it's offensive to hear Jimbo and their alumni acting all high and mighty and not willing to admit the truth.  If Jimbo would come out and say, "damn right we cheated and you aren't going to do a damn thing about it", I would at least have some respect for him versus lying to our faces.

[Jabberwocky 1666]

 

[Jabberwocky 1666]

 

[Big Woodrows 4195]

44 minutes ago, RollingPresidential said:

Perroni's write up should be something special this year.

h/t @Longhornfrenzy1 on Twitter

Spoiler

Gigem247

Post-Signing Day: Behind the scenes on Texas A&M's record-breaking class of 2022

Brian Perroni

For the past several years, just after Signing Day, I’ve shared a number of behind-the-scenes stories from the recruiting processes of a lot of players in the class.

I obviously can’t tell everything as I have sources that I still will work with in the future and there are also some things that just don’t need to be shared, for various reasons. But, there are always some fun, or not-so-fun if they ended up elsewhere, details to share of how things went down and also how we came about our information on a lot of the developments.

This class does not quite have as many crazy stories since A&M landed most of its top targets. And some of the things also came out after guys committed. But there are still some good details that we haven’t shared before.

I’ve probably missed a few stories, so feel free to ask about any others and we will share as much as we can on them.

*********************

There was a point near the end of the season that people thought Alabama was the heavy favorite for North Shore five-star cornerback Denver Harris. However, I had actually heard from somebody I trust that it was down to A&M and LSU at that point. I shared that on the board and then I went to North Shore’s playoff game against Atascocita that Friday night.

I was interviewing Harris after the game and his answers were all very generic, on purpose. Everybody is even out of the four schools and things like that. He was going out of his way to not give anything away at all.

So, I turn off the recorder after about a 50-second interview that was pretty much not usable and, I’ve gotten to know Harris well throughout the process, so I just said to him, “I know it’s down to A&M and LSU.” And he told me I was definitely correct. And he said to put it out there. But then he rethought things and said, “Just say it was from someone anonymous.” He didn’t want to hear a bunch from Alabama and Texas for saying it but wanted people to know what was going on. So I posted on a thread after the game that I had confirmed it was A&M and LSU. I couldn’t say who I confirmed it with, though.

As an aside, Harris never liked doing formal interviews and, if you look back, there was close to a 12-month period that he didn’t do any. But, he was always great to just chat with and would tell me things casually. We also had a deal that I wouldn’t bug him for updates if he just kept me in the loop regarding any visits. So, most things I ever posted about Harris came from Denver himself.

Fast forward a few weeks and I was at the Touchdown Club banquet when news had just come out that day that defensive backs coach Corey Raymond was leaving LSU. I talked to someone there that knew him well and they simply said, “Yeah, it’s definitely A&M now.” So that is when I put in the Crystal Ball prediction, from there.

Texas actually did a good job getting back in it late, but he had pretty much been committed to A&M for a while in his mind already, so the Aggies had an advantage. He announced after the state title game, which was on a Saturday, but the Early Signing Period only went from Wednesday to Friday. Harris obviously signed early but he did not wait until Friday to do so. He sent his in pretty early on Wednesday, so he had been locked in the whole time from then until his announcement.

As for what changed his mind from having A&M in a distant fourth over the summer, I honestly don’t know. I know he likes both TJ Rushing and Jimbo Fisher a lot and A&M just never gave up on him.

*********************

Even when Bryce Anderson committed to LSU early as a sophomore, he was adamant that he still planned to take a bunch of visits. And he still went to a bunch of places, including A&M, while still committed to the Tigers.

When Anderson decommitted in late January 2021, A&M and other schools actually expected him to almost immediately flip to the Aggies. But, he decided to hold off a bit and that’s when Texas worked its way into being his leader.

But, when Anderson made his way to Aggieland twice in the same week during the summer camps, first with his official visit and then an unofficial two days later, that was pretty much when the tide changed. He still had officials to Alabama and Texas after that, but both of those schools were now fighting an uphill battle.

Anderson was supposed to announce in early July and it was going to be A&M. But, he still had just a few things he went to talk to Fisher about with the scheme, the plan for him, etc. And Fisher was out of the country for a bit.

Then, the back-to-back pool parties at the end of July absolutely sealed it for A&M. He went to Texas on Friday and then to A&M the next day. Things were just completely different at the A&M one. It was more relaxed and the vibe with the coaches was one he loved.

Tommie Robinson was huge in the recruitment. He was the one that got Anderson to commit early to LSU so, when he came over to A&M, that was a big deal to Anderson.

*********************

Speaking of Anderson, though Bobby Taylor gets a lot of credit for recruiting – and for good reason – Anderson had a big hand in helping the class come together as well.

He is actually the reason that Jacoby Mathews took an official visit to A&M in the first place. Mathews was still committed to in-state LSU over the summer but Anderson, who was uncommitted at the time, told Mathews that he would really like A&M a lot if he went on an official to College Station. The two of them had played 7-on-7 together with the Louisiana Bootleggers and had also been longtime LSU commits together.

Mathews went on a different weekend than Anderson but it turns out that Anderson was right. He loved it. So much so that, despite LSU also having an event at the end of July, he skipped out on that and went back to A&M for the pool party. He ended up decommitting from LSU on the way there.

Mathews was expected by everybody to commit to A&M at the end of November. You saw a bunch of cryptic tweets from the Aggie commits and they were talking about him. But then, he just decided not to. He never really gave anybody a reason. Just all of a sudden said he wanted to wait until February to announce.

A&M continued to recruit him but Mathews does things to the beat of his own drum. He did not seem all that interested after that, for whatever reason, but it very well may have been that he just was not focused on recruiting at all. But, him spending time with all the A&M commits at the Under Armour game was huge.

After his official to Florida, the Gators thought he would end up there. Then after his visit to LSU this past weekend, the Tigers thought they had him in the fold. But the other recruits, as well as obviously the coaches, kept working on him and Mathews decided Tuesday night that it was going to be A&M.

*********************

In addition to Mathews, Anderson had a big hand in the recruitment of Georgia four-star cornerback commit Marquis Groves-Killebrew. In fact, it was Anderson that got him on the A&M radar over the summer. The two families know each other well and Groves-Killebrew was beginning to rethink his UGA pledge.

Anderson made sure A&M was aware of that and, not a week later, Groves-Killebrew was in College Station. At that point, the numbers were still a bit hazy when it came to defensive backs, so A&M was not 100-percent sure what was going to happen there.

Groves-Killebrew kept in touch with the Aggies, and vice versa, and told A&M a few days before the Early Signing Period that he wanted to flip. A&M knew there was room in the class at that point and they really like him as a player. So Anderson recruited Groves-Killebrew, who then in torn sort of turned things around from the usual and recruited A&M to take him.

*********************

Think back to A&M’s first official visit weekend in June. It was absolutely loaded with 11 players in town on officials and two Georgia commits on unofficials. Of the 13, 11 basically ‘committed’ to A&M while in town. And this is also why I don’t but into silent commitments all the time.

But, every player on the trip except for Jamarion Miller and Bryce Anderson said they were in. The ones that were not already committed to A&M at that time that said it were Deyon Bouie, Chris Marshall, Anthony Lucas, Harold Perkins and Bear Alexander. All but Alexander ended up committing to A&M eventually. Alexander was a guy that A&M thought it had wrapped up for a while. Other schools thought the same thing. But, a trip to Georgia in October completely changed things. A&M really wanted him but, with Walter Nolen a heavy lean to the Aggies at that point, they didn’t try to flip him after that.

*********************

Harold Perkins, I know people want salacious details, but there really aren’t a ton. He played things very close to the vest.

I do those early freshman and sophomore lists every year for a few reasons. One is to keep you guys in the loop about the names that are likely to pop up. The other is that players always remember who wrote about them first. Then, when things get crazy late in the process, they will usually respond despite being bombarded by coaches and media.

Perkins always got back to me. And immediately. That doesn’t happen with anybody. Sometimes you have to check back a few days later or something, but not with Perkins.

Over the summer, when he said he was committing, his phone absolutely blew up. Every school was caught off-guard, so they all thought he was going somewhere else. I have heard from multiple schools about the panic going on at the time and Perkins also called and told me he needed it to stop. That’s when he said that didn’t lie but that his ‘commitment’ the next day was to the Polynesian Bowl, not to a school. He wanted it out there so that things would calm down. He said something to the effect of, “This is a huge decision. I’m not just going to decide to announce it all of a sudden like that.”

However, unlike with a lot of other recruits, he didn’t give much away off the record. So, despite always getting answers from him on stuff like trips and the like, I had to work a bunch of sources with his recruitment.

A&M knew he was committing to them at Under Armour, as did the other schools in it. But, after that, everyone was sort of guessing. I don’t know exactly why he decommitted and I don’t know what ultimately made him choose LSU, but I think the deadline he had given himself to commit at UA made him make an announcement without having gotten to know the new LSU staff. But, it still didn’t explain the decommitment timing as he had not gone to LSU just yet at that point.

Either way, Perkins may act a bit goofy at times, but he’s a mature kid and always has a reason for doing things, though sometimes it was to get a rise, like the Poly Bowl commitment. He was definitely figuring out potential NIL possibilities and things like that. So he likely felt it was a better opportunity, for whatever reason, in Baton Rouge. He also obviously loves the state of Louisiana as well but I know that NIL is something that was in his mind a lot. Even with schools not allowed to line things up or give overt pitches, he was well-aware of the potential at places.

*********************

Kam Dewberry was a funny player to cover. He never lied or truly misled or anything like that, but he admittedly wanted to always keep people guessing. I put in a Crystal Ball for him right after he was offered as a sophomore because of the Kenyon Green connection, but it was crazy early and we were more liberal with predictions back then.

Dewberry knew mine was on there, and he knew why I did it since it came so early in his recruitment, but never wanted anybody else to have a good enough read on him to be able to put one in. He wanted his commitment to be a surprise.

When he went to Ohio State, everyone thought the Buckeyes were the leaders. However, they were a bit aggressive in pushing for a commitment then and there, and it was not something he was ready to do.

Over the summer, I was told Oklahoma was the likely landing spot. And when I heard it from a second person I also trusted, I figured it was the case. So, at the Preseason Houston Touchdown Club banquet, Dewberry was doing an interview with a few of us at the same time. He kept bringing up Ohio State unsolicited. Knowing his personality, I figured there was a reason for it – he knew people assumed the Buckeyes were the favorites, so he was going to allow that narrative to remain. I then specifically asked about Oklahoma and he gave a one-sentence answer and then brought up Ohio State again. That made it obvious to me that the Sooners were major players.

Dewberry starting liking A&M more during the season but would still have been considered an OU lean. But, after Lincoln Riley left, it was game over for the Sooners. It was then down to A&M and Texas and A&M had been gaining momentum prior to that. It all played into the Aggies’ hands perfectly.

*********************

After he made his commitment to Oregon in July, I shared that Kelvin Banks had been my source on Banks. He was always very honest with me the whole time. So I knew when he told me leading up to the announcement that it was A&M or Oregon that he was not trying to mess with me.

I put those two schools out there and it made the rounds on different team sites and different networks and I was called a bit crazy for suggesting Oregon. Then, the night before, Banks told me it was going to be Oregon. I told him I would not change my prediction off of A&M, since he had trusted me and given me a prewrite but, if you were on the site at the time, you were not surprised to see him announce for the Ducks.

Going into the second recruitment of his, though, I never really got a reason for anything with him but was told Texas was very likely. So, I don’t have any salacious details on that one either as to why he chose Texas. A&M wanted him and was really hoping he would wait to sign, so much so that Fisher saved his in-home visit. But Texas was able to get him to commit and sign early.

*********************

Five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart definitely did a 180 on his recruitment.

He was somewhat interested in the Aggies for a bit but, after going to the spring game, he was not a fan of College Station. Like, at all. Sometimes kids don’t like schools or towns for whatever reason. It happens.

Stewart also was not all that high on the offense. In fact, he and another highly-ranked wide receiver were pretty open about their feelings with anyone who asked.

But, A&M continued to work that. With the offense, Fisher worked really hard to convince him of what it could look like with Stewart – and others guys like Chris Marshall – in it. That had a big effect. Then, the Aggies got him to take that official visit during the season. It was not something he was planning, but the Aggies basically got a courtesy trip. Well, even before he left, he made plans to return two weeks later for an unofficial and hang out with everybody again. Getting him in town and having him experience the city with the current players and the other recruits was big. He also got along really well with the commits and knew everyone would be back in town for that Auburn weekend on unofficials. After that weekend, it was pretty much done with him.

As for why he didn’t sign on that first day of the Early Signing Period, it was a bit confusing. I know that A&M was not worried, though, and they also know he doesn’t like being pushed into things against his will. So A&M did not bother him about getting the LOI in or anything. And Stewart seemed to appreciate that, sending it in early the next morning.

*********************

-A&M was going to get a late official visit from national top-100 cornerback and then-Ohio State commit Terrance Brooks. Though he never seemed to be all that interested in his dad’s alma mater, the Aggies had convinced him to use a late visit and thought there was a chance they could flip him.

It was set to happen but that was the week that Mike Elko got the Duke job. Brooks liked Elko and, as soon as the then-DC left, Brooks canceled the visit and that was that. He eventually switched to Texas and enrolled this semester.

*********************

Isaiah Sategna was there on that big first official visit weekend in June and was an Aggie commit at the time. It was his first real opportunity to spend a lot of time in College Station.

But, with 11 official visitors and then the five-star Georgia commit duo in town as unofficial visitors, the coaches had to split their time between a bunch of players. And the focus was on the uncommitted guys such as Marshall, Lucas, Anderson, Alexander, Perkins and the others. Sategna felt a bit taken for granted, which is understandable.

He also was never seemingly truly 100-percent in, so he decommitted not long after. His reasoning was that he didn’t feel as heavily recruited as some of the other guys that weekend. That was probably the case as, again, there were a bunch of five-stars in town, but it all worked out in the end with the receivers A&M ended up signing.

*********************

It is going to be interesting to watch the career of Julian Humphrey. The national top-100 cornerback from Clear Lake was high on the Aggies the whole time but A&M had to pump the brakes several times.

When he committed to Florida, it would have been to A&M instead if there was a spot. Then, after he camped in Aggieland over the summer, it would have been A&M again. But there was still not a spot, so he committed to Georgia.

He is a somewhat similar player to Bobby Taylor in that he might be a corner or might be a safety, and A&M obviously already had Taylor committed. So, that was one of the holdups. The Aggies wanted to make sure they had some pure corners. Had Harris not chosen A&M, though, Humphrey might have gotten a late chance to be in the class.

Also, four-star cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau was really hoping to be part of the class over the summer before he ended up committing to TCU. A&M likes him but, with the numbers crunch at DB that has already been talked about, though, there was not a spot

 

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Post-Signing Day: Behind the scenes on Texas A&M's record-breaking class of 2022

Brian Perroni

For the past several years, just after Signing Day, I’ve shared a number of behind-the-scenes stories from the recruiting processes of a lot of players in the class.

I obviously can’t tell everything as I have sources that I still will work with in the future and there are also some things that just don’t need to be shared, for various reasons. But, there are always some fun, or not-so-fun if they ended up elsewhere, details to share of how things went down and also how we came about our information on a lot of the developments.

This class does not quite have as many crazy stories since A&M landed most of its top targets. And some of the things also came out after guys committed. But there are still some good details that we haven’t shared before.

I’ve probably missed a few stories, so feel free to ask about any others and we will share as much as we can on them.

*********************

There was a point near the end of the season that people thought Alabama was the heavy favorite for North Shore five-star cornerback Denver Harris. However, I had actually heard from somebody I trust that it was down to A&M and LSU at that point. I shared that on the board and then I went to North Shore’s playoff game against Atascocita that Friday night.

I was interviewing Harris after the game and his answers were all very generic, on purpose. Everybody is even out of the four schools and things like that. He was going out of his way to not give anything away at all.

So, I turn off the recorder after about a 50-second interview that was pretty much not usable and, I’ve gotten to know Harris well throughout the process, so I just said to him, “I know it’s down to A&M and LSU.” And he told me I was definitely correct. And he said to put it out there. But then he rethought things and said, “Just say it was from someone anonymous.” He didn’t want to hear a bunch from Alabama and Texas for saying it but wanted people to know what was going on. So I posted on a thread after the game that I had confirmed it was A&M and LSU. I couldn’t say who I confirmed it with, though.

As an aside, Harris never liked doing formal interviews and, if you look back, there was close to a 12-month period that he didn’t do any. But, he was always great to just chat with and would tell me things casually. We also had a deal that I wouldn’t bug him for updates if he just kept me in the loop regarding any visits. So, most things I ever posted about Harris came from Denver himself.

Fast forward a few weeks and I was at the Touchdown Club banquet when news had just come out that day that defensive backs coach Corey Raymond was leaving LSU. I talked to someone there that knew him well and they simply said, “Yeah, it’s definitely A&M now.” So that is when I put in the Crystal Ball prediction, from there.

Texas actually did a good job getting back in it late, but he had pretty much been committed to A&M for a while in his mind already, so the Aggies had an advantage. He announced after the state title game, which was on a Saturday, but the Early Signing Period only went from Wednesday to Friday. Harris obviously signed early but he did not wait until Friday to do so. He sent his in pretty early on Wednesday, so he had been locked in the whole time from then until his announcement.

As for what changed his mind from having A&M in a distant fourth over the summer, I honestly don’t know. I know he likes both TJ Rushing and Jimbo Fisher a lot and A&M just never gave up on him.

*********************

Even when Bryce Anderson committed to LSU early as a sophomore, he was adamant that he still planned to take a bunch of visits. And he still went to a bunch of places, including A&M, while still committed to the Tigers.

When Anderson decommitted in late January 2021, A&M and other schools actually expected him to almost immediately flip to the Aggies. But, he decided to hold off a bit and that’s when Texas worked its way into being his leader.

But, when Anderson made his way to Aggieland twice in the same week during the summer camps, first with his official visit and then an unofficial two days later, that was pretty much when the tide changed. He still had officials to Alabama and Texas after that, but both of those schools were now fighting an uphill battle.

Anderson was supposed to announce in early July and it was going to be A&M. But, he still had just a few things he went to talk to Fisher about with the scheme, the plan for him, etc. And Fisher was out of the country for a bit.

Then, the back-to-back pool parties at the end of July absolutely sealed it for A&M. He went to Texas on Friday and then to A&M the next day. Things were just completely different at the A&M one. It was more relaxed and the vibe with the coaches was one he loved.

Tommie Robinson was huge in the recruitment. He was the one that got Anderson to commit early to LSU so, when he came over to A&M, that was a big deal to Anderson.

*********************

Speaking of Anderson, though Bobby Taylor gets a lot of credit for recruiting – and for good reason – Anderson had a big hand in helping the class come together as well.

He is actually the reason that Jacoby Mathews took an official visit to A&M in the first place. Mathews was still committed to in-state LSU over the summer but Anderson, who was uncommitted at the time, told Mathews that he would really like A&M a lot if he went on an official to College Station. The two of them had played 7-on-7 together with the Louisiana Bootleggers and had also been longtime LSU commits together.

Mathews went on a different weekend than Anderson but it turns out that Anderson was right. He loved it. So much so that, despite LSU also having an event at the end of July, he skipped out on that and went back to A&M for the pool party. He ended up decommitting from LSU on the way there.

Mathews was expected by everybody to commit to A&M at the end of November. You saw a bunch of cryptic tweets from the Aggie commits and they were talking about him. But then, he just decided not to. He never really gave anybody a reason. Just all of a sudden said he wanted to wait until February to announce.

A&M continued to recruit him but Mathews does things to the beat of his own drum. He did not seem all that interested after that, for whatever reason, but it very well may have been that he just was not focused on recruiting at all. But, him spending time with all the A&M commits at the Under Armour game was huge.

After his official to Florida, the Gators thought he would end up there. Then after his visit to LSU this past weekend, the Tigers thought they had him in the fold. But the other recruits, as well as obviously the coaches, kept working on him and Mathews decided Tuesday night that it was going to be A&M.

*********************

In addition to Mathews, Anderson had a big hand in the recruitment of Georgia four-star cornerback commit Marquis Groves-Killebrew. In fact, it was Anderson that got him on the A&M radar over the summer. The two families know each other well and Groves-Killebrew was beginning to rethink his UGA pledge.

Anderson made sure A&M was aware of that and, not a week later, Groves-Killebrew was in College Station. At that point, the numbers were still a bit hazy when it came to defensive backs, so A&M was not 100-percent sure what was going to happen there.

Groves-Killebrew kept in touch with the Aggies, and vice versa, and told A&M a few days before the Early Signing Period that he wanted to flip. A&M knew there was room in the class at that point and they really like him as a player. So Anderson recruited Groves-Killebrew, who then in torn sort of turned things around from the usual and recruited A&M to take him.

*********************

Think back to A&M’s first official visit weekend in June. It was absolutely loaded with 11 players in town on officials and two Georgia commits on unofficials. Of the 13, 11 basically ‘committed’ to A&M while in town. And this is also why I don’t but into silent commitments all the time.

But, every player on the trip except for Jamarion Miller and Bryce Anderson said they were in. The ones that were not already committed to A&M at that time that said it were Deyon Bouie, Chris Marshall, Anthony Lucas, Harold Perkins and Bear Alexander. All but Alexander ended up committing to A&M eventually. Alexander was a guy that A&M thought it had wrapped up for a while. Other schools thought the same thing. But, a trip to Georgia in October completely changed things. A&M really wanted him but, with Walter Nolen a heavy lean to the Aggies at that point, they didn’t try to flip him after that.

*********************

Harold Perkins, I know people want salacious details, but there really aren’t a ton. He played things very close to the vest.

I do those early freshman and sophomore lists every year for a few reasons. One is to keep you guys in the loop about the names that are likely to pop up. The other is that players always remember who wrote about them first. Then, when things get crazy late in the process, they will usually respond despite being bombarded by coaches and media.

Perkins always got back to me. And immediately. That doesn’t happen with anybody. Sometimes you have to check back a few days later or something, but not with Perkins.

Over the summer, when he said he was committing, his phone absolutely blew up. Every school was caught off-guard, so they all thought he was going somewhere else. I have heard from multiple schools about the panic going on at the time and Perkins also called and told me he needed it to stop. That’s when he said that didn’t lie but that his ‘commitment’ the next day was to the Polynesian Bowl, not to a school. He wanted it out there so that things would calm down. He said something to the effect of, “This is a huge decision. I’m not just going to decide to announce it all of a sudden like that.”

However, unlike with a lot of other recruits, he didn’t give much away off the record. So, despite always getting answers from him on stuff like trips and the like, I had to work a bunch of sources with his recruitment.

A&M knew he was committing to them at Under Armour, as did the other schools in it. But, after that, everyone was sort of guessing. I don’t know exactly why he decommitted and I don’t know what ultimately made him choose LSU, but I think the deadline he had given himself to commit at UA made him make an announcement without having gotten to know the new LSU staff. But, it still didn’t explain the decommitment timing as he had not gone to LSU just yet at that point.

Either way, Perkins may act a bit goofy at times, but he’s a mature kid and always has a reason for doing things, though sometimes it was to get a rise, like the Poly Bowl commitment. He was definitely figuring out potential NIL possibilities and things like that. So he likely felt it was a better opportunity, for whatever reason, in Baton Rouge. He also obviously loves the state of Louisiana as well but I know that NIL is something that was in his mind a lot. Even with schools not allowed to line things up or give overt pitches, he was well-aware of the potential at places.

*********************

Kam Dewberry was a funny player to cover. He never lied or truly misled or anything like that, but he admittedly wanted to always keep people guessing. I put in a Crystal Ball for him right after he was offered as a sophomore because of the Kenyon Green connection, but it was crazy early and we were more liberal with predictions back then.

Dewberry knew mine was on there, and he knew why I did it since it came so early in his recruitment, but never wanted anybody else to have a good enough read on him to be able to put one in. He wanted his commitment to be a surprise.

When he went to Ohio State, everyone thought the Buckeyes were the leaders. However, they were a bit aggressive in pushing for a commitment then and there, and it was not something he was ready to do.

Over the summer, I was told Oklahoma was the likely landing spot. And when I heard it from a second person I also trusted, I figured it was the case. So, at the Preseason Houston Touchdown Club banquet, Dewberry was doing an interview with a few of us at the same time. He kept bringing up Ohio State unsolicited. Knowing his personality, I figured there was a reason for it – he knew people assumed the Buckeyes were the favorites, so he was going to allow that narrative to remain. I then specifically asked about Oklahoma and he gave a one-sentence answer and then brought up Ohio State again. That made it obvious to me that the Sooners were major players.

Dewberry starting liking A&M more during the season but would still have been considered an OU lean. But, after Lincoln Riley left, it was game over for the Sooners. It was then down to A&M and Texas and A&M had been gaining momentum prior to that. It all played into the Aggies’ hands perfectly.

*********************

After he made his commitment to Oregon in July, I shared that Kelvin Banks had been my source on Banks. He was always very honest with me the whole time. So I knew when he told me leading up to the announcement that it was A&M or Oregon that he was not trying to mess with me.

I put those two schools out there and it made the rounds on different team sites and different networks and I was called a bit crazy for suggesting Oregon. Then, the night before, Banks told me it was going to be Oregon. I told him I would not change my prediction off of A&M, since he had trusted me and given me a prewrite but, if you were on the site at the time, you were not surprised to see him announce for the Ducks.

Going into the second recruitment of his, though, I never really got a reason for anything with him but was told Texas was very likely. So, I don’t have any salacious details on that one either as to why he chose Texas. A&M wanted him and was really hoping he would wait to sign, so much so that Fisher saved his in-home visit. But Texas was able to get him to commit and sign early.

*********************

Five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart definitely did a 180 on his recruitment.

He was somewhat interested in the Aggies for a bit but, after going to the spring game, he was not a fan of College Station. Like, at all. Sometimes kids don’t like schools or towns for whatever reason. It happens.

Stewart also was not all that high on the offense. In fact, he and another highly-ranked wide receiver were pretty open about their feelings with anyone who asked.

But, A&M continued to work that. With the offense, Fisher worked really hard to convince him of what it could look like with Stewart – and others guys like Chris Marshall – in it. That had a big effect. Then, the Aggies got him to take that official visit during the season. It was not something he was planning, but the Aggies basically got a courtesy trip. Well, even before he left, he made plans to return two weeks later for an unofficial and hang out with everybody again. Getting him in town and having him experience the city with the current players and the other recruits was big. He also got along really well with the commits and knew everyone would be back in town for that Auburn weekend on unofficials. After that weekend, it was pretty much done with him.

As for why he didn’t sign on that first day of the Early Signing Period, it was a bit confusing. I know that A&M was not worried, though, and they also know he doesn’t like being pushed into things against his will. So A&M did not bother him about getting the LOI in or anything. And Stewart seemed to appreciate that, sending it in early the next morning.

*********************

-A&M was going to get a late official visit from national top-100 cornerback and then-Ohio State commit Terrance Brooks. Though he never seemed to be all that interested in his dad’s alma mater, the Aggies had convinced him to use a late visit and thought there was a chance they could flip him.

It was set to happen but that was the week that Mike Elko got the Duke job. Brooks liked Elko and, as soon as the then-DC left, Brooks canceled the visit and that was that. He eventually switched to Texas and enrolled this semester.

*********************

Isaiah Sategna was there on that big first official visit weekend in June and was an Aggie commit at the time. It was his first real opportunity to spend a lot of time in College Station.

But, with 11 official visitors and then the five-star Georgia commit duo in town as unofficial visitors, the coaches had to split their time between a bunch of players. And the focus was on the uncommitted guys such as Marshall, Lucas, Anderson, Alexander, Perkins and the others. Sategna felt a bit taken for granted, which is understandable.

He also was never seemingly truly 100-percent in, so he decommitted not long after. His reasoning was that he didn’t feel as heavily recruited as some of the other guys that weekend. That was probably the case as, again, there were a bunch of five-stars in town, but it all worked out in the end with the receivers A&M ended up signing.

*********************

It is going to be interesting to watch the career of Julian Humphrey. The national top-100 cornerback from Clear Lake was high on the Aggies the whole time but A&M had to pump the brakes several times.

When he committed to Florida, it would have been to A&M instead if there was a spot. Then, after he camped in Aggieland over the summer, it would have been A&M again. But there was still not a spot, so he committed to Georgia.

He is a somewhat similar player to Bobby Taylor in that he might be a corner or might be a safety, and A&M obviously already had Taylor committed. So, that was one of the holdups. The Aggies wanted to make sure they had some pure corners. Had Harris not chosen A&M, though, Humphrey might have gotten a late chance to be in the class.

Also, four-star cornerback Jaylon Guilbeau was really hoping to be part of the class over the summer before he ended up committing to TCU. A&M likes him but, with the numbers crunch at DB that has already been talked about, though, there was not a spot

 

Seriously, what a lede

Quote

I obviously can’t tell everything as I have sources that I still will work with in the future and there are also some things that just don’t need to be shared, for various reasons.

 

[Chuckie Finster 22600]

Quote

As for what changed his mind from having A&M in a distant fourth over the summer, I honestly don’t know.

Quote

A&M continued to recruit him but Mathews does things to the beat of his own drum. He did not seem all that interested after that, for whatever reason, but it very well may have been that he just was not focused on recruiting at all.

Quote

He was somewhat interested in the Aggies for a bit but, after going to the spring game, he was not a fan of College Station. Like, at all. Sometimes kids don’t like schools or towns for whatever reason. It happens.

hmm

[Sir Ulrich 5187]

For them to get busted they need a couple of things to happen. 

1. They have to start winning year in and out against the top programs. See SMU and Ole Miss 

2. Somebody to start talking. Do we really think the most egotistical University this side of the Ivy league wouldn't have at least one rogue booster brag about who they bought and how? Secondly Fisher has always had a locker room that was on the verge of unrest. Just wait until they finish 8-4 again and one of these dudes salary doesn't get picked up for a second year. 

[Bill Lumbergh 7170]

21 minutes ago, texifornia said:

I obviously can’t tell everything as I have sources that I still will work with in the future and there are also some things that just don’t need to be shared, for various reasons.

aggy explaining the strategy that led to their historic recruiting haul reminds me of Nick Newport Jr explaining how they make their healthy kids snacks taste so good.

 

Edited February 4, 2022 by Bill Lumbergh

[Ghost of Stevie Ray 1577]

Every single paragraph in that write up has a ‘well then he went to college station this one time and he was locked up’.   The Stewart one is by far the most egregious.  

[Sejjr 3246]

Gigem 247 Staff meeting:

[RollingPresidential 632]

Amazing. I want him to write what made Shemar Stewart, Walter Nolen, and Brownlow-Dindy fall in love with CS next.

[TexasGolf 4858]

[texifornia 56526]

Just now, TexasGolf said:

Honestly, he was right that it wasn't NIL per se

[C-Man 27056]

3 hours ago, CowtownHorn said:

Becoming a wannabe aggy suits him well. I stopped listening to that station years ago. And even when I did, I would skip his show. Him and Dan were the worst. They love them some sooner and aggy on The Ticket.

You're half right. Dan is closer to the "best" than the "worst" at The Ticket.