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Aggy 2024: Still waiting on the Looch 44

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bizzle
bizzle

you guys aren't going to believe this, but i may have misjudged the potential floor here.

closetojumping
closetojumping

Aggie - Fisher - Plan 2024 Synopsis, as I've come to hear about it: Spoilered for the tl;dr crowd that doesn't give a shit and doesn't want to scroll.  

closetojumping
closetojumping

I have to tell you, I don't know if I can handle this if it is true. They are speculating on the aggie 247 board that, because Elijah Robinson is still an employee at Texas A&M and because he is c

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BornAndRaised

BornAndRaised 12312

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https://www.on3.com/college/texas-am-aggies/news/class-of-2024-edge-gabriel-reliford-commits-to-texas-am/

Reliford ranks as the No. 811 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also tabs in as the No. 56 EDGE and the No. 25 player in the state of Louisiana.

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Elmer_Fudd

Elmer_Fudd 22321

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8 minutes ago, BornAndRaised said:

https://www.on3.com/college/texas-am-aggies/news/class-of-2024-edge-gabriel-reliford-commits-to-texas-am/

Reliford ranks as the No. 811 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also tabs in as the No. 56 EDGE and the No. 25 player in the state of Louisiana.

Here's a good one, Looch says he reminds him of Justin Madubuike.

 

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Genghis

Genghis 637

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3 hours ago, BornAndRaised said:

https://www.on3.com/college/texas-am-aggies/news/class-of-2024-edge-gabriel-reliford-commits-to-texas-am/

Reliford ranks as the No. 811 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also tabs in as the No. 56 EDGE and the No. 25 player in the state of Louisiana.

"...also the town the players are well taken care of wherever they go."

 

Maybe dont admit to possible impermissible benefits directly in your commitment interview.....

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SydneyCarton

SydneyCarton 48190

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Posted (edited)
2 minutes ago, Genghis said:

"...also the town the players are well taken care of wherever they go."

 

Maybe dont admit to possible impermissible benefits directly in your commitment interview.....

Clearly he isn’t familiar with how college station PD treats football players. 
 

image.gif.f2dcc9385e124de2d3a30106a724629f.gif

Edited by SydneyCarton
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SHOOTER12

SHOOTER12 8829

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Not NSIAP, aggy genus!

Spoiler

Texas A&M AD Shrugs Off NCAA NIL Warning

Jacob Elsey
2 hours ago
 
 

Many around the college football world believe NIL has essentially turned recruiting into the Wild, Wild West, and to some extent, that’s true. Seven-figure offers are being made to 18-year-old kids as boosters attempt to convince prospects to make that commitment.

Texas A&M is a program that’s been under fire since the introduction of NIL, going back to the 2022 recruiting class. That group became the highest-rated cycle ever recorded by the recruiting services, and it included six five-star and 19 four-star players.

 

This, coming after going 8-4 the year prior and not having much in the trophy case dating back the last three decades.

Many were skeptical of the Aggies’ tactics in landing that historic cycle, with some going as far as to say boosters agreed to $30 million worth of NIL deals for those signatures. Other SEC coaches like Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin have also been vocal on the subject.

 

On Monday, it was reported that the NCAA sent letters of clarification on NIL practices to its members with Texas A&M being included. The school’s athletic director has responded to the warning, though it doesn’t appear that much will change moving forward.

What did the NCAA send to institutions regarding NIL clarification?

As reported by Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, these letters “strongly clarify [the NCAA’s] NIL policy by warning schools that (1) they must follow NCAA rules even if they conflict with state laws and (2) entities such as school foundations are prohibited from NIL and offering donor incentives for NIL giving.”

 

In a short Q&A-type memo, the NCAA laid out its guidelines on how NIL was intended to be used. Essentially, it’s not pay-for-play.

Some of those questions include topics of boosters contacting recruits for NIL offers, donors receiving special benefits for specific donations, and newly introduced state laws.

Those state laws are a particular point of interest as they differ from school to school.

 

In Texas, for example, Dellenger reports that “Texas A&M donors will earn priority points through the school’s fundraising arm for donations that eventually funnel to athletes.”

States like Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma have also introduced new legislation that could benefit local programs in recruiting. And many of these laws push to “prohibit enforcement from the NCAA.”

So, at what point does the NCAA overrule state law, and what’s the punishment for those who follow local guidelines that may differ from NCAA recruiting rules?

What if a school violates NCAA rules despite following its state law?

NCAA to schools: These are your rules (we just enforce them), so you should just change the rules. Oh, by the way, this is a voluntary membership organization, so you can see your way out if you don’t like it. pic.twitter.com/GyBVFA4v6n

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 27, 2023

 

The NCAA seems to be saying, “These are the rules, and you must abide,” but it’s not seeming to sway some from straying away from these guidelines.

 

Texas A&M AD addresses NIL warning.

Ross Bjork recently responded to the NCAA’s NIL guidelines by saying, “The state law is going to govern how we do business… In terms of this, the state law will reign. And that’s how we’ll move forward.”

And why wouldn’t he?

 

The odds are stacked in the Aggies’ favor if they follow that state legislation while others outside of Texas are forced to stick to the NCAA restrictions. And we’ve seen how little the organization cares about punishing rule breakers.

Many are reacting to Bjork’s recent comments on social media. They see his response as a big “F— you” to the NCAA.

NCAA…meet middle finger. https://t.co/dDAgANW0Nt

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) June 27, 2023

 

Will the NCAA do anything?

Texas A&M appears to be headed for a clash with the NCAA. And I’m not sure how the NCAA will be able to enforce anything. https://t.co/er1xyHAqBB

— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) June 27, 2023

 

Can they do anything?

Bjork is right. The NCAA has no power to enforce anything because they know they’ll lose in court every time.

Let it go. https://t.co/2dPpv4Sb8g

— Trey Day?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs.w.org%2Fimages%2Fcore%2Femoji%2F14.0.0%2F72x72%2F1f918.png&fo=webp&w=640&edition=en_US(@pale_writer0) June 27, 2023

 

It’s a route that many others around college sports might follow.

NCAA: pretty please follow our rules, we’re serious

Schools: https://t.co/Tc1bjcNh6H

— William Qualkinbush (@QualkTalk) June 27, 2023

 

The NCAA has already taken aim at the Texas A&M concerning its NIL practices. The two sides now appear primed for a head-to-head showdown.

The post Texas A&M AD Shrugs Off NCAA NIL Warning appeared first on BroBible.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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BurntOrange&White

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Posted (edited)
9 hours ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Not NSIAP, aggy genus!

  Hide contents

Texas A&M AD Shrugs Off NCAA NIL Warning

Jacob Elsey
2 hours ago

 

 

 

Many around the college football world believe NIL has essentially turned recruiting into the Wild, Wild West, and to some extent, that’s true. Seven-figure offers are being made to 18-year-old kids as boosters attempt to convince prospects to make that commitment.

Texas A&M is a program that’s been under fire since the introduction of NIL, going back to the 2022 recruiting class. That group became the highest-rated cycle ever recorded by the recruiting services, and it included six five-star and 19 four-star players.

 

This, coming after going 8-4 the year prior and not having much in the trophy case dating back the last three decades.

Many were skeptical of the Aggies’ tactics in landing that historic cycle, with some going as far as to say boosters agreed to $30 million worth of NIL deals for those signatures. Other SEC coaches like Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin have also been vocal on the subject.

 

On Monday, it was reported that the NCAA sent letters of clarification on NIL practices to its members with Texas A&M being included. The school’s athletic director has responded to the warning, though it doesn’t appear that much will change moving forward.

What did the NCAA send to institutions regarding NIL clarification?

As reported by Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, these letters “strongly clarify [the NCAA’s] NIL policy by warning schools that (1) they must follow NCAA rules even if they conflict with state laws and (2) entities such as school foundations are prohibited from NIL and offering donor incentives for NIL giving.”

 

In a short Q&A-type memo, the NCAA laid out its guidelines on how NIL was intended to be used. Essentially, it’s not pay-for-play.

Some of those questions include topics of boosters contacting recruits for NIL offers, donors receiving special benefits for specific donations, and newly introduced state laws.

Those state laws are a particular point of interest as they differ from school to school.

 

In Texas, for example, Dellenger reports that “Texas A&M donors will earn priority points through the school’s fundraising arm for donations that eventually funnel to athletes.”

States like Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma have also introduced new legislation that could benefit local programs in recruiting. And many of these laws push to “prohibit enforcement from the NCAA.”

So, at what point does the NCAA overrule state law, and what’s the punishment for those who follow local guidelines that may differ from NCAA recruiting rules?

What if a school violates NCAA rules despite following its state law?

NCAA to schools: These are your rules (we just enforce them), so you should just change the rules. Oh, by the way, this is a voluntary membership organization, so you can see your way out if you don’t like it. pic.twitter.com/GyBVFA4v6n

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) June 27, 2023

 

The NCAA seems to be saying, “These are the rules, and you must abide,” but it’s not seeming to sway some from straying away from these guidelines.

 

Texas A&M AD addresses NIL warning.

Ross Bjork recently responded to the NCAA’s NIL guidelines by saying, “The state law is going to govern how we do business… In terms of this, the state law will reign. And that’s how we’ll move forward.”

And why wouldn’t he?

 

The odds are stacked in the Aggies’ favor if they follow that state legislation while others outside of Texas are forced to stick to the NCAA restrictions. And we’ve seen how little the organization cares about punishing rule breakers.

Many are reacting to Bjork’s recent comments on social media. They see his response as a big “F— you” to the NCAA.

NCAA…meet middle finger. https://t.co/dDAgANW0Nt

— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) June 27, 2023

 

Will the NCAA do anything?

Texas A&M appears to be headed for a clash with the NCAA. And I’m not sure how the NCAA will be able to enforce anything. https://t.co/er1xyHAqBB

— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) June 27, 2023

 

Can they do anything?

Bjork is right. The NCAA has no power to enforce anything because they know they’ll lose in court every time.

Let it go. https://t.co/2dPpv4Sb8g

— Trey Day?url=https%3A%2F%2Fs.w.org%2Fimages%2Fcore%2Femoji%2F14.0.0%2F72x72%2F1f918.png&fo=webp&w=640&edition=en_US(@pale_writer0) June 27, 2023

 

It’s a route that many others around college sports might follow.

NCAA: pretty please follow our rules, we’re serious

Schools: https://t.co/Tc1bjcNh6H

— William Qualkinbush (@QualkTalk) June 27, 2023

 

The NCAA has already taken aim at the Texas A&M concerning its NIL practices. The two sides now appear primed for a head-to-head showdown.

The post Texas A&M AD Shrugs Off NCAA NIL Warning appeared first on BroBible.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Honestly I expect CDC to treat that memo as the same.

Edited by BurntOrange&White
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NoName

NoName 16407

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we have officially found the highest over ranking i have ever over at TexAgs, including the prior Looch rankings.

They have Ashton Funk as the #5 prospect in Texas.

image.thumb.png.9fe63ed54b3ce98f7dc86d3302dae859.png

 

not even Rivals has him that high. composite has him at #47.

image.png.5af947491db8ad53214668003f6bc1eb.png

Zina is also a pretty big overranking at +30...but nothing like Funk being ranked +42 slots higher than the composite.

image.png.a00b34ce8e95ec735cf09047291f5a98.png

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satyanash

satyanash 14633

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Sam Khan Jr: What’s holding Texas A&M back? Six theories about college football’s would-be elites

Quote

Former Texas A&M linebacker Dat Nguyen displays multiple flags outside of his home at any given time. He always features one representing his alma mater, where he starred from 1995 to ‘98. Last fall, with the Aggies ranked sixth in the preseason AP Top 25 and optimism running high, Nguyen was so fully caught up in the hype that in place of a traditional Texas A&M flag, he created a custom design that he hoped would prove prophetic. On the left was an old-school Texas Aggies logo, complete with Ol’ Sarge. On the right were four lines of text:

2023 CFP
National
Champions
Gig ‘em

Nguyen hung the flag up ahead of Texas A&M’s Week 2 game against Appalachian State. Hours later, after a stunning 17-14 loss to the Mountaineers, the flag came down, as did the Aggies’ hopes of a dream season. “I put it up on Friday night and took it down Saturday afternoon,” Nguyen said with a laugh. “It didn’t even last 24 hours.”

Texas A&M football seems to have everything an elite program needs: Passionate, devoted fans. A top-tier athletics budget. An ideal recruiting footprint. Pristine facilities. But while other resource-rich programs have cemented their dominance of college football as more money flows through the sport, those same advantages haven’t brought consistent, big-time success to College Station in this century.

Last fall’s 5-7 debacle presented a unique set of problems for head coach Jimbo Fisher to solve, but his predecessors ran up against their own troubles while attempting to crack the code on how to raise Texas A&M football to an elite level. The Aggies haven’t won a conference championship since 1998 and last won a national title in 1939. Why can’t Texas A&M seem to break through? Former Aggie players, administrators and longtime observers certainly have their theories.

Theory 1: Lack of administrative stability and alignment

Robert Gates, the former CIA director and U.S. Secretary of Defense who was Texas A&M’s president from 2002 to ‘06, once told Time Magazine that “Texas A&M football caused me more stress than I ever had. “I asked my wife one time, ‘Why is that?’ And she said, ‘Because you have no control.’ … Here (as defense secretary), I have a little control.” Administrative alignment and stability are a common thread among championship-caliber football schools. A clear understanding of who controls the program is as important as ever.

From 1999 to 2016, Oklahoma had the same president (David Boren), athletic director (Joe Castiglione) and head coach (Bob Stoops). In that time, the Sooners won a national championship and 10 conference titles. Though the president and coach have changed, Castiglione remains the school’s AD. Clemson has had just two presidents since 1999 and three athletic directors since 2002.

The Tigers’ current athletic director, Graham Neff, was at the university for eight years before being promoted in 2021 to succeed Dan Radakovich. Clemson’s president has even hosted recruits in his office and home to support football. Georgia has had a total of three presidents since 1988 and four athletic directors since 1979. Alabama has had just three ADs since 1999. Ohio State has had two since 1994.

By comparison, since 2002, Texas A&M has had five school presidents, eight when including interim presidents. The school has had three athletic directors since joining the SEC in 2012. “There’s no doubt that some stability is really critical to most things,” former Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin said. “There are many hands involved at public universities of consequence, like the University of Texas or Texas A&M. You can argue whether that’s a good or bad thing, but it just is, and it has somewhat of a destabilizing effect.”

At Texas A&M, Loftin said, a “huge amount” of control was exercised by the Texas A&M university system rather than campus leadership itself during his tenure. He cited past football coach hiring and firing decisions that were made above the school president level as evidence. Eric Hyman, A&M’s athletic director during its first five years in the SEC, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in 2017 that he had “nothing to do” with a contract extension given to coach Kevin Sumlin at the end of 2013. “The contract was given to me, and it was, ‘This is what we are going to do,’” Hyman said. “I had no say over it.”

There’s also the task of dealing with Texas A&M’s multiple fundraising arms: the 12th Man Foundation, the primary athletics fundraiser; the Texas A&M Foundation, the primary academic fundraising entity; and the Association of Former Students, the school’s alumni organization. All three have their own boards, independent of the university. Loftin said the analogous organizations at Missouri, where he was chancellor following his A&M tenure, fell under the university’s umbrella and reported to him.

The independence of these types of entities at other schools can vary. At Georgia, both the academic and athletic fundraising arms are part of the university and the athletic department, respectively. Texas’ “Longhorn Foundation” and the “Red Raider Club” at Texas Tech are both part of their respective athletic departments. But at LSU, the Tiger Athletic Foundation is independent of the school. Clemson’s athletic fundraiser, IPTAY, is also classified as independent.

At Texas A&M, Loftin said, “every day was a negotiation.” Asked how possible it is to get everyone on the same page, Loftin said, “it’s possible but not easy or likely.” To combat this, Loftin formed a council to bring the three presidents and board chairs of each of the fundraising organizations together to get them in sync. Loftin said things have gotten much better on that front since he left A&M in 2014.

How credible is this theory in 2023? Loftin said it’s hard to blame ADs for failings because “others get involved,” but that’s a common challenge at public universities, especially those with large alumni bases. Still, Loftin believes that “if you were to get Jimbo alone right now and ask him who his real boss is, you might not get the answer you expect.”

Current Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork has spoken plenty in recent years about the athletic department and university’s support of Fisher. That was clear when they extended Fisher’s contract in 2021, and the Aggies have addressed virtually every resource need Fisher has raised. But when comparing the minimal administrative turnover at other successful programs, it’s hard to ignore what A&M has endured on that front in the last 20 years.

Theory 2: Flubbed head coaching moves

The last time Texas A&M ranked No. 1 in the AP poll was November 1957. The Aggies had a three-week stay atop the rankings under legendary coach Bear Bryant. They were 8-0 and had hopes of winning it all. The day before A&M met No. 20 Rice, newspaper reports surfaced indicating that Bryant was the choice to be Alabama’s next coach.

Bryant vehemently denied it, saying, “We’re fighting for our lives here both tomorrow and on Thanksgiving Day (against Texas). I have recommended a coach for Alabama and it isn’t Paul Bryant.” The Aggies lost 7-6 to the Owls the next day, to the Longhorns a week after and in the Gator Bowl to Tennessee, to finish 8-3. Bryant did leave for Alabama, and A&M hasn’t returned to No. 1 since.

It took the Aggies years to recover from Bryant’s exit. The next two coaches, Jim Myers and Hank Foldberg, went a combined 18-47-5 from 1958 to 1964. Gene Stallings went 27-45-1 in his seven years at the helm. Emory Bellard took A&M to consecutive 10-win seasons in 1975 and 1976 but resigned in the middle of 1978 after two blowout losses: a 33-0 defeat at Houston and a 24-6 home loss to Baylor.

The school’s two most successful coaches post-Bryant, Jackie Sherrill and R.C. Slocum, both won consistently but left unceremoniously. Sherrill led the Aggies to three Southwest Conference titles, but he was fired amid allegations of NCAA rules violations. Slocum, the winningest coach in Texas A&M history, went 123-47 over 14 years, led the Aggies to five double-digit win seasons and four conference championships and never finished a season with a losing record. And in 2002, after a 6-6 finish, he was shown the door.

“R.C. had more success than any coach in the history of this school,” said former Texas A&M radio play-by-play announcer Dave South, who was the voice of the Aggies for 33 years. “Suddenly he’s gone, and you start from scratch.” No coach since has lasted longer than six years. Dennis Franchione, Slocum’s successor, went 4-8 in his first season, including an embarrassing 77-0 loss to Oklahoma, the worst defeat in school history. But after going 7-5 in 2004, Franchione got a raise and a contract extension. He won more than seven games in a season only once and resigned after five years and a 32-29 record.

Mike Sherman followed in 2008 but went 25-25 in four seasons. His final year, 2011, began with Texas A&M in the preseason top 10, but the Aggies lost five games in which they built double-digit leads, including a 27-25 loss to rival Texas, and finished 6-6, leading to Sherman’s dismissal. After making an early splash in the SEC with help from Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel during an 11-2 debut season, Kevin Sumlin got not one but two contract extensions within a year — one after the 2012 season and another late in the 2013 season as his name emerged in the coaching carousel rumor mill.

The second extension fully guaranteed Sumlin $30 million over six years and included a clause that the buyout had to be paid within 60 days of termination. According to USA Today, at that time every other school in the country that paid its coach at least $4 million per year included a buyout that stopped short of the full contract value. Sumlin never reached double-digit wins again in his tenure and was fired after six seasons.

One longtime Texas A&M observer called the school “the most extension-happy university I’ve ever seen in my life.” The observer cited the scars from Bryant’s departure as an undertone to the extensions, hypothesizing that A&M fears an elite coach leaving the university again. Fisher, who followed Sumlin, received a fully guaranteed 10-year, $75 million contract when hired in December 2017. In 2021, a year after the Aggies went 9-1 and finished No. 4 in the AP poll, he received a contract extension that raised his salary to $9 million and guaranteed him $94.9 million. On July 1, there will be $81.3 million remaining on the deal, which runs through 2031.

How credible is this theory in 2023? Coaching turnover happens everywhere, and A&M is no different in that regard. And the Aggies aren’t the only school to give massive guaranteed contract extensions. Michigan State gave Mel Tucker a 10-year, $95 million extension that was fully guaranteed in 2021. Fisher’s extension in 2021 was a proactive move to help stave off potential suitors following the top-five finish. It worked, but now the Aggies are stuck with Fisher for a long time unless they want to pay a hefty buyout. Coaches typically have the biggest impact on a team’s success, so finding and keeping the right one is critical.

Theory 3: The expectations don’t always match the money

Why the Aggies haven’t put it all together is “the million-dollar question … or in this case, the almost billion-dollar question,” former Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee said. But McGee, who played at A&M from 2005 to 2008, wonders if Texas A&M is demanding enough of success. “The culture and the expectation, not just internally in the program but externally, isn’t demanding of greatness,” McGee said. McGee offered as a counterexample a program like Alabama, where after one 9-3 season, “they’re pissed off. They’re ready to get rid of people.” That culture seeps into the program itself, he said. At Texas A&M? “There’s an acceptance of 9-3, that we had a great year.”

The Aggies have reached nine wins just six times in the 24 seasons since their last conference title. They’ve won at least nine games in consecutive seasons just once: 2012 and 2013, the two years with Manziel as the starter. His Heisman Trophy year was the only double-digit win season in that span, though the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign had the makings of a 10-win season if the Aggies had played a full slate of games.

The Manziel years, during which the Aggies went 20-6, triggered a new financial era for A&M. According to the Knight Foundation, Texas A&M’s athletic revenue has ranked in the top 10 nationally in 10 of the last 11 years. Between 2015 and ‘19, A&M ranked either first or second in the nation in revenue. The Aggies spent $485 million to renovate Kyle Field, a project that was completed in 2015. Another $32 million went toward Bright Complex renovations in the mid-2010s. A $9 million, 19,000-square foot football-only weight room was erected in 2012 and upgraded later in the decade.

Another Bright renovation and a new indoor practice facility are part of a $200 million athletics facilities plan that has already begun construction. These are all positives for A&M football. You’d be hard-pressed to find a program that wins at the highest level and doesn’t have nice things. But it takes more than money to build a consistent winner. “You can spend as much money as you want and you still might get some bad bounces in the course of a season,” former Texas A&M defensive lineman Jay Arnold said. “And somebody else is going to be spending, too. … Money isn’t going to be the be-all, end-all.”

A&M wasn’t always flush with money. Loftin, a 1970 graduate of A&M, said “we were a very poor school” back then. The baseball field sat at the south end of Kyle Field and had no lights until Pat Olsen donated money for some in the late 1970s. The Aggies played every LSU football game at Tiger Stadium between 1960 and 1975 because at the time, seating at Kyle Field was insufficient. “They paid us,” Loftin said. “It was a money game.”

Even at the turn of the century, the Aggies weren’t at the forefront of spending on football. Before the 2003 opening of the Bright Football Complex — a building he helped raised money for but never got to use — Slocum told the Austin American-Statesman that the locker rooms he showed recruits in 2002 were the same ones he showed Ray Childress, the Aggies’ 1984 All-American. Meanwhile, rival Texas was in its fifth year of residence in the Moncrief-Neuhaus Athletic Complex, giving then-coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns a recruiting advantage.

A&M doesn’t want for anything these days. Everything is first-class. McGee said all the money spent to be competitive makes the lack of success disappointing, but he wonders if it can backfire with 18- to 22-year-olds. “One of my concerns is that when you create all this, it opens the door for some entitlement to creep in,” McGee said.

“Like, ‘I don’t have to work, I’m great and I deserve this,’ as opposed to having a chip on your shoulder and really being hungry. That’s one of the battles these coaches have to deal with on a daily basis, and it’s not just A&M.” Bottom line, McGee said, the culture and expectation has to “strongly push that anything less than perfection is not acceptable.”

How credible is this theory in 2023? It’s hard to criticize A&M for spending lavishly on infrastructure because college football’s arms race has largely demanded it. Skyrocketing television money meant windfalls for athletics and particularly college football programs. McGee’s theory that A&M is OK with less than perfection is fascinating but hard to quantify. But the extensions early in the Franchione, Sumlin and Fisher eras — even if they’re in line with what it takes to keep a coach these days — lend it some credence.

Theory 4: The SEC move made the football program’s journey to the top harder

Ask any Aggie who is invested in the school’s athletic success about the decision to join the SEC, and it’ll undoubtedly be framed as a positive. Though the move was hotly debated at the time, there’s no question Texas A&M has benefited from membership in its current league. The immediate success of 2012 raised the program’s profile immensely and paved the way for that influx of cash and infrastructure upgrades, not to mention an uptick in the recruiting rankings.

The program has had a better winning percentage in the SEC (.652) than it did during its time in the Big 12 (.568), but championships have been harder to come by. Of the last 17 national champions, 13 have come from the SEC. Nine of those titles have been won by other SEC West teams: Alabama (six titles), LSU (two) and Auburn. The Aggies played in two Big 12 championship games in the league’s first three years, winning the league in 1998, but they haven’t been to a conference title game since and are still waiting to make a trip to Atlanta. “You’re coming through the toughest maw there is: the SEC,” Loftin said.

How credible is this theory in 2023? A&M’s first year in the SEC was a perfect storm, providing a glimpse of the potential the program has. But winning consistently in the SEC requires something it took time for the Aggies to build: SEC-quality roster depth. The Aggies have reached that point on the strength of recruiting (last year they were fourth nationally in 247Sports’ Team Talent Composite), but two of the three teams above them reside in the SEC: Alabama and Georgia.

Would the Aggies reach this level of recruiting if they had stayed in the Big 12? It’s hard to know for sure, but it seems unlikely.  The Aggies have signed six top-10 classes since joining the league, including the No. 1 class in 2022. In A&M’s last 10 years in the Big 12, the Aggies signed just two top-10 classes.

The shift from a four-team College Football Playoff to a 12-team field could change Texas A&M’s outlook on its conference gauntlet. In the current four-team setup, getting in without winning the SEC, or at least the SEC West, is virtually impossible. But neither will be a prerequisite to be one of the six at-large bids in a 12-team format. A 10-2 record in the SEC will likely be good enough. Meanwhile, the league will get even deeper when Texas and Oklahoma join in 2024.

Theory 5: Bad luck

Setting aside the bigger-picture issues, a few what-ifs and bad bounces in recent A&M history have left Aggies wondering how close to the mountaintop they really are. What if, in 2012, Texas A&M doesn’t miss two field goals and an extra point in a five-point loss to LSU? Do the Aggies still win out — including the memorable win over Alabama — finish 11-1 and go to the SEC championship game? Would the Aggies have played for a national title? “I think A&M in 2012 was the hottest team in the country at the end of that season,” Arnold said.

What if, in 2016, after the Aggies debuted at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, quarterback Trevor Knight doesn’t suffer a shoulder injury at Mississippi State? Do the Aggies come back to win that game, remain in Playoff contention and retain their momentum instead of losing three of their last four? “Things happen,” Nguyen said. “Some things you can’t control.” Last season was littered with injuries. Expected A&M starters missed at least 86 combined games in 2022 because of injury or illness, and all three quarterbacks who started a game were unavailable for at least one. Five different players started at left guard. True freshmen accounted for 72 combined starts.

How credible is this theory in 2023? Yes, A&M has endured some bad bounces, but plenty of other teams have bad luck. It’s valid to assign some blame here, but it’s hard to chalk all of the Aggies’ struggles up to misfortune.

Theory 6: They’ll get there, it just hasn’t happened yet

Because recent years have seen such heavy investment and accumulation of talent via recruiting, many still hope that A&M can turn the corner. Nguyen recalled a rough showing in 1996, A&M’s first in the Big 12, when the Aggies went 6-6. The next year they improved to nine wins but were routed in the Big 12 title game by Nebraska. The team made a pact never to let it happen again. The next year, the Aggies went 11-3 and upset Kansas State to win the Big 12. “When you hit rock bottom, you gotta climb and go back up somehow,” Nguyen said. “I know we have fighters in the program.”

Despite all the handwringing about the Aggies’ disastrous 2022, there’s real reason for optimism in 2023. They have a quarterback, Conner Weigman, who looks like a future star. They’ll have one of the most talented receiving corps in the country, led by Ainias Smith, Evan Stewart and Moose Muhammad III. The entire offensive line is back. Fisher hired Bobby Petrino to run the offense after the head coach endured widespread criticism for the unit’s downturn. The Aggies have so much talent that it wouldn’t be a complete shock if they made legitimate noise this fall.

“I’m not predicting that we’re going to win the championship this year,” McGee said, “but I feel as good about (Weigman) and his ceiling as a quarterback as almost any guy we’ve ever had.” Leveling up in college football is hard but not impossible. Clemson went from 1991 to 2010 without winning 10 games a single time. They won nine games six times in that 20-year window and had four different coaches. But Dabo Swinney and the Tigers found their breakthrough eventually, and Clemson has won at least 10 games every single season since 2011. In 2016 and 2018, they won the national championship.

McGee, who said he’s “an eternal optimist,” thinks it’s a matter of time before the Aggies turn that corner. Loftin thinks that when A&M gets to the level it desires, it will hang around for a while. “I’m confident it’s going to happen, I just can’t tell you when,” he said. “It won’t be a single season. We will win not only multiple football championships, but multiple championships in other sports as well. That’s going to happen. I just pray I’m alive for it.”

 

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TrashMaster G

TrashMaster G 17601

Posted
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32 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

So he only interviewed former aggy for that piece about why aggy can’t become good?  What a great way to get to the bottom of it. 

This right here is everything.  aggy has a deep-seeded cultural bias against listening to objective analysis of anything that is related to their culture. And their lack of football success is directly related to that weird-ass culture.

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WBT

WBT 20670

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1 hour ago, satyanash said:

The last time Texas A&M ranked No. 1 in the AP poll was November 1957. The Aggies had a three-week stay atop the rankings under legendary coach Bear Bryant. They were 8-0 and had hopes of winning it all. The day before A&M met No. 20 Rice, newspaper reports surfaced indicating that Bryant was the choice to be Alabama’s next coach.

Bryant vehemently denied it, saying, “We’re fighting for our lives here both tomorrow and on Thanksgiving Day (against Texas). I have recommended a coach for Alabama and it isn’t Paul Bryant.” The Aggies lost 7-6 to the Owls the next day, to the Longhorns a week after and in the Gator Bowl to Tennessee, to finish 8-3. Bryant did leave for Alabama, and A&M hasn’t returned to No. 1 since.

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CashMcCoy

CashMcCoy 3199

Posted
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1 hour ago, satyanash said:

Former Texas A&M linebacker Dat Nguyen displays multiple flags outside of his home at any given time. He always features one representing his alma mater, where he starred from 1995 to ‘98. Last fall, with the Aggies ranked sixth in the preseason AP Top 25 and optimism running high, Nguyen was so fully caught up in the hype that in place of a traditional Texas A&M flag, he created a custom design that he hoped would prove prophetic. On the left was an old-school Texas Aggies logo, complete with Ol’ Sarge. On the right were four lines of text:

2023 CFP
National
Champions
Gig ‘em

Nguyen hung the flag up ahead of Texas A&M’s Week 2 game against Appalachian State. Hours later, after a stunning 17-14 loss to the Mountaineers, the flag came down, as did the Aggies’ hopes of a dream season. “I put it up on Friday night and took it down Saturday afternoon,” Nguyen said with a laugh. “It didn’t even last 24 hours.”

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