Tell Me About Texas a&m

[The Gimp 349]

And play the Adhan?Only in aggy?

[Jersey Man10 3542]

What other fanbase does that? Anyone?

[Armybrat 40911]

9 hours ago, Jersey Man10 said:

What other fanbase does that? Anyone?

None that I’m aware of.

[Advantage: aggy]

[tbone_ 14161]

Who’s the band?

[tejas60 3534]

The Flatlanders - William Clark Green, Cleto Cordero, Josh Abbot and John Baumann. good stuff.

[MAUFRAIS 6634]

I guess it’s not a big risk to steal a band name from a pacifist?

[tejas60 3534]

[Royale with cheese 1467]

On 3/29/2024 at 11:30 AM, WelfareBuysMyWeed said:

they sell THC by the grams in stuff like gummies in legal states. In Colorado, you can buy something like 7000 mg thc gummies in a 40 pack (175 mg per gummy) for like $30. She's in jail for what would be like a parking fine on campus.

Free Lee Otis!

[DaggerHorns 3086]

9 hours ago, tejas60 said:

The Flatlanders - William Clark Green, Cleto Cordero, Josh Abbot and John Baumann. good stuff.

*The Panhandlers

 

….Jesus Christ, I’m not sure if you were serious. The Flatlanders are from half a century ago.

[Kennythetiger 9460]

On 3/30/2024 at 3:18 PM, ousux said:

On 3/30/2024 at 8:38 AM, Tex Pete said:

They’re like the people who think they their own jokes are hysterical. It’s why everyone else finds them insufferable. 

The dude who put the shot cup on his head then turned to his band mates and shook his head represents all of non-aggy America.

William Clark Green, I believe. 

[CHIEF 5095]

15 minutes ago, DaggerHorns said:

*The Panhandlers

 

….Jesus Christ, I’m not sure if you were serious. The Flatlanders are from half a century ago.

Cleto Cordero is with Flatland Cavalry. 

CHIEF

[Hairy Biped 586]

I've never understood why they sing "sawwwwww R.C.'s arms awf, saww R.C.'s arrrrummms awwwwfff . . ."  It's all weird as shit to anyone normal.

[tejas60 3534]

8 hours ago, CHIEF said:

Cleto Cordero is with Flatland Cavalry. 

CHIEF

which is why I always get it mixed up with Flatlanders instead of Panhandlers. I have Jimmie Dale on the old brain.

[Funk Doctor Spock 12512]

Let me tell you about qggy- 

They were the original Jonestown/Branch Dividians 

They were born before the Dodecanese

They're immune to the cyanide kool-aid they're given each year. 

They're fucking dog worshipping dog fucking fake army weirdo retards. 

They'll erect a shrine to William Luicci through NIL in a matter of time. He is their Bible. 

[Evil Bill Obrien 3293]

On 3/30/2024 at 10:18 AM, TrashMaster G said:

Context, please?

 

On 3/30/2024 at 11:00 AM, Bill Lumbergh said:

Is there any possible context that would make this less fucking weird?

 

[MAUFRAIS 6634]

*The Panhandlers
 
….Jesus Christ, I’m not sure if you were serious. The Flatlanders are from half a century ago.

There was also The Flatliners:

https://www.chron.com/entertainment/music/article/Lone-star-legends-are-alive-and-kicking-as-1668571.php

[Mittens 8306]

 

[nnm 36639]

Obscure Americana/Texas music geek talk not going away. 

[abuelo gringo 321]

16 hours ago, Royale with cheese said:

Free Lee Otis!

Why are they yelling frijoles?

[Hagbard Celine 10923]

It's one thing to rail on aggy for never winning anything

but it's *almost* worth the pain and suffering to expose lobotomized milkmen gesticulation to the audience that only shows up for national title games

the average american has never seen milkmen, much less tra-la-la

yes, we risk a Trophy for The Hall

but assuming they choke and lose, the payoff would be spectacular

[Bill Lumbergh 7186]

7 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

It's one thing to rail on aggy for never winning anything

but it's *almost* worth the pain and suffering to expose lobotomized milkmen gesticulation to the audience that only shows up for national title games

the average american has never seen milkmen, much less tra-la-la

yes, we risk a Trophy for The Hall

but assuming they choke and lose, the payoff would be spectacular

[closetojumping 62870]

7 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

It's one thing to rail on aggy for never winning anything

but it's *almost* worth the pain and suffering to expose lobotomized milkmen gesticulation to the audience that only shows up for national title games

the average american has never seen milkmen, much less tra-la-la

yes, we risk a Trophy for The Hall

but assuming they choke and lose, the payoff would be spectacular

This is a terrible post and you should feel bad. 

People who show up occasionally on the boards with the “wouldn’t it be funny if ATM won a bunch of games?!” take are out of their fucking minds.

This is similar to when people show up and start advocating for OU winning in something because they have some sort of naive belief that it might benefit Texas. Get a fucking grip. 

[Longboard Horn 40516]

Delusional Billy... 

 

[Tex Pete 20484]

4 minutes ago, Longboard Horn said:

Delusional Billy... 

 

Is he predicting an Aggie win in the spring game? Bold. 

[Deej 76921]

Either way, they get a win to add to their record. 

[Longboard Horn 40516]

9 minutes ago, Deej said:

Either way, they get a win to add to their record. 

Put it on the wall!

[Lidig8r 1874]

8 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

It's one thing to rail on aggy for never winning anything

but it's *almost* worth the pain and suffering to expose lobotomized milkmen gesticulation to the audience that only shows up for national title games

the average american has never seen milkmen, much less tra-la-la

yes, we risk a Trophy for The Hall

but assuming they choke and lose, the payoff would be spectacular

 

[TrashMaster G 17599]

9 hours ago, Hagbard Celine said:

It's one thing to rail on aggy for never winning anything

but it's *almost* worth the pain and suffering to expose lobotomized milkmen gesticulation to the audience that only shows up for national title games

the average american has never seen milkmen, much less tra-la-la

yes, we risk a Trophy for The Hall

but assuming they choke and lose, the payoff would be spectacular

 

1 hour ago, Longboard Horn said:

Delusional Billy... 

 

Ah, yes, the "freshness of a new coaching staff."  Yep, that's going to make the difference.

Can't blame Looch, though.  He's just selling what the Rubes want to buy.

Edited April 2 by TrashMaster G

[Vertigo 20332]

17 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

Ah, yes, the "freshness of a new coaching staff."  Yep, that's going to make the difference.

Can't blame Looch, though.  He's just selling what the Rubes want to buy.

I don't see how anyone could be bullish on their portal class. It is comprised of a bunch of sun belt and FCS guys to replace 4 and 5 stars. But it is low hanging fruit at this time of year to be able to point to the portal because nobody has seen them play yet. Member when Nebraska got all lathered up about Casey Thompson because he threw one nice pass in their spring game? I member. There were podcasts and articles ad nauseum about how much of a game changer he was going to be based on literally one play. 

Edited April 2 by Vertigo

[Blotto 23575]

9 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

Can't blame Looch, though.  He's just selling what the Rubes want to buy.

Exactly. Drug dealers don't get rich trying to sell brussels sprouts to crackheads. They get rich selling crack to crackheads. Dude can just print money, as he knows the flock wont find that brand of delusional bullshit anywhere else in the media world. I'm surprised he's been able to fend off all challengers for as long as he has. Being Johnny Football's fuckboi has its benefits I guess. 

[markstanco 12611]

2 hours ago, Bill Lumbergh said:

 

2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

This is a terrible post and you should feel bad. 

People who show up occasionally on the boards with the “wouldn’t it be funny if ATM won a bunch of games?!” take are out of their fucking minds.

This is similar to when people show up and start advocating for OU winning in something because they have some sort of naive belief that it might benefit Texas. Get a fucking grip. 

 

1 hour ago, Lidig8r said:

 

 

37 minutes ago, TrashMaster G said:

 

 

[RomaVicta 30018]

2 hours ago, Longboard Horn said:

Delusional Billy... 

 

I think William is excited. He's wearing an adult shirt and looks showered. Still wearing a ball cap all the time, but baby steps.

He's probably also happy that he doesn't have to publish first hand detailed accounts of their spring workouts. Imagine the nightmare of applying lipstick to that pig. He's excited that all he has to do is republish whatever embellished cliches that beloved Coach Elko bloviates instead of having to bloviate himself.

I think William is probably liking the press constraints. 

[closetojumping 62870]

39 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

I don't see how anyone could be bullish on their portal class. It is comprised of a bunch of sun belt and FCS guys to replace 4 and 5 stars. But it is low hanging fruit at this time of year to be able to point to the portal because nobody has seen them play yet. Member when Nebraska got all lathered up about Casey Thompson because he threw one nice pass in their spring game? I member. There were podcasts and articles ad nauseum about how much of a game changer he was going to be based on literally one play. 

To this point, I was reading the article from Carter Karels, spoilered below, about their scholarship allocations on the offensive side of the ball. The article is well done. Frankly, I don't envy Carter Karels' job. He's constantly producing content for a dwindling subscriber base that generally hates itself. They're too self-aware to be on texags but they are too aggified to allow an On3 site to survive because of them durn sip founders, so they just sit on 247 and pummel Karels and Tarp repeatedly for anything resembling negative insights or news. 

Anyway, just read through the offensive players on the roster and ask yourself, objectively, how many of them you'd take on the Texas roster, which Texas player you'd cut for the ATM replacement, and where they'd fit on the org chart. 

Spoiler

Following last season, Texas A&M underwent a significant roster overhaul. As of now, nearly half of the scholarship players for the Aggies this fall will be newcomers. With spring football now underway, GigEm247 is ready to examine what their entire roster looks like from a scholarship distribution standpoint.

For the fall, A&M has an unofficial scholarship count of 89. The Aggies have 79 of those players on campus this spring, while the remaining 10 are set to join them in June. Until the first day of its fall semester, A&M does not have to satisfy the NCAA-imposed limit of 85 scholarship players. 

Since firing former head coach Jimbo Fisher last November, the Aggies have lost 30 scholarship players for various reasons: 18 entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, seven saw their eligibility expire and five departed early for the 2024 NFL Draft. 247Sports previously reported that two other scholarship players, safety Jacoby Mathews and cornerback Sam McCall, plan to transfer out of A&M during the 15-day portal window this month (April 15-30).

The Aggies mostly replenished their roster through the portal, adding 23 scholarship transfers over the winter. They also signed 17 scholarship players to their 2024 recruiting class. A&M has all but two of its transfers and eight of its high school signees on campus this spring.

Compared to their 2023 team, the 2024 Aggies are considerably more experienced. They have 16 scholarship players who will exhaust their eligibility following this season after having only seven in 2023. Going into last season, 67.9% (55 of 81) of the scholarship players on their roster had three or more seasons of eligibility remaining. A&M has seen that number decrease to 48.3% (43 of 89) for its projected roster this fall. Again, those are unofficial figures.

Here is the start of a two-part series that breaks down the scholarship distribution for the Aggies even more, beginning with their offense. An analysis of the defense and special teams units will come out later.

But first, keep these four things in mind:

1. College football players received eligibility relief during the COVID-impacted 2020 season. So if a player came from the 2020 recruiting class or earlier, he could have an extra season of eligibility remaining than usual.

2. In an effort to eliminate confusion, potential redshirts will not be counted as a season of eligibility. For instance, sophomore running back Rueben Owens II could theoretically take a redshirt in 2024 before playing three seasons from 2025-27. But for this exercise, he has three seasons of eligibility remaining and a potential redshirt year will be excluded from his count.

3. These scholarship tallies are unofficial. Under Fisher, A&M never publicized when walk-ons were put on scholarship. GigEm247 will count former walk-on and current starting kicker Randy Bond, though, after learning that he is on scholarship.

4. Just because a player is listed with a position group does not mean he is not cross training or will not eventually move to another position. For this exercise, it makes it less confusing if various players are not appearing in multiple position groups.

 

QUARTERBACK

Position inventory: Redshirt junior Jaylen Henderson, redshirt sophomore Conner Weigman, redshirt freshman Marcel Reed and true freshman Miles O'Neill.

One season of eligibility remaining: None.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Henderson.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Weigman.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Reed and O'Neill.

Arrives in June: O'Neill.

Analysis: A&M has to feel good about its quarterback group. Weigman, Henderson and Reed have all impressed in game settings. All three of them have at least two seasons of eligibility remaining, too.

By playing only four games last season, Weigman redshirted and preserved a year of eligibility. Maybe Weigman will not ultimately need that extra season. If Weigman lives up to his five-star rating as a recruit, he would probably leave early for the NFL Draft. Still, that extra season of eligibility should be a nice safety net for him and the Aggies.

 

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Jerry Johnson II, fifth-year senior EJ Smith, redshirt junior Amari Daniels, junior Le'Veon Moss and sophomore Rueben Owens II.

One season of eligibility remaining: Johnson.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Daniels, Moss and Smith.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Owens.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: None.

Arrives in June: None.

Analysis: In the 2024 recruiting class, the Aggies did not sign a running back. They instead landed one transfer: Smith. With four scholarship running backs, A&M now seems one injury or outgoing transfer away from having a thin unit. 

Fortunately for the Aggies, they returned their three most productive running backs from last season: Moss, Owens and Daniels. However, Owens is the only player among the group who has more than two seasons of eligibility remaining. So A&M will need to make the running back position a priority on the recruiting trail.

 

WIDE RECEIVER

Position inventory: Fifth-year seniors Moose Muhammad III and Jabre Barber, senior Jahdae Walker, juniors Noah Thomas and Cyrus Allen, sophomore Micah Tease, and true freshmen Izaiah Williams, Ernest Campbell and Ashton Bethel-Roman.

One season of eligibility remaining: Muhammad, Barber and Walker.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Thomas and Allen.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Tease.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Williams, Campbell and Bethel-Roman.

Arriving in June: Campbell and Bethel-Roman.

Analysis: Following last season, A&M brought back only four scholarship receivers: Muhammad, Walker, Thomas and Tease. Because the Aggies were thin on numbers, they made the receiver position a priority in the portal. A&M picked up two transfers: Barber and Allen. The Aggies landed three freshmen as well: Williams, Campbell and Bethel-Roman.

With Muhammad, Barber and Walker all expiring their eligibility after the 2024 season, A&M will likely need to restock its receiver unit again next offseason. It also remains to be seen whether the Aggies have a true No. 1 receiver. No player from their receiver group has produced a 1,000-yard season in college. None of their four returnees have reached 700 receiving yards in a season.

 

TIGHT END

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Garrett Miller, senior Tre Watson, redshirt sophomores Donovan Green and Theo Melin Öhrström, redshirt freshman Jaden Platt and true freshman Eric Karner. 

One season of eligibility remaining: Miller and Watson.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: None.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Green and Melin Öhrström.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Platt and Karner.

Arriving in June: Karner.

Analysis: Three of the six scholarship tight ends for the Aggies in 2023 departed after last season: Max Wright (expired eligibility), Jake Johnson (outgoing transfer) and Fernando Garza III (outgoing transfer). A&M helped replace them with two transfers: Miller and Watson.

Miller and Watson both have only one season of eligibility remaining, so the Aggies might need to replenish their tight end room again next offseason. If any of its four returning tight ends produce at a high level in 2024, though, A&M will probably not have to make any major additions to the group.

 

INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Dorian Hinton, fifth-year seniors Aki Ogunbiyi and Ar'maj Reed-Adams, redshirt junior Bryce Foster, junior Kam Dewberry, redshirt sophomore Mark Nabou Jr., sophomore Chase Bisontis, redshirt freshman TJ Shanahan and true freshman Isendre Ahfua.

One season of eligibility remaining: Hinton and Ogunbiyi.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Foster, Dewberry and Reed-Adams.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Nabou and Bisontis.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Shanahan and Ahfua.

Arriving in June: Ahfua.

Analysis: On their interior offensive line, the Aggies are loaded with depth and have a nice balance between experienced veterans and promising young players. Of the nine players listed, seven of them have started multiple games in college. The two exceptions, Shanahan and Ahfua, were both four-star recruits and have four seasons of eligibility remaining.

Whether Bisontis will be an offensive guard remains unclear, but he seems like a better fit on the inside. He spent his true freshman season as the starting right tackle and struggled. He slid to guard for the TaxAct Texas Bowl. 

 

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Derrick Graham, redshirt juniors Trey Zuhn III, Reuben Fatheree II and Dametrious Crownover, redshirt sophomore Hunter Erb, redshirt freshman Colton Thomasson, and true freshman Blake Ivy, Ashton Funk and Robert Bourdon.

One season of eligibility remaining: None.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Zuhn, Fatheree, Crownover and Graham.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Erb.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Thomasson, Ivy, Funk and Bourdon.

Arriving in June: Bourdon.

Analysis: Since having one of the best offensive lines in the country in 2020, the Aggies have not been able to replicate that success. They might have their best offensive tackle unit though, since their 2020 group. Additionally, none of their offensive tackles will exhaust their eligibility following this season. 

Zuhn is coming off his best career season and seems like a lock to start at left tackle. A&M still needs to figure out who will be its top right tackle, but Fatheree, Crownover, Graham and Bisontis all have starting experience at the position. Regardless of how it plays out, the Aggies should have impressive offensive tackle depth.

Now, I am not saying that Weigman isn't a potentially decent QB. He's extremely overrated for the hype he gets, but we haven't seen enough to believe much of anything about the guy. That considered, I'd take him over Trey Owens as the 3rd string guy. I wouldn't touch any of their other QBs.

At TB, I would take Owens over Red at 6th string. That's it, and that's stretchy.

I would take Muhammad over Niblett in the 8 hole at WR.

Give me Donovan Green over Juan Davis at 3rd string TE if he's recovered well from ACL surgery. 

Give me Zuhn or Dewberry over Max Merrill at OL. That's it. 

I legitimately do not think there are more than 5-6 on the offensive roster at ATM that would crack the 3 deep at Texas right now. They are dogshit on that side of the ball in both talent and depth.

[RomaVicta 30018]

@closetojumping How do you think their offensive roster fits the presumable Colin Klein offense?

[Scholz 11959]

12 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

@closetojumping How do you think their offensive roster fits the presumable Colin Klein offense?

Weigman's going to get bent in half no?

[ousux 5602]

I've never understood why they sing "sawwwwww R.C.'s arms awf, saww R.C.'s arrrrummms awwwwfff . . ."  It's all weird as shit to anyone normal.

"varsity's arm off"...what the University of Texas used to be called. Seems back in the day colleges used to have Varsity and JV and Freshman teams just like high school? I could be wrong on that, but in any case aggy is stuck in the leather helmet day mindset.

[ousux 5602]

I don't see how anyone could be bullish on their portal class. It is comprised of a bunch of sun belt and FCS guys to replace 4 and 5 stars. But it is low hanging fruit at this time of year to be able to point to the portal because nobody has seen them play yet. Member when Nebraska got all lathered up about Casey Thompson because he threw one nice pass in their spring game? I member. There were podcasts and articles ad nauseum about how much of a game changer he was going to be based on literally one play. 

Also based on the fact he was starting QB at the school that made Corn their bitch back in their Big12 days. Nevermind he was starter by default and got worse as the season progressed.

[ousux 5602]

I think William is excited. He's wearing an adult shirt and looks showered. Still wearing a ball cap all the time, but baby steps.
He's probably also happy that he doesn't have to publish first hand detailed accounts of their spring workouts. Imagine the nightmare of applying lipstick to that pig. He's excited that all he has to do is republish whatever embellished cliches that beloved Coach Elko bloviates instead of having to bloviate himself.
I think William is probably liking the press constraints. 

You sure about the showered part? His mom may have bought him a new shirt, but I'm guessing dry shampoo run through his quickly graying hair and liberal doses of Axe body spray.

[Scholz 11959]

2 minutes ago, ousux said:

You sure about the showered part? His mom may have bought him a new shirt, but I'm guessing dry shampoo run through his quickly graying hair and liberal doses of Axe body spray.

...while jamming to Creed full blast.

[Armybrat 40911]

15 minutes ago, ousux said:

On 3/31/2024 at 9:59 PM, Hairy Biped said:

I've never understood why they sing "sawwwwww R.C.'s arms awf, saww R.C.'s arrrrummms awwwwfff . . ."  It's all weird as shit to anyone normal.

"varsity's arm off"...what the University of Texas used to be called. Seems back in the day colleges used to have Varsity and JV and Freshman teams just like high school? I could be wrong on that, but in any case aggy is stuck in their leather helmet junior varsity mindset.

Fixed dat.

[NoName 16406]

43 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

To this point, I was reading the article from Carter Karels, spoilered below, about their scholarship allocations on the offensive side of the ball. The article is well done. Frankly, I don't envy Carter Karels' job. He's constantly producing content for a dwindling subscriber base that generally hates itself. They're too self-aware to be on texags but they are too aggified to allow an On3 site to survive because of them durn sip founders, so they just sit on 247 and pummel Karels and Tarp repeatedly for anything resembling negative insights or news. 

Anyway, just read through the offensive players on the roster and ask yourself, objectively, how many of them you'd take on the Texas roster, which Texas player you'd cut for the ATM replacement, and where they'd fit on the org chart. 

  Hide contents

Following last season, Texas A&M underwent a significant roster overhaul. As of now, nearly half of the scholarship players for the Aggies this fall will be newcomers. With spring football now underway, GigEm247 is ready to examine what their entire roster looks like from a scholarship distribution standpoint.

For the fall, A&M has an unofficial scholarship count of 89. The Aggies have 79 of those players on campus this spring, while the remaining 10 are set to join them in June. Until the first day of its fall semester, A&M does not have to satisfy the NCAA-imposed limit of 85 scholarship players. 

Since firing former head coach Jimbo Fisher last November, the Aggies have lost 30 scholarship players for various reasons: 18 entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, seven saw their eligibility expire and five departed early for the 2024 NFL Draft. 247Sports previously reported that two other scholarship players, safety Jacoby Mathews and cornerback Sam McCall, plan to transfer out of A&M during the 15-day portal window this month (April 15-30).

The Aggies mostly replenished their roster through the portal, adding 23 scholarship transfers over the winter. They also signed 17 scholarship players to their 2024 recruiting class. A&M has all but two of its transfers and eight of its high school signees on campus this spring.

Compared to their 2023 team, the 2024 Aggies are considerably more experienced. They have 16 scholarship players who will exhaust their eligibility following this season after having only seven in 2023. Going into last season, 67.9% (55 of 81) of the scholarship players on their roster had three or more seasons of eligibility remaining. A&M has seen that number decrease to 48.3% (43 of 89) for its projected roster this fall. Again, those are unofficial figures.

Here is the start of a two-part series that breaks down the scholarship distribution for the Aggies even more, beginning with their offense. An analysis of the defense and special teams units will come out later.

But first, keep these four things in mind:

1. College football players received eligibility relief during the COVID-impacted 2020 season. So if a player came from the 2020 recruiting class or earlier, he could have an extra season of eligibility remaining than usual.

2. In an effort to eliminate confusion, potential redshirts will not be counted as a season of eligibility. For instance, sophomore running back Rueben Owens II could theoretically take a redshirt in 2024 before playing three seasons from 2025-27. But for this exercise, he has three seasons of eligibility remaining and a potential redshirt year will be excluded from his count.

3. These scholarship tallies are unofficial. Under Fisher, A&M never publicized when walk-ons were put on scholarship. GigEm247 will count former walk-on and current starting kicker Randy Bond, though, after learning that he is on scholarship.

4. Just because a player is listed with a position group does not mean he is not cross training or will not eventually move to another position. For this exercise, it makes it less confusing if various players are not appearing in multiple position groups.

 

QUARTERBACK

Position inventory: Redshirt junior Jaylen Henderson, redshirt sophomore Conner Weigman, redshirt freshman Marcel Reed and true freshman Miles O'Neill.

One season of eligibility remaining: None.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Henderson.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Weigman.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Reed and O'Neill.

Arrives in June: O'Neill.

Analysis: A&M has to feel good about its quarterback group. Weigman, Henderson and Reed have all impressed in game settings. All three of them have at least two seasons of eligibility remaining, too.

By playing only four games last season, Weigman redshirted and preserved a year of eligibility. Maybe Weigman will not ultimately need that extra season. If Weigman lives up to his five-star rating as a recruit, he would probably leave early for the NFL Draft. Still, that extra season of eligibility should be a nice safety net for him and the Aggies.

 

RUNNING BACK/FULLBACK

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Jerry Johnson II, fifth-year senior EJ Smith, redshirt junior Amari Daniels, junior Le'Veon Moss and sophomore Rueben Owens II.

One season of eligibility remaining: Johnson.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Daniels, Moss and Smith.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Owens.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: None.

Arrives in June: None.

Analysis: In the 2024 recruiting class, the Aggies did not sign a running back. They instead landed one transfer: Smith. With four scholarship running backs, A&M now seems one injury or outgoing transfer away from having a thin unit. 

Fortunately for the Aggies, they returned their three most productive running backs from last season: Moss, Owens and Daniels. However, Owens is the only player among the group who has more than two seasons of eligibility remaining. So A&M will need to make the running back position a priority on the recruiting trail.

 

WIDE RECEIVER

Position inventory: Fifth-year seniors Moose Muhammad III and Jabre Barber, senior Jahdae Walker, juniors Noah Thomas and Cyrus Allen, sophomore Micah Tease, and true freshmen Izaiah Williams, Ernest Campbell and Ashton Bethel-Roman.

One season of eligibility remaining: Muhammad, Barber and Walker.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Thomas and Allen.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Tease.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Williams, Campbell and Bethel-Roman.

Arriving in June: Campbell and Bethel-Roman.

Analysis: Following last season, A&M brought back only four scholarship receivers: Muhammad, Walker, Thomas and Tease. Because the Aggies were thin on numbers, they made the receiver position a priority in the portal. A&M picked up two transfers: Barber and Allen. The Aggies landed three freshmen as well: Williams, Campbell and Bethel-Roman.

With Muhammad, Barber and Walker all expiring their eligibility after the 2024 season, A&M will likely need to restock its receiver unit again next offseason. It also remains to be seen whether the Aggies have a true No. 1 receiver. No player from their receiver group has produced a 1,000-yard season in college. None of their four returnees have reached 700 receiving yards in a season.

 

TIGHT END

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Garrett Miller, senior Tre Watson, redshirt sophomores Donovan Green and Theo Melin Öhrström, redshirt freshman Jaden Platt and true freshman Eric Karner. 

One season of eligibility remaining: Miller and Watson.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: None.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Green and Melin Öhrström.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Platt and Karner.

Arriving in June: Karner.

Analysis: Three of the six scholarship tight ends for the Aggies in 2023 departed after last season: Max Wright (expired eligibility), Jake Johnson (outgoing transfer) and Fernando Garza III (outgoing transfer). A&M helped replace them with two transfers: Miller and Watson.

Miller and Watson both have only one season of eligibility remaining, so the Aggies might need to replenish their tight end room again next offseason. If any of its four returning tight ends produce at a high level in 2024, though, A&M will probably not have to make any major additions to the group.

 

INTERIOR OFFENSIVE LINE

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Dorian Hinton, fifth-year seniors Aki Ogunbiyi and Ar'maj Reed-Adams, redshirt junior Bryce Foster, junior Kam Dewberry, redshirt sophomore Mark Nabou Jr., sophomore Chase Bisontis, redshirt freshman TJ Shanahan and true freshman Isendre Ahfua.

One season of eligibility remaining: Hinton and Ogunbiyi.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Foster, Dewberry and Reed-Adams.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Nabou and Bisontis.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Shanahan and Ahfua.

Arriving in June: Ahfua.

Analysis: On their interior offensive line, the Aggies are loaded with depth and have a nice balance between experienced veterans and promising young players. Of the nine players listed, seven of them have started multiple games in college. The two exceptions, Shanahan and Ahfua, were both four-star recruits and have four seasons of eligibility remaining.

Whether Bisontis will be an offensive guard remains unclear, but he seems like a better fit on the inside. He spent his true freshman season as the starting right tackle and struggled. He slid to guard for the TaxAct Texas Bowl. 

 

OFFENSIVE TACKLE

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Derrick Graham, redshirt juniors Trey Zuhn III, Reuben Fatheree II and Dametrious Crownover, redshirt sophomore Hunter Erb, redshirt freshman Colton Thomasson, and true freshman Blake Ivy, Ashton Funk and Robert Bourdon.

One season of eligibility remaining: None.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Zuhn, Fatheree, Crownover and Graham.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Erb.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Thomasson, Ivy, Funk and Bourdon.

Arriving in June: Bourdon.

Analysis: Since having one of the best offensive lines in the country in 2020, the Aggies have not been able to replicate that success. They might have their best offensive tackle unit though, since their 2020 group. Additionally, none of their offensive tackles will exhaust their eligibility following this season. 

Zuhn is coming off his best career season and seems like a lock to start at left tackle. A&M still needs to figure out who will be its top right tackle, but Fatheree, Crownover, Graham and Bisontis all have starting experience at the position. Regardless of how it plays out, the Aggies should have impressive offensive tackle depth.

Now, I am not saying that Weigman isn't a potentially decent QB. He's extremely overrated for the hype he gets, but we haven't seen enough to believe much of anything about the guy. That considered, I'd take him over Trey Owens as the 3rd string guy. I wouldn't touch any of their other QBs.

At TB, I would take Owens over Red at 6th string. That's it, and that's stretchy.

I would take Muhammad over Niblett in the 8 hole at WR.

Give me Donovan Green over Juan Davis at 3rd string TE if he's recovered well from ACL surgery. 

Give me Zuhn or Dewberry over Max Merrill at OL. That's it. 

I legitimately do not think there are more than 5-6 on the offensive roster at ATM that would crack the 3 deep at Texas right now. They are dogshit on that side of the ball in both talent and depth.

good thing they hired a guy known across the sport for his flexiblity, recruiting, offensive scheme and brilliant development with a rolodex a mile long and a ton of contacts among young coaches that he will fill out the rest of his coaching staff with.

oh wait, they hired a guy who has a total of 1 year coaching outside of Kansas State, who has exactly 2 years of calling his own plays, who was demoted when they brought in Klieman and who per 247 has recruited exactly 2 non 3* players in his career (and one of them has 5 career attempts before transferring to Illinois State) - and who has never coached with a single person on the offensive side of the ball (not the RB coach, not the WR coach, not the OL coach? and did i mention that he doesn't get a TE coach because the head coach wanted a 6/4 split amongst coaches + a ST coach. oh yeah and of the 5 analysts, 2 of them worked with him in the past.

so to be clear: of the 8 total offensive coaches or analysts on staff, he has worked with 2 before and both are analysts who have never been position coaches. one came w/ him from KSU, the other was at KSU for 2 years then left for SCarolina for a year and then went to Nebraska. the other offensive analysts Steve Spurrier's grandkid who played at Duke, a guy who as a GA and analyst at New Mexico State, and a guy who was the OC at Vandy for the last 2 years before getting fired.

i'm sure this is going to work out incredibly well for Klein. great decision.

---

edit: oh yeah, and he left a QB room full of his guys + Avery Johnson for this

Position inventory: Redshirt junior Jaylen Henderson, redshirt sophomore Conner Weigman, redshirt freshman Marcel Reed and true freshman Miles O'Neill.

1 guy who could be good but is hurt all the time, 1 guy who ain't shit (Henderson), a guy who A&M can't even find anything to write about (wonder if he's going to enter the portal btw) and a true freshman QB who is not an EE which never bodes particularly well

here is Jalen Henderson for comparison:

 

 

 

Edited April 2 by NoName

[closetojumping 62870]

14 minutes ago, RomaVicta said:

@closetojumping How do you think their offensive roster fits the presumable Colin Klein offense?

I think the problem for Klein this year is similar to the problem Sarkisian had when he arrived at Texas. He doesn't have some of the dudes he's going to need in order to get the results they'll want. He moves guys around and varies his sets as much as Sarkisian does, even though they're very different playcallers. Klein has a lot more Tom Herman in him but adapted well when having to use Will Howard. 

You look at their roster and they don't have a Silas Bolden or Xavier Worthy at WR. Those guys would probably get 20-25 carries (combined) in an optmized Klein offense over a 12 game regular season. That wouldn't be fun for opponents. They don't have that guy at WR this season. They'll probably try to wedge Campbell in there somewhere if he's as quick as he's billed to be, but that's a lot to ask of a freshman.

Daniels is rumored to be heading to the portal at TB. He's a JAG, but he's at least a reliable JAG. Moss is a flake and he may be gone too. Then you've got Owens, who has talent, but he made Cedric Baxter look tough and seasoned this past year. They can't do ground and pound with their TB depth, especially if they lose either or both of Daniels and Moss. Smith is a big nothing. They basically, unbelievably, don't have anybody else. Maybe they buy someone like Savion Red from the portal or something. They almost have to do something like that. Or go buy a midget from somewhere. Who is the smallest starting TB in CFB heading into 2024? That guy.

Klein loves to use a TE. Unfortunately for him, while they carry 6 on the roster, the talent consists of a recovering triad blowout, a Swedish dude resembling Lurch, and a bunch of guys named Bob. 

The offensive line has a future draft pick at LT in Zuhn, a dude who doesn't want to play football at C, another one at RT, an incompetent at RT who has been moved inside because maybe he won't be used like a whore in the pass rush at RG, and a bunch of nobodies outside of that. The OL is going to be a problem for any playcaller at ATM for the next few years, at least. We know how that goes.

I think Klein is going to be forced to use the QB in the running game. That is going to lend itself better to Henderson than Weigman, and that will be funny to witness unless a Weigman injury simply forces that outcome. 

The irony is that the Fisher set up of trying to keep every game close, lose inside the spread or pull things off in the fourth quarter using turnover momentum in their favor, is probably how Klein and The Elk are able to get this offense on this team to 8-5 with that schedule and the support on defense.

 

[South Austin 52604]

7 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I think Klein is going to be forced to use the QB in the running game. That is going to lend itself better to Henderson than Weigman, and that will be funny to witness unless a Weigman injury simply forces that outcome. 

Apart from the historical and inevitable roller coaster, this is going to be the most delicious story line of the 2024 aggy season.

[NoName 16406]

5 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

I think the problem for Klein this year is similar to the problem Sarkisian had when he arrived at Texas. He doesn't have some of the dudes he's going to need in order to get the results they'll want. He moves guys around and varies his sets as much as Sarkisian does, even though they're very different playcallers. Klein has a lot more Tom Herman in him but adapted well when having to use Will Howard. 

You look at their roster and they don't have a Silas Bolden or Xavier Worthy at WR. Those guys would probably get 20-25 carries (combined) in an optmized Klein offense over a 12 game regular season. That wouldn't be fun for opponents. They don't have that guy at WR this season. They'll probably try to wedge Campbell in there somewhere if he's as quick as he's billed to be, but that's a lot to ask of a freshman.

Daniels is rumored to be heading to the portal at TB. He's a JAG, but he's at least a reliable JAG. Moss is a flake and he may be gone too. Then you've got Owens, who has talent, but he made Cedric Baxter look tough and seasoned this past year. They can't do ground and pound with their TB depth, especially if they lose either or both of Daniels and Moss. Smith is a big nothing. They basically, unbelievably, don't have anybody else. Maybe they buy someone like Savion Red from the portal or something. They almost have to do something like that. Or go buy a midget from somewhere. Who is the smallest starting TB in CFB heading into 2024? That guy.

Klein loves to use a TE. Unfortunately for him, while they carry 6 on the roster, the talent consists of a recovering triad blowout, a Swedish dude resembling Lurch, and a bunch of guys named Bob. 

The offensive line has a future draft pick at LT in Zuhn, a dude who doesn't want to play football at C, another one at RT, an incompetent at RT who has been moved inside because maybe he won't be used like a whore in the pass rush at RG, and a bunch of nobodies outside of that. The OL is going to be a problem for any playcaller at ATM for the next few years, at least. We know how that goes.

I think Klein is going to be forced to use the QB in the running game. That is going to lend itself better to Henderson than Weigman, and that will be funny to witness unless a Weigman injury simply forces that outcome. 

The irony is that the Fisher set up of trying to keep every game close, lose inside the spread or pull things off in the fourth quarter using turnover momentum in their favor, is probably how Klein and The Elk are able to get this offense on this team to 8-5 with that schedule and the support on defense.

 

i know he was / is a super hot name but he couldn't have picked a much worse landing spot imho.

no say on hires, bad OL with no real light on the horizion (we know how long it takes to flip an OL sadly), best QB is injury prone, RB room is very thin, TE room has a lot of ain't shit, decent top 2 WR but a lot of unproven behind them + incoming small school transfers, not a ton of incoming freshmen EEs (1 skill position guy - Williams at WR)

[closetojumping 62870]

Here is today's Carter Karels article on their defense, spoilered as a courtesy. 

Spoiler

Following last season, Texas A&M underwent a significant roster overhaul. As of now, nearly half of the scholarship players for the Aggies this fall will be newcomers. With spring football now underway, GigEm247 is ready to examine what their entire roster looks like from a scholarship distribution standpoint.

For the fall, A&M has an unofficial scholarship count of 89. The Aggies have 79 of those players on campus this spring, while the remaining 10 are set to join them in June. Until the first day of its fall semester, A&M does not have to satisfy the NCAA-imposed limit of 85 scholarship players. 

Since firing former head coach Jimbo Fisher last November, the Aggies have lost 30 scholarship players for various reasons: 18 entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, seven saw their eligibility expire and five departed early for the 2024 NFL Draft. 247Sports previously reported that two other scholarship players, safety Jacoby Mathews and cornerback Sam McCall, plan to transfer out of A&M during the 15-day portal window this month (April 15-30).

Top StoriesREAD MOREStay, Go, Hello: What the future holds for LSUbasketball after Elite 8 loss to Iowa

The Aggies mostly replenished their roster through the portal, adding 23 scholarship transfers over the winter. They also signed 17 scholarship players to their 2024 recruiting class. A&M has all but two of its transfers and eight of its high school signees on campus this spring.

Compared to their 2023 team, the 2024 Aggies are considerably more experienced. They have 16 scholarship players who will exhaust their eligibility following this season after having only seven in 2023. Going into last season, 67.9% (55 of 81) of the scholarship players on their roster had three or more seasons of eligibility remaining. A&M has seen that number decrease to 48.3% (43 of 89) for its projected roster this fall. Again, those are unofficial figures.

Here is the conclusion of a two-part series that breaks down the scholarship distribution for the Aggies even more, ending with their defense and special teams. An analysis of the offensive position groups can be found here.

But first, keep these four things in mind:

1. College football players received eligibility relief during the COVID-impacted 2020 season. So if a player came from the 2020 recruiting class or earlier, he could have an extra season of eligibility remaining than usual.

2. In an effort to eliminate confusion, potential redshirts will not be counted as a season of eligibility. For instance, sophomore running back Rueben Owens II could theoretically take a redshirt in 2024 before playing three seasons from 2025-27. But for this exercise, he has three seasons of eligibility remaining and a potential redshirt year will be excluded from his count.

3. These scholarship tallies are unofficial. Under Fisher, A&M never publicized when walk-ons were put on scholarship. GigEm247 will count former walk-on and current starting kicker Randy Bond, though, after learning that he is on scholarship.

4. Just because a player is listed with a position group does not mean he is not cross training or will not eventually move to another position. For this exercise, it makes it less confusing if various players are not appearing in multiple position groups.

 

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Rodas Johnson, redshirt junior Albert Regis, redshirt sophomore Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, sophomore DJ Hicks, redshirt freshmen Jadon Scarlett and Samu Taumanupepe and true freshman Dealyn Evans.

One season of eligibility remaining: Johnson.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Regis.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Brownlow-Dindy and Hicks.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Scarlett, Taumanupepe and Evans.

Arrives in June: Evans.

Analysis: Following last season, the Aggies lost their top defensive tackle, McKinnley Jackson, to the NFL Draft. Their other starting defensive tackle, Walter Nolen, and top backup Isaiah Raikes entered the NCAA Transfer Portal before landing at Ole Miss and USC, respectively. So in 2024, A&M will be relying on a largely unproven defensive tackle group and seems thin on numbers.

The Aggies will need to hope that a few players – particularly their former five-star signees, Hicks and Brownlow-Dindy – step up in increased roles. Though, A&M might not be done adding to the group. Last week, the Aggies extended a scholarship offer to Indiana defensive tackle transfer Philip Blidi. More offers could be coming after the spring window begins.

 

DEFENSIVE END

Position inventory: Senior Shemar Turner, redshirt junior Cashius Howell, juniors Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, Enai White and Malick Sylla, sophomore Rylan Kennedy, and true freshmen Solomon Williams and Kendall Jackson.

One season of eligibility remaining: Turner.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Howell, Scourton, Stewart, White and Sylla.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Kennedy.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Williams and Jackson.

Arrives in June: None. 

Analysis: No position group for the Aggies might be more impressive than this one. Scourton, who transferred from Purdue to A&M following last season, and Turner were second-team all-conference players in the Big Ten and SEC in 2023, respectively. At Bowling Green last season, Howell tied for the most sacks in the MAC with 9.5 and received third-team all-conference honors. Stewart, White and Sylla were highly touted recruits who have looked the part in their opportunities as backups.

The biggest worry with this unit could be their scholarship distribution. Of the nine players listed, six of them have only two or fewer seasons of eligibility remaining. Scourton and Turner could conceivably depart a year early for the 2025 NFL Draft, too. So the Aggies will need to effectively restock this unit soon.

 

LINEBACKER

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Alex Howard, redshirt junior Scooby Williams, junior Martrell Harris Jr., sophomores Taurean York, Chantz Johnson and Daymion Sanford, and true freshmen Tristan Jernigan and Jordan Lockhart.

One season of eligibility remaining: Howard.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Williams and Harris.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: York, Johnson and Sanford.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Jernigan.

Arrives in June: None.

Analysis: Even though the Aggies lost arguably their best player, in linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, the position group he left is still in a decent spot. Their best returning linebacker, York, still has three seasons of eligibility remaining. And after emerging as a true freshman last season, York is now on pace to have one of the better careers for an A&M linebacker in recent memory. 

It remains to be seen which linebacker steps into the starting role beside York. But the Aggies need only one player to emerge among a group that is full of promising options. Their two transfer additions, Williams and Howard, bring significant experience. Sanford has received a lot of buzz this offseason. Harris brings the athleticism to play at a high level but has not quite put it together yet. 

 

CORNERBACK/NICKEL

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Jaydon Hill, seniors Tyreek Chappell and BJ Mayes, juniors Will Lee III and Donovan Saunders, redshirt sophomore Bobby Taylor, sophomores Jayvon Thomas and Bravion Rogers, redshirt freshman Dezz Ricks and true freshman Terry Bussey.

One season of eligibility remaining: Hill, Chappell and Mayes.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Lee and Saunders.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Taylor, Thomas and Rogers.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Ricks and Bussey.

Arrives in June: Bussey.

Analysis: In the winter portal window, A&M made the cornerback position its biggest priority. The Aggies picked up five cornerback transfers: Hill, Mayes, Lee, Saunders and Ricks. They signed one freshman as well, in Bussey. Those additions helped A&M make up for losing cornerbacks Deuce Harmon, Tony Grimes and McCall to the portal and Josh DeBerry to expired eligibility.

Chappell seems like the favorite to secure a starting cornerback job. He started at cornerback in each of his first three seasons. The other starting cornerback spot looks to be up for grabs. Sophomore Dalton Brooks and Hill will be worth monitoring at nickel. Junior Bryce Anderson, the starting nickel for the Aggies last season, appears to be moving to safety. 

The two players with the least amount of college experience among the group, Ricks and Bussey, might have the best long-term potential. Both of them are former five-star recruits and have four seasons of eligibility remaining.

 

SAFETY

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Trey Jones, fifth-year senior De'Rickey Wright, juniors Bryce Anderson and Jarred Kerr, sophomores Marcus Ratcliffe and Dalton Brooks, and true freshmen Myles Davis and Jordan Pride.

One season of eligibility remaining: Jones and Wright.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Anderson and Kerr.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Ratcliffe and Brooks.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Davis and Pride.

Arrives in June: Wright.

Analysis: Like cornerback, the Aggies hammered the portal for safeties during the winter window. They needed reinforcement after losing Jardin Gilbert and Mathews to the portal. They replaced them with three safety transfers who were starters elsewhere: Jones, Wright and Ratcliffe. It is worth noting, though, that there is buzz about Wright potentially backing off his verbal commitment and returning to Vanderbilt. We will see how that situation plays out, as no announcement has been made yet.

If Anderson permanently moves to safety and makes the transition look seamless, A&M should be in good shape. But if Anderson struggles, the Aggies will need a solid backup plan.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

Position inventory: Redshirt junior kickers Randy Bond and Jared Zirkel, junior punter Keegan Andrews, redshirt sophomore kicker Ethan Moczulski and redshirt freshman punter Tyler White.

One season of eligibility remaining: None. 

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Bond, Zirkel and Andrews.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Moczulski.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: White.

Arrives in June: Zirkel.

Analysis: Maybe the Aggies will experience some attrition with this group during the 15-day portal window. Otherwise, they will be using too many scholarships on special teams players. Major college football programs do not tend to have five special teams players on scholarship. Not to mention, none of these five players will see their eligibility expire following this season.

There is a lot going on there. Here are some of my thoughts:

At DT, they have some talent on paper. Regis has looked good when healthy. Hicks may wind up being really good. GBD is rumored to be portal-bound and can't stay healthy if not. It's a thin group until several guys do more than flash. I would happily take Hicks and Regis and insert them into the DT rotation at Texas.

They are loaded at DE. They are probably too loaded. I assume they're going to lose a guy or two in the portal. This position will clearly be a team strength for this team.

Karels tries to spin the LB set up, but the loss of Cooper means a massive talent dropoff with this group. They think highly of York and that reminds me of the gurus and posters who often spoke well of Dusty Renfro. Yeah, the guy knows the playbook and is decent at reading offenses, but he's slow and small. A linebacker "making plays" 8-10 yards downfield isn't much of a linebacker. If you're having to spin Martrell Harris Jr positively, you're probably fucked. There isn't a LB on their roster that I would add to UT's roster. This is the jaggiest group of JAGs on their defensive roster.

ATM has 10 CBs on their roster. Chappell had a terrible 2023 season after being talked up as a draft target following 2022. Oregon offered Chappell $300k after the 2022 season to join them and ATM posted something in that range to keep him. None of that happened this cycle. Maybe that guy rebounds? I don't know. The rest of this group is a mixture of transfer trash and/or very young. This is a serious area of concern for their staff, apparently.

Anderson is moving full time to S and the Vandy starting S is going back to Vandy accordingly. They have talent at S with Anderson there and the younger guys. 

The aggies have 5 scholarship ST players, which is hilarious. They're over the 85 man limit by 4 and they're going to be aggressive in the upcoming portal cycle, so they have a lot of guys to cut unless they get crushed again with portal attrition. I assume they'll lose at least 3 guys from the ST side. One of those guys is the punter they took in 2022. If that guy and GBD leave this spring, that's 14 of 30 signed players from the vaunted greatest class of all time who have vanished into thin air before their JR year on campus.

I assume the ATM defense, with Elko knowing what he's doing on that side of the ball, will carry the team to a mediocre winning record given their weak schedule.

[NoName 16406]

5 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

The aggies have 5 scholarship ST players, which is hilarious. They're over the 85 man limit by 4 and they're going to be aggressive in the upcoming portal cycle, so they have a lot of guys to cut unless they get crushed again with portal attrition. I assume they'll lose at least 3 guys from the ST side. One of those guys is the punter they took in 2022. If that guy and GBD leave this spring, that's 14 of 30 signed players from the vaunted greatest class of all time who have vanished into thin air before their JR year on campus.

holy cow, they actually do.

3 punters and 2 kickers.

• Zirkel was a kickoff specialist at UGA with 1 FG in his career
• Randy Bond was their kicker last year and went 26/35 on FGs
• Moczulski has played in 2 games over 2 years with 4 total kicks (1 kickoff vs New Mexico, 2 kickoffs vs ULM and a PAT)
• Tyler White is a punter per his twitter profile
• Andrews is a prokick guy, guess they recruited over White (who was the first 4* kicker/punter in 247 history lol)

3 kickers on scholarship is just absolutely horrific roster management.

 

[US183 125]

5 hours ago, TrashMaster G said:

 

Ah, yes, the "freshness of a new coaching staff."  Yep, that's going to make the difference.

Can't blame Looch, though.  He's just selling what the Rubes want to buy.

Did someone say “Looch”?

 

[General Specific 3268]

Maybe aggy can sell aggy bibles!

Well, there are twelve disciples, so they are practically good to go! Whoop!

[Tex Pete 20484]

2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Here is today's Carter Karels article on their defense, spoilered as a courtesy. 

  Hide contents

Following last season, Texas A&M underwent a significant roster overhaul. As of now, nearly half of the scholarship players for the Aggies this fall will be newcomers. With spring football now underway, GigEm247 is ready to examine what their entire roster looks like from a scholarship distribution standpoint.

For the fall, A&M has an unofficial scholarship count of 89. The Aggies have 79 of those players on campus this spring, while the remaining 10 are set to join them in June. Until the first day of its fall semester, A&M does not have to satisfy the NCAA-imposed limit of 85 scholarship players. 

Since firing former head coach Jimbo Fisher last November, the Aggies have lost 30 scholarship players for various reasons: 18 entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, seven saw their eligibility expire and five departed early for the 2024 NFL Draft. 247Sports previously reported that two other scholarship players, safety Jacoby Mathews and cornerback Sam McCall, plan to transfer out of A&M during the 15-day portal window this month (April 15-30).

Top StoriesREAD MOREStay, Go, Hello: What the future holds for LSUbasketball after Elite 8 loss to Iowa

The Aggies mostly replenished their roster through the portal, adding 23 scholarship transfers over the winter. They also signed 17 scholarship players to their 2024 recruiting class. A&M has all but two of its transfers and eight of its high school signees on campus this spring.

Compared to their 2023 team, the 2024 Aggies are considerably more experienced. They have 16 scholarship players who will exhaust their eligibility following this season after having only seven in 2023. Going into last season, 67.9% (55 of 81) of the scholarship players on their roster had three or more seasons of eligibility remaining. A&M has seen that number decrease to 48.3% (43 of 89) for its projected roster this fall. Again, those are unofficial figures.

Here is the conclusion of a two-part series that breaks down the scholarship distribution for the Aggies even more, ending with their defense and special teams. An analysis of the offensive position groups can be found here.

But first, keep these four things in mind:

1. College football players received eligibility relief during the COVID-impacted 2020 season. So if a player came from the 2020 recruiting class or earlier, he could have an extra season of eligibility remaining than usual.

2. In an effort to eliminate confusion, potential redshirts will not be counted as a season of eligibility. For instance, sophomore running back Rueben Owens II could theoretically take a redshirt in 2024 before playing three seasons from 2025-27. But for this exercise, he has three seasons of eligibility remaining and a potential redshirt year will be excluded from his count.

3. These scholarship tallies are unofficial. Under Fisher, A&M never publicized when walk-ons were put on scholarship. GigEm247 will count former walk-on and current starting kicker Randy Bond, though, after learning that he is on scholarship.

4. Just because a player is listed with a position group does not mean he is not cross training or will not eventually move to another position. For this exercise, it makes it less confusing if various players are not appearing in multiple position groups.

 

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Rodas Johnson, redshirt junior Albert Regis, redshirt sophomore Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, sophomore DJ Hicks, redshirt freshmen Jadon Scarlett and Samu Taumanupepe and true freshman Dealyn Evans.

One season of eligibility remaining: Johnson.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Regis.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Brownlow-Dindy and Hicks.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Scarlett, Taumanupepe and Evans.

Arrives in June: Evans.

Analysis: Following last season, the Aggies lost their top defensive tackle, McKinnley Jackson, to the NFL Draft. Their other starting defensive tackle, Walter Nolen, and top backup Isaiah Raikes entered the NCAA Transfer Portal before landing at Ole Miss and USC, respectively. So in 2024, A&M will be relying on a largely unproven defensive tackle group and seems thin on numbers.

The Aggies will need to hope that a few players – particularly their former five-star signees, Hicks and Brownlow-Dindy – step up in increased roles. Though, A&M might not be done adding to the group. Last week, the Aggies extended a scholarship offer to Indiana defensive tackle transfer Philip Blidi. More offers could be coming after the spring window begins.

 

DEFENSIVE END

Position inventory: Senior Shemar Turner, redshirt junior Cashius Howell, juniors Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, Enai White and Malick Sylla, sophomore Rylan Kennedy, and true freshmen Solomon Williams and Kendall Jackson.

One season of eligibility remaining: Turner.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Howell, Scourton, Stewart, White and Sylla.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Kennedy.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Williams and Jackson.

Arrives in June: None. 

Analysis: No position group for the Aggies might be more impressive than this one. Scourton, who transferred from Purdue to A&M following last season, and Turner were second-team all-conference players in the Big Ten and SEC in 2023, respectively. At Bowling Green last season, Howell tied for the most sacks in the MAC with 9.5 and received third-team all-conference honors. Stewart, White and Sylla were highly touted recruits who have looked the part in their opportunities as backups.

The biggest worry with this unit could be their scholarship distribution. Of the nine players listed, six of them have only two or fewer seasons of eligibility remaining. Scourton and Turner could conceivably depart a year early for the 2025 NFL Draft, too. So the Aggies will need to effectively restock this unit soon.

 

LINEBACKER

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Alex Howard, redshirt junior Scooby Williams, junior Martrell Harris Jr., sophomores Taurean York, Chantz Johnson and Daymion Sanford, and true freshmen Tristan Jernigan and Jordan Lockhart.

One season of eligibility remaining: Howard.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Williams and Harris.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: York, Johnson and Sanford.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Jernigan.

Arrives in June: None.

Analysis: Even though the Aggies lost arguably their best player, in linebacker Edgerrin Cooper, the position group he left is still in a decent spot. Their best returning linebacker, York, still has three seasons of eligibility remaining. And after emerging as a true freshman last season, York is now on pace to have one of the better careers for an A&M linebacker in recent memory. 

It remains to be seen which linebacker steps into the starting role beside York. But the Aggies need only one player to emerge among a group that is full of promising options. Their two transfer additions, Williams and Howard, bring significant experience. Sanford has received a lot of buzz this offseason. Harris brings the athleticism to play at a high level but has not quite put it together yet. 

 

CORNERBACK/NICKEL

Position inventory: Fifth-year senior Jaydon Hill, seniors Tyreek Chappell and BJ Mayes, juniors Will Lee III and Donovan Saunders, redshirt sophomore Bobby Taylor, sophomores Jayvon Thomas and Bravion Rogers, redshirt freshman Dezz Ricks and true freshman Terry Bussey.

One season of eligibility remaining: Hill, Chappell and Mayes.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Lee and Saunders.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Taylor, Thomas and Rogers.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Ricks and Bussey.

Arrives in June: Bussey.

Analysis: In the winter portal window, A&M made the cornerback position its biggest priority. The Aggies picked up five cornerback transfers: Hill, Mayes, Lee, Saunders and Ricks. They signed one freshman as well, in Bussey. Those additions helped A&M make up for losing cornerbacks Deuce Harmon, Tony Grimes and McCall to the portal and Josh DeBerry to expired eligibility.

Chappell seems like the favorite to secure a starting cornerback job. He started at cornerback in each of his first three seasons. The other starting cornerback spot looks to be up for grabs. Sophomore Dalton Brooks and Hill will be worth monitoring at nickel. Junior Bryce Anderson, the starting nickel for the Aggies last season, appears to be moving to safety. 

The two players with the least amount of college experience among the group, Ricks and Bussey, might have the best long-term potential. Both of them are former five-star recruits and have four seasons of eligibility remaining.

 

SAFETY

Position inventory: Sixth-year senior Trey Jones, fifth-year senior De'Rickey Wright, juniors Bryce Anderson and Jarred Kerr, sophomores Marcus Ratcliffe and Dalton Brooks, and true freshmen Myles Davis and Jordan Pride.

One season of eligibility remaining: Jones and Wright.

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Anderson and Kerr.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Ratcliffe and Brooks.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: Davis and Pride.

Arrives in June: Wright.

Analysis: Like cornerback, the Aggies hammered the portal for safeties during the winter window. They needed reinforcement after losing Jardin Gilbert and Mathews to the portal. They replaced them with three safety transfers who were starters elsewhere: Jones, Wright and Ratcliffe. It is worth noting, though, that there is buzz about Wright potentially backing off his verbal commitment and returning to Vanderbilt. We will see how that situation plays out, as no announcement has been made yet.

If Anderson permanently moves to safety and makes the transition look seamless, A&M should be in good shape. But if Anderson struggles, the Aggies will need a solid backup plan.

 

SPECIAL TEAMS

Position inventory: Redshirt junior kickers Randy Bond and Jared Zirkel, junior punter Keegan Andrews, redshirt sophomore kicker Ethan Moczulski and redshirt freshman punter Tyler White.

One season of eligibility remaining: None. 

Two seasons of eligibility remaining: Bond, Zirkel and Andrews.

Three seasons of eligibility remaining: Moczulski.

Four seasons of eligibility remaining: White.

Arrives in June: Zirkel.

Analysis: Maybe the Aggies will experience some attrition with this group during the 15-day portal window. Otherwise, they will be using too many scholarships on special teams players. Major college football programs do not tend to have five special teams players on scholarship. Not to mention, none of these five players will see their eligibility expire following this season.

There is a lot going on there. Here are some of my thoughts:

 

My thought:

Quote

he could have an extra season of eligibility remaining than usual.

That is not English. How do people who get paid to write do so this poorly?

[General Specific 3268]

They’re like the people who think they their own jokes are hysterical. It’s why everyone else finds them insufferable. 

Well that, and they never shut the fuck up!