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Posted
21 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

But Wiltfong just put a flip pick in for him to Bama', so who knows?  Sounds like he ain't sticking with aggy regardless.

Their NIL deal with Carhart and Grainger isn't what it used to be

Posted
On 3/16/2025 at 6:24 PM, Elmer_Fudd said:

Bill Belichick Wink GIF by New England Patriots

Screenshot_20250316_182336_Chrome.jpg

Trashawn looks much heavier than I would expect a “Trashawn” to look. 

I was expecting Trashawn to have more of a WR/ DB/ basketball PG/SG/Wing player build.

If feel like most of the Trashawns that I have met have been more slender & agile.

It goes to show that you can’t just stereotype Trashawns going forward. 

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Posted
2 hours ago, Getafix said:

 

Re: the Trashawn Ruffin decommitment - 

 

"major programs" ... welcome to the big time,  UNC ... 

image.thumb.png.fc0ea94dc857aa8a55f515429a0c11ad.png

 

Good thing they don't have too many other out of state commits in their current class.  

Here is their entire current commitment list, with the out of state commits marked with an X.

 

image.thumb.png.76fa448487383a4ee2c965b01856ff5a.png

 

 

From what I've seen so far about the reat of the commits is Tafua is looking at/may have already visited USC.

Kinsler has already said he will take other visits/OV's.

Moala has other teams coming after him.

Gregory is scheduled for a Texas OV.  If he bolts, Carter is his HS teammate and doubt he sticks around.  Probably doesn't anyway.

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Posted
5 hours ago, Getafix said:

 

Re: the Trashawn Ruffin decommitment - 

 

"major programs" ... welcome to the big time,  UNC ... 

image.thumb.png.fc0ea94dc857aa8a55f515429a0c11ad.png

 

Good thing they don't have too many other out of state commits in their current class.  

Here is their entire current commitment list, with the out of state commits marked with an X.

 

image.thumb.png.76fa448487383a4ee2c965b01856ff5a.png

 

 

It’s early, but wow. Not even one commit from someone one or two states away from Texas.

Posted
5 hours ago, Getafix said:

 

Re: the Trashawn Ruffin decommitment - 

 

"major programs" ... welcome to the big time,  UNC ... 

image.thumb.png.fc0ea94dc857aa8a55f515429a0c11ad.png

 

Good thing they don't have too many other out of state commits in their current class.  

Here is their entire current commitment list, with the out of state commits marked with an X.

 

image.thumb.png.76fa448487383a4ee2c965b01856ff5a.png

 

 

Must have the finest Polynesian ties. 

Posted
5 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

From what I've seen so far about the reat of the commits is Tafua is looking at/may have already visited USC.

Kinsler has already said he will take other visits/OV's.

Moala has other teams coming after him.

Gregory is scheduled for a Texas OV.  If he bolts, Carter is his HS teammate and doubt he sticks around.  Probably doesn't anyway.

Ummm, it says "hard commits" to A&M.  They're not going anywhere.

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Posted

The Elk’s national recruiting strategy is eerily similar to Sumlin’s last few years and it’s what ultimately got him fired. I understand why The Elk would do it, it’s smart from a personal perspective. Aggy doesn’t care about actual, meaningful results; they only care about meaningless headlines.  This strategy will certainly buy The Elk another year as he ingratiates himself to the Aggy fan base.

Posted

Plus, they won’t win many battles against us head-to-head right now. It’s easier for them to pick up guys we aren’t after so they can pretend they’re not taking Ls.

Kind of the same concept of them jumping to the SEC and acting like losing there was better than losing in the Big 12. 

Plus, they won’t win many battles against us head-to-head right now. It’s easier for them to pick up guys we aren’t after so they can pretend they’re not taking Ls.

Kind of the same concept of them jumping to the SEC and acting like losing there was better than losing in the Big 12. 
 

Turdition. 

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Posted
11 hours ago, Tex Pete said:

Plus, they won’t win many battles against us head-to-head right now. It’s easier for them to pick up guys we aren’t after so they can pretend they’re not taking Ls.

Kind of the same concept of them jumping to the SEC and acting like losing there was better than losing in the Big 12. 

tumblr_n6aqvyOGF21s00ervo3_250.gifv

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Posted

You just have to take out of state kids who don't know what aggy is really about and hope they don't find out before signing day. 

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Posted
12 hours ago, Tex Pete said:

Kind of the same concept of them jumping to the SEC and acting like losing there was better than losing in the Big 12. 

Succinct even if repeated.

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Deej said:

You just have to take out of state kids who don't know what aggy is really about and hope they don't find out before signing day. 

In aggie hive mind I agree, but in reality its better to have them self-eject button before rather than coming in, having the staff build around the talent they have, then hit the road. The staff would at least know the reality of the situation. However, in aggie mind, whether they stay or not, recruiting rankings have to be high to best perpetuate the never ending "next year" aggie mythos. For that, I admit a ton of gratitude for that entire "great" recruiting class - current players bailing like a house on fire - those weren't "aggie mindset players" - we're gonna win the SEC - rinse repeat allows for the roller-coaster. Without which, my world would be a little less complete.

Edited by BurntEyes
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Posted
1 hour ago, Deej said:

White guys?

Lunchpail types. Coaches on the field. The kind you’d like your daughter to date. High motor. Sneaky fast. 

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Posted
2 hours ago, nnm said:

Lunchpail types. Coaches on the field. The kind you’d like your daughter to date. High motor. Sneaky fast. Mercenaries.

FTFY You forgot an important one to add in the day of NIL. If they come to Texas or leave aggie "Mercenaries" is the new popular word for "not aggie mindset".

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Posted
7 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Here's another sad update from the 247 team. This time, it's Carter Karels attempting to smear lipstick all over the porcine hulk that is the ATM 2025 football outlook and roster.

Highlights:

-WR is a total rebuild and that Concepcion guy better be the fucking balls, because it's a dumpster fire around them. Hudson is gone and the Craver guy is currently suspended due to a drug bust. 

-DL isn't in much better shape. Outside of Regis, it's also a total rebuild. They're relying on players from lesser programs or guys who haven't played much at better programs. I don't even think Hicks was mentioned in the article. 

-Elko will not discuss injuries, so that have no clue whether or not most of the injured players from 2024 are even going to play this spring. 

-Lots of dependency on scrubs named Zeno, Bisontis, and Crownover. 

Bottom line, ATM has an experienced, if mediocre, OL coming back, along with a bad LB room and an even worse secondary. And Marcel "The Man" Reed. TE, WR, TB, DE, DT are all either question marks or outright fucked. Inevitably, Liucci will make the rounds this summer and tout their experience and work to convince folks "not to sleep on ATM" and voters will take the bait, as always. They'll enter the year ranked and not have a fucking prayer of being in that spot at season's end. 

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Eight storylines for Texas A&M football going into its 2025 spring practices

The Texas A&M football team will hold its first of 15 spring practices Friday. Here are eight storylines surrounding the Aggies before they begin their second spring football campaign under coach Mike Elko.

Carter KarelsMar 18th, 7:00 AM5

The Texas A&M football team will hold its first of 15 spring practices Friday. Here are eight storylines surrounding the Aggies before they begin their second spring football campaign under coach Mike Elko, which will end on April 19 with the Maroon and White Game in Kyle Field.

Elko's plan to improve the defense

Fresh off a 35-31 loss to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl last December, Elko did not mince words about his defense. He said the group "can't defend the forward pass" and "(does) not understand how to play zone coverage" before expressing optimism about their outlook in 2025 and beyond.

"I won't watch a defense play like this ever again," Elko said.

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A&M certainly left a lot to be desired defensively late last season, contributing heavily to its 1-4 finish. The issues were all around for the Aggies, too. The group struggled with tackling, underachieved up front, proved to be porous against the run at times and committed a glaring number of coverage busts in the secondary.

In an attempt to clean up those problems, the defensive-minded Elko will now be more involved on that side of the ball. He also hired James Madison defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill, who assumed the role of associate head coach (defense) and will collaborate with defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jay Bateman.

With the way A&M holds limited and controlled viewing windows of its practices to the media, there might not be much to learn this spring about the new approach Elko devised. But a snapshot of the dynamic among Elko, Bateman and Hemphill should be insightful nonetheless.

Newcomers galore

Prepare to see a lot of fresh faces this spring. 

A&M added 14 scholarship players from the NCAA Transfer Portal over the winter. Of the 25 scholarship players the Aggies signed to their 2025 class, only one of them, five-star wide receiver Jerome Myles, did not enroll a semester early in January. Myles will arrive in June.

One of those transfers, wide receiver Micah Hudson (Texas Tech), stepped away from the team in January for undisclosed reasons. Another receiver transfer, Mario Craver (Mississippi State), was arrested by Texas A&M police earlier this month for possession of a penalty group 2 controlled substance between one to four grams. Their status with the team will likely be addressed when Elko holds a press conference Wednesday for the first time since the Las Vegas Bowl.

Of the 12 remaining transfers for the Aggies, receiver KC Concepcion (NC State) seems poised to make the biggest impact. He proved to be highly productive in his two seasons with the Wolfpack, recording a combined 124 catches for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns while turning 60 carries into 356 yards and two scores. UAB quarterback transfer Jacob Zeno, who is expected to fill the backup role behind starter Marcel Reed, will be another player to watch.

Among the 24 early-enrolled freshmen, offensive tackle Lamont Rogers garnered the most hype from a recruiting rankings standpoint. The Mesquite (Texas) Horn product joined Myles as the two five-star recruits (per the 247Sports Composite) A&M signed in the 2025 cycle. The Aggies also signed two three-star quarterbacks: Brady Hart of Cocoa (Fla.) High and Eli Morcos of Montgomery (Texas) Lake Creek.

Marcel Reed is the man

For the first time in his career, Reed entered this offseason as the starter for the Aggies. It remains to be seen, though, what the next step looks like for the redshirt sophomore.

Reed showed promise last season, especially for a redshirt freshman and when considering he needed to unexpectedly replace an injured, struggling Conner Weigman. For a single season among freshmen in A&M history, Reed finished second in passing yards (1,864) and completions (147), third in passing touchdowns (15), tied for 10th in rushing touchdowns (seven) and 14th in rushing yards (547) despite making only eight starts.

Still, Reed could not produce enough to prevent the Aggies from collapsing late last fall. He also underwhelmed as a passer at times, particularly with his deep ball. Through 11 games, Reed never reached 300 passing yards. Among the 110 FBS quarterbacks who threw at least 35 passes of 20-plus yards from beyond the line of scrimmage (per Pro Football Focus), Reed ranked 97th in completion percentage (27.8%) and 98th in yards per attempt (9.4).

Fortunately for Reed, A&M will support him with a strong running back group and one of the more experienced offensive lines in the country. This spring will offer a glimpse of how much he benefits from those advantages.

Maroon Goons step into the spotlight

The Aggie offensive line seems ready to live up to their "Maroon Goons" nickname this fall. It will likely be their best offensive line since they finished as one of three finalists for the Joe Moore Award in 2020.

Under its offensive line coach, Adam Cushing, last season, A&M showed significant progress up front. Among FBS teams in each of their previous two seasons, the Aggies were 70th or worse in sacks allowed and outside the top 75 in rushing yards per game. They finished last season 12th in tackles for a loss allowed, 26th in rushing yards per game and 55th in sacks allowed.

All seven key contributors from that group returned to A&M after last season: left tackle Trey Zuhn III, left guard Chase Bisontis, centers Mark Nabou Jr. and Kolinu'u Faaiu, right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams and right tackles Dametrious Crownover and Reuben Fatheree II. They bring significant experience collectively, combining to appear in 226 games with 156 starts in their careers.

Zuhn leads the unit and is coming off a third-team All-SEC season. He boasts the highest number of career starts for the Aggies, tallying 37 through 41 games. Reed-Adams might be the best prospect on the team for the 2026 NFL Draft. PFF ranked him as the best returning offensive guard in the country.

While Zuhn, Bisontis and Reed-Adams are expected to be entrenched as starters, the center and right tackle spots will be positions to watch. 

Nabou began last fall as the starting center but suffered a season-ending lower body injury in game one, paving the way for Faaiu to replace him. Crownover received most of the work at right tackle but shared some of his duties with Fatheree.

Who steps up at receiver?

The receiver position could be an issue for the Aggies.

No A&M player reached 600 receiving yards last season, and only one, receiver Noah Thomas, totaled at least 400. It marked the fifth straight season the Aggies did not have a player who recorded at least 800 receiving yards. 

Making matters worse, A&M lost an overwhelming majority of its receiver production after last season: 85.1% of receptions, 85.3% of receiving yards and 81.3% of receiving touchdowns.

Thomas, the towering 6-foot-6 red zone target who led the team in catches (39), receiving yards (574) and receiving touchdowns (eight), transferred to Georgia. Sophomore Terry Bussey is the only returning receiver who has at least five career receptions. Redshirt freshmen Ashton Bethel-Roman, Izaiah Williams and Ernest Campbell were the only other scholarship receivers for the Aggies who came back. 

The four transfer receivers A&M landed – KC Concepcion (NC State), Micah Hudson (Texas Tech), Mario Craver (Mississippi State) and Jonah Wilson (Houston) – are collectively impressive on paper. But with Hudson stepping away from the team and Craver getting arrested, they are not off to an ideal start.

Former five-star recruit Jerome Myles leads the trio of incoming freshmen receivers for the Aggies, joining four-stars Kelshaun Johnson and Tristan Norman. Whether the Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon product will be ready to make a significant impact immediately, though, remains unclear. Myles will not arrive at A&M until June and suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his knee last August.

Elko also added a veteran coach, Rutgers senior analyst John Perry, to the Aggie receiver room this offseason. Assistant wide receivers coach is his title. The two have had a relationship since being on the same coaching staff at Hofstra in 2007, serving as the defensive and offensive coordinator, respectively.

Given his proven production, Concepcion will be expected to lead the group. How the rest of the unit shapes up is still to be determined.

First impression of the new-look defensive line

Like receiver, the defensive line group for the Aggies experienced quite a bit of turnover.

Their starting defensive ends last season, Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart, opted to forgo their final season of eligibility as projected first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Another key loss, defensive tackle Shemar Turner, is expected to be drafted in the later rounds.

A&M also took a hit from a depth perspective. Top defensive tackle backup Rodas Getachew-Johnson expired his eligibility. Various other reserves departed via the portal: defensive ends Malick Sylla (Mississippi State) and Enai White, and defensive tackles Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (South Carolina) and Samu Taumanupepe (Baylor).

To help fill that void, the Aggies added four defensive line transfers: defensive ends Sam M'Pemba (Georgia), TJ Searcy (Florida) and Dayon Hayes (Colorado), and defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim (Iowa State). While M'Pemba spent his two seasons with the Bulldogs viewed as a project with high upside, Onyedim, Searcy and Hayes all bring proven production and experience.

Onyedim should make for a suitable option next to incumbent starting defensive tackle Albert Regis, who is coming off the best season of his A&M career. Fifth-year senior Cashius Howell and junior Rylan Kennedy, the top returning defensive ends for the Aggies, will be in the mix for significant roles while competing with Searcy, Hayes and M'Pemba.

This defensive line group might be far from establishing cemented roles. But this spring could be informative, particularly with answering whether A&M made enough moves to effectively replace all of the departures from its defensive line. The Aggies might need to prioritize transfer defensive linemen again during the 10-day portal window this spring, which begins April 16.

Avoid significant injuries

Perhaps the biggest goal with any spring football campaign is to remain healthy. It also is worth noting where A&M is from an injury standpoint going into its first spring practice.

Three starters for the Aggies – center Mark Nabou Jr. (lower leg vs. Notre Dame on Aug. 31), running back Le'Veon Moss (right knee vs. South Carolina on Nov. 2) and nickel Tyreek Chappell (knee in practice on Sept. 11) – are coming off season-ending injuries. Elko never offered a timetable for their return.

Several other scholarship players missed the Las Vegas Bowl vs. USC for undisclosed reasons, including four key contributors: running back Amari Daniels, right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams, linebacker Scooby Williams and cornerback Will Lee III. After the game, Elko said Daniels underwent surgery and will miss four to six months. Reed-Adams wore a sling around his left arm during the game. Williams tore the meniscus in his knee during last season.

Two of the new transfers, quarterback Jacob Zeno (non-throwing shoulder) and defensive end Dayon Hayes (undisclosed), appeared in only four games last fall before suffering season-ending injuries.

Stay tuned for a more substantive injury update from Elko when he meets with the media Wednesday.

The Maroon and White Game lives!

Several major programs – including Texas, Florida State, Nebraska, Missouri and Ohio State – recently canceled their annual spring games this year for various reasons, including tampering concerns. While the Aggies will still hold their Maroon and White Game, the format for what has traditionally been an intrasquad scrimmage remains to be seen.

In its first Maroon and White Game under Elko last April, A&M emulated a real game with conventional scoring. Zuhn and linebacker Taurean York, the team captains last season, drafted players and coaches for the two Aggie teams.

Unlike last year, though, the Maroon and White Game this time will occur during the spring portal window (April 16-25). So to mitigate tampering and avoid having depth issues at certain positions throughout the scrimmage, A&M might opt to use a different format.

 

Sounds like the pile of shit that Sark inherited but with a lot more questions and JAGs.

Posted

@closetojumping much love for the synopsis of the dumpster fire. It still impresses me how voters are fooled, over and over again, into giving aggie the benefit of the doubt. Speaks to their overall knowledge about programs. Coach's eh.. they have other shit, I expect them to know fuck all preseason outside of opponents on their schedule. AP... fucking comical. 

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Posted
2 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Here's another sad update from the 247 team. This time, it's Carter Karels attempting to smear lipstick all over the porcine hulk that is the ATM 2025 football outlook and roster.

Highlights:

-WR is a total rebuild and that Concepcion guy better be the fucking balls, because it's a dumpster fire around them. Hudson is gone and the Craver guy is currently suspended due to a drug bust. 

-DL isn't in much better shape. Outside of Regis, it's also a total rebuild. They're relying on players from lesser programs or guys who haven't played much at better programs. I don't even think Hicks was mentioned in the article. 

-Elko will not discuss injuries, so that have no clue whether or not most of the injured players from 2024 are even going to play this spring. 

-Lots of dependency on scrubs named Zeno, Bisontis, and Crownover. 

Bottom line, ATM has an experienced, if mediocre, OL coming back, along with a bad LB room and an even worse secondary. And Marcel "The Man" Reed. TE, WR, TB, DE, DT are all either question marks or outright fucked. Inevitably, Liucci will make the rounds this summer and tout their experience and work to convince folks "not to sleep on ATM" and voters will take the bait, as always. They'll enter the year ranked and not have a fucking prayer of being in that spot at season's end. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Eight storylines for Texas A&M football going into its 2025 spring practices

The Texas A&M football team will hold its first of 15 spring practices Friday. Here are eight storylines surrounding the Aggies before they begin their second spring football campaign under coach Mike Elko.

Carter KarelsMar 18th, 7:00 AM5

The Texas A&M football team will hold its first of 15 spring practices Friday. Here are eight storylines surrounding the Aggies before they begin their second spring football campaign under coach Mike Elko, which will end on April 19 with the Maroon and White Game in Kyle Field.

Elko's plan to improve the defense

Fresh off a 35-31 loss to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl last December, Elko did not mince words about his defense. He said the group "can't defend the forward pass" and "(does) not understand how to play zone coverage" before expressing optimism about their outlook in 2025 and beyond.

"I won't watch a defense play like this ever again," Elko said.

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A&M certainly left a lot to be desired defensively late last season, contributing heavily to its 1-4 finish. The issues were all around for the Aggies, too. The group struggled with tackling, underachieved up front, proved to be porous against the run at times and committed a glaring number of coverage busts in the secondary.

In an attempt to clean up those problems, the defensive-minded Elko will now be more involved on that side of the ball. He also hired James Madison defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill, who assumed the role of associate head coach (defense) and will collaborate with defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jay Bateman.

With the way A&M holds limited and controlled viewing windows of its practices to the media, there might not be much to learn this spring about the new approach Elko devised. But a snapshot of the dynamic among Elko, Bateman and Hemphill should be insightful nonetheless.

Newcomers galore

Prepare to see a lot of fresh faces this spring. 

A&M added 14 scholarship players from the NCAA Transfer Portal over the winter. Of the 25 scholarship players the Aggies signed to their 2025 class, only one of them, five-star wide receiver Jerome Myles, did not enroll a semester early in January. Myles will arrive in June.

One of those transfers, wide receiver Micah Hudson (Texas Tech), stepped away from the team in January for undisclosed reasons. Another receiver transfer, Mario Craver (Mississippi State), was arrested by Texas A&M police earlier this month for possession of a penalty group 2 controlled substance between one to four grams. Their status with the team will likely be addressed when Elko holds a press conference Wednesday for the first time since the Las Vegas Bowl.

Of the 12 remaining transfers for the Aggies, receiver KC Concepcion (NC State) seems poised to make the biggest impact. He proved to be highly productive in his two seasons with the Wolfpack, recording a combined 124 catches for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns while turning 60 carries into 356 yards and two scores. UAB quarterback transfer Jacob Zeno, who is expected to fill the backup role behind starter Marcel Reed, will be another player to watch.

Among the 24 early-enrolled freshmen, offensive tackle Lamont Rogers garnered the most hype from a recruiting rankings standpoint. The Mesquite (Texas) Horn product joined Myles as the two five-star recruits (per the 247Sports Composite) A&M signed in the 2025 cycle. The Aggies also signed two three-star quarterbacks: Brady Hart of Cocoa (Fla.) High and Eli Morcos of Montgomery (Texas) Lake Creek.

Marcel Reed is the man

For the first time in his career, Reed entered this offseason as the starter for the Aggies. It remains to be seen, though, what the next step looks like for the redshirt sophomore.

Reed showed promise last season, especially for a redshirt freshman and when considering he needed to unexpectedly replace an injured, struggling Conner Weigman. For a single season among freshmen in A&M history, Reed finished second in passing yards (1,864) and completions (147), third in passing touchdowns (15), tied for 10th in rushing touchdowns (seven) and 14th in rushing yards (547) despite making only eight starts.

Still, Reed could not produce enough to prevent the Aggies from collapsing late last fall. He also underwhelmed as a passer at times, particularly with his deep ball. Through 11 games, Reed never reached 300 passing yards. Among the 110 FBS quarterbacks who threw at least 35 passes of 20-plus yards from beyond the line of scrimmage (per Pro Football Focus), Reed ranked 97th in completion percentage (27.8%) and 98th in yards per attempt (9.4).

Fortunately for Reed, A&M will support him with a strong running back group and one of the more experienced offensive lines in the country. This spring will offer a glimpse of how much he benefits from those advantages.

Maroon Goons step into the spotlight

The Aggie offensive line seems ready to live up to their "Maroon Goons" nickname this fall. It will likely be their best offensive line since they finished as one of three finalists for the Joe Moore Award in 2020.

Under its offensive line coach, Adam Cushing, last season, A&M showed significant progress up front. Among FBS teams in each of their previous two seasons, the Aggies were 70th or worse in sacks allowed and outside the top 75 in rushing yards per game. They finished last season 12th in tackles for a loss allowed, 26th in rushing yards per game and 55th in sacks allowed.

All seven key contributors from that group returned to A&M after last season: left tackle Trey Zuhn III, left guard Chase Bisontis, centers Mark Nabou Jr. and Kolinu'u Faaiu, right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams and right tackles Dametrious Crownover and Reuben Fatheree II. They bring significant experience collectively, combining to appear in 226 games with 156 starts in their careers.

Zuhn leads the unit and is coming off a third-team All-SEC season. He boasts the highest number of career starts for the Aggies, tallying 37 through 41 games. Reed-Adams might be the best prospect on the team for the 2026 NFL Draft. PFF ranked him as the best returning offensive guard in the country.

While Zuhn, Bisontis and Reed-Adams are expected to be entrenched as starters, the center and right tackle spots will be positions to watch. 

Nabou began last fall as the starting center but suffered a season-ending lower body injury in game one, paving the way for Faaiu to replace him. Crownover received most of the work at right tackle but shared some of his duties with Fatheree.

Who steps up at receiver?

The receiver position could be an issue for the Aggies.

No A&M player reached 600 receiving yards last season, and only one, receiver Noah Thomas, totaled at least 400. It marked the fifth straight season the Aggies did not have a player who recorded at least 800 receiving yards. 

Making matters worse, A&M lost an overwhelming majority of its receiver production after last season: 85.1% of receptions, 85.3% of receiving yards and 81.3% of receiving touchdowns.

Thomas, the towering 6-foot-6 red zone target who led the team in catches (39), receiving yards (574) and receiving touchdowns (eight), transferred to Georgia. Sophomore Terry Bussey is the only returning receiver who has at least five career receptions. Redshirt freshmen Ashton Bethel-Roman, Izaiah Williams and Ernest Campbell were the only other scholarship receivers for the Aggies who came back. 

The four transfer receivers A&M landed – KC Concepcion (NC State), Micah Hudson (Texas Tech), Mario Craver (Mississippi State) and Jonah Wilson (Houston) – are collectively impressive on paper. But with Hudson stepping away from the team and Craver getting arrested, they are not off to an ideal start.

Former five-star recruit Jerome Myles leads the trio of incoming freshmen receivers for the Aggies, joining four-stars Kelshaun Johnson and Tristan Norman. Whether the Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon product will be ready to make a significant impact immediately, though, remains unclear. Myles will not arrive at A&M until June and suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his knee last August.

Elko also added a veteran coach, Rutgers senior analyst John Perry, to the Aggie receiver room this offseason. Assistant wide receivers coach is his title. The two have had a relationship since being on the same coaching staff at Hofstra in 2007, serving as the defensive and offensive coordinator, respectively.

Given his proven production, Concepcion will be expected to lead the group. How the rest of the unit shapes up is still to be determined.

First impression of the new-look defensive line

Like receiver, the defensive line group for the Aggies experienced quite a bit of turnover.

Their starting defensive ends last season, Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart, opted to forgo their final season of eligibility as projected first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Another key loss, defensive tackle Shemar Turner, is expected to be drafted in the later rounds.

A&M also took a hit from a depth perspective. Top defensive tackle backup Rodas Getachew-Johnson expired his eligibility. Various other reserves departed via the portal: defensive ends Malick Sylla (Mississippi State) and Enai White, and defensive tackles Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (South Carolina) and Samu Taumanupepe (Baylor).

To help fill that void, the Aggies added four defensive line transfers: defensive ends Sam M'Pemba (Georgia), TJ Searcy (Florida) and Dayon Hayes (Colorado), and defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim (Iowa State). While M'Pemba spent his two seasons with the Bulldogs viewed as a project with high upside, Onyedim, Searcy and Hayes all bring proven production and experience.

Onyedim should make for a suitable option next to incumbent starting defensive tackle Albert Regis, who is coming off the best season of his A&M career. Fifth-year senior Cashius Howell and junior Rylan Kennedy, the top returning defensive ends for the Aggies, will be in the mix for significant roles while competing with Searcy, Hayes and M'Pemba.

This defensive line group might be far from establishing cemented roles. But this spring could be informative, particularly with answering whether A&M made enough moves to effectively replace all of the departures from its defensive line. The Aggies might need to prioritize transfer defensive linemen again during the 10-day portal window this spring, which begins April 16.

Avoid significant injuries

Perhaps the biggest goal with any spring football campaign is to remain healthy. It also is worth noting where A&M is from an injury standpoint going into its first spring practice.

Three starters for the Aggies – center Mark Nabou Jr. (lower leg vs. Notre Dame on Aug. 31), running back Le'Veon Moss (right knee vs. South Carolina on Nov. 2) and nickel Tyreek Chappell (knee in practice on Sept. 11) – are coming off season-ending injuries. Elko never offered a timetable for their return.

Several other scholarship players missed the Las Vegas Bowl vs. USC for undisclosed reasons, including four key contributors: running back Amari Daniels, right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams, linebacker Scooby Williams and cornerback Will Lee III. After the game, Elko said Daniels underwent surgery and will miss four to six months. Reed-Adams wore a sling around his left arm during the game. Williams tore the meniscus in his knee during last season.

Two of the new transfers, quarterback Jacob Zeno (non-throwing shoulder) and defensive end Dayon Hayes (undisclosed), appeared in only four games last fall before suffering season-ending injuries.

Stay tuned for a more substantive injury update from Elko when he meets with the media Wednesday.

The Maroon and White Game lives!

Several major programs – including Texas, Florida State, Nebraska, Missouri and Ohio State – recently canceled their annual spring games this year for various reasons, including tampering concerns. While the Aggies will still hold their Maroon and White Game, the format for what has traditionally been an intrasquad scrimmage remains to be seen.

In its first Maroon and White Game under Elko last April, A&M emulated a real game with conventional scoring. Zuhn and linebacker Taurean York, the team captains last season, drafted players and coaches for the two Aggie teams.

Unlike last year, though, the Maroon and White Game this time will occur during the spring portal window (April 16-25). So to mitigate tampering and avoid having depth issues at certain positions throughout the scrimmage, A&M might opt to use a different format.

 

shame.gif | BigFooty Forum

  • Hook 'Em 3
Posted (edited)

Innovation at A&M. Look and learn, ye lesser programs!

image.png.04991b9561ae59598bebcd0f098a886f.png

Here's a biggy:

image.png.d5c7de9fff02ca355600413df5e9c909.png

The plan? It's pretty complicated. I hope you can understand it.


image.png.380b7d070a3ee693bc1f1e4349013d75.png

I'm scared.

image.png.b4f6f34081bd17d0cdade00476f7e03a.png

They're wearing this notion of the importance of Reed being the announced starter thus receiving more reps and improving beyond your wildest dreams completely out. He was just a baby when he went in for the Aggies. A little baby.

image.png.9c7f25a402c3830206cae081d9f050ab.png

Widely known, but I laughed at the below as an example of understatement in the name of copium.

image.png.0d83e50c4f7d18423d18b563f2c6d235.png

But so close to one. So close.

A last revelatory goal.

image.png.62ccd7d10f370bcb46f54e3861555565.png

I guess somebody told him he absolutely had to have eight storylines. He likely negotiated down from 12.

Edited by RomaVicta
  • Haha 2
Posted
6 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Here's another sad update from the 247 team. This time, it's Carter Karels attempting to smear lipstick all over the porcine hulk that is the ATM 2025 football outlook and roster.

Highlights:

-WR is a total rebuild and that Concepcion guy better be the fucking balls, because it's a dumpster fire around them. Hudson is gone and the Craver guy is currently suspended due to a drug bust. 

-DL isn't in much better shape. Outside of Regis, it's also a total rebuild. They're relying on players from lesser programs or guys who haven't played much at better programs. I don't even think Hicks was mentioned in the article. 

-Elko will not discuss injuries, so that have no clue whether or not most of the injured players from 2024 are even going to play this spring. 

-Lots of dependency on scrubs named Zeno, Bisontis, and Crownover. 

Bottom line, ATM has an experienced, if mediocre, OL coming back, along with a bad LB room and an even worse secondary. And Marcel "The Man" Reed. TE, WR, TB, DE, DT are all either question marks or outright fucked. Inevitably, Liucci will make the rounds this summer and tout their experience and work to convince folks "not to sleep on ATM" and voters will take the bait, as always. They'll enter the year ranked and not have a fucking prayer of being in that spot at season's end. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Eight storylines for Texas A&M football going into its 2025 spring practices

The Texas A&M football team will hold its first of 15 spring practices Friday. Here are eight storylines surrounding the Aggies before they begin their second spring football campaign under coach Mike Elko.

Carter KarelsMar 18th, 7:00 AM5

The Texas A&M football team will hold its first of 15 spring practices Friday. Here are eight storylines surrounding the Aggies before they begin their second spring football campaign under coach Mike Elko, which will end on April 19 with the Maroon and White Game in Kyle Field.

Elko's plan to improve the defense

Fresh off a 35-31 loss to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl last December, Elko did not mince words about his defense. He said the group "can't defend the forward pass" and "(does) not understand how to play zone coverage" before expressing optimism about their outlook in 2025 and beyond.

"I won't watch a defense play like this ever again," Elko said.

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A&M certainly left a lot to be desired defensively late last season, contributing heavily to its 1-4 finish. The issues were all around for the Aggies, too. The group struggled with tackling, underachieved up front, proved to be porous against the run at times and committed a glaring number of coverage busts in the secondary.

In an attempt to clean up those problems, the defensive-minded Elko will now be more involved on that side of the ball. He also hired James Madison defensive coordinator Lyle Hemphill, who assumed the role of associate head coach (defense) and will collaborate with defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jay Bateman.

With the way A&M holds limited and controlled viewing windows of its practices to the media, there might not be much to learn this spring about the new approach Elko devised. But a snapshot of the dynamic among Elko, Bateman and Hemphill should be insightful nonetheless.

Newcomers galore

Prepare to see a lot of fresh faces this spring. 

A&M added 14 scholarship players from the NCAA Transfer Portal over the winter. Of the 25 scholarship players the Aggies signed to their 2025 class, only one of them, five-star wide receiver Jerome Myles, did not enroll a semester early in January. Myles will arrive in June.

One of those transfers, wide receiver Micah Hudson (Texas Tech), stepped away from the team in January for undisclosed reasons. Another receiver transfer, Mario Craver (Mississippi State), was arrested by Texas A&M police earlier this month for possession of a penalty group 2 controlled substance between one to four grams. Their status with the team will likely be addressed when Elko holds a press conference Wednesday for the first time since the Las Vegas Bowl.

Of the 12 remaining transfers for the Aggies, receiver KC Concepcion (NC State) seems poised to make the biggest impact. He proved to be highly productive in his two seasons with the Wolfpack, recording a combined 124 catches for 1,299 yards and 16 touchdowns while turning 60 carries into 356 yards and two scores. UAB quarterback transfer Jacob Zeno, who is expected to fill the backup role behind starter Marcel Reed, will be another player to watch.

Among the 24 early-enrolled freshmen, offensive tackle Lamont Rogers garnered the most hype from a recruiting rankings standpoint. The Mesquite (Texas) Horn product joined Myles as the two five-star recruits (per the 247Sports Composite) A&M signed in the 2025 cycle. The Aggies also signed two three-star quarterbacks: Brady Hart of Cocoa (Fla.) High and Eli Morcos of Montgomery (Texas) Lake Creek.

Marcel Reed is the man

For the first time in his career, Reed entered this offseason as the starter for the Aggies. It remains to be seen, though, what the next step looks like for the redshirt sophomore.

Reed showed promise last season, especially for a redshirt freshman and when considering he needed to unexpectedly replace an injured, struggling Conner Weigman. For a single season among freshmen in A&M history, Reed finished second in passing yards (1,864) and completions (147), third in passing touchdowns (15), tied for 10th in rushing touchdowns (seven) and 14th in rushing yards (547) despite making only eight starts.

Still, Reed could not produce enough to prevent the Aggies from collapsing late last fall. He also underwhelmed as a passer at times, particularly with his deep ball. Through 11 games, Reed never reached 300 passing yards. Among the 110 FBS quarterbacks who threw at least 35 passes of 20-plus yards from beyond the line of scrimmage (per Pro Football Focus), Reed ranked 97th in completion percentage (27.8%) and 98th in yards per attempt (9.4).

Fortunately for Reed, A&M will support him with a strong running back group and one of the more experienced offensive lines in the country. This spring will offer a glimpse of how much he benefits from those advantages.

Maroon Goons step into the spotlight

The Aggie offensive line seems ready to live up to their "Maroon Goons" nickname this fall. It will likely be their best offensive line since they finished as one of three finalists for the Joe Moore Award in 2020.

Under its offensive line coach, Adam Cushing, last season, A&M showed significant progress up front. Among FBS teams in each of their previous two seasons, the Aggies were 70th or worse in sacks allowed and outside the top 75 in rushing yards per game. They finished last season 12th in tackles for a loss allowed, 26th in rushing yards per game and 55th in sacks allowed.

All seven key contributors from that group returned to A&M after last season: left tackle Trey Zuhn III, left guard Chase Bisontis, centers Mark Nabou Jr. and Kolinu'u Faaiu, right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams and right tackles Dametrious Crownover and Reuben Fatheree II. They bring significant experience collectively, combining to appear in 226 games with 156 starts in their careers.

Zuhn leads the unit and is coming off a third-team All-SEC season. He boasts the highest number of career starts for the Aggies, tallying 37 through 41 games. Reed-Adams might be the best prospect on the team for the 2026 NFL Draft. PFF ranked him as the best returning offensive guard in the country.

While Zuhn, Bisontis and Reed-Adams are expected to be entrenched as starters, the center and right tackle spots will be positions to watch. 

Nabou began last fall as the starting center but suffered a season-ending lower body injury in game one, paving the way for Faaiu to replace him. Crownover received most of the work at right tackle but shared some of his duties with Fatheree.

Who steps up at receiver?

The receiver position could be an issue for the Aggies.

No A&M player reached 600 receiving yards last season, and only one, receiver Noah Thomas, totaled at least 400. It marked the fifth straight season the Aggies did not have a player who recorded at least 800 receiving yards. 

Making matters worse, A&M lost an overwhelming majority of its receiver production after last season: 85.1% of receptions, 85.3% of receiving yards and 81.3% of receiving touchdowns.

Thomas, the towering 6-foot-6 red zone target who led the team in catches (39), receiving yards (574) and receiving touchdowns (eight), transferred to Georgia. Sophomore Terry Bussey is the only returning receiver who has at least five career receptions. Redshirt freshmen Ashton Bethel-Roman, Izaiah Williams and Ernest Campbell were the only other scholarship receivers for the Aggies who came back. 

The four transfer receivers A&M landed – KC Concepcion (NC State), Micah Hudson (Texas Tech), Mario Craver (Mississippi State) and Jonah Wilson (Houston) – are collectively impressive on paper. But with Hudson stepping away from the team and Craver getting arrested, they are not off to an ideal start.

Former five-star recruit Jerome Myles leads the trio of incoming freshmen receivers for the Aggies, joining four-stars Kelshaun Johnson and Tristan Norman. Whether the Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon product will be ready to make a significant impact immediately, though, remains unclear. Myles will not arrive at A&M until June and suffered a season-ending torn ACL in his knee last August.

Elko also added a veteran coach, Rutgers senior analyst John Perry, to the Aggie receiver room this offseason. Assistant wide receivers coach is his title. The two have had a relationship since being on the same coaching staff at Hofstra in 2007, serving as the defensive and offensive coordinator, respectively.

Given his proven production, Concepcion will be expected to lead the group. How the rest of the unit shapes up is still to be determined.

First impression of the new-look defensive line

Like receiver, the defensive line group for the Aggies experienced quite a bit of turnover.

Their starting defensive ends last season, Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart, opted to forgo their final season of eligibility as projected first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. Another key loss, defensive tackle Shemar Turner, is expected to be drafted in the later rounds.

A&M also took a hit from a depth perspective. Top defensive tackle backup Rodas Getachew-Johnson expired his eligibility. Various other reserves departed via the portal: defensive ends Malick Sylla (Mississippi State) and Enai White, and defensive tackles Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (South Carolina) and Samu Taumanupepe (Baylor).

To help fill that void, the Aggies added four defensive line transfers: defensive ends Sam M'Pemba (Georgia), TJ Searcy (Florida) and Dayon Hayes (Colorado), and defensive tackle Tyler Onyedim (Iowa State). While M'Pemba spent his two seasons with the Bulldogs viewed as a project with high upside, Onyedim, Searcy and Hayes all bring proven production and experience.

Onyedim should make for a suitable option next to incumbent starting defensive tackle Albert Regis, who is coming off the best season of his A&M career. Fifth-year senior Cashius Howell and junior Rylan Kennedy, the top returning defensive ends for the Aggies, will be in the mix for significant roles while competing with Searcy, Hayes and M'Pemba.

This defensive line group might be far from establishing cemented roles. But this spring could be informative, particularly with answering whether A&M made enough moves to effectively replace all of the departures from its defensive line. The Aggies might need to prioritize transfer defensive linemen again during the 10-day portal window this spring, which begins April 16.

Avoid significant injuries

Perhaps the biggest goal with any spring football campaign is to remain healthy. It also is worth noting where A&M is from an injury standpoint going into its first spring practice.

Three starters for the Aggies – center Mark Nabou Jr. (lower leg vs. Notre Dame on Aug. 31), running back Le'Veon Moss (right knee vs. South Carolina on Nov. 2) and nickel Tyreek Chappell (knee in practice on Sept. 11) – are coming off season-ending injuries. Elko never offered a timetable for their return.

Several other scholarship players missed the Las Vegas Bowl vs. USC for undisclosed reasons, including four key contributors: running back Amari Daniels, right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams, linebacker Scooby Williams and cornerback Will Lee III. After the game, Elko said Daniels underwent surgery and will miss four to six months. Reed-Adams wore a sling around his left arm during the game. Williams tore the meniscus in his knee during last season.

Two of the new transfers, quarterback Jacob Zeno (non-throwing shoulder) and defensive end Dayon Hayes (undisclosed), appeared in only four games last fall before suffering season-ending injuries.

Stay tuned for a more substantive injury update from Elko when he meets with the media Wednesday.

The Maroon and White Game lives!

Several major programs – including Texas, Florida State, Nebraska, Missouri and Ohio State – recently canceled their annual spring games this year for various reasons, including tampering concerns. While the Aggies will still hold their Maroon and White Game, the format for what has traditionally been an intrasquad scrimmage remains to be seen.

In its first Maroon and White Game under Elko last April, A&M emulated a real game with conventional scoring. Zuhn and linebacker Taurean York, the team captains last season, drafted players and coaches for the two Aggie teams.

Unlike last year, though, the Maroon and White Game this time will occur during the spring portal window (April 16-25). So to mitigate tampering and avoid having depth issues at certain positions throughout the scrimmage, A&M might opt to use a different format.

 

Gma4tdYaUAE_1tm.thumb.jpeg.5aa7eb4837f1bd0758eb0eb72b19d778.jpeg

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 3
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 2
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, RomaVicta said:

Widely known, but I laughed at the below as an example of understatement in the name of copium.

image.png.0d83e50c4f7d18423d18b563f2c6d235.png

But so close to one. So close.

A last revelatory goal.

image.png.62ccd7d10f370bcb46f54e3861555565.png

I guess somebody told him he absolutely had to have eight storylines. He likely negotiated down from 12.

So, on the WR post, I find it extremely amusing that he include Micah Hudson in the aspect of being "collectively impressive on paper" (whatever the fuck that means) and in the next breath notes Micah Hudson is "Stepping away from the team" (Nice word choices there). So.. uh, why did you mention him in the last sentence, dumb fuck??

Next, he talks about avoiding significant injuries as important. A) My god what an astute observation B) I am not exactly an aggie insider, but I know Da Elk keeps injury info tighter than the CiCi manager's asshole when Elk marches in for a sit down. So... good luck being up to speed on that aspect moving forward. It was good to know spring practice has started, I guess, considering nobody has a clue who is or isn't, well.... participating.. aside from Micah... 

Edited by BurntEyes
Posted
4 minutes ago, Scholz said:

So is Marcel Reed THAT guy?

Until he isn’t. O/U until he isn’t? I set it at week 4, after the Auburn game. He’ll be forgiven for a loss to ND, but not to AU. Someone else will be that guy after beating MissSU. 

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Haha 1
Posted

Ouch, doesn't sound like a very useful practice.  QBs throwing to each other? But they may lead the SEC in starters with odd apostrophes or hyphens in names, so they have that going for them. 

  • Haha 1
Posted
14 hours ago, closetojumping said:

Given the limited and controlled viewing window, along with the restrictions on what the media can report, there were not a lot of significant takeaways from the practice.

This little passive aggressive comment was amazing. Kearls seems to hate Elko.

  • Like 1
Posted
5 hours ago, hornlife said:

Ouch, doesn't sound like a very useful practice.  QBs throwing to each other? But they may lead the SEC in starters with odd apostrophes or hyphens in names, so they have that going for them. 

Well, man, they are absolutely stellar against air which clearly means SEC ready. Sad you don't know that fact.

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