Jump to content

Jimbo 2021: Meemaw's Got a Brand New Bag

Machinator

By Machinator
in 🤫$9.95🤫

 Share

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 8.5k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Ricky's one-hitter
Ricky's one-hitter

Reddit throwing shade    

Chuckie Finster
Chuckie Finster

... but enough about KKL.

Neonmoon
Neonmoon

Oh stewardess, I speak Aggy... Translated: Victory Vaka posts a lot of shit on social media. Bryce Foster and Monkell Goodwine liked a twitter post. It was a pretty big deal. Vaka said he's

Posted Images

Pato del Muerto

Pato del Muerto 53406

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, RGBIII said:

Lol remember looch being so proud of Kyle field being at 50% capacity unlike those pussies in Austin

Looch was smart though. His comment was that we couldn’t let them do 50% so we’d use the lege to force them down to 25. So now that will be the accepted sequence of events. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Lobwedgephil

Lobwedgephil 1146

Posted
Posted
Spoiler

Billy Liucci: We are back at it again, ladies and gentlemen. It's that time of week: Ask Liucci thread co-hosted by the one and only Gabe Bach. I'm Billy Liucci and Gabe is going to be the questioneer. You fire them off, we'll try to rip through as many as we can here in about 45 minutes. And then as the week goes on, you know, last time we did this, I was unable to get to the written questions because there was this little thing called...It was like the asteroid was coming to hit college football. And you had Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck, and Bruce Willis and the crew trying to figure out how to (save it).

Gabe Bock: LJ Johnson Jr‍: Does momentum swing our way now? What are you hearing on Haynes King?

Billy: I'm hearing terrific things on Haynes King, starting with, for as great a prospect as he was, he's a slight build kid coming out and he's already added like 15 pounds. So that tells you two things. Number one, size isn't going to be an issue for him. He's going to be a muscled up good looking young quarterback. The other thing it tells you is how hard he's been working. He and Antonio Johnson are two guys that they've said have added about 15 since they got here. Those kids that were relatively on the lean side coming in, have already started to fill out. Again, it takes you back to what their work ethic is under Jerry Schmidt as well.

And then Haynes King. Again, guys love him. Locker room loves him, teammates love him. He's a leader out there. I've heard the way he talks to his teammates. And you know, that battle between he and Calzada is going to be so fun to watch not only in fall camp, but especially in the spring, because I am fired the hell up about Haynes King. But I gotta be careful when I say that because I still think Zach Calzada and the way he can sling that football, you know, if it all comes together for him in year two, I mean that's a future pro right there. So it's gonna be a fun battle to watch. But yeah, as far as true freshmen coming in Haynes King, I think has been the guy that I've heard the most about in terms of just positive excitement. And that's saying something cause you've got Jaylon Jones, Demond Demas, Devon Achane; there's a lot of them. If there's a sleeper there that people aren't talking about enough on the boards, but I've been hearing a lot of buzz about it's Edgerrin Cooper. Again, I think his best football, especially with two veteran linebackers, is moving on forward, but man, he looks really good as far as a prospect in that Mike Elko front seven.

Going back to the first part of that question there: LJ Johnson. Look , I think you gotta be on red alert right now if you're A&M and you're doing everything you can, because a lot of times when there's enough of that buzz...it's not Texas fans saying they lead for DeMarvin, they lead for Dylan Wright, they lead for Jaylon, they lead for Kenyon. It's not them saying that. The buzz was that he was getting close to committing and that he or Camar Wheaton‍ were going to pop and fall Texas' way soon. You've got to be careful. You've got to be on alert, do everything you can to keep that from happening, survive that push and then regroup.

At the end of the day, I still like A&M chances there. I know how much they've prioritized him, being a local semi-local guy right there up the road in Cypress and how good he is and the need there. So yeah, I do think A&M's got staying power, but they need to survive this surge by Texas. And there was no doubt a surge by the Longhorns in this one, but this is one of those battles where it's like, they signed a five star last year. It's a position of need for you. You could even sell that he's the guy in your class if you had to. And the Aggies need to get some of these top 10 players in the state. I know that if you looked at probably A&M's board, I guarantee you, they think of Reuben Fatheree‍ and Eli Stowers‍ and they'd also have a guy like Deuce Harmon‍ way up there. The rankings -- to me, he might be the most disgustingly under-ranked kid in the state by the services right now. I mean, it's criminal that he's as far behind Ishmael Ibraheem‍ and the safety that's committed to Texas, those two guys. It's criminal that he's ranked behind them. And especially as far behind them as he is. He's better cornerback than Ish Ibraheem, and you can ask people that have worked with both of them over a course of years. It's not even up for discussion.

But LJ Johnson, Bryce Foster‍, Shemar Turner‍. Maybe if you can get back in with Landon Jackson‍ as this thing goes on. What's the fight going to look like for Savion Byrd‍? Is A&M going to climb into that ring and duke it out. So these guys are important not only because they're really good prospects, but from a perception standpoint as well. But more than anything else, a guy like LJ fills a need.

So Quinn Ewers‍' recruitment gave Texas a big hit, but losing Jalen Milroe‍...you gotta be careful with that quarterback recruiting because that pendulum can swing against you pretty quickly. And you're putting an awful lot into a kid that's not going to throw a pass for you for two years. And even then as a true freshman, he's going to have to unseat a guy that started for a whole year, whether that be Hudson Card, Ja'Quinden Jackson or the older guy. So it might be two and a half seasons before you see Quinn Ewers. And I know that'll help you with the '22 recruits. And that's something that, if A&M is sitting there not, not expecting that to play a big role and not thinking you have to counter that with momentum, then that shows a lot of naivete. And I don't think they're doing that. I think you have to really respect what just happened on that '22 landscape with them getting him. But for '21, they just lost a guy that was really damn good in Milroe. And he lost him to Bama. So now I think if you're A&M, you gotta wonder about LJ and Bama too, cause they were certainly coming after him. But right now I think the primary threat is Texas. And you've got to weather that storm. And I think he's a guy you really need to sign.

Gabe: Any predictions on true freshmen that will have a starting job by the time the LSU game rolls around?

Billy: I think Demond Demas is so good he works his way in there. I mean, gosh, so he's such a special talent. And if he's not, he's going to be playing a bunch. I don't think Dameyune Craig is going to play essentially three receivers all year. And I think that number is going to grow because he has too many options, too many unproven guys that you got to find out about. And then if Demas isn't well-versed enough in the offense to just throw him out there as your primary, he's gotta be like your fourth guy that's getting out there and making plays.

So I think Jaylon Jones is the most likely in my opinion. He's got to win a job, but I think there are two cornerback spots in a nickel. I think Jaylon Jones ends up starting on that A&M defense at some point this season.

And you know, outside of that, I really don't know where which true freshmen would start per se. I mean, I could see a lot of guys being role guys. If there's another true freshman to start, I can see Achane having a role. I could see Harris and Diggs having a role in the pass rush packages. It may be Antonio Johnson. That's crowded back there, but maybe he gets in there in a certain defensive package for him where he's a regular. You could see Moose Muhammad or Devin Price get reps. But to me, it's Jaylon Jones. I think Brian George as a JUCO has a real chance.

But if there's a third guy outside of Jones and Demas, it actually could be one of those offensive linemen. It's not ideal. It might be because it's hard to go through full season and keep your o-line healthy, but it might be a deal where if one of those guys gets a crack, particularly on the interior they might not give up a job. You know, I think the veterans, like Hocker and McCollum have to come into camp really ready to go and ready to roll because there's some good young talent. They're not going to be there yet. But as the season wears on some of those guys like Akinola, Chris Morris, Josh Bankhead, somebody out of that group, Layden Robinson, even though he's a second year, somebody out of those four guys could surge. And if they get a shot, might not give it up.

Gabe: It feels like Kellen needs to come out of the gate showing improvement. How big are the first four games on this schedule for Kellen Mond: Vanderbilt, at Alabama, Florida at home and at Mississippi state?

Billy: I mean, that's a good point because you know, Kellen is indicative of the whole team. How Kellen performs is going to be...what is the o-line doing? How good is your running game against really good defenses, right out of the chute in Bama and Florida? And then on the road in Tuscaloosa, on the road at Mississippi State and a game that you might have to score a lot. So on the road, you have to be dialed in from the beginning. You can't have that slow start that we've seen Kellen get off to and some of the offenses the last two years get off to. So yeah, it's very significant. Kellen Mond is going to have to play like an All-SEC quarterback right out of the rip or it could be trouble for A&M early.

But again, that goes back to your o-line is going to have to be a lot better. Your running game is going to have to be effective against the Bamas and Floridas, and later on down the road: LSUs and Auburns and Tennessees of the world. So we're going to learn everything we need to know early. There's no easing in. This is not easy for Kellen. It's not easy for anyone, but if Mond were to lead A&M in any form or fashion to a 3-1 start, obviously if that was a win at Bama and a loss to Florida, that might be even more impressive. Actually it would be because you'd have the head-to-head over Bama in the West, and you'd come out of those first four games controlling your own destiny in the SEC. You beat LSU and Auburn and you don't lose in between, you win the West.

So yeah, so any form or fashion of 3-1 in those four, and not only does A&M have a very real chance to enter those last two games with a shot at something real, an SEC West title, you also have a quarterback whose name will be in the conversation for first-team All-SEC when all said and done. So that could swing wildly in either direction. There's no question about it.

Gabe: Two-part question: Will the media have the same amount of time and attending fall workouts as in previous years? [That answer's no we're going to get zero time and I don't blame them for that.] And then will TexAgs be able to film whatever it wants during camp, or will we have to rely on 12th Man Productions?

Billy: We're going to rely on their stuff. And that's fine. Listen, do I think in today's day and age, they take it a little too far with -- you're just dealing with all these entities outside of A&M and contracts and money. And I think they go a little too far in terms of "in house, in house, in house" versus what the media can get. And that's been a sticking point to me forever. I just feel like there's so much more promotion, especially in this NIL day that we're on the precipice of, there's so much more that these guys can get with more exposure in one-on-ones with the media and not these meaningless little gaggles. I've always had the theory that if you let each player or each media entity get a one-on-one a week or two a week, by the end of the year, all these kids have sat down with everyone. And you get to know these guys a little more. I don't think that's that difficult, but I do think there are entities that try to almost prevent that.

It's a weird new age for us in college football. It's not just A&M-specific, but right now in this pandemic, absolutely. You've got to do what's best for the kids and the coaches and the program and all the people that work in the program. You think Alan Cannon and Marquardt and those guys need to be unnecessarily around 30 media people every day? Basically their bubble is such that -- people talk about, "Oh there's not a bubble" -- there really is because the only people really allowed at practice, I think you've got to be in this group that is tested with the team. I don't know if it's three times a week yet -- it's going to be during the season -- but two, three times a week, you've got to be almost like in that testing bubble to be able to be out there at practice. And I'm all for that. I think that's terrific. It's tremendous. There's no reason to put Jimbo Fisher in front of 30 of us. Obviously they're going to give a little distance, but why even do that when we can do this right here now? There's no reason to. They're doing the right thing.

Gabe: And I don't think they're on an Island. I don't believe there are many schools that are allowing a bunch of media to go around practice.

Billy: No way, no way. I was talking about prior to the pandemic, right?

Gabe: Absolutely. Alright, prediction on 2020 team captains or do you know who the captains are? And what do you think the most improved position group will be?

Billy: I don't know who the captains are. They might have them already. I haven't even checked, but I would assume Jhamon, Keldrick Carper, Kellen would be in that discussion. I think Buddy Johnson, Carson Green could be a guy that's in that discussion. Those would be my bets early on. If you're talking about a young guy stepping into one of those roles, I think the first name that would come up to me would be either DeMarvin Leal or Demani Richardson.

Most improved position group, I've talked about this. I think it's going to be the secondary. It might not happen right away. You hope it does because you're playing Bama week two. But I think when Mike Elko and TJ Rushing figure out the exact proper mix back there, I think that group will be the most improved. And I think that would be pretty nice.

Gabe: Plus if they get better off the edge, Billy, they'll automatically get better in the backend. Won't they?

Billy: Yeah, I’ve got more of a question of if they'll get better off the edge. I think that's a bigger question, mark in my opinion.

Gabe: Sure. #1: Bobby Brown looks trim and quick in the clips that we saw. Are you hearing the same? #2: Any talk on the other running backs that we don't talk much about Deondre Jackson, Darvon Hubbard and Earnest Crownover?

Billy: Not yet. I mean, I think they liked the way some of those guys have worked out in the offseason, but I mean, with those guys, you're gonna have to see them. You're going to have to see them run the football and catch the ball out of the backfield and things like that. Achane has obviously turned heads with his speed and that quick twitch that he's got. Yeah, you got to see those. Those three other guys you mentioned, they’re “get the ball in their hands” type of guys. And I know they've said Crownover can catch - I believe it was Crownover they were talking about that can catch really well. That's a good thing in this offense because you know they like swinging a ball out to the backs. Yeah, I'll be very interested to hear how those guys start doing once the pads go on, and they start asking them to run between the tackles and read blocks because I think that's important. I think that's why you saw Isaiah Spiller get better as the year went on last year. I think he struggled in that department early on, started to figure it out. You saw the production go way up.

Gabe: He also talked about Bobby Brown, just the way he looked on the camera. It was quick clips. What have you heard?

Billy: Yeah, I mean, I think Bobby is down from what he was entering last season. I think continued hard work towards that end would help him out a lot. I still think you could probably see him, if he can get down about another 10 pounds or so, I think he'd be ideal But he's way better off than he was entering last year, and that was a must. I think he understood that and put in the work.

Gabe: I can definitely tell that for sure. Who’s somebody that nobody's talking about that you think factors in and has key plays this season?

Billy: Good question. I mentioned him on the radio, Gabe. I guess Jeremiah Martin is an interesting guy because no one's talking about him, right? And he has made a couple of plays. We saw him make a couple in that bowl game, and going into camp, he's probably no better than your fourth-best DE, and he's going to get pushed by some younger guys too. At 6-5, 260 pounds, and he's played quite a bit of football. We watched him out there at Kyle field as a true freshman against Clemson flashing a little bit. This is a guy that's a veteran now he's played a lot, and he looks like he's really worked hard this offseason. So he's one guy that actually jumps out to me.

Another one on the defensive side could be an Andre White because again, you know, you don't talk about him amongst your top three linebackers with those two veterans and Hansford, but Andre White, man, he flashed some real ability last year. You watch him run and hit. And I think he's a guy that if he gets a chance to play enough, kind of like your eyes might go like that. The same with Chris Russell, who was a learning guy last year. He was never really able to just completely put it together, but give him a new coach in Santucci, you give that guy an opportunity. He's a big physical linebacker that can move. Those would be the guys I talk about on defense.

Offensively, man, there's I can name you one of eight receivers, Gabe. So take your pick. Cause I don't know who it's going to be just like I don't think Dameyune Craig knows who it is yet, either.

Gabe: You just mentioned five backers and didn't even mention Doyle and Cooper, and I know how high you are on Cooper. It's been years since we've talked about that many linebackers.

Billy: Yeah. It's exciting. It's exciting what they're doing at that position, and just the front seven, man. Doyle's 250. Cooper is as big as Donell Harris. Fadil Diggs is a different build. He's taller and even bigger. Those guys are just whatever you want to call them — just call them second-level edge guys. I mean, some of them are going to have their hand down on it. People are saying, “Oh, Doyle needs to lose some weight.” He does. He got here later than anyone else, and he's 250. I think you want to get them down to about 240, if you can, before the season would be perfect. He's a true freshman. That kid's going to trim up and get back to 250. He looks like a million bucks in terms of his frame. He comes in and Schmidty or lean him up. The practices will lean him up, and then he'll build muscle on top of that. That dude, he could be a guy that you put stand up. He can run. He can move. He can diagnose. And then you can put he or Cooper or Donell Harris.

We don't ever talk about Braedon Mowry or Fadil Diggs. Let's just call them perimeter, second-level guys. They're just stockpiling. I mean, I mentioned Russell and we mentioned Andre White. Kaci Seegars‍ is that kind of guy. So just keep getting them, Gabe. Jahzion Harris‍ is that kind of dude. Those are the guys that turn into pass rushers. They turn into guys that can play standup linebacker. They affect the game, man. That length and that range; it's just next-level stuff what they're compiling. We just not going to see it quite yet this year, but you will soon.

Gabe: You just mentioned the receivers, and there are too many mentions to take your pick.  Your best guess at the starting wide receiving corps Week Two going into Bama. Who do you think it is?

Billy: Week two: Ausbon, Buckley. If you go three-wide, let's say Ausbon, Buckley and that third one's tough, man. That early, I would say for now: Demas or Chapman. You might go with a veteran there and bring Demas in to make sure you get them the ball several times in the game, even against ‘Bama. But I could see like that. But it's tough, man. I didn't mention Jalen Preston, Chase Lane, Kam Brown, Dylan Wright. You know, there's so many and then the other true freshmen.

Gabe: Who's your pick to be this year's McKinnley Jackson? A highly rated guy. An afterthought for the Aggies, and by the national services. Nobody's putting their balls out on A&M, and all of a sudden, he winds up with the Aggies.

Billy: Well, the obvious one is Tywone Malone‍. I think A&M fans learned last year not to discount Elijah Robinson recruiting, not only a player, the position he's going to coach, but also a player from New Jersey. That's like the daily double for Elijah Robinson and Mike Elko. And then you saw what he did with McKinnley. I think fans are a little more are taking this one a little more seriously, but I would say it's Tywone Malone.

I'm trying to think, Gabe. If you're talking about a second guy, it might be Brian Thomas‍, the wide receiver out of Louisiana. He's the No. 3 player in Louisiana. He's the No. 1 or No. 2 ranked receiver; one of the best in the country. Obviously, beating out LSU is going to be exceptionally difficult, but A&M is actually very much in that recruitment, and they've done a really nice job there. They've got some ties to him, dating all the way back to like Jimbo's days of coaching at LSU. I forget who, but there's some connections there in terms of, you know, players he's coached back in the day and stuff. That would be one. Right now, it feels like a big-time long shot, but that would be one that A&M might have some staying power with.

If there's going to be a shocker at the end, you might circle Thomas behind the No. 1, Tywone Malone.

Gabe: This question: I'm so excited watching that practice video makes me feel like the season's going to happen. What percent are you right now that we play some football this year?

Billy: Right now? I would say I'm at about a 65%. And a week-plus ago, 10 days ago, I would have said 30%. I might've been down to like 20%. Yeah. Felt like the whole world was conspiring against college football at that point. So it's come a long way.

Gabe: The second part is who will start and see the most snaps opposite Demani at the other safety spot?

Billy: That's tough. I would start out with a mix of Carper and O'Neal. But I don't know, Gabe, I'm not prepared to answer that one. That's that's the other position along with receiver where I'm most interested is that one safety spot, because people don't realize Leon started like 10 games last year. He's actually a returning starter, you know, by any definition, Leon O'Neal is a returning starter. I know he put his name in the portal. I know that the season didn't end great for him and that hence going in the portal, but man, he's worked his ass off. You look at him, you see what he puts out there. Anybody can put their workouts out there. It's like guys, you're a college football player. You better be working out every day. Just because you have more of a mindset to put it on social media doesn't mean crap to me or anybody that really knows. But what I do know is when I look at Leon and I see what's happened to him physically, that's when you know, he's put in the work. That's what I was talking about. Like a Jeremiah Martin too. Leon's been putting in the work and it shows. He's very determined.

But Erick Young is incredibly talented. Keldrick Carper is exceptionally dependable and reliable back there. Who's going to be this year's Roney Elam who looked so good in those first two games and then ran into the off-field stuff that derailed the season. And the year before that Deshawn Capers-Smith quietly was a big part of a tremendously improved defense. Who's going to be that guy this year that we're not really expecting to be as good as he is? It could be Keldrick Carper. So is that as a nickel dime extra defender? Is that as a starting safety opposite Demani? I don't know, but that position, man, that's a really interesting spot. It really is.

The whole secondary; we talked about corner. Now you're talking about that second safety spot. And what about nickel? What about when you're in nickel and dime? You know, gosh, you could go experience, you could go youth, you've got Devin Morris, Clifford Chattman who has some experience there. Could you go Brian Williams, who I think is just a football player and dude? And what role do you have for a football-playing dude back there? Antonio Johnson, Bama looked at him at corner. Erick Young used to play corner. Can they man a nickel or do you go with one of those exceptionally talented corners who doesn't win a starting job? So that spot actually is the single most interesting position battle for me because that guy is going to be on the field a lot next season. And it is a starting battle as important as almost any on that defense

Gabe: And whoever he picks is going to be awesome because he's never picked one that wasn't, I mean, we saw Morris and Chattman. They got a chance and they were good. Yeah.

Billy: Yeah. And what bout when they put Chuck Oliver in there against South Carolina and he has six pass break-ups?

Gabe: Exactly. Billy, any immediate rumors of the ACC pulling the plug after UNC moved to online only. Looch, Mack Brown talked today while we've been on the air and said no, it actually better helps them seal the bubble. Like they practiced today. They're fine, he said.

Billy: No question about it. I mean, if every school in the country went online-only, your odds of playing college football go through the roof. Through the roof.Texas A&M...I think almost every player in college football that will have the option to take in person... First of all, you give any kid the option to go online in today's day and age, they're going online, whether it's football or not, I think. Second, most of these kids, because of wanting to avoid trouble and be able to play this year, are going to opt for online. If you're looking at A&M, I bet the only guys you'd find that are going to classes are the ones that they need to graduate that aren't online. So, I mean, you're talking about a very, very small percentage there.

So yeah, I don't think the North Carolina thing hurts. I think in college football's mind, if everything was online, it'd be a better world. And don't tell me this, "Well, if kids can't be on campus..." They weren't on campus all summer. And all the teams across the country were practicing. The problem, Gabe, you saw it this weekend, it's bars, it's bars and college kids and parties. That's going to be the nightmare. That is the season-ender. If people can't rein that thing in, that's where all the fear stuff's going to come from...all the, "How can we let them do this? Look at these number of cases," and so forth.

And everyone's just waiting. We know their names. They're waiting to say, "This team has nine positives and this team..." They just can't wait for that because likes and retweets come with it. And they're begging for that because we have created an absolute monster here in the national media through Twitter. And it is likes, retweets, stories, getting attention. And these people proving to their bosses that they, that they need, that their job is, is essential.

Gabe: We saw it yesterday with North Carolina. It's disgusting.

Billy: It's pathetic. It's disgusting. And then you have people like Pat Forde now coming out and they're almost like trying to ridicule back. No. We understand you want to play college football, but we also understand you want the attention more, and you're letting your, I think, political leanings coming to play here as well. It's a disgusting scene and it's playing out in front of all our eyes every second we try to get on social media.

Gabe: What changes, if any, do you anticipate seeing with Jimbo's offense - given all the additions, all the playmakers at the skill position?

Billy: First of all, you're going to see a lot more two-backs, and you're gonna see them utilize the two-tight ends more, especially that two-backs thing. I think you saw some of it against Oklahoma State. I think you're going to see more of that. I think you'll see a little more design running game with QB because Kellen is so good at it. I mean, he can go to the house. He can go for a hundred yards in a game. We saw him do it a lot. I don't know how many games he had a hundred, but there was a stretch there. It was like Arkansas, Bama, maybe it was South Carolina, Mississippi State. There was a stretch of games there where Kellen was really getting it done running. You saw it in the bowl game. You saw it in both bowl games for him. I think you'll see more of that as now that he's a senior. You trust his decision making so much in terms of that. The team's more decisive even in the running game. The one place where he hasn't sometimes is down there near the goal line, so he can improve on that. I think you'll see that.

The one thing that I really believe you'll see: A lot more downfield passing. I hope we'll see a little more tempo. I'm not entirely sold on that. You get a little bit better protection on the line. You believe they won't get beat as quickly. You've got the weapons. Guys like Demas, Lane. The tight ends now to work the middle of the field. A tusted guy, proven guy in Wydermyer. I think you'll start to see more shots down the field out of this offense.

Gabe: Alright, Billy. How would you describe the evolution of the Aggie athletics department since you started following it closely? And in addition to that, what do you think should be next in terms of upgrades - facilities or something else? If not facilities for the athletic department to embark on that is actually not for football, but maybe a different sport.

Billy: That's a good question. I just haven't put much thought into that second part. I think an academic center — a stand-alone bad-ass academic center. If it's just for football, then two of them; one over there across the tracks and one on this side.

Gabe: What about you that basketball arena?

Billy: That’s always my number one. I'm sorry, it just doesn't feel that way for me right now. It doesn't feel like that's that's in the cards yet. I'm not talking about that, but that's always number one for me. I think Reed Arena hold back Buzz and Gary Blair, especially when you, when you start having to compete with what Texas is building. I think that's going to hurt you even worse. That place has not been up to standards since I went to Lubbock when Bobby Knight was coaching there in like 2001 and saw what they had with the United Spirit Arena or whatever it's called now. Not to mention bringing better concerts in here and things like that.

Here's the thing to answer that question. Are you guys not paying attention to what's going on right now? If there's no football, you ain’t building crap. There's not going to be anything built for a while. If you only play in front of 25 or 30 percent capacity or no fans, the facility arms race is going to come to a screeching halt. Not just at A&M, but around college football. Especially around college football.

Athletic department wise, it just keeps getting better. It keeps getting better and better and better. I think they've made two outstanding hires in a row at athletic director. I think the commitment from the 12th Man Foundation is at height as such that it's never been. I think the hierarchy understands the importance of athletics and football. Even the president. I go on and on about presidents, but we haven't had presidents that stand in the way of athletics here, and a lot of schools this size do. You have to appreciate when that's the case. I don't think anybody new that comes in here is going to be like that either. Whoever ends up being an heir apparent to Michael Young, you're not going to see that change. The commitment is there. The desire to be great is there. I think they've improved in every area from the way they produce content all the way up to the big decisions and stuff like that.

The coaching hires have been really impressive, as are the facilities. You see what they've done with track and softball and baseball here in the last few years. If football wants something, they get it.

Hopefully, with what's going on now, it's just a bump in the road that A&M bounces back from quicker than most. This is the time.

Everybody has gotten frustrated during the offseason with a variety of things, and I get it. Everybody's frustrated about one thing or the other. All of us have been in this heightened state of irritation and aggravation. On all sides of every issue. When that calms down with time and things like the football season happening, maybe the election happening and like things start to just kind of normalize to some level, I do think that people are going to start to realize like athletics does F-in’ matter at Texas A&M. It is the front porch of the university. It is why we see so many of us in our friends and family and lifelong friends. It's here for games.

When the teams are better, more people come back. When baseball is playing in regionals and super regionals, all your old buddies come back. They’re fun weekends. When basketball teams compete for the NCAA tournament, or when they've got a big game to close out SEC play against Arkansas, and it's packed on the verge of a pandemic shut down. It's a fun weekend in College Station. When football is great, everyone's happy. So it does matter. Demand what you want to demand from your university and your programs.

I'm talking about all sides of this thing, but remember this shit matters. It matters to you. It matters to me. It matters to coaches. It matters to administrators. It matters to everyone wearing a ring. I do think there's a level of people needing to come together around Aggie Athletics.

I know a guy who's a very, very prominent donor. With prominent donors, if they support the right or the left and then the left celebrates or the right celebrates. I know pretty much all of them. You can call them whatever you want — “BMA,” some ridiculous acronym — but I've talked to several that say so much of their involvement as someone that donates a ton of money to not only athletics, but other avenues of this university.

My conduit to get to those other avenues and the people I met at tailgate parties and the people I met at functions on game weekends that I was invited to are the people I met through the 12th Man foundation. I was on this board or that board. I met people in the engineering school or business school. That led me down another path that I never would have been exposed to were it not for my fandom. Just like somebody that donates what they can. Maybe what you can donate is the bare minimum.

Maybe you go up as you get older. Maybe you're in your late twenties, early thirties, and you're just starting out. These donors’ paths to avenues outside of athletics to help this university came through their support of A&M sports. For anyone that doesn't think this stuff is important longterm, it is.

I think every Aggie should voice their opinion, whether you agree with it or whether you don't, on every issue. You should voice it and you should make sure you're heard.

At the end of the day, I do think that sports are going to survive longterm. The goal for all of us is for our sports to thrive. It's a hell of a lot more fun to talk about it. It's a hell of a lot more reason to come to College Station. It leads to lifelong friendships. It leads to reunions. It leads to some good ass times. That's why we all want football this year. Not only for the fact that it's a great distraction, but how fun has it been these last couple of days, Gabe, just talking about actual football? Now you're starting to see how bad everyone wants it. When we were that close to them pulling it from us about 10 days ago. Now the momentum is building, and everybody's fired up. You hope it keeps going, but they're far from the finish line on this. They are far from the finish line.

Gabe: You kind of hit a lot of this because this is very open-ended, but he just wanted to know who stood out the most at practice? Of course, there has only been one practice.

Billy: Let's let it go a few days and see. I'll tell you a guy who had a nice offseason, I'm so excited to see what McKinnley Jackson does. I really am. I think people are sleeping. “Well, it's a really crowded D-line room.” Well, guess what? It was a really crowded D-line room when Bobby Brown got here and there were a bunch of seniors. He played, and he played a lot. It was a really crowded D-line line room last year when DeMarvin Leal came in, and he ended up moving past so many of them that he was the second-best one by seasons and behind Madubuike. To act like McKinley Jackson, can't do that, I think you're underestimating how good that guy was and what it means to beat Bama for a guy on signing day in a former LSU commit along the D line. He's that good. Really excited about him.

Isaiah Raikes. Adarious Jones was going to play a lot last year before that injury. Derrick Hunter is another one to me that I watch his social media, and that kid looks good. He's in good shape, and he's really worked hard. He was a big recruiting get for A&M a year ago. McKinnley is one in particular. Don't lose sight just because it's a crowded room that a legit five-star talent, which I think that's what McKinnley is. I think DeMarvin was that. I think Jaylon Jones is that. Don't lose sight of what level talent we're talking about there and how hard it is to keep guys like that off the field.

Gabe: Alright. Is Bobby Brown really that fast or was that just the video?

Billy: Well, he's quick, man. For a guy his size, he's exceptional quick. That's why most people inside that program would say, if Bobby can have a terrific year, he's the one guy that you could see leaving early and being a high draft pick because the physical side is there. Part of that physical is the ability to get off the ball for a guy his size. He certainly got that. It wasn't long ago that the guy was 250 pounds and collecting sacks off the edge. He's got it. He just needs keep that size in check, which is not easy. It's not easy for any of us, but it's certainly not easy when you're just naturally. He can move incredibly quick for a guy his size. I think that people are doing a little too much analysis of one snippet of a video. This is the world we're going to unfortunately — or fortunately — be in for the next few weeks because, hell, as we said, it's a lot better than nothing, isn’t it?

Gabe: Absolutely. This next one is very wide open, Billy. What are you hearing for game day? Fans? Band? Pumped in music? Yell leaders? Entrance?

Billy: I don't know. Today, I think AI&M's going to release their seating plan. It's going to be still subject to change. The SEC put out their guidelines today. It doesn't seem to really reign A&M in too much. They're going to have to go along with what the governor and the state and the local say.

If I'm making a prediction, I think the aim early on will be to maybe try to get like 30 percent. Everybody says 50 or 25 or zero. It can be somewhere within those. Those are significant ranges as well. So maybe somewhere a little over 25 percent. I don't think you're going to be able to get 50 percent in. Again, part of me is skeptical that at the end of the day, it might be zero, and college sports are just going to have to deal with it.

There's going to definitely be piped in music. There's no question about that. I'm sure if there are some fans, there'll be yell leaders, and they'll probably have to get tested several times a week. If they're going to be down there on the field, that's going to be part of it. It's going to look completely different, but people are figuring out how to play sports, and college football is gonna figure out how to play sports. The goal is to have some fans. If you can't do it, the real goal is to play football.

Gabe: Here’s a two-parter: Any idea on how Jimbo approaches getting the successor at QB ready for next year? Really we've only seen the backups play against FCS opponents in mop up duty.

Billy: What do you want them to do? That's my answer to that. What would you like to see? I mean, do you want to throw Calzada or King or Foster in there? (That’s even if Foster ends up being there. What a wild story that's been with him coming back. I know we broke that news last week. People were tripping over themselves yesterday about it. We talked about it on this segment.)

Do you want to see them go in on the road at Tuscaloosa and get a couple of series in just so we've got some preparation for ‘20, ‘21? Hell no. If the games are blowouts — hopefully, one way and not the other — you play the guys. If Kellen were to get banged up or injured — it's not ideal — you play the guys. That's it! Every game you play against an SEC opponent. This is not about grooming the next guy. This is about winning games and udeally winning a championship. That's what you want to do. Absolutely not.

Gabe: Alright. The second part: Do you think the SEC gets a taste of the extra league games move to expand its conference schedule?

Billy: I do. Maybe nine games as opposed to 10. You don't want to do 10. I heard Rece Davis last night, and he was saying he'd love to see that. First of all, the Big 12 can't do 10 last I checked, but don't think you want to do 10 conference games in this league. I do think this could ultimately lead to the SEC playing nine. We'll see.

By the way, with nine, you play one meaningful non-conference game, and it's not going to lead to a bunch of big schedule shake ups. You can keep those home-and-homes that you've got scheduled out forever. Two gimmes is fine. I don't think you need three gimmes.

Gabe: Who scores the first A&M touchdown of the season?

Billy: Good question. Fun question. I was going to say Isaiah Spiller punches one in from a few yards. I'm going to go with Ainias Smith out of the backfield.

Gabe: It's going to be fun to watch. Alright. Let's see, Looch. How confident are you, one to five, on Shemar Turner, LJ Johnson and Bryce foster?

Billy: I'm at a 3.5 on Shemar. Why are we doing 1-5? Let's do 1-10. It's a little easier. I'm at a 7 on Shemar. It's like cautiously optimistic. I wouldn't be shocked at all if they didn't get him. I might even be at a 6.5, which would slightly more confident than I would be for any of the other teams, let's put it that way. I'm dropping the numbers. I'm cautiously optimistic and I'm encouraged with Shemar. I'm a little discouraged with LJ, but I think if A&M can ride this storm out and if he's not committed anywhere in the next two weeks, I will go back to thinking gun-to-my-head made me decide, I would think A&M will get LJ, but A&M has to ride out this current wave.

With Bryce Foster, I still in a coin flip. I think if signing day where today, OU might be the pick. I don't know that, Bryce does a great job of keeping things close to the vest, which I think he should. The way these OU fans try to influence him, I just hope that any recruit doesn't fall for the Twitter side of recruitment. That's not just Bryce Foster. That's everyone. The Twitter side of recruitment is not real life. It's fake. It's not who's in the stands. It's not the alumni base and what they do for you down the road. It's fake. It's the psychos. It's the lunatic fringe. Go see what's in the stands on game day. Go see the support 10, 20 years from after you graduated, and things like that. With Bryce, I think you're looking at a coin flip. I do think if signing day were today, they might have a little ground to make up. That's just a gut feeling. But signing day isn't today,

Gabe: “We need to roll the Mississippis and Auburn or the season gets ugly.” Billy, the easiest question you'll answer all day: Best chance to win at Bama or against LSU?”

Billy: I don't think the season gets ugly if you don't beat Auburn. I think you separate Auburn and the Mississippis. Auburn is going to be pretty good.

I do think I'll say this: South Carolina was my biggest trap game on that old schedule. A week after your first monster game of the year at Auburn, you were going to have to go all the way halfway across the country at South Carolina against a team you always beat? That was the trap. Now the trap is you have Alabama, Florida, then a road trip to Davis Wade take on Mississippi State. Twenty-five percent cowbells is still a lot of cowbells. Any Mike Leach is a lot of Mike Leach. Castello and Hill. After those two brutal games. It could be right about the time Mississippi State starting to find themselves. That's a very tough assignment and in a place where A&M has not played well. Very tough assignment. I think the Aggies have lost three out of four there. That's now your biggest trap game. That's your most dangerous game against a team you'll probably be favored over, might be favored over.

Then the second part of that, my most pivotal games are Florida and Auburn, with Tennessee coming in third. Those are the ones that I think swing the pendulum of your season significantly. No, I don't think you have to beat Auburn because what if I told you you beat Florida and LSU and lost to Auburn? Raise your hand if you wouldn't take that. I do think though that Auburn and Florida swing this thing wildly in either direction.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
texifornia

texifornia 58983

Posted
Posted
Quote

Going back to the first part of that question there: LJ Johnson. Look , I think you gotta be on red alert right now if you're A&M and you're doing everything you can, because a lot of times when there's enough of that buzz...it's not Texas fans saying they lead for DeMarvin, they lead for Dylan Wright, they lead for Jaylon, they lead for Kenyon. It's not them saying that. The buzz was that he was getting close to committing and that he or Camar Wheaton‍ were going to pop and fall Texas' way soon. You've got to be careful. You've got to be on alert, do everything you can to keep that from happening, survive that push and then regroup.

"Well we can't just just buy him on the open market or rely on him growing up in a maroon house in Atascosita."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Getafix

Getafix 29418

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Butch Had Not said:

So so juicy (fuck not THAT juicy) that miss st is viewed as an auto win. Elko is going to stack the box for the run that never happens and Costello will throw it 70 times. 

 

 

- Their #2, #3, #4 and #6 rated commits are wide receivers. 

- That list includes Knox and Nabers, both 4 stars.

- In addition, they got two transfers, including Tyrell Shavers.

They will be short of experience - at the college level, as well as in Leach's system - but if a few have early chemistry with Costello, it could get interesting.  The ESPN FPI win% is still 85% for the Ags .. and they play on the road.  Interesting.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tex Pete

Tex Pete 21431

Posted
Posted
On 7/30/2020 at 2:11 PM, Lobwedgephil said:
  Hide contents

Liucci

1:34p 

Staff

In semi-related news, the Aggies and Longhorns are not meeting on the field, no matter how hard Chris Del Conte and Tom Herman whine about to the media. However, the rivalry is alive and well behind the scenes, as wanna-be mountain man 'CDC' is going to have to walk back his previous claims of 50% capacity at DKR. You see, it's sounding more and more like 25% is going to be the reality in Travis County. Meanwhile, A&M has maintained they'd shoot for 50% at Kyle Field all along, with fans being able to decide whether attending games was right for them or not. I'm expecting the Ags to stick with that, which will place a great deal of pressure on the Texas decision-makers, who would catch an incredible amount of heat from their season ticket holders. Can you imagine if A&M is playing at 50% capacity and Texas half that???

So try and predict Texas' current play. Yep, you guessed it. They're almost certainly going to attempt to go the political route, likely asking our Longhorn Governor to exert a little behind-the-scenes leverage on TAMU brass to go along with the other in-state programs at 25%.
 

 

 

You heard it here first: Billy Liucci is an incredibly stupid motherfucker. 
 

And I’ll only be charging $9.49 for that nugget. 

  • Hook 'Em 3
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bevo

Bevo 13840

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:

I mean, it's criminal that he's as far behind Ishmael Ibraheem‍ and the safety that's committed to Texas, those two guys. It's criminal that he's ranked behind them. And especially as far behind them as he is. He's better cornerback than Ish Ibraheem, and you can ask people that have worked with both of them over a course of years. It's not even up for discussion.

Why is he discussing it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Viper

Viper 12216

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Tex Pete said:

You heard it here first: Billy Liucci is an incredibly stupid motherfucker. 
 

And I’ll only be charging $9.49 for that nugget. 

 

6 hours ago, Mdhorn said:

Billy's smart enough to bilk a salary from even dumber mofos.  

who's the bigger fool? the fool, or the fool who follows him and pays $9.95?

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Not a Sock

Not a Sock 2362

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

That's probably an understatement. 

The good news is that having met a number of you fucksticks over the years, I'm still comfortably in the top 5% of handsomeness and charisma and the ability to pass for a normal person. 

 

giphy.gif

Congrats on being the smartest kid on the short bus?

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Viper

Viper 12216

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

That's probably an understatement. 

The good news is that having met a number of you fucksticks over the years, I'm still comfortably in the top 5% of handsomeness and charisma and the ability to pass for a normal person. 

ShrillMiserlyAzurevase-size_restricted.g

Link to comment
Share on other sites
IDIOTsavant

IDIOTsavant 8681

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:
  Hide contents

Billy Liucci: We are back at it again, ladies and gentlemen. It's that time of week: Ask Liucci thread co-hosted by the one and only Gabe Bach. I'm Billy Liucci and Gabe is going to be the questioneer. You fire them off, we'll try to rip through as many as we can here in about 45 minutes. And then as the week goes on, you know, last time we did this, I was unable to get to the written questions because there was this little thing called...It was like the asteroid was coming to hit college football. And you had Billy Bob Thornton and Ben Affleck, and Bruce Willis and the crew trying to figure out how to (save it).

Gabe Bock: LJ Johnson Jr‍: Does momentum swing our way now? What are you hearing on Haynes King?

Billy: I'm hearing terrific things on Haynes King, starting with, for as great a prospect as he was, he's a slight build kid coming out and he's already added like 15 pounds. So that tells you two things. Number one, size isn't going to be an issue for him. He's going to be a muscled up good looking young quarterback. The other thing it tells you is how hard he's been working. He and Antonio Johnson are two guys that they've said have added about 15 since they got here. Those kids that were relatively on the lean side coming in, have already started to fill out. Again, it takes you back to what their work ethic is under Jerry Schmidt as well.

And then Haynes King. Again, guys love him. Locker room loves him, teammates love him. He's a leader out there. I've heard the way he talks to his teammates. And you know, that battle between he and Calzada is going to be so fun to watch not only in fall camp, but especially in the spring, because I am fired the hell up about Haynes King. But I gotta be careful when I say that because I still think Zach Calzada and the way he can sling that football, you know, if it all comes together for him in year two, I mean that's a future pro right there. So it's gonna be a fun battle to watch. But yeah, as far as true freshmen coming in Haynes King, I think has been the guy that I've heard the most about in terms of just positive excitement. And that's saying something cause you've got Jaylon Jones, Demond Demas, Devon Achane; there's a lot of them. If there's a sleeper there that people aren't talking about enough on the boards, but I've been hearing a lot of buzz about it's Edgerrin Cooper. Again, I think his best football, especially with two veteran linebackers, is moving on forward, but man, he looks really good as far as a prospect in that Mike Elko front seven.

Going back to the first part of that question there: LJ Johnson. Look , I think you gotta be on red alert right now if you're A&M and you're doing everything you can, because a lot of times when there's enough of that buzz...it's not Texas fans saying they lead for DeMarvin, they lead for Dylan Wright, they lead for Jaylon, they lead for Kenyon. It's not them saying that. The buzz was that he was getting close to committing and that he or Camar Wheaton‍ were going to pop and fall Texas' way soon. You've got to be careful. You've got to be on alert, do everything you can to keep that from happening, survive that push and then regroup.

At the end of the day, I still like A&M chances there. I know how much they've prioritized him, being a local semi-local guy right there up the road in Cypress and how good he is and the need there. So yeah, I do think A&M's got staying power, but they need to survive this surge by Texas. And there was no doubt a surge by the Longhorns in this one, but this is one of those battles where it's like, they signed a five star last year. It's a position of need for you. You could even sell that he's the guy in your class if you had to. And the Aggies need to get some of these top 10 players in the state. I know that if you looked at probably A&M's board, I guarantee you, they think of Reuben Fatheree‍ and Eli Stowers‍ and they'd also have a guy like Deuce Harmon‍ way up there. The rankings -- to me, he might be the most disgustingly under-ranked kid in the state by the services right now. I mean, it's criminal that he's as far behind Ishmael Ibraheem‍ and the safety that's committed to Texas, those two guys. It's criminal that he's ranked behind them. And especially as far behind them as he is. He's better cornerback than Ish Ibraheem, and you can ask people that have worked with both of them over a course of years. It's not even up for discussion.

But LJ Johnson, Bryce Foster‍, Shemar Turner‍. Maybe if you can get back in with Landon Jackson‍ as this thing goes on. What's the fight going to look like for Savion Byrd‍? Is A&M going to climb into that ring and duke it out. So these guys are important not only because they're really good prospects, but from a perception standpoint as well. But more than anything else, a guy like LJ fills a need.

So Quinn Ewers‍' recruitment gave Texas a big hit, but losing Jalen Milroe‍...you gotta be careful with that quarterback recruiting because that pendulum can swing against you pretty quickly. And you're putting an awful lot into a kid that's not going to throw a pass for you for two years. And even then as a true freshman, he's going to have to unseat a guy that started for a whole year, whether that be Hudson Card, Ja'Quinden Jackson or the older guy. So it might be two and a half seasons before you see Quinn Ewers. And I know that'll help you with the '22 recruits. And that's something that, if A&M is sitting there not, not expecting that to play a big role and not thinking you have to counter that with momentum, then that shows a lot of naivete. And I don't think they're doing that. I think you have to really respect what just happened on that '22 landscape with them getting him. But for '21, they just lost a guy that was really damn good in Milroe. And he lost him to Bama. So now I think if you're A&M, you gotta wonder about LJ and Bama too, cause they were certainly coming after him. But right now I think the primary threat is Texas. And you've got to weather that storm. And I think he's a guy you really need to sign.

Gabe: Any predictions on true freshmen that will have a starting job by the time the LSU game rolls around?

Billy: I think Demond Demas is so good he works his way in there. I mean, gosh, so he's such a special talent. And if he's not, he's going to be playing a bunch. I don't think Dameyune Craig is going to play essentially three receivers all year. And I think that number is going to grow because he has too many options, too many unproven guys that you got to find out about. And then if Demas isn't well-versed enough in the offense to just throw him out there as your primary, he's gotta be like your fourth guy that's getting out there and making plays.

So I think Jaylon Jones is the most likely in my opinion. He's got to win a job, but I think there are two cornerback spots in a nickel. I think Jaylon Jones ends up starting on that A&M defense at some point this season.

And you know, outside of that, I really don't know where which true freshmen would start per se. I mean, I could see a lot of guys being role guys. If there's another true freshman to start, I can see Achane having a role. I could see Harris and Diggs having a role in the pass rush packages. It may be Antonio Johnson. That's crowded back there, but maybe he gets in there in a certain defensive package for him where he's a regular. You could see Moose Muhammad or Devin Price get reps. But to me, it's Jaylon Jones. I think Brian George as a JUCO has a real chance.

But if there's a third guy outside of Jones and Demas, it actually could be one of those offensive linemen. It's not ideal. It might be because it's hard to go through full season and keep your o-line healthy, but it might be a deal where if one of those guys gets a crack, particularly on the interior they might not give up a job. You know, I think the veterans, like Hocker and McCollum have to come into camp really ready to go and ready to roll because there's some good young talent. They're not going to be there yet. But as the season wears on some of those guys like Akinola, Chris Morris, Josh Bankhead, somebody out of that group, Layden Robinson, even though he's a second year, somebody out of those four guys could surge. And if they get a shot, might not give it up.

Gabe: It feels like Kellen needs to come out of the gate showing improvement. How big are the first four games on this schedule for Kellen Mond: Vanderbilt, at Alabama, Florida at home and at Mississippi state?

Billy: I mean, that's a good point because you know, Kellen is indicative of the whole team. How Kellen performs is going to be...what is the o-line doing? How good is your running game against really good defenses, right out of the chute in Bama and Florida? And then on the road in Tuscaloosa, on the road at Mississippi State and a game that you might have to score a lot. So on the road, you have to be dialed in from the beginning. You can't have that slow start that we've seen Kellen get off to and some of the offenses the last two years get off to. So yeah, it's very significant. Kellen Mond is going to have to play like an All-SEC quarterback right out of the rip or it could be trouble for A&M early.

But again, that goes back to your o-line is going to have to be a lot better. Your running game is going to have to be effective against the Bamas and Floridas, and later on down the road: LSUs and Auburns and Tennessees of the world. So we're going to learn everything we need to know early. There's no easing in. This is not easy for Kellen. It's not easy for anyone, but if Mond were to lead A&M in any form or fashion to a 3-1 start, obviously if that was a win at Bama and a loss to Florida, that might be even more impressive. Actually it would be because you'd have the head-to-head over Bama in the West, and you'd come out of those first four games controlling your own destiny in the SEC. You beat LSU and Auburn and you don't lose in between, you win the West.

So yeah, so any form or fashion of 3-1 in those four, and not only does A&M have a very real chance to enter those last two games with a shot at something real, an SEC West title, you also have a quarterback whose name will be in the conversation for first-team All-SEC when all said and done. So that could swing wildly in either direction. There's no question about it.

Gabe: Two-part question: Will the media have the same amount of time and attending fall workouts as in previous years? [That answer's no we're going to get zero time and I don't blame them for that.] And then will TexAgs be able to film whatever it wants during camp, or will we have to rely on 12th Man Productions?

Billy: We're going to rely on their stuff. And that's fine. Listen, do I think in today's day and age, they take it a little too far with -- you're just dealing with all these entities outside of A&M and contracts and money. And I think they go a little too far in terms of "in house, in house, in house" versus what the media can get. And that's been a sticking point to me forever. I just feel like there's so much more promotion, especially in this NIL day that we're on the precipice of, there's so much more that these guys can get with more exposure in one-on-ones with the media and not these meaningless little gaggles. I've always had the theory that if you let each player or each media entity get a one-on-one a week or two a week, by the end of the year, all these kids have sat down with everyone. And you get to know these guys a little more. I don't think that's that difficult, but I do think there are entities that try to almost prevent that.

It's a weird new age for us in college football. It's not just A&M-specific, but right now in this pandemic, absolutely. You've got to do what's best for the kids and the coaches and the program and all the people that work in the program. You think Alan Cannon and Marquardt and those guys need to be unnecessarily around 30 media people every day? Basically their bubble is such that -- people talk about, "Oh there's not a bubble" -- there really is because the only people really allowed at practice, I think you've got to be in this group that is tested with the team. I don't know if it's three times a week yet -- it's going to be during the season -- but two, three times a week, you've got to be almost like in that testing bubble to be able to be out there at practice. And I'm all for that. I think that's terrific. It's tremendous. There's no reason to put Jimbo Fisher in front of 30 of us. Obviously they're going to give a little distance, but why even do that when we can do this right here now? There's no reason to. They're doing the right thing.

Gabe: And I don't think they're on an Island. I don't believe there are many schools that are allowing a bunch of media to go around practice.

Billy: No way, no way. I was talking about prior to the pandemic, right?

Gabe: Absolutely. Alright, prediction on 2020 team captains or do you know who the captains are? And what do you think the most improved position group will be?

Billy: I don't know who the captains are. They might have them already. I haven't even checked, but I would assume Jhamon, Keldrick Carper, Kellen would be in that discussion. I think Buddy Johnson, Carson Green could be a guy that's in that discussion. Those would be my bets early on. If you're talking about a young guy stepping into one of those roles, I think the first name that would come up to me would be either DeMarvin Leal or Demani Richardson.

Most improved position group, I've talked about this. I think it's going to be the secondary. It might not happen right away. You hope it does because you're playing Bama week two. But I think when Mike Elko and TJ Rushing figure out the exact proper mix back there, I think that group will be the most improved. And I think that would be pretty nice.

Gabe: Plus if they get better off the edge, Billy, they'll automatically get better in the backend. Won't they?

Billy: Yeah, I’ve got more of a question of if they'll get better off the edge. I think that's a bigger question, mark in my opinion.

Gabe: Sure. #1: Bobby Brown looks trim and quick in the clips that we saw. Are you hearing the same? #2: Any talk on the other running backs that we don't talk much about Deondre Jackson, Darvon Hubbard and Earnest Crownover?

Billy: Not yet. I mean, I think they liked the way some of those guys have worked out in the offseason, but I mean, with those guys, you're gonna have to see them. You're going to have to see them run the football and catch the ball out of the backfield and things like that. Achane has obviously turned heads with his speed and that quick twitch that he's got. Yeah, you got to see those. Those three other guys you mentioned, they’re “get the ball in their hands” type of guys. And I know they've said Crownover can catch - I believe it was Crownover they were talking about that can catch really well. That's a good thing in this offense because you know they like swinging a ball out to the backs. Yeah, I'll be very interested to hear how those guys start doing once the pads go on, and they start asking them to run between the tackles and read blocks because I think that's important. I think that's why you saw Isaiah Spiller get better as the year went on last year. I think he struggled in that department early on, started to figure it out. You saw the production go way up.

Gabe: He also talked about Bobby Brown, just the way he looked on the camera. It was quick clips. What have you heard?

Billy: Yeah, I mean, I think Bobby is down from what he was entering last season. I think continued hard work towards that end would help him out a lot. I still think you could probably see him, if he can get down about another 10 pounds or so, I think he'd be ideal But he's way better off than he was entering last year, and that was a must. I think he understood that and put in the work.

Gabe: I can definitely tell that for sure. Who’s somebody that nobody's talking about that you think factors in and has key plays this season?

Billy: Good question. I mentioned him on the radio, Gabe. I guess Jeremiah Martin is an interesting guy because no one's talking about him, right? And he has made a couple of plays. We saw him make a couple in that bowl game, and going into camp, he's probably no better than your fourth-best DE, and he's going to get pushed by some younger guys too. At 6-5, 260 pounds, and he's played quite a bit of football. We watched him out there at Kyle field as a true freshman against Clemson flashing a little bit. This is a guy that's a veteran now he's played a lot, and he looks like he's really worked hard this offseason. So he's one guy that actually jumps out to me.

Another one on the defensive side could be an Andre White because again, you know, you don't talk about him amongst your top three linebackers with those two veterans and Hansford, but Andre White, man, he flashed some real ability last year. You watch him run and hit. And I think he's a guy that if he gets a chance to play enough, kind of like your eyes might go like that. The same with Chris Russell, who was a learning guy last year. He was never really able to just completely put it together, but give him a new coach in Santucci, you give that guy an opportunity. He's a big physical linebacker that can move. Those would be the guys I talk about on defense.

Offensively, man, there's I can name you one of eight receivers, Gabe. So take your pick. Cause I don't know who it's going to be just like I don't think Dameyune Craig knows who it is yet, either.

Gabe: You just mentioned five backers and didn't even mention Doyle and Cooper, and I know how high you are on Cooper. It's been years since we've talked about that many linebackers.

Billy: Yeah. It's exciting. It's exciting what they're doing at that position, and just the front seven, man. Doyle's 250. Cooper is as big as Donell Harris. Fadil Diggs is a different build. He's taller and even bigger. Those guys are just whatever you want to call them — just call them second-level edge guys. I mean, some of them are going to have their hand down on it. People are saying, “Oh, Doyle needs to lose some weight.” He does. He got here later than anyone else, and he's 250. I think you want to get them down to about 240, if you can, before the season would be perfect. He's a true freshman. That kid's going to trim up and get back to 250. He looks like a million bucks in terms of his frame. He comes in and Schmidty or lean him up. The practices will lean him up, and then he'll build muscle on top of that. That dude, he could be a guy that you put stand up. He can run. He can move. He can diagnose. And then you can put he or Cooper or Donell Harris.

We don't ever talk about Braedon Mowry or Fadil Diggs. Let's just call them perimeter, second-level guys. They're just stockpiling. I mean, I mentioned Russell and we mentioned Andre White. Kaci Seegars‍ is that kind of guy. So just keep getting them, Gabe. Jahzion Harris‍ is that kind of dude. Those are the guys that turn into pass rushers. They turn into guys that can play standup linebacker. They affect the game, man. That length and that range; it's just next-level stuff what they're compiling. We just not going to see it quite yet this year, but you will soon.

Gabe: You just mentioned the receivers, and there are too many mentions to take your pick.  Your best guess at the starting wide receiving corps Week Two going into Bama. Who do you think it is?

Billy: Week two: Ausbon, Buckley. If you go three-wide, let's say Ausbon, Buckley and that third one's tough, man. That early, I would say for now: Demas or Chapman. You might go with a veteran there and bring Demas in to make sure you get them the ball several times in the game, even against ‘Bama. But I could see like that. But it's tough, man. I didn't mention Jalen Preston, Chase Lane, Kam Brown, Dylan Wright. You know, there's so many and then the other true freshmen.

Gabe: Who's your pick to be this year's McKinnley Jackson? A highly rated guy. An afterthought for the Aggies, and by the national services. Nobody's putting their balls out on A&M, and all of a sudden, he winds up with the Aggies.

Billy: Well, the obvious one is Tywone Malone‍. I think A&M fans learned last year not to discount Elijah Robinson recruiting, not only a player, the position he's going to coach, but also a player from New Jersey. That's like the daily double for Elijah Robinson and Mike Elko. And then you saw what he did with McKinnley. I think fans are a little more are taking this one a little more seriously, but I would say it's Tywone Malone.

I'm trying to think, Gabe. If you're talking about a second guy, it might be Brian Thomas‍, the wide receiver out of Louisiana. He's the No. 3 player in Louisiana. He's the No. 1 or No. 2 ranked receiver; one of the best in the country. Obviously, beating out LSU is going to be exceptionally difficult, but A&M is actually very much in that recruitment, and they've done a really nice job there. They've got some ties to him, dating all the way back to like Jimbo's days of coaching at LSU. I forget who, but there's some connections there in terms of, you know, players he's coached back in the day and stuff. That would be one. Right now, it feels like a big-time long shot, but that would be one that A&M might have some staying power with.

If there's going to be a shocker at the end, you might circle Thomas behind the No. 1, Tywone Malone.

Gabe: This question: I'm so excited watching that practice video makes me feel like the season's going to happen. What percent are you right now that we play some football this year?

Billy: Right now? I would say I'm at about a 65%. And a week-plus ago, 10 days ago, I would have said 30%. I might've been down to like 20%. Yeah. Felt like the whole world was conspiring against college football at that point. So it's come a long way.

Gabe: The second part is who will start and see the most snaps opposite Demani at the other safety spot?

Billy: That's tough. I would start out with a mix of Carper and O'Neal. But I don't know, Gabe, I'm not prepared to answer that one. That's that's the other position along with receiver where I'm most interested is that one safety spot, because people don't realize Leon started like 10 games last year. He's actually a returning starter, you know, by any definition, Leon O'Neal is a returning starter. I know he put his name in the portal. I know that the season didn't end great for him and that hence going in the portal, but man, he's worked his ass off. You look at him, you see what he puts out there. Anybody can put their workouts out there. It's like guys, you're a college football player. You better be working out every day. Just because you have more of a mindset to put it on social media doesn't mean crap to me or anybody that really knows. But what I do know is when I look at Leon and I see what's happened to him physically, that's when you know, he's put in the work. That's what I was talking about. Like a Jeremiah Martin too. Leon's been putting in the work and it shows. He's very determined.

But Erick Young is incredibly talented. Keldrick Carper is exceptionally dependable and reliable back there. Who's going to be this year's Roney Elam who looked so good in those first two games and then ran into the off-field stuff that derailed the season. And the year before that Deshawn Capers-Smith quietly was a big part of a tremendously improved defense. Who's going to be that guy this year that we're not really expecting to be as good as he is? It could be Keldrick Carper. So is that as a nickel dime extra defender? Is that as a starting safety opposite Demani? I don't know, but that position, man, that's a really interesting spot. It really is.

The whole secondary; we talked about corner. Now you're talking about that second safety spot. And what about nickel? What about when you're in nickel and dime? You know, gosh, you could go experience, you could go youth, you've got Devin Morris, Clifford Chattman who has some experience there. Could you go Brian Williams, who I think is just a football player and dude? And what role do you have for a football-playing dude back there? Antonio Johnson, Bama looked at him at corner. Erick Young used to play corner. Can they man a nickel or do you go with one of those exceptionally talented corners who doesn't win a starting job? So that spot actually is the single most interesting position battle for me because that guy is going to be on the field a lot next season. And it is a starting battle as important as almost any on that defense

Gabe: And whoever he picks is going to be awesome because he's never picked one that wasn't, I mean, we saw Morris and Chattman. They got a chance and they were good. Yeah.

Billy: Yeah. And what bout when they put Chuck Oliver in there against South Carolina and he has six pass break-ups?

Gabe: Exactly. Billy, any immediate rumors of the ACC pulling the plug after UNC moved to online only. Looch, Mack Brown talked today while we've been on the air and said no, it actually better helps them seal the bubble. Like they practiced today. They're fine, he said.

Billy: No question about it. I mean, if every school in the country went online-only, your odds of playing college football go through the roof. Through the roof.Texas A&M...I think almost every player in college football that will have the option to take in person... First of all, you give any kid the option to go online in today's day and age, they're going online, whether it's football or not, I think. Second, most of these kids, because of wanting to avoid trouble and be able to play this year, are going to opt for online. If you're looking at A&M, I bet the only guys you'd find that are going to classes are the ones that they need to graduate that aren't online. So, I mean, you're talking about a very, very small percentage there.

So yeah, I don't think the North Carolina thing hurts. I think in college football's mind, if everything was online, it'd be a better world. And don't tell me this, "Well, if kids can't be on campus..." They weren't on campus all summer. And all the teams across the country were practicing. The problem, Gabe, you saw it this weekend, it's bars, it's bars and college kids and parties. That's going to be the nightmare. That is the season-ender. If people can't rein that thing in, that's where all the fear stuff's going to come from...all the, "How can we let them do this? Look at these number of cases," and so forth.

And everyone's just waiting. We know their names. They're waiting to say, "This team has nine positives and this team..." They just can't wait for that because likes and retweets come with it. And they're begging for that because we have created an absolute monster here in the national media through Twitter. And it is likes, retweets, stories, getting attention. And these people proving to their bosses that they, that they need, that their job is, is essential.

Gabe: We saw it yesterday with North Carolina. It's disgusting.

Billy: It's pathetic. It's disgusting. And then you have people like Pat Forde now coming out and they're almost like trying to ridicule back. No. We understand you want to play college football, but we also understand you want the attention more, and you're letting your, I think, political leanings coming to play here as well. It's a disgusting scene and it's playing out in front of all our eyes every second we try to get on social media.

Gabe: What changes, if any, do you anticipate seeing with Jimbo's offense - given all the additions, all the playmakers at the skill position?

Billy: First of all, you're going to see a lot more two-backs, and you're gonna see them utilize the two-tight ends more, especially that two-backs thing. I think you saw some of it against Oklahoma State. I think you're going to see more of that. I think you'll see a little more design running game with QB because Kellen is so good at it. I mean, he can go to the house. He can go for a hundred yards in a game. We saw him do it a lot. I don't know how many games he had a hundred, but there was a stretch there. It was like Arkansas, Bama, maybe it was South Carolina, Mississippi State. There was a stretch of games there where Kellen was really getting it done running. You saw it in the bowl game. You saw it in both bowl games for him. I think you'll see more of that as now that he's a senior. You trust his decision making so much in terms of that. The team's more decisive even in the running game. The one place where he hasn't sometimes is down there near the goal line, so he can improve on that. I think you'll see that.

The one thing that I really believe you'll see: A lot more downfield passing. I hope we'll see a little more tempo. I'm not entirely sold on that. You get a little bit better protection on the line. You believe they won't get beat as quickly. You've got the weapons. Guys like Demas, Lane. The tight ends now to work the middle of the field. A tusted guy, proven guy in Wydermyer. I think you'll start to see more shots down the field out of this offense.

Gabe: Alright, Billy. How would you describe the evolution of the Aggie athletics department since you started following it closely? And in addition to that, what do you think should be next in terms of upgrades - facilities or something else? If not facilities for the athletic department to embark on that is actually not for football, but maybe a different sport.

Billy: That's a good question. I just haven't put much thought into that second part. I think an academic center — a stand-alone bad-ass academic center. If it's just for football, then two of them; one over there across the tracks and one on this side.

Gabe: What about you that basketball arena?

Billy: That’s always my number one. I'm sorry, it just doesn't feel that way for me right now. It doesn't feel like that's that's in the cards yet. I'm not talking about that, but that's always number one for me. I think Reed Arena hold back Buzz and Gary Blair, especially when you, when you start having to compete with what Texas is building. I think that's going to hurt you even worse. That place has not been up to standards since I went to Lubbock when Bobby Knight was coaching there in like 2001 and saw what they had with the United Spirit Arena or whatever it's called now. Not to mention bringing better concerts in here and things like that.

Here's the thing to answer that question. Are you guys not paying attention to what's going on right now? If there's no football, you ain’t building crap. There's not going to be anything built for a while. If you only play in front of 25 or 30 percent capacity or no fans, the facility arms race is going to come to a screeching halt. Not just at A&M, but around college football. Especially around college football.

Athletic department wise, it just keeps getting better. It keeps getting better and better and better. I think they've made two outstanding hires in a row at athletic director. I think the commitment from the 12th Man Foundation is at height as such that it's never been. I think the hierarchy understands the importance of athletics and football. Even the president. I go on and on about presidents, but we haven't had presidents that stand in the way of athletics here, and a lot of schools this size do. You have to appreciate when that's the case. I don't think anybody new that comes in here is going to be like that either. Whoever ends up being an heir apparent to Michael Young, you're not going to see that change. The commitment is there. The desire to be great is there. I think they've improved in every area from the way they produce content all the way up to the big decisions and stuff like that.

The coaching hires have been really impressive, as are the facilities. You see what they've done with track and softball and baseball here in the last few years. If football wants something, they get it.

Hopefully, with what's going on now, it's just a bump in the road that A&M bounces back from quicker than most. This is the time.

Everybody has gotten frustrated during the offseason with a variety of things, and I get it. Everybody's frustrated about one thing or the other. All of us have been in this heightened state of irritation and aggravation. On all sides of every issue. When that calms down with time and things like the football season happening, maybe the election happening and like things start to just kind of normalize to some level, I do think that people are going to start to realize like athletics does F-in’ matter at Texas A&M. It is the front porch of the university. It is why we see so many of us in our friends and family and lifelong friends. It's here for games.

When the teams are better, more people come back. When baseball is playing in regionals and super regionals, all your old buddies come back. They’re fun weekends. When basketball teams compete for the NCAA tournament, or when they've got a big game to close out SEC play against Arkansas, and it's packed on the verge of a pandemic shut down. It's a fun weekend in College Station. When football is great, everyone's happy. So it does matter. Demand what you want to demand from your university and your programs.

I'm talking about all sides of this thing, but remember this shit matters. It matters to you. It matters to me. It matters to coaches. It matters to administrators. It matters to everyone wearing a ring. I do think there's a level of people needing to come together around Aggie Athletics.

I know a guy who's a very, very prominent donor. With prominent donors, if they support the right or the left and then the left celebrates or the right celebrates. I know pretty much all of them. You can call them whatever you want — “BMA,” some ridiculous acronym — but I've talked to several that say so much of their involvement as someone that donates a ton of money to not only athletics, but other avenues of this university.

My conduit to get to those other avenues and the people I met at tailgate parties and the people I met at functions on game weekends that I was invited to are the people I met through the 12th Man foundation. I was on this board or that board. I met people in the engineering school or business school. That led me down another path that I never would have been exposed to were it not for my fandom. Just like somebody that donates what they can. Maybe what you can donate is the bare minimum.

Maybe you go up as you get older. Maybe you're in your late twenties, early thirties, and you're just starting out. These donors’ paths to avenues outside of athletics to help this university came through their support of A&M sports. For anyone that doesn't think this stuff is important longterm, it is.

I think every Aggie should voice their opinion, whether you agree with it or whether you don't, on every issue. You should voice it and you should make sure you're heard.

At the end of the day, I do think that sports are going to survive longterm. The goal for all of us is for our sports to thrive. It's a hell of a lot more fun to talk about it. It's a hell of a lot more reason to come to College Station. It leads to lifelong friendships. It leads to reunions. It leads to some good ass times. That's why we all want football this year. Not only for the fact that it's a great distraction, but how fun has it been these last couple of days, Gabe, just talking about actual football? Now you're starting to see how bad everyone wants it. When we were that close to them pulling it from us about 10 days ago. Now the momentum is building, and everybody's fired up. You hope it keeps going, but they're far from the finish line on this. They are far from the finish line.

Gabe: You kind of hit a lot of this because this is very open-ended, but he just wanted to know who stood out the most at practice? Of course, there has only been one practice.

Billy: Let's let it go a few days and see. I'll tell you a guy who had a nice offseason, I'm so excited to see what McKinnley Jackson does. I really am. I think people are sleeping. “Well, it's a really crowded D-line room.” Well, guess what? It was a really crowded D-line room when Bobby Brown got here and there were a bunch of seniors. He played, and he played a lot. It was a really crowded D-line line room last year when DeMarvin Leal came in, and he ended up moving past so many of them that he was the second-best one by seasons and behind Madubuike. To act like McKinley Jackson, can't do that, I think you're underestimating how good that guy was and what it means to beat Bama for a guy on signing day in a former LSU commit along the D line. He's that good. Really excited about him.

Isaiah Raikes. Adarious Jones was going to play a lot last year before that injury. Derrick Hunter is another one to me that I watch his social media, and that kid looks good. He's in good shape, and he's really worked hard. He was a big recruiting get for A&M a year ago. McKinnley is one in particular. Don't lose sight just because it's a crowded room that a legit five-star talent, which I think that's what McKinnley is. I think DeMarvin was that. I think Jaylon Jones is that. Don't lose sight of what level talent we're talking about there and how hard it is to keep guys like that off the field.

Gabe: Alright. Is Bobby Brown really that fast or was that just the video?

Billy: Well, he's quick, man. For a guy his size, he's exceptional quick. That's why most people inside that program would say, if Bobby can have a terrific year, he's the one guy that you could see leaving early and being a high draft pick because the physical side is there. Part of that physical is the ability to get off the ball for a guy his size. He certainly got that. It wasn't long ago that the guy was 250 pounds and collecting sacks off the edge. He's got it. He just needs keep that size in check, which is not easy. It's not easy for any of us, but it's certainly not easy when you're just naturally. He can move incredibly quick for a guy his size. I think that people are doing a little too much analysis of one snippet of a video. This is the world we're going to unfortunately — or fortunately — be in for the next few weeks because, hell, as we said, it's a lot better than nothing, isn’t it?

Gabe: Absolutely. This next one is very wide open, Billy. What are you hearing for game day? Fans? Band? Pumped in music? Yell leaders? Entrance?

Billy: I don't know. Today, I think AI&M's going to release their seating plan. It's going to be still subject to change. The SEC put out their guidelines today. It doesn't seem to really reign A&M in too much. They're going to have to go along with what the governor and the state and the local say.

If I'm making a prediction, I think the aim early on will be to maybe try to get like 30 percent. Everybody says 50 or 25 or zero. It can be somewhere within those. Those are significant ranges as well. So maybe somewhere a little over 25 percent. I don't think you're going to be able to get 50 percent in. Again, part of me is skeptical that at the end of the day, it might be zero, and college sports are just going to have to deal with it.

There's going to definitely be piped in music. There's no question about that. I'm sure if there are some fans, there'll be yell leaders, and they'll probably have to get tested several times a week. If they're going to be down there on the field, that's going to be part of it. It's going to look completely different, but people are figuring out how to play sports, and college football is gonna figure out how to play sports. The goal is to have some fans. If you can't do it, the real goal is to play football.

Gabe: Here’s a two-parter: Any idea on how Jimbo approaches getting the successor at QB ready for next year? Really we've only seen the backups play against FCS opponents in mop up duty.

Billy: What do you want them to do? That's my answer to that. What would you like to see? I mean, do you want to throw Calzada or King or Foster in there? (That’s even if Foster ends up being there. What a wild story that's been with him coming back. I know we broke that news last week. People were tripping over themselves yesterday about it. We talked about it on this segment.)

Do you want to see them go in on the road at Tuscaloosa and get a couple of series in just so we've got some preparation for ‘20, ‘21? Hell no. If the games are blowouts — hopefully, one way and not the other — you play the guys. If Kellen were to get banged up or injured — it's not ideal — you play the guys. That's it! Every game you play against an SEC opponent. This is not about grooming the next guy. This is about winning games and udeally winning a championship. That's what you want to do. Absolutely not.

Gabe: Alright. The second part: Do you think the SEC gets a taste of the extra league games move to expand its conference schedule?

Billy: I do. Maybe nine games as opposed to 10. You don't want to do 10. I heard Rece Davis last night, and he was saying he'd love to see that. First of all, the Big 12 can't do 10 last I checked, but don't think you want to do 10 conference games in this league. I do think this could ultimately lead to the SEC playing nine. We'll see.

By the way, with nine, you play one meaningful non-conference game, and it's not going to lead to a bunch of big schedule shake ups. You can keep those home-and-homes that you've got scheduled out forever. Two gimmes is fine. I don't think you need three gimmes.

Gabe: Who scores the first A&M touchdown of the season?

Billy: Good question. Fun question. I was going to say Isaiah Spiller punches one in from a few yards. I'm going to go with Ainias Smith out of the backfield.

Gabe: It's going to be fun to watch. Alright. Let's see, Looch. How confident are you, one to five, on Shemar Turner, LJ Johnson and Bryce foster?

Billy: I'm at a 3.5 on Shemar. Why are we doing 1-5? Let's do 1-10. It's a little easier. I'm at a 7 on Shemar. It's like cautiously optimistic. I wouldn't be shocked at all if they didn't get him. I might even be at a 6.5, which would slightly more confident than I would be for any of the other teams, let's put it that way. I'm dropping the numbers. I'm cautiously optimistic and I'm encouraged with Shemar. I'm a little discouraged with LJ, but I think if A&M can ride this storm out and if he's not committed anywhere in the next two weeks, I will go back to thinking gun-to-my-head made me decide, I would think A&M will get LJ, but A&M has to ride out this current wave.

With Bryce Foster, I still in a coin flip. I think if signing day where today, OU might be the pick. I don't know that, Bryce does a great job of keeping things close to the vest, which I think he should. The way these OU fans try to influence him, I just hope that any recruit doesn't fall for the Twitter side of recruitment. That's not just Bryce Foster. That's everyone. The Twitter side of recruitment is not real life. It's fake. It's not who's in the stands. It's not the alumni base and what they do for you down the road. It's fake. It's the psychos. It's the lunatic fringe. Go see what's in the stands on game day. Go see the support 10, 20 years from after you graduated, and things like that. With Bryce, I think you're looking at a coin flip. I do think if signing day were today, they might have a little ground to make up. That's just a gut feeling. But signing day isn't today,

Gabe: “We need to roll the Mississippis and Auburn or the season gets ugly.” Billy, the easiest question you'll answer all day: Best chance to win at Bama or against LSU?”

Billy: I don't think the season gets ugly if you don't beat Auburn. I think you separate Auburn and the Mississippis. Auburn is going to be pretty good.

I do think I'll say this: South Carolina was my biggest trap game on that old schedule. A week after your first monster game of the year at Auburn, you were going to have to go all the way halfway across the country at South Carolina against a team you always beat? That was the trap. Now the trap is you have Alabama, Florida, then a road trip to Davis Wade take on Mississippi State. Twenty-five percent cowbells is still a lot of cowbells. Any Mike Leach is a lot of Mike Leach. Castello and Hill. After those two brutal games. It could be right about the time Mississippi State starting to find themselves. That's a very tough assignment and in a place where A&M has not played well. Very tough assignment. I think the Aggies have lost three out of four there. That's now your biggest trap game. That's your most dangerous game against a team you'll probably be favored over, might be favored over.

Then the second part of that, my most pivotal games are Florida and Auburn, with Tennessee coming in third. Those are the ones that I think swing the pendulum of your season significantly. No, I don't think you have to beat Auburn because what if I told you you beat Florida and LSU and lost to Auburn? Raise your hand if you wouldn't take that. I do think though that Auburn and Florida swing this thing wildly in either direction.

 

Stupid People GIFs | Tenor

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Beau Vine

Beau Vine 55850

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:

And everyone's just waiting. We know their names. They're waiting to say, "This team has nine positives and this team..." They just can't wait for that because likes and retweets come with it. And they're begging for that because we have created an absolute monster here in the national media through Twitter. And it is likes, retweets, stories, getting attention. And these people proving to their bosses that they, that they need, that their job is, is essential.

Gabe: We saw it yesterday with North Carolina. It's disgusting.

Billy: It's pathetic. It's disgusting. And then you have people like Pat Forde now coming out and they're almost like trying to ridicule back. No. We understand you want to play college football, but we also understand you want the attention more, and you're letting your, I think, political leanings coming to play here as well. It's a disgusting scene and it's playing out in front of all our eyes every second we try to get on social media.

Billy turned into Cucker Tarlson.

  • Hook 'Em 4
  • Haha 1
  • Fuck You 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...