Jimbo 2021: Meemaw's Got a Brand New Bag

SydneyCarton · April 20, 2020

2 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Lulz. I never even thought about their cupcake 2020 schedule getting skipped because of all this. That would be a hilarious silver lining.

It's occurred to me several times. I've never really come close to hoping it happens, because, well, I'm not an aggy. Robbing myself of one of my favorite things in life to simply spite someone else is their shtick. But I'll be goddamned if it won't get at least one smile out of every otherwise dreadful saturday this fall if that is what happens.

Burt Macklin · April 20, 2020

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

It's occurred to me several times. I've never really come close to hoping it happens, because, well, I'm not an aggy. Robbing myself of one of my favorite things in life to simply spite someone else is their shtick. But I'll be goddamned if it won't get at least one smile out of every otherwise dreadful saturday this fall if that is what happens.

The silver lining for aggy is at least they’d finally know what year to chisel in on the 20__ national championship trophy that’s sitting all alone in their Hall of Champions.

Thiefery · April 20, 2020

How on Earth Sanders is at 15?

Fud · April 20, 2020

ESPN's updated FPI has A&M at #15

https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/season/2020

NoName · April 20, 2020

3 hours ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Here is the Liucci 44. For some reason I can only see the first 25, but anyways no Billy Bowman at least to 25 lulz. First Texas commit isn't until Milroe at #14. Stowers at #6.

https://texags.com/football-recruiting/liucci-44

in case folks are curious about how far it is off vs everyone else: https://nq94.s-ul.eu/wJ0utg8I

so to be clear, Looch has the composite's #21 overall player at #15 in Texas, he has the composites #37 overall player outside his Texas top 25 - wonder what those two guys have in common?

additionally, he has the composite's overall #72 player outside his top 10

meanwhile, he has the #145 player (#24 in Texas) as what amounts to a top 40 player in the nation.who just happens to be committed to A&M

here is how it turned out last year for comparison

Spoiler

Edited April 20, 2020 by NoName

Neonmoon · April 20, 2020

4 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

It's occurred to me several times. I've never really come close to hoping it happens, because, well, I'm not an aggy. Robbing myself of one of my favorite things in life to simply spite someone else is their shtick. But I'll be goddamned if it won't get at least one smile out of every otherwise dreadful saturday this fall if that is what happens.

Their 2021 schedule is just as easy, the only difference is they play LSU early

Getafix · April 20, 2020

7 minutes ago, Neonmoon said:

Their 2021 schedule is just as easy, the only difference is they play LSU early

I think those dates are TBD - not listed in any chronological order.

texifornia · April 21, 2020

Clemson writer with the absolutely savage burn from leftfield

Lobwedgephil · April 21, 2020

Spoiler

Olin thinks aggy is the next LSU.

All college football programs aspire to be No. 1. Texas A&M is no different.

But for Texas A&M to have a chance to become No. 1, the Aggies probably must first become No. 4.

The explanation: Since A&M entered the Southeastern Conference in 2012, only three teams have finished ahead of Alabama in the West Division. Auburn did it in 2013 and 2017. LSU did it in 2019.

Texas A&M aspires to be the fourth. Is it realistic, though?

An answer might be revealed by accumulating data from those three teams as they entered those specific seasons and then comparing it to A&M’s situation entering this coming season.

The information compiled includes returning starters, the previous season’s performance in scoring offense and defense, leading returners in skill categories and recruiting class ranking.

Of course, there are other factors that cannot yet be measured. Health, breaks, the emergence of new players and even Alabama’s overall strength are, obviously, vital elements. The future cannot be seen. Therefore those factors cannot yet be considered.

TexAgs

The Alabama dynasty under Nick Saban is as impressive as any in sports.

However, the other preseason indicators offer enough similarities to previous West Division winners to suggest that Texas A&M will be a bona fide contender in 2020.

The three other West Division teams to beat Alabama all returned eight offensive starters and at least seven defensive starters. Both LSU in 2019 and Auburn in 2017 returned seven regulars on defense. Auburn, in 2013 had eight defensive regulars back.

Those teams all returned a starting quarterback, at least three starting offensive linemen and at least three starters in the secondary.

A&M returns eight starters on offense and seven on defense. A&M returns starting quarterback Kellen Mond, four starting offensive linemen and three starters in the secondary.

A&M also is comparable to those SEC West winners in overall offensive production the previous season.

Last year, A&M averaged 29.5 points per game. That’s just a little less than LSU in 2018 (32.4) and Auburn in 2016 (31.2 points). It is much more than Auburn in 2012 (18.7) when the Tigers struggled mightily in their final season under coach Gene Chizik.

The Aggies were also similar in points allowed. A&M surrendered an average of 22.5 points in 2019 despite facing three opponents that ranked among the nation's four highest-scoring offenses.

LSU allowed 21.8 points in 2018, while Auburn allowed 17.1 in 2016 and 28.3 in 2012.

Last season, A&M allowed 22.5 points per game, 130.6 rushing yards, 209.5 passing yards and 340.2 yards in total defense.

Maintaining and improving upon stats often depends on which starters are returning.

Like A&M with Isaiah Spiller, who rushed for 946 yards last season, Auburn returned its top running back in both cases — Tre Mason in ’13 and Kamryn Pettway in ‘17. LSU did not return its top running back in 2019, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 658 yards in the season prior.

Lia Musgrave, TexAgs

Isaiah Spiller - who stepped in for injured Jashaun Corbin - rumbled for 946 yards as a true freshman in 2019.

A&M will also return leading receiver Jhamon Ausbon, who hauled in 66 catches for 872 yards last season. In 2019, LSU returned leading receiver Justin Jefferson (54 for 875 in ‘18), while in 2013, Auburn returned Sammie Coates (42 for 902 in ‘12). Auburn’s 2016 leading receiver was Tony Stevens, a senior.

All three SEC West teams that finished ahead of Alabama returned their starting quarterbacks. But a returning starter at quarterback has not been a significant issue.

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow was definitely a key to LSU winning last year, but Auburn’s incumbent starting quarterbacks were both replaced. Jonathan Wallace was supplanted by Nick Marshall in 2013, and Jarrett Stidham replaced Sean White in 2017.

Yet, there would still be hints that A&M will seriously contend. Burrow passed for 2,898 yards as a junior in 2018. As a junior last season, Mond passed for 2,897.

An injection of talent from a strong recruiting class will help, too. All three SEC West winners had just brought in recruiting classes ranked among the nation's top ten. A&M's 2020 class was ranked sixth.

One final similarity.

None of the teams that won the West Division over Alabama were picked by the SEC media to win.

A&M won’t be picked over Alabama, either.

Elmer_Fudd · April 21, 2020

21 minutes ago, Lobwedgephil said:

Reveal hidden contents

Olin thinks aggy is the next LSU.

All college football programs aspire to be No. 1. Texas A&M is no different.

But for Texas A&M to have a chance to become No. 1, the Aggies probably must first become No. 4.

The explanation: Since A&M entered the Southeastern Conference in 2012, only three teams have finished ahead of Alabama in the West Division. Auburn did it in 2013 and 2017. LSU did it in 2019.

Texas A&M aspires to be the fourth. Is it realistic, though?

An answer might be revealed by accumulating data from those three teams as they entered those specific seasons and then comparing it to A&M’s situation entering this coming season.

The information compiled includes returning starters, the previous season’s performance in scoring offense and defense, leading returners in skill categories and recruiting class ranking.

Of course, there are other factors that cannot yet be measured. Health, breaks, the emergence of new players and even Alabama’s overall strength are, obviously, vital elements. The future cannot be seen. Therefore those factors cannot yet be considered.

TexAgs

The Alabama dynasty under Nick Saban is as impressive as any in sports.

However, the other preseason indicators offer enough similarities to previous West Division winners to suggest that Texas A&M will be a bona fide contender in 2020.

The three other West Division teams to beat Alabama all returned eight offensive starters and at least seven defensive starters. Both LSU in 2019 and Auburn in 2017 returned seven regulars on defense. Auburn, in 2013 had eight defensive regulars back.

Those teams all returned a starting quarterback, at least three starting offensive linemen and at least three starters in the secondary.

A&M returns eight starters on offense and seven on defense. A&M returns starting quarterback Kellen Mond, four starting offensive linemen and three starters in the secondary.

A&M also is comparable to those SEC West winners in overall offensive production the previous season.

Last year, A&M averaged 29.5 points per game. That’s just a little less than LSU in 2018 (32.4) and Auburn in 2016 (31.2 points). It is much more than Auburn in 2012 (18.7) when the Tigers struggled mightily in their final season under coach Gene Chizik.

The Aggies were also similar in points allowed. A&M surrendered an average of 22.5 points in 2019 despite facing three opponents that ranked among the nation's four highest-scoring offenses.

LSU allowed 21.8 points in 2018, while Auburn allowed 17.1 in 2016 and 28.3 in 2012.

Last season, A&M allowed 22.5 points per game, 130.6 rushing yards, 209.5 passing yards and 340.2 yards in total defense.

Maintaining and improving upon stats often depends on which starters are returning.

Like A&M with Isaiah Spiller, who rushed for 946 yards last season, Auburn returned its top running back in both cases — Tre Mason in ’13 and Kamryn Pettway in ‘17. LSU did not return its top running back in 2019, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 658 yards in the season prior.

Lia Musgrave, TexAgs

Isaiah Spiller - who stepped in for injured Jashaun Corbin - rumbled for 946 yards as a true freshman in 2019.

A&M will also return leading receiver Jhamon Ausbon, who hauled in 66 catches for 872 yards last season. In 2019, LSU returned leading receiver Justin Jefferson (54 for 875 in ‘18), while in 2013, Auburn returned Sammie Coates (42 for 902 in ‘12). Auburn’s 2016 leading receiver was Tony Stevens, a senior.

All three SEC West teams that finished ahead of Alabama returned their starting quarterbacks. But a returning starter at quarterback has not been a significant issue.

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow was definitely a key to LSU winning last year, but Auburn’s incumbent starting quarterbacks were both replaced. Jonathan Wallace was supplanted by Nick Marshall in 2013, and Jarrett Stidham replaced Sean White in 2017.

Yet, there would still be hints that A&M will seriously contend. Burrow passed for 2,898 yards as a junior in 2018. As a junior last season, Mond passed for 2,897.

An injection of talent from a strong recruiting class will help, too. All three SEC West winners had just brought in recruiting classes ranked among the nation's top ten. A&M's 2020 class was ranked sixth.

One final similarity.

None of the teams that won the West Division over Alabama were picked by the SEC media to win.

A&M won’t be picked over Alabama, either.

They'll lose @ Bama', @ Auburn, and they wont have miracles and bogus calls to beat LSU at home again.

They'll lose 1 to the Mississippi schools with an outside shot at both now that they have competent HC's.

The rest of the home games will be W's and they'll probably win @ South Carolina by a FG or something.

Fud · April 21, 2020

ESPN's updated FPI for A&M

vs Abelene Christian- 99.6%

vs North Texas- 97.9%

vs Colorado- 93.0%

vs Arkansas- 86.8%

at Miss State- 85.2%

vs Fresno State- 96.6%

at Auburn- 29.5%

at South Carolina- 65.7%

vs Ole Miss- 82.8%

vs Vanderbilt- 96.2%

at Alabama- 13.5%

vs LSU- 37.5%

I think the Arkansas an Miss State odds in particular are way too high

texifornia · April 21, 2020

Talking about a 9-3 prediction

Spoiler

Ricky's one-hitter · April 21, 2020

17 minutes ago, texifornia said:

Talking about a 9-3 prediction

Hide contents

Mond will end up around the 4th best QB in the SEC this season behind Costello, Nix, Trask, and maybe Newman.

HtownHorn · April 21, 2020

It's amazing how they include games against their shitty opponents like that means anything. Excluding those games last year, Texas State, Lamar, and UTSA. They were outscored 23.6 to 26.9, while going 5-5 in those games. They year before it was 32 for them vs. 29.2 for their opponents, with a 6-4 record.

In Jimbo's tenure they are 11-9 against non-FCS/low level G5 teams, being outscored 27.8 to 28.1, they aren't anywhere close to competing in the SEC west.

You take away the bullshit officiating in the 2018 LSU game, and it's 10-10 being outscored 25.3 to 26.

Edited April 21, 2020 by HtownHorn

Burt Macklin · April 21, 2020

1 minute ago, Ricky's one-hitter said:

Mond will end up around the 4th best QB in the SEC this season behind Costello, Nix, Trask, and maybe Newman.

Even that seems overly optimistic. You’re not even including Bama or LSU’s QBs who will almost definitely have better years due to scheme and surrounding talent alone. I also think there’s a good chance that either guy who wins the Ole Miss starting spot will be better.

Jimbo has shown he’s going to keep on trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Mond could be better with a coach who optimized his skill set, but with Jimbo, I’d say he’ll be around 7th best in the SEC.

Elmer_Fudd · April 21, 2020

4 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

Even that seems overly optimistic. You’re not even including Bama or LSU’s QBs who will almost definitely have better years due to scheme and surrounding talent alone. I also think there’s a good chance that either guy who wins the Ole Miss starting spot will be better.

Jimbo has shown he’s going to keep on trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Mond could be better with a coach who optimized his skill set, but with Jimbo, I’d say he’ll be around 7th best in the SEC.

I don't think Mond is even that much better than Felipe Franks.

Elmer_Fudd · April 21, 2020

Another thing to consider is most of aggy's opponents they are penciling in as wins are going have much better QB play than last season. Kostello and Franks are huge upgrades for Miss. State and Arky. Ole Miss and South Carolina QB's should be a lot better after playing as true freshmen. And Bo Nix will be a lot better as well. Mac Jones will be good enough to beat them and LSU will be a lot better by the time they face aggy than early in the year.

Orange&White · April 21, 2020

It looks to me like Olin is insinuating that the aggies are on "the precipice of greatness".

fattyflattie · April 21, 2020

3 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:

Reveal hidden contents

Olin thinks aggy is the next LSU.

All college football programs aspire to be No. 1. Texas A&M is no different.

But for Texas A&M to have a chance to become No. 1, the Aggies probably must first become No. 4.

The explanation: Since A&M entered the Southeastern Conference in 2012, only three teams have finished ahead of Alabama in the West Division. Auburn did it in 2013 and 2017. LSU did it in 2019.

Texas A&M aspires to be the fourth. Is it realistic, though?

An answer might be revealed by accumulating data from those three teams as they entered those specific seasons and then comparing it to A&M’s situation entering this coming season.

The information compiled includes returning starters, the previous season’s performance in scoring offense and defense, leading returners in skill categories and recruiting class ranking.

Of course, there are other factors that cannot yet be measured. Health, breaks, the emergence of new players and even Alabama’s overall strength are, obviously, vital elements. The future cannot be seen. Therefore those factors cannot yet be considered.

TexAgs

The Alabama dynasty under Nick Saban is as impressive as any in sports.

However, the other preseason indicators offer enough similarities to previous West Division winners to suggest that Texas A&M will be a bona fide contender in 2020.

The three other West Division teams to beat Alabama all returned eight offensive starters and at least seven defensive starters. Both LSU in 2019 and Auburn in 2017 returned seven regulars on defense. Auburn, in 2013 had eight defensive regulars back.

Those teams all returned a starting quarterback, at least three starting offensive linemen and at least three starters in the secondary.

A&M returns eight starters on offense and seven on defense. A&M returns starting quarterback Kellen Mond, four starting offensive linemen and three starters in the secondary.

A&M also is comparable to those SEC West winners in overall offensive production the previous season.

Last year, A&M averaged 29.5 points per game. That’s just a little less than LSU in 2018 (32.4) and Auburn in 2016 (31.2 points). It is much more than Auburn in 2012 (18.7) when the Tigers struggled mightily in their final season under coach Gene Chizik.

The Aggies were also similar in points allowed. A&M surrendered an average of 22.5 points in 2019 despite facing three opponents that ranked among the nation's four highest-scoring offenses.

LSU allowed 21.8 points in 2018, while Auburn allowed 17.1 in 2016 and 28.3 in 2012.

Last season, A&M allowed 22.5 points per game, 130.6 rushing yards, 209.5 passing yards and 340.2 yards in total defense.

Maintaining and improving upon stats often depends on which starters are returning.

Like A&M with Isaiah Spiller, who rushed for 946 yards last season, Auburn returned its top running back in both cases — Tre Mason in ’13 and Kamryn Pettway in ‘17. LSU did not return its top running back in 2019, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire rushed for 658 yards in the season prior.

Lia Musgrave, TexAgs

Isaiah Spiller - who stepped in for injured Jashaun Corbin - rumbled for 946 yards as a true freshman in 2019.

A&M will also return leading receiver Jhamon Ausbon, who hauled in 66 catches for 872 yards last season. In 2019, LSU returned leading receiver Justin Jefferson (54 for 875 in ‘18), while in 2013, Auburn returned Sammie Coates (42 for 902 in ‘12). Auburn’s 2016 leading receiver was Tony Stevens, a senior.

All three SEC West teams that finished ahead of Alabama returned their starting quarterbacks. But a returning starter at quarterback has not been a significant issue.

Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Joe Burrow was definitely a key to LSU winning last year, but Auburn’s incumbent starting quarterbacks were both replaced. Jonathan Wallace was supplanted by Nick Marshall in 2013, and Jarrett Stidham replaced Sean White in 2017.

Yet, there would still be hints that A&M will seriously contend. Burrow passed for 2,898 yards as a junior in 2018. As a junior last season, Mond passed for 2,897.

An injection of talent from a strong recruiting class will help, too. All three SEC West winners had just brought in recruiting classes ranked among the nation's top ten. A&M's 2020 class was ranked sixth.

One final similarity.

None of the teams that won the West Division over Alabama were picked by the SEC media to win.

A&M won’t be picked over Alabama, either.

So all they need is Mond to have a Heisman campaign, the Biletnikoff award winner, and the Jim Thorpe winner? Oh and their #1 back to rush for 1400+ yds. Sounds very doable with the group they fielded last year. And to think there are redasses all over thinking they are just a few months away from being the '19 tigahs. Go home Olin, you're ~~drunk~~ stupid.

SydneyCarton · April 21, 2020

1 hour ago, fattyflattie said:

So all they need is Mond to have a Heisman campaign, the Biletnikoff award winner, and the Jim Thorpe winner? Oh and their #1 back to rush for 1400+ yds. Sounds very doable with the group they fielded last year. And to think there are redasses all over thinking they are just a few months away from being the '19 tigahs. Go home Olin, you're ~~drunk~~ stupid.

To be fair, he's also drunk. And a racist. Like a real deal, hardcore racist who hates brown and black people despite being married to a brown person.

texifornia · April 21, 2020

I suppose during quarantine, you can get a 4am drunk on anytime

Spoiler

BornOrange · April 21, 2020

2 hours ago, Orange&White said:

It looks to me like Olin is insinuating that the aggies are on "the precipice of greatness".

Precipice of Greatness = Top of the Rollercoaster

rvm96 · April 21, 2020

16 minutes ago, texifornia said:

I suppose during quarantine, you can get a 4am drunk on anytime

Hide contents

fattyflattie · April 22, 2020

5 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

To be fair, he's also drunk. And a racist. Like a real deal, hardcore racist who hates brown and black people despite being married to a brown person.

Interesting. All I know of him is that he looks stupid, and writes articles that are generally stupid, and it's all par for the course because...aggy.

williemackgarza · April 22, 2020

Wait olin is married to a brown? Pic (if a human female, but nwwt if not).
Do the sheep fuckers know?

SydneyCarton · April 22, 2020

49 minutes ago, williemackgarza said:

Wait olin is married to a brown? Pic (if a human female, but nwwt if not).
Do the sheep fuckers know?

Thiefery · April 22, 2020

Is she indian?

Whatever · April 22, 2020

It looks to me like Olin is insinuating that the aggies are on "the precipice of greatness".

Precipice? That’s not even a word.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pato del Muerto · April 22, 2020

14 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

Interesting. All I know of him is that he looks stupid, and writes articles that are generally stupid, and it's all par for the course because...aggy.

Your explanation is like umbrella coverage.

Lobwedgephil · April 22, 2020

Oh hey Vernon.

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (KBTX) - College Station police have arrested Vernon Jackson, 20, for assault family violence strangulation.

According to online police records, Jackson went over to a woman’s home on March 4 to look for his wallet. While he was there, he demanded the woman give him the passcode to her phone.

The police report says that the woman denied Jackson's request, and then Jackson repeatedly choked her and prevented her from breathing. He also allegedly slammed her head against the floor.

The woman reportedly had bruises on her arms and throat. Jackson told police the argument never got physical.

Jackson was recruited to play football for Texas A&M University in 2018. Texas A&M Athletics confirms Jackson is an enrolled student at A&M but hasn’t played football since his injury last year.

Officials with the athletic department say protocol will be enacted following these allegations.

SydneyCarton · April 22, 2020

3 minutes ago, Lobwedgephil said:

Oh hey Vernon.

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (KBTX) - College Station police have arrested Vernon Jackson, 20, for assault family violence strangulation.

According to online police records, Jackson went over to a woman’s home on March 4 to look for his wallet. While he was there, he demanded the woman give him the passcode to her phone.

The police report says that the woman denied Jackson's request, and then Jackson repeatedly choked her and prevented her from breathing. He also allegedly slammed her head against the floor.

The woman reportedly had bruises on her arms and throat. Jackson told police the argument never got physical.

Jackson was recruited to play football for Texas A&M University in 2018. Texas A&M Athletics confirms Jackson is an enrolled student at A&M but hasn’t played football since his injury last year.

Officials with the athletic department say protocol will be enacted following these allegations.

Good news for their stretched thin roster, assuming he hadn't already been processed for a medical scholarship. Which he might have been.

victory88 · April 22, 2020

Yeah, Jimbo basically doesn't give a fuck who he recruits as character risks. One of their selling points is that you do not have to go to class. It's funny that they will do anything and take any player if it means it will help them win... yet they are a perennial loser.

Fud · April 22, 2020

6 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Good news for their stretched thin roster, assuming he hadn't already been processed for a medical scholarship. Which he might have been.

He was already off of the roster

texifornia · April 22, 2020

Just now, victory88 said:

Yeah, Jimbo basically doesn't give a fuck who he recruits as character risks. One of their selling points is that you do not have to go to class. It's funny that they will do anything and take any player if it means it will help them win... yet they are a perennial loser.

Uh, we'd have happily taken Vernon Jackson (though not as an RB). It's more about the culture within the program allowing dipshittery to run wild.

SydneyCarton · April 22, 2020

2 minutes ago, victory88 said:

Yeah, Jimbo basically doesn't give a fuck who he recruits as character risks. One of their selling points is that you do not have to go to class. It's funny that they will do anything and take any player if it means it will help them win... yet they are a perennial loser.

Just now, texifornia said:

Uh, we'd have happily taken Vernon Jackson (though not as an RB). It's more about the culture within the program allowing dipshittery to run wild.

Yeah, I don't remember any red flags about Jackson coming out of HS. At all.

UDontKnow · April 22, 2020

4 hours ago, Thiefery said:

Is she indian?

If so...feather, not dot.

UDontKnow · April 22, 2020

1 hour ago, Lobwedgephil said:

Oh hey Vernon.

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (KBTX) - College Station police have arrested Vernon Jackson, 20, for assault family violence strangulation.

According to online police records, Jackson went over to a woman’s home on March 4 to look for his wallet. While he was there, he demanded the woman give him the passcode to her phone.

The police report says that the woman denied Jackson's request, and then Jackson repeatedly choked her and prevented her from breathing. He also allegedly slammed her head against the floor.

The woman reportedly had bruises on her arms and throat. Jackson told police the argument never got physical.

Jackson was recruited to play football for Texas A&M University in 2018. Texas A&M Athletics confirms Jackson is an enrolled student at A&M but hasn’t played football since his injury last year.

Officials with the athletic department say protocol will be enacted following these allegations.

Was he the kid from Boling that we wanted to play DL, but he instead went to aggy because he was promised to play RB?

texifornia · April 22, 2020

6 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

Was he the kid from Boling that we wanted to play DL, but he instead went to aggy because he was promised to play RB?

yes

RomaVicta · April 22, 2020

On 4/21/2020 at 12:48 PM, Orange&White said:

It looks to me like Olin is insinuating that the aggies are on "the precipice of greatness".

That is so Aggie. Has he written that? Perfect. Maximum height on the rollercoaster.

NorLa Horns · April 23, 2020

So I got an Aggie story. And I'm mainly a recruiting board guy, so yall are gonna get it.

I work with a close family member of former Aggie basketball coach Billy Kennedy.

Seems He ain't real happy w aggie. Jimbo approached him about buying his house for one of his assistants in BCS. And ol Billy told them to " fuck off". I'm told in those words exactly. Wouldn't sell to Jimbo or any aggie connected person.

Aggie Still out there making friends and influencing people. Smh.

Warm and fuzzies for me and my men

Lobwedgephil · April 23, 2020

Spoiler

We’re continuing our expanded, two-part version of Ask Liucci. Up top is the video portion in which Coco fires questions at Billy and tries her best to get him to answer succinctly. Below is both a second round of questions Billy answers in writing and then, at the very bottom, a transcript of the video portion. Enjoy!

Do you think the pandemic will have any effect on position coaches and coordinators choosing not to leave at the end of the season? It seems we have a really solid group, but it’s hard to hold onto the good ones for any length of time nowadays (i.e. E. Robinson and Elko).

Well, if you're scoring at home, Elko and Robinson are now entering Year Three and are very well-compensated. I do think the pandemic will leave a lot of coaches around the country very happy with where they are at if they are near the top of the profession in terms of their salaries at their respective positions. Plus, you have to consider that money will be a lot tighter at a lot of the schools that aren't in that 'top 1%' that A&M is fortunate enough to be in.

Why haven't we been able to make momentum with in-state blue-chip running back recruits this year? Is there something about our offensive scheme that makes it tough to sell?

What could it possibly be? Dalvin Cook, Devonta Freeman at FSU? Trayveon Williams leading the SEC in rushing with 1,750 and over 2,000 yards from scrimmage in year one under Jimbo? Isaiah Spiller's true freshman success? It's a good question. I'm just not sure, but I'll be interested to see if Tommie Robinson can change that and if the 2020 class was just a weird one for the Ags' RB recruiting efforts (though I still think they inked a future star in Devon Achane). Camar Wheaton‍ is still very much in play though the Aggies aren't out in front and I think the Ags will have an excellent shot at LJ Johnson Jr‍ when all is said and done.

What do you know about Dabo Swinney in regard to his reputation vs. how he actually is? Not at all asking you to talk down on the guy if he isn't what he's cracked up to be, but I've heard both things: that he's not at all like he seems to be in the public eye and is a fraud, and also that he's exactly the same "good ol' boy" as seen in the public eye. Just wondering what you've heard about him!

I think he's a good person and does a lot of great stuff, but I also think he's not the boy scout he portrays himself to be. Not even close. Don't get me wrong, he's not a villain by any stretch, but he's no different than a lot of premier college coaches yet gets credit for being just that. I don't dislike the guy at all and respect what he's built there.

What's the first thing you do when the ban is lifted? Trip, restaurant and sporting event?

The rate things are going, I might not feel great about doing the airport/commercial plane thing for a minute, so it might be the Auburn game before I take a 'trip' if the season starts on time. Maybe the lake in Austin or something like that. Restaurant? I can't wait to hit all of my local favorites, but I may have to make the first The Republic since it was the restaurant I went to before I decided to stop about a week before quarantining became a thing. After that, I have my spots in Dallas I've missed, and I’ll probably go crazy at Lopez in Sugar Land at some point to meet up with Bucky and walk out there ready to win a natty like we always do. Sporting event? I'm thinking that might turn out to be an Astros game later this summer.

How excited are you for the NFL Draft?

Really excited. It's a weekend of football conversation, highlights and something sports-related that we don't already know the outcome of. More pumped than I've been for a draft since any after the one I went to NYC for in 2013.

Which Ags get drafted?

Madubuike, Quartney and Mann, and I think Kendrick gets in late.

Auburn 2014 - they are #3 and Kyle Allen and Myles G lead us to victory.
Question 1: How did Obioha end up with that fumble on the 3-yard line? Did he ever talk about that later?!

No idea, but man oh man did that game feel like it was getting away from the Ags or what?!?!? That was one heck of a reversal of fortune. One about on the level we saw in 2018 when the Ags let one slip away at Jordan-Hare.

Question 2: Out of Kenny, Kyle, Kyler or Trevor, who had the most unrealized potential for us? And if you say Kyler, then give me #2 – how does Mond as a junior rank?

Easiest question of this thread. It's Kyler. Kyle started for essentially a full year, Trevor was only eligible for a single season and Kenny was solid at TCU but not a first-team All-Big 12 QB or pro. Kyler was a three-time state champ in high school, the Heisman winner, No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year, and didn't do anything of note during his one year at A&M. Mond doesn't even belong in this conversation. He's had a very solid career so far, and I wouldn't look at his junior season and think 'unrealized potential' at all. We'll see where he's at after one more season on campus, but he didn't come in with near the hype that Kyler or Kyle did, and as I said, he has had a solid career to date.

Which SEC football coach is:
1. The biggest jackarse?
2. The biggest scumbag?
3. The one you would most like your son to play for?

On #3, it's Jimbo or Saban, hands down. #2? I'll sit this one out because who knows who will come here as an OC or DC one day down the road. Dan Mullen walks a fine line there, IMO. Jackass I'm cool with. I think Pittman is in early contention, and it goes without saying that Kiffin fits the description, though I do enjoy the entertainment value he brings and love his social media antics.

59-0 – what were the top 3 problems going on during that week? Or just share what you think happened to cause us to not show up.

Good question, but I haven't really thought of that one for a while now. Kind of a perfect storm. It was right before things came to a head with Kenny Hill, and there really just wasn't any chemistry on that team at all. In hindsight, you're probably talking about the very first indication that things were trending in the wrong direction, as that one wasn't just one terrible blip we'd all hoped it was. A lot of young guys who went on to be good players at A&M kind of quit that day, but there was just a lack of leadership/culture that allowed it to happen.

Bowl Games vs. Louisville, K-State and Wake Forest – which of those losses was the most unacceptable? Painful to think about, so sorry about that... How could we lose those games!!??

I would say Wake, but that was with an interim head coach so that's always completely unpredictable. Louisville had an emerging star in Lamar Jackson and a good defense, but the Ags played sans their starting and backup QBs, one of whom was an NFL starter, the other a Heisman winner like Jackson. That one was lost in the weeks leading up to the game despite a gutsy effort from Hubes. So I'll go with Kansas State. The Wildcat team was good on defense but AWFUL on offense, and they scored something like 33 on the Aggies. A pretty pitiful loss to end what had been a promising season at the start. On top of it, how great would it be if we could be sitting here right now telling all of the Big 12 honks to shut their traps with a 4-0 A&M record in bowl games versus that sad sack league since joining the SEC? Truth be told, there's really no reason A&M shouldn't be at least 7-1 in bowls since joining the conference.

Who do you think is the better prospect and why? Eli Stowers‍ or Garrett Nussmeier‍.

Nuss is the more prototypical and I think maybe the safer projection. He's really damn good. With Stowers, his combination of intangibles – dude is a flat-out winner – and athleticism give him off-the-charts upside. Both have the arm and both demonstrate that they really have a keen understanding of the position and the game. If you look at the state and national rankings, they're both still laughably underrated. And I've said it before, Stowers is the most underrated prospect in the country.

Trevor doesn't get hurt vs. Mississippi State: finish that season record, including the bowl game.

Tough to say, but I still don't think that team was necessarily great. Maybe a top-15 team when all was said and done? I think they would have figured out a way to outlast Mississippi State that day, but that was a big if because the offense was REALLY out of sorts, even when Trevor was in there and Fitzgerald was making plays and the Bulldogs were completely controlling the LOS. Still, I have to feel like Trevor would have figured out a way and kind of managed to will the Ags through it. They would have beaten Ole Miss the following Saturday night – zero doubt in my mind. LSU probably outscores the Aggies, but who knows if the Ags were playing for a playoff berth, right? Kyle Field would have been unreal, and Trevor wouldn't have been coming off of such a layoff. Still, LSU scored like 54 in that one, so it's tough to say the gap wasn't too wide. A bowl game is too tough to tell because no idea who they would have played. Wild swing depending on whether or not the Aggies (and Knight) could have figured it out during the final three quarters in Starkville. The entire team was just pretty flat that day. You're looking at 10-1 going into the regular-season finale with a playoff berth on the line for a night game vs. LSU, or 9-2, and a likely 9-3 finish.

After taking 4 RBs last year, if we can just get one good one are we satisfied with taking just one?

Probably not. One of the four from last year is a junior college addition. I think the need the Ags are chasing in this class is two. If it's one, it's going to need to be a game-changer like Camar Wheaton‍ or LJ Johnson Jr‍, but even then the ideal haul is two.

Favorite Trevor Knight moment for you? Top 3 if you need it.

My favorite? Probably the Arkansas game when he threw a 95-yard TD pass and had two huge first-half scoring runs that kept the Ags in it and grabbed momentum before halftime. The only time the Ags have rolled the Hogs in Jerryworld by a comfortable margin.

Same question - Myles Garrett.

Probably the Arizona State game or the win over then-No. 3 Auburn at Jordan-Hare. He was just unblockable in both. Also the South Carolina game in 2014 – his first in an A&M uniform. It was already clear he was going to be one of the best to wear Maroon & White and eventually be an NFL star.

Is Demani Richardson the second-best safety in the SEC behind Jacoby Stevens?

Just like with Wydermyer (I'm answering these backward), it's too early to tell. But Demani is trending quickly to being one of the best in the league. Going to need to create more turnovers and get his hands on more footballs before I'm ready to reserve one of the two first-team All-SEC spots for him, but I certainly think he can be as good as JR Reed was for UGA last year, and he was a first-team pick. He definitely has a shot to be a first-team defender as a sophomore.

Is Jalen Wydermeyer the best tight end in the nation?

It’s too early to tell. He'll have to make big strides as a blocker, but the kid is literally just entering his sophomore season. I think he's a legitimate All-SEC candidate this year and will be in the 'best in the country' discussion before he leaves Aggieland.

What do you think is the most likely scenario for the upcoming season?

I still think the two most likely scenarios are an on-time start with a very short summer offseason. Maybe a return in mid-June to team workouts at the earliest and then fall camp. Or a July/mid-July start to workouts and the entire season being pushed back (as is) a month. Then come the less likely things, like a spring or even split season, conference games only, etc.

When do you think we'll hear something official about if/when/how the CFB season is played?

Not until at least a month from now and probably not until the start of or even the middle of June. Early June if it's going to start on time and mid- to late-June if we're looking at a late start.

After watching The Last Dance tonight, any doubt Jordan and the Bulls win 8 in a row if he doesn't retire?

See below. There is a doubt, but it's tough to see Jordan letting his team lose a Game 7 in his prime (which is where I think the Rockets could have taken them). Goodness, the Pippen/Drexler matchup, Jordan/Mad Max would have gotten TESTY, Otis Thorpe/Rodman would have killed each other inside. And then there's the Olajuwon/Wennington or Dream/Luc Longley battle of the future HOFers...oh, wait.

How does Demani compare to Armani Watts? Which one had a better freshman season?

I think Demani may have had the better freshman season. Watts was great against South Carolina but then struggled some as a true freshman (I remember that Arkansas game being pretty tough on him). Of course, he took off from there and was sensational at A&M. I think the two are similar in terms of being playmakers, but Richardson is bigger and may end up being a more sure tackler. As far as creating turnovers goes, Armani was pretty spectacular in that regard, so time will tell if Demani can get there.

Anias Smith... Be honest. You and everybody else is surprised he turned out to be such a great player so quickly. Why wasn't he a high 4-star recruit? His offer list was minimal, so why did so many programs miss on him? Is there another Anias in this year's class?

Surprised it happened that quickly? Yes. Not surprised he turned out to be really good because I know how much Jimbo loved him dating back to when he saw him playing 7-on-7 against his son prior to even arriving at A&M. The head coach believed in Smith from day one and never wavered. He just knew he was a ball-player, plain and simple. Not sure how in the hell so many good programs missed because he had a brother (who signed with Bama and finished as a starter at Georgia) in the NFL, played Houston area 6A ball and whose parents are prominent speed coaches in the Southwest Houston area. Maybe because he was on the smallish side? That's all I can figure. To me, this year's guy that falls into that category may just be John Paul Richardson. Same position coming out (slot receiver) and same area. Right now, he holds better offers than Ainias did, but like Smith, I think he's much better than he's currently getting credit for. Dude is just a dog on the field – a playmaker and a fiery competitor.

They lost to the Magic in the playoffs with Jordan in '95. Yes. Houston gave them hell every time they played them.

Not sure if this is in response to whether the Rockets could have beaten the Bulls in '94, '95 with Jordan out and I'm just not sure, but I know it would have been an epic series. People forget that Jordan's Bulls were absolutely tested during some of those six playoff runs to the title, and the Rockets were better than any of those teams, IMO. Blazers, Suns, Sonics and the Jazz twice. The East was pretty weak once they disposed of the Pistons and ended the Bad Boys mini-dynasty. The biggest reason, of course, was Dream. Olajuwon was unstoppable during that run, even when facing the likes of Ewing, Robinson and O'Neal. What would he have done to Bill freaking Wennington? And, as the poster said, the Rockets played the Bulls tough during that time. I bet it would've gone seven.

Why do you think the deep ball has not been able to connect the last 2 years between Kellen and the receivers?

Combination of factors – far and away the throw Kellen needs to work the most on to improve, receivers who generally don't get behind the defense like some of the guys we see around the SEC, a more conservative approach thus far (though Fisher has shown that he will launch it when he has the weapons) and not having enough time for the five-step drops against the pass rush that comes with the fact the Ags played five elite defenses in 12 games this year and probably the same number in 2018.

Where do you think this offense could go if they establish a vertical passing game threat?

Look at Florida State's 2013 offense with Kelvin Benjamin on the outside. Big if, but if Mond and the Aggies (or whoever takes over in 2021 and beyond) can start to really stretch the field to go with the tight ends, a running threat under center and backfield options that include guys who can catch and line up as slot receivers, the potential is top-10 in college football type stuff.

How many foreseeable first-rounders do we currently have on the team? How many foreseeable first-rounders did we take in 2020? How many will we have in the 2021 class?

It’s too early to tell with the 2021 class. Heck, I'm having a hard time figuring out which in-state prospects I'd include on that list right now. A lot of high-ceiling guys but not many 'sure thing' types. On the team? Okay, let me talk through this. I don't think the Ags will have one following the 2020 season (seniors and draft-eligible juniors). I think with two seasons of steady improvement, Bobby Brown will really see his NFL stock elevate, but he has work to do. I’m also very confident that DeMarvin Leal can get there. Demani Richardson has shown he could be a pretty impactful defender, and the sky is the limit for him moving forward. The same can be said for Kenyon Green and Jalen Wydermyer, and Cupp's size/speed combination is that of a first-rounder. Not all will get there, but those are the potential guys I see right now. A couple of others will emerge as well, while some on my list won't quite get there or maybe leave a year earlier than they should. As far as the recent signees, it's WAY too early to tell, but you just start with the guys who are physically and athletically superior to most kids coming out at the same age. You go with names like Demond Demas, McKinnley Jackson, Donell Harris and Jaylon Jones and work from there.

What are you hearing on the health of Blanton, Reed?

Nothing new. You'd love to see both healthy for an extended period of time, but we haven't seen it yet. Blanton is a guy who I really think would have a chance to be a good tackle if he can hang in there and come out the other side healthy, but that seems like a big if with as much time as he's had to spend on the shelf.

I don't have a question, but just reading through these... Guys are asking LEGIT questions like 80% of the time. I don't know if it's because of the quarantine and people have dig deep down to figure out which ones to ask but man.. this is refreshing. Usually, the questions are mostly snoozers and I know the answer to about a third of them. These are super interesting and I await the responses. Good job guys!

Glad you consider the questions posed by your fellow subscribers 'snoozers' and that you know so many of the answers. Also glad you find these super interesting and are congratulating the community. I'm giving you a hard time...just for the 'Billy is too mean' crowd that doesn't get me busting balls.

Which season do you think the Ags have a stronger team: 2020 or 2021? The 2020 class still has some big question marks along the OL, and while Mond will be a seasoned veteran, his ceiling appears to be lower than most of the other QBs on our roster. Will the loss of his experience and leadership outweigh the talent upgrade of his eventual successor? And how does the rest of the team look in ‘21 vs. ‘20?

I've answered this one a lot and probably did in the Coco segment as well. I think this year's team MIGHT have the better shot at an SEC West title because of what LSU and Bama (and even Auburn) lost and because of the fact that Ole Miss, Miss State and Arkansas are all starting out with new coaches. South Carolina has one on the hot seat and the Ags draw Vandy out of the East. My guess is at least two of those four (not including Vandy) get better under the new hires by years two and three and Vandy won't be the East foe, so this year it's set up as well as it's ever going to be in the West. With that said, the overall talent on the roster is going to get better and better (it's already happening), so the Ags will soon be on even or 'even enough' footing with the likes of Bama, LSU and Georgia. I really think A&M and Florida are the two programs clearly ascending in the conference, with Tennessee as the wild card.

I think the Aggies are positioned to have a legitimate look at it this year (with a lot of that depending on OL improvement) and then have their best look in '22 with a loaded roster, top to bottom, and a QB plus a bunch of OLs all entering year two as starters.

As for recipes, hit me up if you'd like to try my maple dijon shredded chicken. It's great as a sandwich like pulled pork or even better with some good pasta and cheese sauce.

Damn, I'd love that. Send me a PM.

Early thoughts on Ross Bjork and what his strengths appear to be?

I've talked about this a lot since the AD's arrival, and his strengths have become more magnified as he guides Aggie Athletics through the current, challenging times. He's a natural leader, he's a 'pro's pro' as an AD, he is very forthcoming and accessible. He's very measured, patient and is always looking at the big picture. He's also wildly popular with the student-athletes.

Who had the better first year at A&M: Jimbo or Buzz (recruiting, expectations, setting culture)?

So similar. I think Jimbo was starting out with a little bit more in terms of talent level compared to the competition. Not even close to where the Ags needed to be to compete for a championship in the SEC, but definitely closer to that level than what Buzz walked into. Both teams bought in very quickly, including the outgoing veterans, which is always tough. We saw both cultures change overnight, and both made dramatic improvements on the defensive end. Both were playing their best at season's end and both overachieved. Hoops overachieved more, but football didn't have the rocky start that basketball did (going back to the concept of where both coaches were launching off from). Jimbo's first full class ranked No. 3 nationally and Buzz is absolutely lighting it up on the recruiting trail. Both coaches are recruiting at levels we haven't seen in Aggieland before. Both are going to win at levels not witnessed in Aggieland when all is said and done. I'm convinced of that.

What's been the most difficult or surprising thing about running a sports content product during a total sports lockdown?

The surprising part is that it's still been fun pumping out content, and it's also been fun to see how creative everyone is getting with it. The most difficult part lies in just not knowing the timeline for when things are going to return to normal or when the games will actually begin (or if, though I'm convinced they will). That's been the toughest part. There's no end yet in sight and no checkpoint along the way. So we in the media are just like you the fans throughout all of this. That and the incessant drumbeat of doom and gloom when it comes to sports from the national media is just getting beyond tiresome. It's kind of like listening to folks continue to tell me that the Ags would never leave for the SEC or that A&M can't hire Jimbo when I knew both were true. I'm convinced they're playing football in 2020, but I have to sit here like all of you and read a new story (or five) every day telling us how it's not going to happen.

In a hypothetical world where Jimbo doesn't take the A&M job in 2017, whom would you have wanted A&M to land and which would have been the next most likely candidate?

Believe it or not, I think Justin Fuente would have gotten a real look (the Hokies haven't been that good the past couple of seasons but think about where he was trending prior to that...and Scott was at least intrigued with him). I put a lot of thought into it at the time but felt VERY confident that the Ags were getting Jimbo. But to be honest with you, there aren't a ton of options out there who are attainable and who you'd say, "Yes, he'd be a slam dunk hire for Texas A&M." Fisher was one of the names on that VERY short list, so the Ags were incredibly fortunate to get him. I just don't know. James Franklin, maybe? Pulling Dan Mullen away from Mississippi State? Maybe??? Again, not many options at all (not to say a more under-the-radar guy couldn't have worked, like say maybe a Matt Rhule-type), and you needed someone with a strong enough resume/pedigree that you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he'd be a significant upgrade over the coach you were letting go of, at least on paper (which is all you'd have at that point).

What would be your prediction as to when recruits are allowed to visit campuses on either official or unofficial visits? Will the ban extend past the current May 31 timeline?

What I heard this week was that it might not be until late July. Again, all of this is pure speculation at this point, but I definitely think it will be after May 31.

Will the Ags get the equivalent of Spring Training like some other schools completed or started in March? I actually think this could be a good thing for summer or fall enrollees.

If – and it's a big if – they have enough time to get it in, then yes, I would expect the teams that had no spring to get some leeway in the form of some extra time or days that they can work on football-specific stuff in addition to their workouts.

I know you know what the new football unis look like. Give us a small hint?!?

I actually do, which probably upsets at least one person who seems strangely obsessed with hating on me, all of you and this site despite the fact that he's on here regularly. I don't want to give anything at all away because that's always been something certain folks want to keep the tightest of lids on prior to the release. Have to respect that, you feel me?

I responsibly vote for Josie.

Haha, Josie is awesome and just a freaking really cool person. I'm rooting for her and my boy Mike to end up getting back. I can say this much, going to his house in LA when they were having a little party was unreal thanks to Josie having a few of her model friends there to hang out. Quite the scene.

What date do you expect Zach Evans to enroll at A&M?

Well played. The only way in hell Zach Evans could end up at A&M would be if someone from the 2020 class didn't qualify and Evans was still without a school at that time. That doesn't sound like it's happening.

I wish a buck was still silver. It was back when the country was strong.

Don't we all.

Thanks for doing these! Following along from 10,000 miles away!

That's awesome! I appreciate it, my friend. Where are you following from?

Billy do we expect more attrition? Or are we ok with the 85 limit? Thanks.

I think they're fine. Could be some light attrition as in a departure or two between now and the season but nothing significant in terms of numbers, just maybe a couple of kids who think they'd have a better chance to play elsewhere.

From a player safety perspective, how long is the runway before a team is ready to play a season?

Well, most would say you'd like to see these guys back and working out by mid-June and July 1 at the latest, but there are also some who would say, "Look, 20 years ago, these kids were showing up for two-a-days and that was the first time coaches would even see their true freshmen and we managed to have college football seasons just fine.” I know athletes have gotten bigger and faster across the board since then, but it's definitely something to consider when assuming they need a 2-3 month runway.

Billy, have you heard of the plan for setting up testing for entering a "safe zone" for practice and workouts? It seems obvious to me that quick-type testing (like the Abbott tester) will be required for regular football to occur.

I've thought about that as well, and it definitely seems pretty obvious. I've heard that they've even recently floated the idea of teams keeping their players in a hotel for a stretch when they return to practice, but that just feels like spending more money and I'm not sure it wouldn't in some weird way actually promote spread within a team if they ran into a couple of cases. Another thing I've heard is that there's the possibility of teams resuming offseason conditioning work sometime in June but only working out in groups no larger than 10. That's something else being thrown around when all of these calls between coaches, administrators, conferences and the NCAA are taking place. But make no mistake, all ideas are on the table, and I'm sure things like what you're suggesting will or have already come up. ADs, university presidents, head coaches and media members can state their opinions all they want, but the ones who stand out to me are the folks like our own Ross Bjork. He understands fully how fluid and unprecedented all of this is so he chooses to remain hopeful while preaching 'wait and see' and making sure to remain vigilant, able to pivot if need be and informed every step of the way.

What position does not having spring practice hurt the most? It seems like new guys getting reps at corner would have been huge, but I also would have loved to see more chance to shuffle the OL going into summer.

I don't think there would have been too much shuffling of the o-line, but that battle at center could have really used the fifteen practices. To me, it's wide receiver. At corner, yeah, Jaylon Jones could have made a BIG move, but Blades was going to miss spring while recovering from the shoulder and another potential impact guy in Brian George wasn't here yet either. Probably wide receiver and safety in terms of position groups just because there is so damn much talent and so much to sort out in terms of the depth chart and playing time that you really would have loved to get that work in. As far as getting really specific, I would have said center and backup quarterback.

Are you going to cancel your contract with The Athletic? They have made it very clear today what they think of A&M.

Over that tweet? In a word, no. I thought the tweet was just an attempt at humor to get retweets and likes. Like all of you, I don't particularly like seeing folks like Mandel and Sallee continuing to just not let the 10-year, $75 million thing go, and I find it strange how so many in the national media seemed genuinely offended that Fisher left Florida State for A&M. There's no doubt that plenty of people would love nothing more than to see Jimbo fail despite the fact that his salary isn't out of whack AT ALL at this point in time based on resume and the fact the Ags had to hire him away from the place where he won a title. I'm not even sure Stewart feels that way at all, but plenty in the media do. Even if he did and was taking a shot, we're not going to agree with everything that comes out of a collection of hundreds of writers around the country. Remember Feldman's opinion on the decision-makers at A&M when Sumlin was on the verge of getting fired? Finebaum, McFarland and several others on the SEC Network have taken their shots over the past eight years, as have the folks on ESPN. If it ever gets to the point that a pattern develops, you're talking about something different. To me, that quote was enough to elicit an eye roll and not a response.

Any feel for how much money Aggie SD has lost this spring?

No idea, but the interesting thing is that those spring sports are money losers so who knows. The killer blow would be if there wasn't a college football season. A&M is in the 'top 1%' as one insider pointed out. And even the Aggie athletic department would suffer greatly if we went through a fall without ball. Imagine what the teams not in that rarified will feel without that revenue? It's a frightening possibility.

What's the funniest thing you've seen players/coaches do on the sideline when you've been down there to take in a game?

There's been some hilarious trash talk over the years but I'll tell you what, Kliff Kingsbury was one of my favorites in that regard. He told me before the Bama game in 2012 that, "We're ready. We're shocking the world today." He also was taunting the obnoxious Mississippi State fans a week earlier, saying, "Y'all should have never let us into this conference!"

There have been a couple of funny guys over the years who will walk by and make some hilarious small talk or comments during the heat of battle, but a couple of things that stand out were at that same MSU game in 2012 when Sumlin, Kliff and a couple of other staff members returned to Starkville for the first time since they were there and knocked off Mullen's Bulldogs at UH. The chain crew was, let's just say, prehistoric. I mean, these dudes were OLDDDDD. Apparently, they were the same guys who were there a couple of years prior and did a terrible job of keeping up with the tempo with which the Cougars and Case Keenum played. Well, Sumlin walks up to the guy before kickoff and says, "Remember me?" The chain guy looks at him with total disdain and just goes, "Houston!!!" Let's just say the Aggie staff was all OVER that group during the game making sure they were hustling down the field to move the chains as Johnny, Mike, Swope and Co. rolled up and down on MSU.

Another great one I know I've told was Johnny coming up to Bucky and I prior to the second half of the 2012 Cotton Bowl and telling us, "We're about to run these guys out of here. They're awful." The score at the time was 14-13, which led me to say, “How about just win?” Johnny says, "Running them out of the stadium. Watch." The rest, of course, is Cotton Bowl history.

Narcos or Ozarks, preferred Netflix series?

Damn. That's a really tough one. I still think I'd go Narcos, but it got a lot closer after Season 3 of Ozark.

What schools will come out of the COVID lockdown better than the other schools? What will those programs have done that gave them the performance advantage?

I've kind of gone in-depth in this in a recent article and on the radio. I am absolutely convinced that a team like A&M is particularly positioned to come out better than others on the field but it feels like they need things to get back to 'normal' in order to gain some type of momentum on the recruiting front. Of course, win big on the field this fall and the Ags are REALLY going to benefit. As far as other teams coming out better than others, I think they need to be like the Aggies –returning starter at quarterback and one who is proven, stability at both head coach and the coordinator level, veteran team returning in the way of returning starters and key role players, a strong and experienced senior class and older guys in the trenches. By my count, the Ags have J Peevy, M Clemons, J Martin, T Johnson, B Brown, B Johnson, A Hines and A Hansford in the front seven as juniors/seniors and D Moore, C Green, J Hocker and R McCollum on the OL. Find teams that check those boxes and you'll find the teams most likely to come out of the extended offseason better prepared than others.

Video Transcript

Liucci: It's that time of week again, ladies and gentlemen. Billy Liucci joined by none other than Coco Collard, Floco, as I like to call her. And we're going to do this again like we did last week, a little slight change to the Ask Liucci session. We'll do 30 minutes of video of Coco asking me questions and holding me accountable to keep the answers shorter so we can get more than five questions in in 30 minutes. But we're going to do that, and then of course go with the traditional way that everybody seems to enjoy so much, which is me writing the answers, and someone will transcribe these as well for those of you that just really don't like to watch videos. So you're not missing out on anything.

What we are doing is saving some time and bringing a little personality to this deal in the form of our favorite Canadian. So Coco, whenever you are ready, start firing. And later today I will go in and answer the rest of them in writing. So this is allowing us, for those of you that get discouraged if you don't get one of the early questions in, it's just going to let us answer more questions without it taking six hours to do. So Coco, you are a big help. I don't know if Gabe tells you that enough.

Coco: Never hurts to hear it again. Thank you. Okay, you ready to get started? We have the first question. "No doubt that Fisher and staff are recruiting at an elite level, finishing third in 2019 and fifth or sixth in 2020 in the 247 Composite Rankings. What do you think it will take for them to be number one or two going forward?"

Liucci: Great question because you're always trying to get there, and there's no faster path to a national championship than having the best players. And when you're in a division, where at least two of the teams at the top of the division generally get the best players, in Alabama and LSU, you need to be up there. A&M has been up there, but to make that jump, Coco, I think it's as simple as this. Go 10 and two next year, win a ball game, be 11 and two. Go out the next year, win a bunch of games on the field, and then go out the next year and do it.

I think just consistently being a top 10 program with Jimbo Fisher as your head coach, with the amount that A&M can pay assistant salaries, and with what this game day environment is and these facilities, that will be a perennial. You will recruit like Clemson, Georgia, and Alabama. But you have to win, and there is this barricade of entry. There's a barrier for entry here that it's like it's not a club where your name has to be on the list. You just have to win to where they can just walk you through the back door. And you've got to win at that level to get there. And to me the way A&M's recruiting without the wins tells me that it's as simple as winning games on the field. I think the 2022 class could be one of those where it finishes one or two, and if it's third it's still the best class in A&M history type of class.

Coco: Next question, and I will add that earlier you mentioned you might just tell me to skip some, so I don't know if you want to answer this or not. "You can only choose one, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, a daughter of an MLB player who let a ball bounce off his head or some WWE chick."

Liucci: Okay, well, Tori's married, and we love Tori. She's one of the best people ever. I'm going to get her on a podcast soon too, by the way, just to talk. So you guys that watch WWE, you're going to be able to ask her questions directly, and she's got some pretty amazing stories. Canseco's daughter, Josie, since she dates my friend, or did date my buddy, Mike Stud, we're not going to do that one. Although I'm going to tell you what I love about Josie - best musical taste of anyone in the world. She needs to start putting her Spotify playlists out. She's one of the few people that I would say have better musical taste than me. I'm going to go with the Cowboy cheerleaders because you have more to choose from, and contrary to what the person that's constantly tweeting about me, some of them I know quite well, and they're cool. Love them.

Coco: "What is something interesting that you've heard from Ross Bjork that wasn't covered in the Ask Me Anything?"

Liucci: Ross and I've talked about this, and we're going to do this soon on the podcast too. I just don't like to talk to Ross over the years of him doing this kind of just some stories of what he's seen, war stories, favorite players that he's worked with in all sports. Been some interesting times, I'm sure there were at Ole Miss. I don't know, just more on a personal experience level. I think between what we've had him on talking about and the Ask Me Anything, I think a lot of that stuff has been covered. Maybe if there are sports... See, it's weird now. I would've said if there's a sport to be added, what would it ever be? People want gymnastics. People want whatever.

I've always heard that there's a big liability in gymnastics, but it's so big in the SCC. I mean, it's really big in this conference, and we have nothing to do with it. But the other one I've always heard that would be probably added first would've been beach volleyball, sand volleyball because it's a recruiting tool for regular volleyball and if you don't have it, it kind of hurts. I'm sure Bird would love to have it. And then it's really inexpensive. Heck, they already have sand volleyball courts out there at the rec, and I think if they would've added one, and it's a women's sport, which would be what they'd have to add, I really think it would've been that. But now with all that's going on, nobody's adding sports anytime soon. Unfortunately, it'll be the opposite.

Coco: Okay. Second question from the same user: "What is the thinking around potentially adding a second QB in the 2021 class? And if they do, is [Davis] or Nussmeier the priority?"

Liucci: Dematrius Davis‍. Yeah, I think Garrett Nussmeier‍ is a guy... But they stepped forward with an offer to him, and I think he pushed back his commitment date, which was supposed to be this past weekend. Everybody had him penciled in at LSU. So I think that one's still out there. I know that he's a guy they like a lot. I personally, Coco, think there's a need for a second quarterback. I think it's something they're exploring. I don't think it's a guarantee because I know how much they clearly love Eli Stowers‍. But if you look at that roster, I do think there is a legitimate case to be made that goes look, you really have Kellen, James Foster and then Haynes King and whoever you sign in ‘21, okay?

So when the next fall rolls around, Kellen's gone, you're going to have Foster and Calzada and Haynes King and a true freshman. The way this thing goes, if Foster or Calzada, if one of them is the fourth-string quarterback or even the third-string quarterback this year, which one of them will be, no better than the third-string because it goes Kellen and those two, that other guy... I think you just have to recruit knowing that. Look, I don't think three quarterbacks, including one of them being a true freshman, is enough to have on campus in 2021. You have to look at it like that. And from that standpoint, I think they should take two. We'll see if they do. And if they don't, then they 100% have to take two in 2022.

Coco: Okay. Rivalry question. This is from J.C. Lover or J. Clover again. "Just how biased do you think the 247 recruiting rankings are in favor of Texas? Texas finished third in 2018, third in 2019 and ninth in 2020 Composite Rankings. Where would you have put their classes for those years?"

Liucci: I don't know where I would put them, but I know they finished third because they signed Bru McCoy, which was weird because Bru McCoy signed, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, he signed with USC and then went back and then got out of it and went to Texas. And then before even playing a game there during that offseason, transferred back to SC. They should've never gotten credit for signing him, and they did. And they got credit for that signing when he should've, in my opinion, counted as a transfer. And that jumped them up to where they were. He was a five star, top 10 or 15 player in the entire country. But yeah, I look at things like the rise they gave Hoofkin out of Dallas High School where he wasn't even close. He wasn't in Ainias Smith's time zone as a football player or prospect. And you look at how he shot up. You look this year about Andrej Karic and how much he shot up, a teammate of Blake Smith, who remained at a three-star, despite a really impressive offer list. You look at a guy like Isaiah Raikes and how he tested and didn't move up. I could go on and on and on and on.

The Texas guys get absolutely unnecessary, preposterous bumps when you look at Jake Majors, the O lineman they signed they should this year that by one service was the number one guard in the country. It borders on sickening. I don't think there's a 247 bias. That is the one entity. I don't agree with everything they do. You're never going to. But I think they by far show the least bias and try the hardest to be as professional as possible. I've known Shannon Terry for a long time. I know Barton Simmons. Those guys, they pride themselves on not doing that. But I do think the shush man down in Austin, Bryan Carrington, I think they're on an information campaign and do everything they can to get guys bumps in the rankings however they can. And maybe it works better with other entities. And I certainly think that's the case. You've got people with way too close ties to Longhorn football. It is what it is, though. How is Tom Herman losing five games? How's he going to lose five and six games in two of his three years and four another year with all that talent? It does cut both ways.

Coco: All right. Agfan2332 says, "Bouncing off of OB's question, what is the biggest what if in the 90s that would've changed the course of the history of A&M's program that would've kept RC around after 2002? Biggest what-if of the 90s.”

Liucci: From the 90s I would say there's a couple of them. Real quick, I'm going to rifle through these. '98, if they don't play prevent defense against Texas Longhorns in Austin or if Texas doesn't water down the field to help Ricky Williams run wild, not that he needed it, but a wet field certainly helped a back like him to negate defensive speed. But had they not gone prevent and A&M held on to win that game, and then Clint Stoerner doesn't have the flukiest fumble ever, Arkansas beats Tennessee, A&M goes from number five to number four on Championship Saturday, UCLA loses to Edgerrin James in Miami in an upset after the hurricane postponement, they moved from four to three, and then they beat Kansas State and they moved from three to two, and there's a very good chance you have to rematch A&M, Florida State for the national title in 1998, the season opener in New York rematched again later for the national title.

The other one would've been Bucky Richardson not getting hurt against Tulsa in that game where Jeff Granger came in as a completely inexperienced quarterback and they ended up blowing that lead, losing that game. A&M finishes undefeated that year. There's a season against Notre Dame where the hook and ladder was incomplete to Leeland. He might've scored on that play, A&M beats Notre Dame, goes undefeated. I think they probably finished number two in the poles. So any of those types of things happened our RC's resume becomes even stronger than it is, and he sticks around. The last straw in that thing, I would say, might've been... It's ironic because Dino Babers runs such a good office now at Syracuse, but had Kevin Sumlin been the OC in '01 and '02 instead of Babers at that time... And Babers has come a long way, but Sumlin, he was more ready at that point, as was obvious in '02 once he took over calling the plays.

Coco: AggieRogue asks, "Do you think Eli Stowers is a five-star player?"

Liucci: To be determined, but I do think he should be looked at as such, and it's crazy that... I think he's the most underrated player in 2020, outside of those guys that they just haven't clearly evaluated yet that are 600 and something. There's a cornerback out of Pennsylvania that A&M think he's probably one of the top three corners on their board, Tyreek Chappell, who [inaudible 00:16:02] talked about a lot, and you're about to see his offer list go through the roof. But some of these guys just haven't been evaluated yet properly. And even these services are having a harder time because there's no combines, no camps. It's not going to be seven on seven. So the rankings this year are going to be as uninformed as ever. And it's the same thing with the coaches in their evaluation. So it's tough, but as far as guys that have it and should already be ranked that high, Eli Stower's the most underrated prospect in America. When you look at his composite ranking, you look at his tape, you look at his numbers athletically, size, speed, track, what he's done on the track in the high jump, and then you look at his freaking tape and his statistics and the amount he just flat out wins, yeah, I think he should certainly be under consideration for that.

Coco: Okay. Same user. Second question. "Who wins the backup QB job this season?"

Liucci: I'm not ready to answer that. The lean to me without spring would be Calzada, but I think any of those three could win it. And Haynes King, he had a spring, I think would have made a really strong push for that. And Calzada... Let me say something.

His upside potential is still unlimited. That is arm. And I talk about Haynes King being a winner and just having that “it.” Let's not forget what Calzada did his senior year in high school, playing with broken ribs and finishing a game and winning and leading a team going from not even making the varsity I think as a sophomore to where he was and going from being a guy who grew five inches in the span of a year or a year and a half. He did that Scotty Pippin thing that we saw last night. So let's not forget the talent level and the arm talent. And Zach does have some of those intangibles as well. There's no question. So if you made me pick today, I'd go with him.

Coco: I will add this in as my own question because I saw it come up on Twitter. And I don't know if you addressed this, so if you do, just skip over it. But there was a picture that went out of a QB practice via Zoom, and Foster was not present. I don't know if you've figured out, if anyone figured out what's up with him.

Liucci: Yeah, I figured it out, and I made a post about it. I mean, I know you didn't see it, but I know a lot of people didn't see it as well. Yeah, he actually had a family issue, like a close friend... He tweeted something about it... was killed. And so he was excused from that. It had happened literally the day before. So no change with James Foster at all.

Coco: Makes sense. Sounds good. Next question is from TaylorSwift13. "How do you think the current players are staying in shape? And do you think schools who recruit well in the front seven like us will be in better shape because of depth and allowing others to rest?"

Liucci: Good point. Great point. I've talked about a lot of ways that A&M could be at an advantage with this lack of offseason. That's one I hadn't thought of or written about, is the depth, particularly on defense. They don't have a lot of depth on the offensive line. The advantage there will be experience because at least they know what their coach wants from them at the position. They know the system, and they've played a ton. So if you're going to have a shortened offseason, you want to have a shortened offseason with experience, and you want to have a shortened offseason with guys that are farther along on the O line. Like I said before, you're going to have a bunch of seniors playing against at times guys that they're three and four years older than. That helps obviously.

But as far as what the guys are doing, I mean, to each their own. I mean, Jerry Schmidt and those guys are trying their damnedest to make sure and keep your thumb on every single guy in your roster, but all you can really do is hope that they've stuck to what they're supposed to be doing. And man, that's not easy when gyms are closed and things like that.

The good news is I think gyms in the state of Texas and workout facilities are going to start to open up here in the next... I bet within two weeks those things are going to be open to the public again, probably with some restrictions or requirements. Maybe you have to be half capacity, or maybe there are requirements in how they're supposed to keep them clean. I'm sure all that stuff, but maybe you have to wear a mask in there. I'm sure that'll be one of the things. But my point is I do think those are going to start to open up. But man, it's to each their own. We can see Kellen out there working. We can see Jhamon. We see Isaiah Spiller and those guys that work with Footwork King, but everybody's got to do it on their own, and unfortunately, not just saying them, but everywhere in the country, you are going to have some guys... We've seen Calzada. We've seen Dylan Wright. Cam Brown's working. We know most of these guys are. There are going to be some guys that come back out of shape, and it's going to be frustrating for college coaches everywhere because they're not going to have a lot of time to get back in shape before the season.

Coco: Coach King: "The next three years look to be stellar for the Aggies. Take a guess at the best outcome for that season. You can only pick one option, number one, SEC West champions in 2020, 2021, or 2022." Only pick one.

Liucci: 2022, 2022. I think the better team is going to be '22. I think '22 in the second year of the next quarterback. I've already said I think the next starting quarterback at A&M, whether that's Calzada, Foster, King, Stowers, is going to win a national title. If they end up being a two-, three-year starter, I think the next guy wins a Natty at A&M. But to win the west, the best chance could be this fall because of what you've got coming back. You do have the senior quarterback in a league that doesn't have veteran QBs and the way the schedule is. And here's the deal. I think out of Ole Miss, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi State, those four teams, and you're drawing Vandy instead of, let's say Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, that scenario of those five games, and you're playing Colorado with a new coach and not Notre Dame or Miami, I think just the way it sets up, this is the best shot they'll have, with the combination of team and schedule, out of those teams I mentioned in the SEC, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas. I bet two of those four, if not three of those four, will be noticeably better under new coaches in '22 than they are today.

Coco: Okay. So then his second part of the question was, "SEC championship in 2020, 2021, or 2022?"

Liucci: I would say the same thing just because of the path to get there.

Coco: Okay, so then his third part of the question is. "National championship, 2020, 2021, or 2022?" You kind of answered it, but we'll make you say it.

Liucci: I'll go '22 there because I think even though the road's going to be tougher, I think roster-wise, top to bottom, the best years are still a couple of years ahead of A&M. Just if you look at the way they're recruiting and what we talked about earlier, when I said if they win on the field big this year, that '22 class is going to be so loaded. So you're going to have '19, number three, 20, number six. '21 is going to be sitting there in the top 10 somewhere. It's just still way too early to tell where maybe even top five. We'll see. But '22, I feel very comfortable will be a top-five, so you're probably looking at three, six, eight, three, and that's your team in '22 along with a returning starter at quarterback. To get through the playoff, I think you're going to need more than just to say well, the schedule was favorable, which it will be in 2020. So to get through the playoff and win it, yeah, '22 for me.

Coco: Okay. Extreme rush. "In your estimation, what is the percentage chance or range that we have a fall football season with fans, even if it's delayed a month?"

Liucci: Percentage chance? I think even if it's delayed, so I get that option, I think 75%. I think there's a really good chance we play fall football this year. I don't think it's out of the question that we don't. And with fans, even if it starts out without fans, but I really don't think you're going to see the without fans thing. I think you're going to see baseball and NBA basketball usher it in and kind of ease us in without fans at some point this summer, and then the fans are going to assimilate. Now, are the crowds going to be half of what they normally would be? That's quite possible because there's going to be a lot of people that say, "Sorry, I'm not risking it. I'm not going to do that." And so it's unfortunate that these seniors... Think about Kyle Field half or only two thirds full when maybe this would be a top 10 football team that will be playing in front of a raucous, 12th Man-packed stadium and now they're not going to get to do that. But I still think there'll be fans.

Coco: Okay. Second question from the same user. "Over or under 50% chance that we make the playoff in one of the next two seasons?" I think you've kind of answered that in the past question.

Liucci: I say the next three. I would say way... Not way over. Who has a 50% chance outside of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State in all the sports? But that's where you're trying to get, and they're trending towards getting there. So yeah, I'd say better over the next three seasons.

Coco: Okay. AggieRogue asks, "What would you say to critics who think Jimbo's offense is too conservative and falling behind other elite offenses that are moving to more spread schemes?"

Liucci: I would say this. First of all, if I had my dream offense, and I think that the best-blended offense to me watching college football is actually... I love what Ohio State does offensively. I really do. Now, they also do it with overwhelmingly good talent that's even that much better when they're playing in the Big Ten versus playing in the south. But I would say to answer that, I think Jimbo's offense is really going to be difficult to stop when he's got the experienced QB that he's going to have and the players he's going to have. They've got to get better up front, but the use of the tight end, the ability to run the football with power and to assert yourselves, impose your will against the opponent, I think those things really... I think they need to open up a little more in terms of down the field and deep balls to loosen up a defense.

Yeah, because of the way they run the ball, I think it begs you to do that and exploit that. So you go back and look at his Florida State team when they had Jameis and Benjamin and Dalvin Cook and O'Leary at tight end, and that was one of the most explosive offenses we've seen in the last... I mean, that was as explosive as an offense gets. But do I think there needs to be a little element of tempo added when they can use it when they're not trying to wear down a defense and just trying to score? I would like to see it get a little more explosive, but in talking to Jimbo, I think he's constantly thinking about that in his head. And then I think this offseason he's coming up with more and more ways to attack defenses, and I think one of those ways will be to kind of speed up the process in terms of plays coming in and being more. I just think a little more of an attack mode. I don't think schematically there's actually anything wrong with it.

I think opposing coordinators would tell you, "Man, that's a tough offense to stop when they're right.” And they just weren't quite right last year because I just don't think they blocked it a lot. I'll give you a real quick example. I watched that game the other night, and I can show you a picture of it. Third and 16 from about their own five to start the fourth quarter, I think the first play of the fourth quarter. And they run a good QB power play, where the guard pulls. And it was set up, if you still shot it, where you had Dan Moore, Isaiah Spiller running through the whole, Ryan McCollum to kick out, and if McCollum makes the kick-out block and if Colton Prater doesn't get beat... And I'm singling these guys out just because it was this play. It doesn't mean they played bad. The old line was really good in that game.

But you had a couple guys that missed blocks that were just kind of easy blocks to make. Praters guy makes a tackle in the backfield for a three-yard loss. But if you look at that play, that is actually a designed third and 16 QB run that goes 95 yards for a touchdown with Kellen Mond running. It is a 95-yard touchdown run drawn up on third and 16. And I think two actually very easy blocks were missed that kept that from happening. And so I think they draw up some really fascinating plays. And when Kellen's struggling to throw the ball, what do they do? They say, "Hey, go run for one 20 against these guys, and let's just win it. We don't have to score 50." But I do want to see a more explosive element.

Coco: Okay. We have time for just a few more as we come close to or come right up against that 30-minute mark. "How big of an expletive was Jerry Krause? Have you ever talked to Spencer's dad about his time with the Bulls?"

Liucci: I've never met Ed Nealy. I remember him as a player. Obviously, we stay in touch with Spencer. But I mean, what a great guest for Gabe to try to get on TexAgs Radio, Gabe. Big guest alert. I mean, do it during this documentary. You got I guess five Sundays to get it done, Gabe.

Big guest alert. Ed Nealy, siren. So yeah, I don't know. But yeah, Jerry Krause, man, you can't let ego get in the way, man. If you're a head coach, if you're an athletic director, a university president, ego to the point of it sabotaging your strengths is one of the biggest shames in sports, at the pro college level, it doesn't matter.

Coco: Okay. I want to go back to this one. It was actually the second part from AggieRogue that I meant to read. "Do you think our offense changes after Mond leaves?"

Liucci: Good, great question. I don't think they're going to go, "Kellen's gone, so we're changing it," because Haynes King can freaking run, and Foster can move, and Calzada can move. You'll just see less QB running than you will this year, although again, if it's Haynes King or Eli Stowers, they can both really run. But I think the offense is going to be ever-evolving. When you've got Jimbo Fisher and Darrell Dickey, and now you're adding James Coley, who I know they didn't have success at Georgia last year offensively, and he was the OC, but he's been an OC at Georgia and Miami, so let's not act like he doesn't have ideas to come in and contribute to this offense. And then Josh Henson was an offensive coordinator. So you have a guy in your old line that was an OC at Missouri, and you've got a guy at tight end that was an OC at Miami and Georgia. And you've got Darrell Dickey, who's been a head coach at North Texas and a very successful OC at Memphis here recently, and Jimbo. So to me, that offensive meeting room, there's so much talent in terms of what they can do schematically that I think it's going to be ever-evolving.

Coco: Okay. There are so many good questions. There is one that I do think they even said it probably better to talk through than write. So we'll have this one as our last one. No soup for you... Also love the name... asks, "2014 started off so strong. What happened at Mississippi State? Kenny Hill looked so good early in the season."

Liucci: I think Kenny for starters at quarterback, he was young and immature. And I knew Kenny really well at that time. By immature, I just mean, he was a college kid that came up as a freshman watching Johnny and those guys. They were fun guys. Those other quarterbacks were fun. They knew that Johnny was the guy. So I think there was a little bit of them enjoying playing football at A&M, and that's what Kenny walked into and saw, and all of a sudden he's the starting quarterback, and he wasn't ready for it at that age. Never was a bad kid. I freaking love Kenny Hill as a person. He wouldn't harm a fly and has become a really hard worker. You see him, he's now a part of TCU's coaching staff and has, I think, a bright future ahead of him.

But I think part of it was that. I think what we didn't know yet, we found out, was kind of the issues that were going on in terms of just cohesion within the staff and just that wasn't the best setup there. And you saw it eventually come to a head with Kenny leaving, which by the way, they should've stuck with Kenny better and not been content to let him leave. But they had Kyle Allen coming in. They knew they were going to get Kyle, but you saw where that went, and it just got worse and worse. So as far as the team goes, I think that was fool's gold early. And that's what we saw a lot of times with these teams. You saw fool's gold in the first half of the UCLA game. You saw fool's gold those years that they barely eke out wins against bad... That year, they barely eked out a win, a come from behind win against a bad Arkansas team. And they barely beat... I mean, they smoked a top 10 South Carolina team that ended up being terrible, and Steve Spurrier quit mid-season because they were so bad. So it was fool's gold. Then they went into Starkville and got pummeled. Then they played a really good Ole Miss team and got pummeled. And right after that, it was 59, nothing to Alabama. So that was the deal.

Orange&White · April 23, 2020

What do you know about Dabo Swinney in regard to his reputation vs. how he actually is? Not at all asking you to talk down on the guy if he isn't what he's cracked up to be, but I've heard both things: that he's not at all like he seems to be in the public eye and is a fraud, and also that he's exactly the same "good ol' boy" as seen in the public eye. Just wondering what you've heard about him!

These fucks seriously ask Billy Fucking Luicci to comment on how Dabo Swinny is as a real person and expect him to tell them the truth?

As if Billy has ever even met him or know fuckall who he is or how he “really is”?

And they actually believe him or lend a single iota of credence to what he says?

As if aggie jokes aren’t real.

NoName · April 23, 2020

Quote

And I've said it before, Stowers is the most underrated prospect in the country.

lol

a guy that the composite has as the overall #145 and that Top247 has as the #118 player overall is the "most underrated prospect in the country"?

theaveragejon · April 23, 2020

9 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:

Reveal hidden contents

We’re continuing our expanded, two-part version of Ask Liucci. Up top is the video portion in which Coco fires questions at Billy and tries her best to get him to answer succinctly. Below is both a second round of questions Billy answers in writing and then, at the very bottom, a transcript of the video portion. Enjoy!

Do you think the pandemic will have any effect on position coaches and coordinators choosing not to leave at the end of the season? It seems we have a really solid group, but it’s hard to hold onto the good ones for any length of time nowadays (i.e. E. Robinson and Elko).

Well, if you're scoring at home, Elko and Robinson are now entering Year Three and are very well-compensated. I do think the pandemic will leave a lot of coaches around the country very happy with where they are at if they are near the top of the profession in terms of their salaries at their respective positions. Plus, you have to consider that money will be a lot tighter at a lot of the schools that aren't in that 'top 1%' that A&M is fortunate enough to be in.

Why haven't we been able to make momentum with in-state blue-chip running back recruits this year? Is there something about our offensive scheme that makes it tough to sell?

What could it possibly be? Dalvin Cook, Devonta Freeman at FSU? Trayveon Williams leading the SEC in rushing with 1,750 and over 2,000 yards from scrimmage in year one under Jimbo? Isaiah Spiller's true freshman success? It's a good question. I'm just not sure, but I'll be interested to see if Tommie Robinson can change that and if the 2020 class was just a weird one for the Ags' RB recruiting efforts (though I still think they inked a future star in Devon Achane). Camar Wheaton‍ is still very much in play though the Aggies aren't out in front and I think the Ags will have an excellent shot at LJ Johnson Jr‍ when all is said and done.

What do you know about Dabo Swinney in regard to his reputation vs. how he actually is? Not at all asking you to talk down on the guy if he isn't what he's cracked up to be, but I've heard both things: that he's not at all like he seems to be in the public eye and is a fraud, and also that he's exactly the same "good ol' boy" as seen in the public eye. Just wondering what you've heard about him!

I think he's a good person and does a lot of great stuff, but I also think he's not the boy scout he portrays himself to be. Not even close. Don't get me wrong, he's not a villain by any stretch, but he's no different than a lot of premier college coaches yet gets credit for being just that. I don't dislike the guy at all and respect what he's built there.

What's the first thing you do when the ban is lifted? Trip, restaurant and sporting event?

The rate things are going, I might not feel great about doing the airport/commercial plane thing for a minute, so it might be the Auburn game before I take a 'trip' if the season starts on time. Maybe the lake in Austin or something like that. Restaurant? I can't wait to hit all of my local favorites, but I may have to make the first The Republic since it was the restaurant I went to before I decided to stop about a week before quarantining became a thing. After that, I have my spots in Dallas I've missed, and I’ll probably go crazy at Lopez in Sugar Land at some point to meet up with Bucky and walk out there ready to win a natty like we always do. Sporting event? I'm thinking that might turn out to be an Astros game later this summer.

How excited are you for the NFL Draft?

Really excited. It's a weekend of football conversation, highlights and something sports-related that we don't already know the outcome of. More pumped than I've been for a draft since any after the one I went to NYC for in 2013.

Which Ags get drafted?

Madubuike, Quartney and Mann, and I think Kendrick gets in late.

Auburn 2014 - they are #3 and Kyle Allen and Myles G lead us to victory.
Question 1: How did Obioha end up with that fumble on the 3-yard line? Did he ever talk about that later?!

No idea, but man oh man did that game feel like it was getting away from the Ags or what?!?!? That was one heck of a reversal of fortune. One about on the level we saw in 2018 when the Ags let one slip away at Jordan-Hare.

Question 2: Out of Kenny, Kyle, Kyler or Trevor, who had the most unrealized potential for us? And if you say Kyler, then give me #2 – how does Mond as a junior rank?

Easiest question of this thread. It's Kyler. Kyle started for essentially a full year, Trevor was only eligible for a single season and Kenny was solid at TCU but not a first-team All-Big 12 QB or pro. Kyler was a three-time state champ in high school, the Heisman winner, No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year, and didn't do anything of note during his one year at A&M. Mond doesn't even belong in this conversation. He's had a very solid career so far, and I wouldn't look at his junior season and think 'unrealized potential' at all. We'll see where he's at after one more season on campus, but he didn't come in with near the hype that Kyler or Kyle did, and as I said, he has had a solid career to date.

Which SEC football coach is:
1. The biggest jackarse?
2. The biggest scumbag?
3. The one you would most like your son to play for?

On #3, it's Jimbo or Saban, hands down. #2? I'll sit this one out because who knows who will come here as an OC or DC one day down the road. Dan Mullen walks a fine line there, IMO. Jackass I'm cool with. I think Pittman is in early contention, and it goes without saying that Kiffin fits the description, though I do enjoy the entertainment value he brings and love his social media antics.

59-0 – what were the top 3 problems going on during that week? Or just share what you think happened to cause us to not show up.

Good question, but I haven't really thought of that one for a while now. Kind of a perfect storm. It was right before things came to a head with Kenny Hill, and there really just wasn't any chemistry on that team at all. In hindsight, you're probably talking about the very first indication that things were trending in the wrong direction, as that one wasn't just one terrible blip we'd all hoped it was. A lot of young guys who went on to be good players at A&M kind of quit that day, but there was just a lack of leadership/culture that allowed it to happen.

Bowl Games vs. Louisville, K-State and Wake Forest – which of those losses was the most unacceptable? Painful to think about, so sorry about that... How could we lose those games!!??

I would say Wake, but that was with an interim head coach so that's always completely unpredictable. Louisville had an emerging star in Lamar Jackson and a good defense, but the Ags played sans their starting and backup QBs, one of whom was an NFL starter, the other a Heisman winner like Jackson. That one was lost in the weeks leading up to the game despite a gutsy effort from Hubes. So I'll go with Kansas State. The Wildcat team was good on defense but AWFUL on offense, and they scored something like 33 on the Aggies. A pretty pitiful loss to end what had been a promising season at the start. On top of it, how great would it be if we could be sitting here right now telling all of the Big 12 honks to shut their traps with a 4-0 A&M record in bowl games versus that sad sack league since joining the SEC? Truth be told, there's really no reason A&M shouldn't be at least 7-1 in bowls since joining the conference.

Who do you think is the better prospect and why? Eli Stowers‍ or Garrett Nussmeier‍.

Nuss is the more prototypical and I think maybe the safer projection. He's really damn good. With Stowers, his combination of intangibles – dude is a flat-out winner – and athleticism give him off-the-charts upside. Both have the arm and both demonstrate that they really have a keen understanding of the position and the game. If you look at the state and national rankings, they're both still laughably underrated. And I've said it before, Stowers is the most underrated prospect in the country.

Trevor doesn't get hurt vs. Mississippi State: finish that season record, including the bowl game.

Tough to say, but I still don't think that team was necessarily great. Maybe a top-15 team when all was said and done? I think they would have figured out a way to outlast Mississippi State that day, but that was a big if because the offense was REALLY out of sorts, even when Trevor was in there and Fitzgerald was making plays and the Bulldogs were completely controlling the LOS. Still, I have to feel like Trevor would have figured out a way and kind of managed to will the Ags through it. They would have beaten Ole Miss the following Saturday night – zero doubt in my mind. LSU probably outscores the Aggies, but who knows if the Ags were playing for a playoff berth, right? Kyle Field would have been unreal, and Trevor wouldn't have been coming off of such a layoff. Still, LSU scored like 54 in that one, so it's tough to say the gap wasn't too wide. A bowl game is too tough to tell because no idea who they would have played. Wild swing depending on whether or not the Aggies (and Knight) could have figured it out during the final three quarters in Starkville. The entire team was just pretty flat that day. You're looking at 10-1 going into the regular-season finale with a playoff berth on the line for a night game vs. LSU, or 9-2, and a likely 9-3 finish.

After taking 4 RBs last year, if we can just get one good one are we satisfied with taking just one?

Probably not. One of the four from last year is a junior college addition. I think the need the Ags are chasing in this class is two. If it's one, it's going to need to be a game-changer like Camar Wheaton‍ or LJ Johnson Jr‍, but even then the ideal haul is two.

Favorite Trevor Knight moment for you? Top 3 if you need it.

My favorite? Probably the Arkansas game when he threw a 95-yard TD pass and had two huge first-half scoring runs that kept the Ags in it and grabbed momentum before halftime. The only time the Ags have rolled the Hogs in Jerryworld by a comfortable margin.

Same question - Myles Garrett.

Probably the Arizona State game or the win over then-No. 3 Auburn at Jordan-Hare. He was just unblockable in both. Also the South Carolina game in 2014 – his first in an A&M uniform. It was already clear he was going to be one of the best to wear Maroon & White and eventually be an NFL star.

Is Demani Richardson the second-best safety in the SEC behind Jacoby Stevens?

Just like with Wydermyer (I'm answering these backward), it's too early to tell. But Demani is trending quickly to being one of the best in the league. Going to need to create more turnovers and get his hands on more footballs before I'm ready to reserve one of the two first-team All-SEC spots for him, but I certainly think he can be as good as JR Reed was for UGA last year, and he was a first-team pick. He definitely has a shot to be a first-team defender as a sophomore.

Is Jalen Wydermeyer the best tight end in the nation?

It’s too early to tell. He'll have to make big strides as a blocker, but the kid is literally just entering his sophomore season. I think he's a legitimate All-SEC candidate this year and will be in the 'best in the country' discussion before he leaves Aggieland.

What do you think is the most likely scenario for the upcoming season?

I still think the two most likely scenarios are an on-time start with a very short summer offseason. Maybe a return in mid-June to team workouts at the earliest and then fall camp. Or a July/mid-July start to workouts and the entire season being pushed back (as is) a month. Then come the less likely things, like a spring or even split season, conference games only, etc.

When do you think we'll hear something official about if/when/how the CFB season is played?

Not until at least a month from now and probably not until the start of or even the middle of June. Early June if it's going to start on time and mid- to late-June if we're looking at a late start.

After watching The Last Dance tonight, any doubt Jordan and the Bulls win 8 in a row if he doesn't retire?

See below. There is a doubt, but it's tough to see Jordan letting his team lose a Game 7 in his prime (which is where I think the Rockets could have taken them). Goodness, the Pippen/Drexler matchup, Jordan/Mad Max would have gotten TESTY, Otis Thorpe/Rodman would have killed each other inside. And then there's the Olajuwon/Wennington or Dream/Luc Longley battle of the future HOFers...oh, wait.

How does Demani compare to Armani Watts? Which one had a better freshman season?

I think Demani may have had the better freshman season. Watts was great against South Carolina but then struggled some as a true freshman (I remember that Arkansas game being pretty tough on him). Of course, he took off from there and was sensational at A&M. I think the two are similar in terms of being playmakers, but Richardson is bigger and may end up being a more sure tackler. As far as creating turnovers goes, Armani was pretty spectacular in that regard, so time will tell if Demani can get there.

Anias Smith... Be honest. You and everybody else is surprised he turned out to be such a great player so quickly. Why wasn't he a high 4-star recruit? His offer list was minimal, so why did so many programs miss on him? Is there another Anias in this year's class?

Surprised it happened that quickly? Yes. Not surprised he turned out to be really good because I know how much Jimbo loved him dating back to when he saw him playing 7-on-7 against his son prior to even arriving at A&M. The head coach believed in Smith from day one and never wavered. He just knew he was a ball-player, plain and simple. Not sure how in the hell so many good programs missed because he had a brother (who signed with Bama and finished as a starter at Georgia) in the NFL, played Houston area 6A ball and whose parents are prominent speed coaches in the Southwest Houston area. Maybe because he was on the smallish side? That's all I can figure. To me, this year's guy that falls into that category may just be John Paul Richardson. Same position coming out (slot receiver) and same area. Right now, he holds better offers than Ainias did, but like Smith, I think he's much better than he's currently getting credit for. Dude is just a dog on the field – a playmaker and a fiery competitor.

They lost to the Magic in the playoffs with Jordan in '95. Yes. Houston gave them hell every time they played them.

Not sure if this is in response to whether the Rockets could have beaten the Bulls in '94, '95 with Jordan out and I'm just not sure, but I know it would have been an epic series. People forget that Jordan's Bulls were absolutely tested during some of those six playoff runs to the title, and the Rockets were better than any of those teams, IMO. Blazers, Suns, Sonics and the Jazz twice. The East was pretty weak once they disposed of the Pistons and ended the Bad Boys mini-dynasty. The biggest reason, of course, was Dream. Olajuwon was unstoppable during that run, even when facing the likes of Ewing, Robinson and O'Neal. What would he have done to Bill freaking Wennington? And, as the poster said, the Rockets played the Bulls tough during that time. I bet it would've gone seven.

Why do you think the deep ball has not been able to connect the last 2 years between Kellen and the receivers?

Combination of factors – far and away the throw Kellen needs to work the most on to improve, receivers who generally don't get behind the defense like some of the guys we see around the SEC, a more conservative approach thus far (though Fisher has shown that he will launch it when he has the weapons) and not having enough time for the five-step drops against the pass rush that comes with the fact the Ags played five elite defenses in 12 games this year and probably the same number in 2018.

Where do you think this offense could go if they establish a vertical passing game threat?

Look at Florida State's 2013 offense with Kelvin Benjamin on the outside. Big if, but if Mond and the Aggies (or whoever takes over in 2021 and beyond) can start to really stretch the field to go with the tight ends, a running threat under center and backfield options that include guys who can catch and line up as slot receivers, the potential is top-10 in college football type stuff.

How many foreseeable first-rounders do we currently have on the team? How many foreseeable first-rounders did we take in 2020? How many will we have in the 2021 class?

It’s too early to tell with the 2021 class. Heck, I'm having a hard time figuring out which in-state prospects I'd include on that list right now. A lot of high-ceiling guys but not many 'sure thing' types. On the team? Okay, let me talk through this. I don't think the Ags will have one following the 2020 season (seniors and draft-eligible juniors). I think with two seasons of steady improvement, Bobby Brown will really see his NFL stock elevate, but he has work to do. I’m also very confident that DeMarvin Leal can get there. Demani Richardson has shown he could be a pretty impactful defender, and the sky is the limit for him moving forward. The same can be said for Kenyon Green and Jalen Wydermyer, and Cupp's size/speed combination is that of a first-rounder. Not all will get there, but those are the potential guys I see right now. A couple of others will emerge as well, while some on my list won't quite get there or maybe leave a year earlier than they should. As far as the recent signees, it's WAY too early to tell, but you just start with the guys who are physically and athletically superior to most kids coming out at the same age. You go with names like Demond Demas, McKinnley Jackson, Donell Harris and Jaylon Jones and work from there.

What are you hearing on the health of Blanton, Reed?

Nothing new. You'd love to see both healthy for an extended period of time, but we haven't seen it yet. Blanton is a guy who I really think would have a chance to be a good tackle if he can hang in there and come out the other side healthy, but that seems like a big if with as much time as he's had to spend on the shelf.

I don't have a question, but just reading through these... Guys are asking LEGIT questions like 80% of the time. I don't know if it's because of the quarantine and people have dig deep down to figure out which ones to ask but man.. this is refreshing. Usually, the questions are mostly snoozers and I know the answer to about a third of them. These are super interesting and I await the responses. Good job guys!

Glad you consider the questions posed by your fellow subscribers 'snoozers' and that you know so many of the answers. Also glad you find these super interesting and are congratulating the community. I'm giving you a hard time...just for the 'Billy is too mean' crowd that doesn't get me busting balls.

Which season do you think the Ags have a stronger team: 2020 or 2021? The 2020 class still has some big question marks along the OL, and while Mond will be a seasoned veteran, his ceiling appears to be lower than most of the other QBs on our roster. Will the loss of his experience and leadership outweigh the talent upgrade of his eventual successor? And how does the rest of the team look in ‘21 vs. ‘20?

I've answered this one a lot and probably did in the Coco segment as well. I think this year's team MIGHT have the better shot at an SEC West title because of what LSU and Bama (and even Auburn) lost and because of the fact that Ole Miss, Miss State and Arkansas are all starting out with new coaches. South Carolina has one on the hot seat and the Ags draw Vandy out of the East. My guess is at least two of those four (not including Vandy) get better under the new hires by years two and three and Vandy won't be the East foe, so this year it's set up as well as it's ever going to be in the West. With that said, the overall talent on the roster is going to get better and better (it's already happening), so the Ags will soon be on even or 'even enough' footing with the likes of Bama, LSU and Georgia. I really think A&M and Florida are the two programs clearly ascending in the conference, with Tennessee as the wild card.

I think the Aggies are positioned to have a legitimate look at it this year (with a lot of that depending on OL improvement) and then have their best look in '22 with a loaded roster, top to bottom, and a QB plus a bunch of OLs all entering year two as starters.

As for recipes, hit me up if you'd like to try my maple dijon shredded chicken. It's great as a sandwich like pulled pork or even better with some good pasta and cheese sauce.

Damn, I'd love that. Send me a PM.

Early thoughts on Ross Bjork and what his strengths appear to be?

I've talked about this a lot since the AD's arrival, and his strengths have become more magnified as he guides Aggie Athletics through the current, challenging times. He's a natural leader, he's a 'pro's pro' as an AD, he is very forthcoming and accessible. He's very measured, patient and is always looking at the big picture. He's also wildly popular with the student-athletes.

Who had the better first year at A&M: Jimbo or Buzz (recruiting, expectations, setting culture)?

So similar. I think Jimbo was starting out with a little bit more in terms of talent level compared to the competition. Not even close to where the Ags needed to be to compete for a championship in the SEC, but definitely closer to that level than what Buzz walked into. Both teams bought in very quickly, including the outgoing veterans, which is always tough. We saw both cultures change overnight, and both made dramatic improvements on the defensive end. Both were playing their best at season's end and both overachieved. Hoops overachieved more, but football didn't have the rocky start that basketball did (going back to the concept of where both coaches were launching off from). Jimbo's first full class ranked No. 3 nationally and Buzz is absolutely lighting it up on the recruiting trail. Both coaches are recruiting at levels we haven't seen in Aggieland before. Both are going to win at levels not witnessed in Aggieland when all is said and done. I'm convinced of that.

What's been the most difficult or surprising thing about running a sports content product during a total sports lockdown?

The surprising part is that it's still been fun pumping out content, and it's also been fun to see how creative everyone is getting with it. The most difficult part lies in just not knowing the timeline for when things are going to return to normal or when the games will actually begin (or if, though I'm convinced they will). That's been the toughest part. There's no end yet in sight and no checkpoint along the way. So we in the media are just like you the fans throughout all of this. That and the incessant drumbeat of doom and gloom when it comes to sports from the national media is just getting beyond tiresome. It's kind of like listening to folks continue to tell me that the Ags would never leave for the SEC or that A&M can't hire Jimbo when I knew both were true. I'm convinced they're playing football in 2020, but I have to sit here like all of you and read a new story (or five) every day telling us how it's not going to happen.

In a hypothetical world where Jimbo doesn't take the A&M job in 2017, whom would you have wanted A&M to land and which would have been the next most likely candidate?

Believe it or not, I think Justin Fuente would have gotten a real look (the Hokies haven't been that good the past couple of seasons but think about where he was trending prior to that...and Scott was at least intrigued with him). I put a lot of thought into it at the time but felt VERY confident that the Ags were getting Jimbo. But to be honest with you, there aren't a ton of options out there who are attainable and who you'd say, "Yes, he'd be a slam dunk hire for Texas A&M." Fisher was one of the names on that VERY short list, so the Ags were incredibly fortunate to get him. I just don't know. James Franklin, maybe? Pulling Dan Mullen away from Mississippi State? Maybe??? Again, not many options at all (not to say a more under-the-radar guy couldn't have worked, like say maybe a Matt Rhule-type), and you needed someone with a strong enough resume/pedigree that you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he'd be a significant upgrade over the coach you were letting go of, at least on paper (which is all you'd have at that point).

What would be your prediction as to when recruits are allowed to visit campuses on either official or unofficial visits? Will the ban extend past the current May 31 timeline?

What I heard this week was that it might not be until late July. Again, all of this is pure speculation at this point, but I definitely think it will be after May 31.

Will the Ags get the equivalent of Spring Training like some other schools completed or started in March? I actually think this could be a good thing for summer or fall enrollees.

If – and it's a big if – they have enough time to get it in, then yes, I would expect the teams that had no spring to get some leeway in the form of some extra time or days that they can work on football-specific stuff in addition to their workouts.

I know you know what the new football unis look like. Give us a small hint?!?

I actually do, which probably upsets at least one person who seems strangely obsessed with hating on me, all of you and this site despite the fact that he's on here regularly. I don't want to give anything at all away because that's always been something certain folks want to keep the tightest of lids on prior to the release. Have to respect that, you feel me?

I responsibly vote for Josie.

Haha, Josie is awesome and just a freaking really cool person. I'm rooting for her and my boy Mike to end up getting back. I can say this much, going to his house in LA when they were having a little party was unreal thanks to Josie having a few of her model friends there to hang out. Quite the scene.

What date do you expect Zach Evans to enroll at A&M?

Well played. The only way in hell Zach Evans could end up at A&M would be if someone from the 2020 class didn't qualify and Evans was still without a school at that time. That doesn't sound like it's happening.

I wish a buck was still silver. It was back when the country was strong.

Don't we all.

Thanks for doing these! Following along from 10,000 miles away!

That's awesome! I appreciate it, my friend. Where are you following from?

Billy do we expect more attrition? Or are we ok with the 85 limit? Thanks.

I think they're fine. Could be some light attrition as in a departure or two between now and the season but nothing significant in terms of numbers, just maybe a couple of kids who think they'd have a better chance to play elsewhere.

From a player safety perspective, how long is the runway before a team is ready to play a season?

Well, most would say you'd like to see these guys back and working out by mid-June and July 1 at the latest, but there are also some who would say, "Look, 20 years ago, these kids were showing up for two-a-days and that was the first time coaches would even see their true freshmen and we managed to have college football seasons just fine.” I know athletes have gotten bigger and faster across the board since then, but it's definitely something to consider when assuming they need a 2-3 month runway.

Billy, have you heard of the plan for setting up testing for entering a "safe zone" for practice and workouts? It seems obvious to me that quick-type testing (like the Abbott tester) will be required for regular football to occur.

I've thought about that as well, and it definitely seems pretty obvious. I've heard that they've even recently floated the idea of teams keeping their players in a hotel for a stretch when they return to practice, but that just feels like spending more money and I'm not sure it wouldn't in some weird way actually promote spread within a team if they ran into a couple of cases. Another thing I've heard is that there's the possibility of teams resuming offseason conditioning work sometime in June but only working out in groups no larger than 10. That's something else being thrown around when all of these calls between coaches, administrators, conferences and the NCAA are taking place. But make no mistake, all ideas are on the table, and I'm sure things like what you're suggesting will or have already come up. ADs, university presidents, head coaches and media members can state their opinions all they want, but the ones who stand out to me are the folks like our own Ross Bjork. He understands fully how fluid and unprecedented all of this is so he chooses to remain hopeful while preaching 'wait and see' and making sure to remain vigilant, able to pivot if need be and informed every step of the way.

What position does not having spring practice hurt the most? It seems like new guys getting reps at corner would have been huge, but I also would have loved to see more chance to shuffle the OL going into summer.

I don't think there would have been too much shuffling of the o-line, but that battle at center could have really used the fifteen practices. To me, it's wide receiver. At corner, yeah, Jaylon Jones could have made a BIG move, but Blades was going to miss spring while recovering from the shoulder and another potential impact guy in Brian George wasn't here yet either. Probably wide receiver and safety in terms of position groups just because there is so damn much talent and so much to sort out in terms of the depth chart and playing time that you really would have loved to get that work in. As far as getting really specific, I would have said center and backup quarterback.

Are you going to cancel your contract with The Athletic? They have made it very clear today what they think of A&M.

Over that tweet? In a word, no. I thought the tweet was just an attempt at humor to get retweets and likes. Like all of you, I don't particularly like seeing folks like Mandel and Sallee continuing to just not let the 10-year, $75 million thing go, and I find it strange how so many in the national media seemed genuinely offended that Fisher left Florida State for A&M. There's no doubt that plenty of people would love nothing more than to see Jimbo fail despite the fact that his salary isn't out of whack AT ALL at this point in time based on resume and the fact the Ags had to hire him away from the place where he won a title. I'm not even sure Stewart feels that way at all, but plenty in the media do. Even if he did and was taking a shot, we're not going to agree with everything that comes out of a collection of hundreds of writers around the country. Remember Feldman's opinion on the decision-makers at A&M when Sumlin was on the verge of getting fired? Finebaum, McFarland and several others on the SEC Network have taken their shots over the past eight years, as have the folks on ESPN. If it ever gets to the point that a pattern develops, you're talking about something different. To me, that quote was enough to elicit an eye roll and not a response.

Any feel for how much money Aggie SD has lost this spring?

No idea, but the interesting thing is that those spring sports are money losers so who knows. The killer blow would be if there wasn't a college football season. A&M is in the 'top 1%' as one insider pointed out. And even the Aggie athletic department would suffer greatly if we went through a fall without ball. Imagine what the teams not in that rarified will feel without that revenue? It's a frightening possibility.

What's the funniest thing you've seen players/coaches do on the sideline when you've been down there to take in a game?

There's been some hilarious trash talk over the years but I'll tell you what, Kliff Kingsbury was one of my favorites in that regard. He told me before the Bama game in 2012 that, "We're ready. We're shocking the world today." He also was taunting the obnoxious Mississippi State fans a week earlier, saying, "Y'all should have never let us into this conference!"

There have been a couple of funny guys over the years who will walk by and make some hilarious small talk or comments during the heat of battle, but a couple of things that stand out were at that same MSU game in 2012 when Sumlin, Kliff and a couple of other staff members returned to Starkville for the first time since they were there and knocked off Mullen's Bulldogs at UH. The chain crew was, let's just say, prehistoric. I mean, these dudes were OLDDDDD. Apparently, they were the same guys who were there a couple of years prior and did a terrible job of keeping up with the tempo with which the Cougars and Case Keenum played. Well, Sumlin walks up to the guy before kickoff and says, "Remember me?" The chain guy looks at him with total disdain and just goes, "Houston!!!" Let's just say the Aggie staff was all OVER that group during the game making sure they were hustling down the field to move the chains as Johnny, Mike, Swope and Co. rolled up and down on MSU.

Another great one I know I've told was Johnny coming up to Bucky and I prior to the second half of the 2012 Cotton Bowl and telling us, "We're about to run these guys out of here. They're awful." The score at the time was 14-13, which led me to say, “How about just win?” Johnny says, "Running them out of the stadium. Watch." The rest, of course, is Cotton Bowl history.

Narcos or Ozarks, preferred Netflix series?

Damn. That's a really tough one. I still think I'd go Narcos, but it got a lot closer after Season 3 of Ozark.

What schools will come out of the COVID lockdown better than the other schools? What will those programs have done that gave them the performance advantage?

I've kind of gone in-depth in this in a recent article and on the radio. I am absolutely convinced that a team like A&M is particularly positioned to come out better than others on the field but it feels like they need things to get back to 'normal' in order to gain some type of momentum on the recruiting front. Of course, win big on the field this fall and the Ags are REALLY going to benefit. As far as other teams coming out better than others, I think they need to be like the Aggies –returning starter at quarterback and one who is proven, stability at both head coach and the coordinator level, veteran team returning in the way of returning starters and key role players, a strong and experienced senior class and older guys in the trenches. By my count, the Ags have J Peevy, M Clemons, J Martin, T Johnson, B Brown, B Johnson, A Hines and A Hansford in the front seven as juniors/seniors and D Moore, C Green, J Hocker and R McCollum on the OL. Find teams that check those boxes and you'll find the teams most likely to come out of the extended offseason better prepared than others.

Video Transcript

Liucci: It's that time of week again, ladies and gentlemen. Billy Liucci joined by none other than Coco Collard, Floco, as I like to call her. And we're going to do this again like we did last week, a little slight change to the Ask Liucci session. We'll do 30 minutes of video of Coco asking me questions and holding me accountable to keep the answers shorter so we can get more than five questions in in 30 minutes. But we're going to do that, and then of course go with the traditional way that everybody seems to enjoy so much, which is me writing the answers, and someone will transcribe these as well for those of you that just really don't like to watch videos. So you're not missing out on anything.

What we are doing is saving some time and bringing a little personality to this deal in the form of our favorite Canadian. So Coco, whenever you are ready, start firing. And later today I will go in and answer the rest of them in writing. So this is allowing us, for those of you that get discouraged if you don't get one of the early questions in, it's just going to let us answer more questions without it taking six hours to do. So Coco, you are a big help. I don't know if Gabe tells you that enough.

Coco: Never hurts to hear it again. Thank you. Okay, you ready to get started? We have the first question. "No doubt that Fisher and staff are recruiting at an elite level, finishing third in 2019 and fifth or sixth in 2020 in the 247 Composite Rankings. What do you think it will take for them to be number one or two going forward?"

Liucci: Great question because you're always trying to get there, and there's no faster path to a national championship than having the best players. And when you're in a division, where at least two of the teams at the top of the division generally get the best players, in Alabama and LSU, you need to be up there. A&M has been up there, but to make that jump, Coco, I think it's as simple as this. Go 10 and two next year, win a ball game, be 11 and two. Go out the next year, win a bunch of games on the field, and then go out the next year and do it.

I think just consistently being a top 10 program with Jimbo Fisher as your head coach, with the amount that A&M can pay assistant salaries, and with what this game day environment is and these facilities, that will be a perennial. You will recruit like Clemson, Georgia, and Alabama. But you have to win, and there is this barricade of entry. There's a barrier for entry here that it's like it's not a club where your name has to be on the list. You just have to win to where they can just walk you through the back door. And you've got to win at that level to get there. And to me the way A&M's recruiting without the wins tells me that it's as simple as winning games on the field. I think the 2022 class could be one of those where it finishes one or two, and if it's third it's still the best class in A&M history type of class.

Coco: Next question, and I will add that earlier you mentioned you might just tell me to skip some, so I don't know if you want to answer this or not. "You can only choose one, a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, a daughter of an MLB player who let a ball bounce off his head or some WWE chick."

Liucci: Okay, well, Tori's married, and we love Tori. She's one of the best people ever. I'm going to get her on a podcast soon too, by the way, just to talk. So you guys that watch WWE, you're going to be able to ask her questions directly, and she's got some pretty amazing stories. Canseco's daughter, Josie, since she dates my friend, or did date my buddy, Mike Stud, we're not going to do that one. Although I'm going to tell you what I love about Josie - best musical taste of anyone in the world. She needs to start putting her Spotify playlists out. She's one of the few people that I would say have better musical taste than me. I'm going to go with the Cowboy cheerleaders because you have more to choose from, and contrary to what the person that's constantly tweeting about me, some of them I know quite well, and they're cool. Love them.

Coco: "What is something interesting that you've heard from Ross Bjork that wasn't covered in the Ask Me Anything?"

Liucci: Ross and I've talked about this, and we're going to do this soon on the podcast too. I just don't like to talk to Ross over the years of him doing this kind of just some stories of what he's seen, war stories, favorite players that he's worked with in all sports. Been some interesting times, I'm sure there were at Ole Miss. I don't know, just more on a personal experience level. I think between what we've had him on talking about and the Ask Me Anything, I think a lot of that stuff has been covered. Maybe if there are sports... See, it's weird now. I would've said if there's a sport to be added, what would it ever be? People want gymnastics. People want whatever.

I've always heard that there's a big liability in gymnastics, but it's so big in the SCC. I mean, it's really big in this conference, and we have nothing to do with it. But the other one I've always heard that would be probably added first would've been beach volleyball, sand volleyball because it's a recruiting tool for regular volleyball and if you don't have it, it kind of hurts. I'm sure Bird would love to have it. And then it's really inexpensive. Heck, they already have sand volleyball courts out there at the rec, and I think if they would've added one, and it's a women's sport, which would be what they'd have to add, I really think it would've been that. But now with all that's going on, nobody's adding sports anytime soon. Unfortunately, it'll be the opposite.

Coco: Okay. Second question from the same user: "What is the thinking around potentially adding a second QB in the 2021 class? And if they do, is [Davis] or Nussmeier the priority?"

Liucci: Dematrius Davis‍. Yeah, I think Garrett Nussmeier‍ is a guy... But they stepped forward with an offer to him, and I think he pushed back his commitment date, which was supposed to be this past weekend. Everybody had him penciled in at LSU. So I think that one's still out there. I know that he's a guy they like a lot. I personally, Coco, think there's a need for a second quarterback. I think it's something they're exploring. I don't think it's a guarantee because I know how much they clearly love Eli Stowers‍. But if you look at that roster, I do think there is a legitimate case to be made that goes look, you really have Kellen, James Foster and then Haynes King and whoever you sign in ‘21, okay?

So when the next fall rolls around, Kellen's gone, you're going to have Foster and Calzada and Haynes King and a true freshman. The way this thing goes, if Foster or Calzada, if one of them is the fourth-string quarterback or even the third-string quarterback this year, which one of them will be, no better than the third-string because it goes Kellen and those two, that other guy... I think you just have to recruit knowing that. Look, I don't think three quarterbacks, including one of them being a true freshman, is enough to have on campus in 2021. You have to look at it like that. And from that standpoint, I think they should take two. We'll see if they do. And if they don't, then they 100% have to take two in 2022.

Coco: Okay. Rivalry question. This is from J.C. Lover or J. Clover again. "Just how biased do you think the 247 recruiting rankings are in favor of Texas? Texas finished third in 2018, third in 2019 and ninth in 2020 Composite Rankings. Where would you have put their classes for those years?"

Liucci: I don't know where I would put them, but I know they finished third because they signed Bru McCoy, which was weird because Bru McCoy signed, I believe, if I'm not mistaken, he signed with USC and then went back and then got out of it and went to Texas. And then before even playing a game there during that offseason, transferred back to SC. They should've never gotten credit for signing him, and they did. And they got credit for that signing when he should've, in my opinion, counted as a transfer. And that jumped them up to where they were. He was a five star, top 10 or 15 player in the entire country. But yeah, I look at things like the rise they gave Hoofkin out of Dallas High School where he wasn't even close. He wasn't in Ainias Smith's time zone as a football player or prospect. And you look at how he shot up. You look this year about Andrej Karic and how much he shot up, a teammate of Blake Smith, who remained at a three-star, despite a really impressive offer list. You look at a guy like Isaiah Raikes and how he tested and didn't move up. I could go on and on and on and on.

The Texas guys get absolutely unnecessary, preposterous bumps when you look at Jake Majors, the O lineman they signed they should this year that by one service was the number one guard in the country. It borders on sickening. I don't think there's a 247 bias. That is the one entity. I don't agree with everything they do. You're never going to. But I think they by far show the least bias and try the hardest to be as professional as possible. I've known Shannon Terry for a long time. I know Barton Simmons. Those guys, they pride themselves on not doing that. But I do think the shush man down in Austin, Bryan Carrington, I think they're on an information campaign and do everything they can to get guys bumps in the rankings however they can. And maybe it works better with other entities. And I certainly think that's the case. You've got people with way too close ties to Longhorn football. It is what it is, though. How is Tom Herman losing five games? How's he going to lose five and six games in two of his three years and four another year with all that talent? It does cut both ways.

Coco: All right. Agfan2332 says, "Bouncing off of OB's question, what is the biggest what if in the 90s that would've changed the course of the history of A&M's program that would've kept RC around after 2002? Biggest what-if of the 90s.”

Liucci: From the 90s I would say there's a couple of them. Real quick, I'm going to rifle through these. '98, if they don't play prevent defense against Texas Longhorns in Austin or if Texas doesn't water down the field to help Ricky Williams run wild, not that he needed it, but a wet field certainly helped a back like him to negate defensive speed. But had they not gone prevent and A&M held on to win that game, and then Clint Stoerner doesn't have the flukiest fumble ever, Arkansas beats Tennessee, A&M goes from number five to number four on Championship Saturday, UCLA loses to Edgerrin James in Miami in an upset after the hurricane postponement, they moved from four to three, and then they beat Kansas State and they moved from three to two, and there's a very good chance you have to rematch A&M, Florida State for the national title in 1998, the season opener in New York rematched again later for the national title.

The other one would've been Bucky Richardson not getting hurt against Tulsa in that game where Jeff Granger came in as a completely inexperienced quarterback and they ended up blowing that lead, losing that game. A&M finishes undefeated that year. There's a season against Notre Dame where the hook and ladder was incomplete to Leeland. He might've scored on that play, A&M beats Notre Dame, goes undefeated. I think they probably finished number two in the poles. So any of those types of things happened our RC's resume becomes even stronger than it is, and he sticks around. The last straw in that thing, I would say, might've been... It's ironic because Dino Babers runs such a good office now at Syracuse, but had Kevin Sumlin been the OC in '01 and '02 instead of Babers at that time... And Babers has come a long way, but Sumlin, he was more ready at that point, as was obvious in '02 once he took over calling the plays.

Coco: AggieRogue asks, "Do you think Eli Stowers is a five-star player?"

Liucci: To be determined, but I do think he should be looked at as such, and it's crazy that... I think he's the most underrated player in 2020, outside of those guys that they just haven't clearly evaluated yet that are 600 and something. There's a cornerback out of Pennsylvania that A&M think he's probably one of the top three corners on their board, Tyreek Chappell, who [inaudible 00:16:02] talked about a lot, and you're about to see his offer list go through the roof. But some of these guys just haven't been evaluated yet properly. And even these services are having a harder time because there's no combines, no camps. It's not going to be seven on seven. So the rankings this year are going to be as uninformed as ever. And it's the same thing with the coaches in their evaluation. So it's tough, but as far as guys that have it and should already be ranked that high, Eli Stower's the most underrated prospect in America. When you look at his composite ranking, you look at his tape, you look at his numbers athletically, size, speed, track, what he's done on the track in the high jump, and then you look at his freaking tape and his statistics and the amount he just flat out wins, yeah, I think he should certainly be under consideration for that.

Coco: Okay. Same user. Second question. "Who wins the backup QB job this season?"

Liucci: I'm not ready to answer that. The lean to me without spring would be Calzada, but I think any of those three could win it. And Haynes King, he had a spring, I think would have made a really strong push for that. And Calzada... Let me say something.

His upside potential is still unlimited. That is arm. And I talk about Haynes King being a winner and just having that “it.” Let's not forget what Calzada did his senior year in high school, playing with broken ribs and finishing a game and winning and leading a team going from not even making the varsity I think as a sophomore to where he was and going from being a guy who grew five inches in the span of a year or a year and a half. He did that Scotty Pippin thing that we saw last night. So let's not forget the talent level and the arm talent. And Zach does have some of those intangibles as well. There's no question. So if you made me pick today, I'd go with him.

Coco: I will add this in as my own question because I saw it come up on Twitter. And I don't know if you addressed this, so if you do, just skip over it. But there was a picture that went out of a QB practice via Zoom, and Foster was not present. I don't know if you've figured out, if anyone figured out what's up with him.

Liucci: Yeah, I figured it out, and I made a post about it. I mean, I know you didn't see it, but I know a lot of people didn't see it as well. Yeah, he actually had a family issue, like a close friend... He tweeted something about it... was killed. And so he was excused from that. It had happened literally the day before. So no change with James Foster at all.

Coco: Makes sense. Sounds good. Next question is from TaylorSwift13. "How do you think the current players are staying in shape? And do you think schools who recruit well in the front seven like us will be in better shape because of depth and allowing others to rest?"

Liucci: Good point. Great point. I've talked about a lot of ways that A&M could be at an advantage with this lack of offseason. That's one I hadn't thought of or written about, is the depth, particularly on defense. They don't have a lot of depth on the offensive line. The advantage there will be experience because at least they know what their coach wants from them at the position. They know the system, and they've played a ton. So if you're going to have a shortened offseason, you want to have a shortened offseason with experience, and you want to have a shortened offseason with guys that are farther along on the O line. Like I said before, you're going to have a bunch of seniors playing against at times guys that they're three and four years older than. That helps obviously.

But as far as what the guys are doing, I mean, to each their own. I mean, Jerry Schmidt and those guys are trying their damnedest to make sure and keep your thumb on every single guy in your roster, but all you can really do is hope that they've stuck to what they're supposed to be doing. And man, that's not easy when gyms are closed and things like that.

The good news is I think gyms in the state of Texas and workout facilities are going to start to open up here in the next... I bet within two weeks those things are going to be open to the public again, probably with some restrictions or requirements. Maybe you have to be half capacity, or maybe there are requirements in how they're supposed to keep them clean. I'm sure all that stuff, but maybe you have to wear a mask in there. I'm sure that'll be one of the things. But my point is I do think those are going to start to open up. But man, it's to each their own. We can see Kellen out there working. We can see Jhamon. We see Isaiah Spiller and those guys that work with Footwork King, but everybody's got to do it on their own, and unfortunately, not just saying them, but everywhere in the country, you are going to have some guys... We've seen Calzada. We've seen Dylan Wright. Cam Brown's working. We know most of these guys are. There are going to be some guys that come back out of shape, and it's going to be frustrating for college coaches everywhere because they're not going to have a lot of time to get back in shape before the season.

Coco: Coach King: "The next three years look to be stellar for the Aggies. Take a guess at the best outcome for that season. You can only pick one option, number one, SEC West champions in 2020, 2021, or 2022." Only pick one.

Liucci: 2022, 2022. I think the better team is going to be '22. I think '22 in the second year of the next quarterback. I've already said I think the next starting quarterback at A&M, whether that's Calzada, Foster, King, Stowers, is going to win a national title. If they end up being a two-, three-year starter, I think the next guy wins a Natty at A&M. But to win the west, the best chance could be this fall because of what you've got coming back. You do have the senior quarterback in a league that doesn't have veteran QBs and the way the schedule is. And here's the deal. I think out of Ole Miss, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi State, those four teams, and you're drawing Vandy instead of, let's say Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, that scenario of those five games, and you're playing Colorado with a new coach and not Notre Dame or Miami, I think just the way it sets up, this is the best shot they'll have, with the combination of team and schedule, out of those teams I mentioned in the SEC, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas. I bet two of those four, if not three of those four, will be noticeably better under new coaches in '22 than they are today.

Coco: Okay. So then his second part of the question was, "SEC championship in 2020, 2021, or 2022?"

Liucci: I would say the same thing just because of the path to get there.

Coco: Okay, so then his third part of the question is. "National championship, 2020, 2021, or 2022?" You kind of answered it, but we'll make you say it.

Liucci: I'll go '22 there because I think even though the road's going to be tougher, I think roster-wise, top to bottom, the best years are still a couple of years ahead of A&M. Just if you look at the way they're recruiting and what we talked about earlier, when I said if they win on the field big this year, that '22 class is going to be so loaded. So you're going to have '19, number three, 20, number six. '21 is going to be sitting there in the top 10 somewhere. It's just still way too early to tell where maybe even top five. We'll see. But '22, I feel very comfortable will be a top-five, so you're probably looking at three, six, eight, three, and that's your team in '22 along with a returning starter at quarterback. To get through the playoff, I think you're going to need more than just to say well, the schedule was favorable, which it will be in 2020. So to get through the playoff and win it, yeah, '22 for me.

Coco: Okay. Extreme rush. "In your estimation, what is the percentage chance or range that we have a fall football season with fans, even if it's delayed a month?"

Liucci: Percentage chance? I think even if it's delayed, so I get that option, I think 75%. I think there's a really good chance we play fall football this year. I don't think it's out of the question that we don't. And with fans, even if it starts out without fans, but I really don't think you're going to see the without fans thing. I think you're going to see baseball and NBA basketball usher it in and kind of ease us in without fans at some point this summer, and then the fans are going to assimilate. Now, are the crowds going to be half of what they normally would be? That's quite possible because there's going to be a lot of people that say, "Sorry, I'm not risking it. I'm not going to do that." And so it's unfortunate that these seniors... Think about Kyle Field half or only two thirds full when maybe this would be a top 10 football team that will be playing in front of a raucous, 12th Man-packed stadium and now they're not going to get to do that. But I still think there'll be fans.

Coco: Okay. Second question from the same user. "Over or under 50% chance that we make the playoff in one of the next two seasons?" I think you've kind of answered that in the past question.

Liucci: I say the next three. I would say way... Not way over. Who has a 50% chance outside of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State in all the sports? But that's where you're trying to get, and they're trending towards getting there. So yeah, I'd say better over the next three seasons.

Coco: Okay. AggieRogue asks, "What would you say to critics who think Jimbo's offense is too conservative and falling behind other elite offenses that are moving to more spread schemes?"

Liucci: I would say this. First of all, if I had my dream offense, and I think that the best-blended offense to me watching college football is actually... I love what Ohio State does offensively. I really do. Now, they also do it with overwhelmingly good talent that's even that much better when they're playing in the Big Ten versus playing in the south. But I would say to answer that, I think Jimbo's offense is really going to be difficult to stop when he's got the experienced QB that he's going to have and the players he's going to have. They've got to get better up front, but the use of the tight end, the ability to run the football with power and to assert yourselves, impose your will against the opponent, I think those things really... I think they need to open up a little more in terms of down the field and deep balls to loosen up a defense.

Yeah, because of the way they run the ball, I think it begs you to do that and exploit that. So you go back and look at his Florida State team when they had Jameis and Benjamin and Dalvin Cook and O'Leary at tight end, and that was one of the most explosive offenses we've seen in the last... I mean, that was as explosive as an offense gets. But do I think there needs to be a little element of tempo added when they can use it when they're not trying to wear down a defense and just trying to score? I would like to see it get a little more explosive, but in talking to Jimbo, I think he's constantly thinking about that in his head. And then I think this offseason he's coming up with more and more ways to attack defenses, and I think one of those ways will be to kind of speed up the process in terms of plays coming in and being more. I just think a little more of an attack mode. I don't think schematically there's actually anything wrong with it.

I think opposing coordinators would tell you, "Man, that's a tough offense to stop when they're right.” And they just weren't quite right last year because I just don't think they blocked it a lot. I'll give you a real quick example. I watched that game the other night, and I can show you a picture of it. Third and 16 from about their own five to start the fourth quarter, I think the first play of the fourth quarter. And they run a good QB power play, where the guard pulls. And it was set up, if you still shot it, where you had Dan Moore, Isaiah Spiller running through the whole, Ryan McCollum to kick out, and if McCollum makes the kick-out block and if Colton Prater doesn't get beat... And I'm singling these guys out just because it was this play. It doesn't mean they played bad. The old line was really good in that game.

But you had a couple guys that missed blocks that were just kind of easy blocks to make. Praters guy makes a tackle in the backfield for a three-yard loss. But if you look at that play, that is actually a designed third and 16 QB run that goes 95 yards for a touchdown with Kellen Mond running. It is a 95-yard touchdown run drawn up on third and 16. And I think two actually very easy blocks were missed that kept that from happening. And so I think they draw up some really fascinating plays. And when Kellen's struggling to throw the ball, what do they do? They say, "Hey, go run for one 20 against these guys, and let's just win it. We don't have to score 50." But I do want to see a more explosive element.

Coco: Okay. We have time for just a few more as we come close to or come right up against that 30-minute mark. "How big of an expletive was Jerry Krause? Have you ever talked to Spencer's dad about his time with the Bulls?"

Liucci: I've never met Ed Nealy. I remember him as a player. Obviously, we stay in touch with Spencer. But I mean, what a great guest for Gabe to try to get on TexAgs Radio, Gabe. Big guest alert. I mean, do it during this documentary. You got I guess five Sundays to get it done, Gabe.

Big guest alert. Ed Nealy, siren. So yeah, I don't know. But yeah, Jerry Krause, man, you can't let ego get in the way, man. If you're a head coach, if you're an athletic director, a university president, ego to the point of it sabotaging your strengths is one of the biggest shames in sports, at the pro college level, it doesn't matter.

Coco: Okay. I want to go back to this one. It was actually the second part from AggieRogue that I meant to read. "Do you think our offense changes after Mond leaves?"

Liucci: Good, great question. I don't think they're going to go, "Kellen's gone, so we're changing it," because Haynes King can freaking run, and Foster can move, and Calzada can move. You'll just see less QB running than you will this year, although again, if it's Haynes King or Eli Stowers, they can both really run. But I think the offense is going to be ever-evolving. When you've got Jimbo Fisher and Darrell Dickey, and now you're adding James Coley, who I know they didn't have success at Georgia last year offensively, and he was the OC, but he's been an OC at Georgia and Miami, so let's not act like he doesn't have ideas to come in and contribute to this offense. And then Josh Henson was an offensive coordinator. So you have a guy in your old line that was an OC at Missouri, and you've got a guy at tight end that was an OC at Miami and Georgia. And you've got Darrell Dickey, who's been a head coach at North Texas and a very successful OC at Memphis here recently, and Jimbo. So to me, that offensive meeting room, there's so much talent in terms of what they can do schematically that I think it's going to be ever-evolving.

Coco: Okay. There are so many good questions. There is one that I do think they even said it probably better to talk through than write. So we'll have this one as our last one. No soup for you... Also love the name... asks, "2014 started off so strong. What happened at Mississippi State? Kenny Hill looked so good early in the season."

Liucci: I think Kenny for starters at quarterback, he was young and immature. And I knew Kenny really well at that time. By immature, I just mean, he was a college kid that came up as a freshman watching Johnny and those guys. They were fun guys. Those other quarterbacks were fun. They knew that Johnny was the guy. So I think there was a little bit of them enjoying playing football at A&M, and that's what Kenny walked into and saw, and all of a sudden he's the starting quarterback, and he wasn't ready for it at that age. Never was a bad kid. I freaking love Kenny Hill as a person. He wouldn't harm a fly and has become a really hard worker. You see him, he's now a part of TCU's coaching staff and has, I think, a bright future ahead of him.

But I think part of it was that. I think what we didn't know yet, we found out, was kind of the issues that were going on in terms of just cohesion within the staff and just that wasn't the best setup there. And you saw it eventually come to a head with Kenny leaving, which by the way, they should've stuck with Kenny better and not been content to let him leave. But they had Kyle Allen coming in. They knew they were going to get Kyle, but you saw where that went, and it just got worse and worse. So as far as the team goes, I think that was fool's gold early. And that's what we saw a lot of times with these teams. You saw fool's gold in the first half of the UCLA game. You saw fool's gold those years that they barely eke out wins against bad... That year, they barely eked out a win, a come from behind win against a bad Arkansas team. And they barely beat... I mean, they smoked a top 10 South Carolina team that ended up being terrible, and Steve Spurrier quit mid-season because they were so bad. So it was fool's gold. Then they went into Starkville and got pummeled. Then they played a really good Ole Miss team and got pummeled. And right after that, it was 59, nothing to Alabama. So that was the deal.

The aggy tall tales are strong in this one today.

Focht Up · April 23, 2020

7 hours ago, Orange&White said:

What do you know about Dabo Swinney in regard to his reputation vs. how he actually is? Not at all asking you to talk down on the guy if he isn't what he's cracked up to be, but I've heard both things: that he's not at all like he seems to be in the public eye and is a fraud, and also that he's exactly the same "good ol' boy" as seen in the public eye. Just wondering what you've heard about him!

These fucks seriously ask Billy Fucking Luicci to comment on how Dabo Swinny is as a real person and expect him to tell them the truth?

As if Billy has ever even met him or know fuckall who he is or how he “really is”?

And they actually believe him or lend a single iota of credence to what he says?

As if aggie jokes aren’t real.

It's too early to tell.

Hank_Hill · April 23, 2020

22 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:

repeatedly choked her and prevented her from breathing. He also allegedly slammed her head against the floor.

Hell, my broad pays me extra for this.

TheBryMan81 · April 23, 2020

12 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:

Are you going to cancel your contract with The Athletic? They have made it very clear today what they think of A&M.

Over that tweet? In a word, no. I thought the tweet was just an attempt at humor to get retweets and likes. Like all of you, I don't particularly like seeing folks like Mandel and Sallee continuing to just not let the 10-year, $75 million thing go, and I find it strange how so many in the national media seemed genuinely offended that Fisher left Florida State for A&M. There's no doubt that plenty of people would love nothing more than to see Jimbo fail despite the fact that his salary isn't out of whack AT ALL at this point in time based on resume and the fact the Ags had to hire him away from the place where he won a title. I'm not even sure Stewart feels that way at all, but plenty in the media do. Even if he did and was taking a shot, we're not going to agree with everything that comes out of a collection of hundreds of writers around the country. Remember Feldman's opinion on the decision-makers at A&M when Sumlin was on the verge of getting fired? Finebaum, McFarland and several others on the SEC Network have taken their shots over the past eight years, as have the folks on ESPN. If it ever gets to the point that a pattern develops, you're talking about something different. To me, that quote was enough to elicit an eye roll and not a response

That's the only tweet from Mandel/Feldman/The Athletic over the past few days that even slightly mention A&M. Is that question really that upset over this? The amount of time they spend being thin skinned knows no bounds.

NoName · April 23, 2020

17 minutes ago, TheBryMan81 said:

That's the only tweet from Mandel/Feldman/The Athletic over the past few days that even slightly mention A&M. Is that question really that upset over this? The amount of time they spend being thin skinned knows no bounds.

the thinnest skinned fucks in the country

TBGFL · April 23, 2020

4 hours ago, theaveragejon said:

The aggy tall tales are strong in this one today.

Just today?

Neonmoon · April 23, 2020

15 hours ago, Lobwedgephil said:

When do you think we'll hear something official about if/when/how the CFB season is played?

Not until at least a month from now and probably not until the start of or even the middle of June. Early June if it's going to start on time and mid- to late-June if we're looking at a late start.

This is such a great 9.95 answer. He gives 4 different possible dates.

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