Aggies lose four players
Earlier this week, there were a few comments made that a few players who were part of the program last year would not be with the team this season. After doing some checking, we've been able to validate those comments. The 2015 Aggies will move forward without offensive lineman Zach Ledwik, safety Jonathan Wiggins and fullback Brett Wade. We already knew about Jay Arnold, who was forced to retire after his shoulders did not respond to offseason surgery, but it's worth a reminder to note his departure.
Ledwik's situation is similar to Arnold's: He was banged up and the combination of constant pain and the desire to keep his grades up (he's an engineering major) led him to hang them up. Wiggins, in spite of his excellent size, never seemed to figure out the defense of Mark Snyder or John Chavis and was going to be buried on the depth chart this fall. Wade just never could find a place and eventually decided to move on.
Corner update
We talked to a few people in the know this week about the corner situation, and their comments were quite interesting. Brandon Williams has made some solid progress in his position switch, both in 7-on-7 and in the classroom. Terry Joseph appears to be pretty happy with how he's come along, but the learning curve remains steep. Williams, at least, is dedicated to the idea and is working hard to make it a success.
We also heard that the two freshmen, Deshawn Capers-Smith and Roney Elam, have shown some positive signs since they arrived on campus and the hope is that they may be able to push for a starting job. Going into camp, A&M may have as many as five players -- Williams, Nick Harvey, Victor Davis, Capers-Smith and Elam -- competing for that one spot. While having a converted running back and two freshmen looking to start in the SEC may not be optimal, they're going to give everyone a chance and see whose athleticism pays off.
Koda taking the Ced route?
After making some major progress during his redshirt freshman season, it looks like Koda Martin is going to be the left tackle of the future for the Aggies after Avery Gennesy and/or Germain Ifedi are done. He may not have to wait that long to get on the field, however; we've learned he's going to pick up where he left off in the spring, fighting for a starting job at guard. This is the same situation the Aggies found themselves with Cedric Ogbuehi, who was just too good not to be on the football field even though A&M had two star tackles in Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews. Martin likely will fight Jermaine Eluemunor for the left guard spot, but Joe Cheek isn't entrenched at right guard, either; Jeremiah Stuckey, Tank Davis and another freshman, Keaton Sutherland, could get a look there too. If Connor Lanfear impresses quickly, he may also get into the mix. The Aggies are comfortable with their tackles and center Mike Matthews, but there's still a lot unknown about the guards.
Is it over for Eric Monroe? Maybe not. (Courtney)
North Shore Rivals100 cornerback Eric Monroe was expected to make his commitment at the beginning of July while at the Opening, but he could not wait any longer.
On Wednesday night the highly sought after prospect was ready to get the wait off of his shoulders so he took to Twitter and announced that he would be committing to LSU.
Monroe said that LSU had been on his mind ever since his freshman year when he camped in Baton Rouge.
"They really showed the love and still do," said Monroe.
LSU is no the only program though who has been on Monroe hard for the past couple of years.
"Texas, Baylor and Texas A&M," Monroe said are also schools who are still on him just as hard.
"My mom wanted A&M," Monroe admitted. "She is just happy for me in making decision...I spoke with Coach (Kevin) Sumlin and Coach (Terry) Joseph beforehand."
Monroe said Coach Jospeh congratulated him and encouraged him to "be a man" and do right in order to keep succeeding as he moves on to the next level.
"I really appreciate that too," said Monroe.
Monroe plans to take an official to LSU, but that's not all.
"LSU, A&M, Baylor, Texas, TCU, UCLA and Florida," Monroe said are all schools he wants to visit. Five of which he wants to take as an official. Monroe said the out-of-state programs will more than likely be officials, and then out of the remaining five, some would be official and the others unofficial.
We've learned that, in spite of his commitment on Twitter, A&M intends to continue to recruit Monroe just as hard as they had previously and believe a real chance exists in flipping him.
How Will RB Recruiting Play Out? (Rob)
The Aggies are looking to take two running backs in the class and seem very close to finishing the deal with a couple of the targets they have already offered. McAllen running back Trevor Speights has pretty much narrowed his focus down to the Aggies and Stanford with most believing the Aggies are the team to beat. Also seemingly close to making a decision is Manvel's D'Vaughn Pennamon who was supposed to visit campus earlier this week but was forced to postpone due to the weather.
Another player holding an offer and believed to be close to deciding is Plano's Brandon Stephens who has been to campus and has been rumored to be close to making a decision since his visit to College Station. He too is believed to be leaning towards the Aggies.
Add in George Ranch running back Darius Anderson who will visit campus next week and could be in line for an offer and it becomes a crowded field with several favoring the Aggies. In the end, the first two to pull the trigger will get the spots and it seems as though the Aggies will be done at the position by the end of summer but likely sooner.
Beaumont running back Devwah Whaley remains the top prospect on the board, but he appears to be favoring Oklahoma and the A&M coaching staff appears to see little dropoff between Whaley and other prospects and isn't going to sit around for him.
Aggie hoops with a steal?
The first commit for A&M's 2016 class is PG J.J. Caldwell from Cy-Fair. Caldwell took part in the NBPA 100 camp this week and tore up the competition. His performance was so good that he was named one of the stars of the camp for each of the first two days, and former Rocket player and Spurs coach John Lucas said he was fantastic. Caldwell apparently showed excellent court vision and great touch on his passes as he looked to pass first and shoot second, but made the majority of shots he took. Caldwell seems firmly committed to A&M and could well move into an immediate rotation with Alex Robinson at the point next year.
Earlier this week, there were a few comments made that a few players who were part of the program last year would not be with the team this season. After doing some checking, we've been able to validate those comments. The 2015 Aggies will move forward without offensive lineman Zach Ledwik, safety Jonathan Wiggins and fullback Brett Wade. We already knew about Jay Arnold, who was forced to retire after his shoulders did not respond to offseason surgery, but it's worth a reminder to note his departure.
Ledwik's situation is similar to Arnold's: He was banged up and the combination of constant pain and the desire to keep his grades up (he's an engineering major) led him to hang them up. Wiggins, in spite of his excellent size, never seemed to figure out the defense of Mark Snyder or John Chavis and was going to be buried on the depth chart this fall. Wade just never could find a place and eventually decided to move on.
Corner update
We talked to a few people in the know this week about the corner situation, and their comments were quite interesting. Brandon Williams has made some solid progress in his position switch, both in 7-on-7 and in the classroom. Terry Joseph appears to be pretty happy with how he's come along, but the learning curve remains steep. Williams, at least, is dedicated to the idea and is working hard to make it a success.
We also heard that the two freshmen, Deshawn Capers-Smith and Roney Elam, have shown some positive signs since they arrived on campus and the hope is that they may be able to push for a starting job. Going into camp, A&M may have as many as five players -- Williams, Nick Harvey, Victor Davis, Capers-Smith and Elam -- competing for that one spot. While having a converted running back and two freshmen looking to start in the SEC may not be optimal, they're going to give everyone a chance and see whose athleticism pays off.
Koda taking the Ced route?
After making some major progress during his redshirt freshman season, it looks like Koda Martin is going to be the left tackle of the future for the Aggies after Avery Gennesy and/or Germain Ifedi are done. He may not have to wait that long to get on the field, however; we've learned he's going to pick up where he left off in the spring, fighting for a starting job at guard. This is the same situation the Aggies found themselves with Cedric Ogbuehi, who was just too good not to be on the football field even though A&M had two star tackles in Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews. Martin likely will fight Jermaine Eluemunor for the left guard spot, but Joe Cheek isn't entrenched at right guard, either; Jeremiah Stuckey, Tank Davis and another freshman, Keaton Sutherland, could get a look there too. If Connor Lanfear impresses quickly, he may also get into the mix. The Aggies are comfortable with their tackles and center Mike Matthews, but there's still a lot unknown about the guards.
Is it over for Eric Monroe? Maybe not. (Courtney)
North Shore Rivals100 cornerback Eric Monroe was expected to make his commitment at the beginning of July while at the Opening, but he could not wait any longer.
On Wednesday night the highly sought after prospect was ready to get the wait off of his shoulders so he took to Twitter and announced that he would be committing to LSU.
Monroe said that LSU had been on his mind ever since his freshman year when he camped in Baton Rouge.
"They really showed the love and still do," said Monroe.
LSU is no the only program though who has been on Monroe hard for the past couple of years.
"Texas, Baylor and Texas A&M," Monroe said are also schools who are still on him just as hard.
"My mom wanted A&M," Monroe admitted. "She is just happy for me in making decision...I spoke with Coach (Kevin) Sumlin and Coach (Terry) Joseph beforehand."
Monroe said Coach Jospeh congratulated him and encouraged him to "be a man" and do right in order to keep succeeding as he moves on to the next level.
"I really appreciate that too," said Monroe.
Monroe plans to take an official to LSU, but that's not all.
"LSU, A&M, Baylor, Texas, TCU, UCLA and Florida," Monroe said are all schools he wants to visit. Five of which he wants to take as an official. Monroe said the out-of-state programs will more than likely be officials, and then out of the remaining five, some would be official and the others unofficial.
We've learned that, in spite of his commitment on Twitter, A&M intends to continue to recruit Monroe just as hard as they had previously and believe a real chance exists in flipping him.
How Will RB Recruiting Play Out? (Rob)
The Aggies are looking to take two running backs in the class and seem very close to finishing the deal with a couple of the targets they have already offered. McAllen running back Trevor Speights has pretty much narrowed his focus down to the Aggies and Stanford with most believing the Aggies are the team to beat. Also seemingly close to making a decision is Manvel's D'Vaughn Pennamon who was supposed to visit campus earlier this week but was forced to postpone due to the weather.
Another player holding an offer and believed to be close to deciding is Plano's Brandon Stephens who has been to campus and has been rumored to be close to making a decision since his visit to College Station. He too is believed to be leaning towards the Aggies.
Add in George Ranch running back Darius Anderson who will visit campus next week and could be in line for an offer and it becomes a crowded field with several favoring the Aggies. In the end, the first two to pull the trigger will get the spots and it seems as though the Aggies will be done at the position by the end of summer but likely sooner.
Beaumont running back Devwah Whaley remains the top prospect on the board, but he appears to be favoring Oklahoma and the A&M coaching staff appears to see little dropoff between Whaley and other prospects and isn't going to sit around for him.
Aggie hoops with a steal?
The first commit for A&M's 2016 class is PG J.J. Caldwell from Cy-Fair. Caldwell took part in the NBPA 100 camp this week and tore up the competition. His performance was so good that he was named one of the stars of the camp for each of the first two days, and former Rocket player and Spurs coach John Lucas said he was fantastic. Caldwell apparently showed excellent court vision and great touch on his passes as he looked to pass first and shoot second, but made the majority of shots he took. Caldwell seems firmly committed to A&M and could well move into an immediate rotation with Alex Robinson at the point next year.
