Mizzou’s Dominic Lovett. He’s an East St Louis kid, so a little surprising.

Out on the road for forty days
Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze
Sweet, sweet Connie, doin' her act
She had the whole show and that's a natural fact

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In short DJ Hicks said it went great, from atmosphere to the recruits. "The recruits have the same vision...we are going up..."

AY: Where do you stand at this point?
DJ: I am committed to Texas A&M.

AY: Are you signing early?
DJ: No I will be there in May.

Tune back in for the full Q&A.

Did anyone have a problem with it last night?

Asking for a friend..

When he's playing, it's a gamechanger A senior year with a healthy Jackson equals stout interior DL. Go to the 8:00 mark of the 3rd quarter. It sets up the play of the game. 320 lb. Jackson chases down the lsu RB short of the 1st. Chased his ass down! Forces LSU to run a zone read on 3rd &1. Fumble, returned for TD. Momentum to the good guys. Ballgame. I haven't heard anyone talk about this play. Incredible effort and tenacity. Plays like this one create buy in by teammates.

Caden Davis is going in the portal.

Pretty funny....fortunately, we have a very small part in this one.

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Expect swift movement on the coaching front after season's end

There's very, very little chance that A&M does not make a move to hire an offensive coordinator and that move should come real fast. I've said that several times over the past couple of months, but now we're getting down to the wire. Things are being held extremely close to the vest in terms of who the hire will be, but I do think they've either got the deal clinched or it's close. I'm not totally sure of that, but that's the indications I've gotten.

Three names to know

The wish list has, again, been kept close to the vest, but I think the hire will be one of three guys -- if I'm getting the vibes right. The top three preferences, and don't take order as any indication, are UNC's Phil Longo, TCU's Garrett Riley and Baylor's Jeff Grimes. Longo is a little older and may be the safer long-term move, as Riley and Grimes are going to be on head coach short lists in a hurry if they are able to get A&M's offense rolling again. On the other hand, Riley and Grimes are both names that will seriously get the attention of offensive players across the region.

I don't know if all offensive position coaches will be let go with the hiring of the new OC, but it's likely he will have a list of guys he'd like to bring in. I think RB coach Tommie Robinson and WR coach James Coley are probably best positioned to stick around. There's really no reason to think about getting rid of Robinson, as he's done a great job with both Isaiah Spiller and Devon Achane, and the wideouts have improved under Coley.
The offensive line change, especially, could come real quick. Not a new hire, but certainly a relieving of duties.

In case you were wondering...

Jimbo, I have heard, is on board with the changes being made. As has been said a few times, he's got pride and an ego, but he's also not blind. The results speak for themselves.


A&M should be closer to full health tomorrow

From what I can tell, it looks like the Aggies will have WR Evan Stewart and RB Devon Achane back tomorrow. It's more likely that Achane goes than Stewart, who really got his bell rung against Auburn, but I still expect both to go. S Jacoby Mathews should also be back, so A&M will have as close to a full secondary as they've had in a while. They could use quite a few backups back as well, so I'll be on the lookout closer to gametime to see what they've got.

Ags get last shot at at least two targets

4-star New Orleans De La Salle OL Caden Jones and 5-star Katy Paetow DE DJ Hicks will both make their official visits the final weekend before early signing, Dec. 16-18. That makes me feel pretty good about adding Jones and keeping Hicks. That weekend has the potential to be very important should the new offensive coaches be in place by then.

Gathering up the visitors for tomorrow, but the years are starting to change

Hicks will be in town tomorrow as will most of the 2023 commits. But most of the visitors I've heard about are 2024 and 2025 players. Some of those include IMG 2024 RB Jerrick Gibson and Katy Mayde Creek QB Reggie McNeal Jr. I'm pretty sure his dad requires no introduction. I'll get more names and post them as I can.

Waiting for the portal to open

One thing that you've heard Jimbo say repeatedly this fall is how he misses seniors and upperclass leadership. With only 9 graduating seniors and a small recruiting class, it seems like more of the same unless you hit the transfer portal. I expect they'll have some more wiggle room after some players leave -- I now don't see how 3 of the 4 best-known suspended players come back, for starters -- and they're going to be targeting upperclassmen. There have been several FCS players that have already gone into the portal as grad transfers who put up massive numbers. Before you scoff, there have been a pretty good number of former FCS players who have made the jump to FBS and performed well. All the same, the real shopping will (allegedly) begin on the 5th of December.

More complete visitor list
Katy Paetow 5-star DE and A&M commit DJ Hicks
Katy Paetow 4-star LB and A&M commit Damyion Sanford
Southlake Carroll 3-star and A&M commit P/K Tyler White
Shiner 4-star DB and A&M commit Dalton Brooks
Philadelphia Imhotep 3-star OL and A&M commit Naquil Bertrand
LaGrange 4-star CB and A&M commit Bravion Rogers
San Antonio Smithson Valley 4-star OL and A&M commit Colton Thomasson
Atascocita 3-star DT and A&M commit Samu Taumanupepe
South Oak Cliff 4-star CB and A&M commit Jayvon Thomas
Nashville 3-star dual threat QB and Ole Miss commit Marcel Reed

Longview Pine Tree 2024 3-star DE and A&M commit Dealyn Evans
Katy Tompkins 2024 3-star OL and A&M commit Ashton Funk
IMG Academy 2024 4-star RB Jerrick Gibson
Fairburn (Ga.) 2024 4-star QB Prentiss "Air" Noland (offered this week)
Alpharetta (Ga.) Milton 4-star WR Debron Gatling (LT Overton went to Milton)
Silsbee 2024 4-star WR Dre'lon Miller
Smithson Valley 4-star WR Freddie Dubose
Fort Bend Hightower 4-star WR Zion Kearney

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Watched most of the TCU/Iowa state game today. Just watching the offensive series. A few comments:
1) that is very well coached team and a very experienced team.
2) Iowa State is not very good.
3) Lots of talk about motion lately, TCU used very little motion. I watched a lot of college football through the holidays and there wasn't much used in any of the games I watched.
4) Riley is very quick and decisive on his calls and doesn't get in ruts
5) TCU qb is a stud. he's been around for awhile but he made some absolute bullet throws into tight coverage that truly impressed.
6) TCU OL is awesome as well. It's amazing how well an offense works when the OL blocks well. When there was busted coverage, QB struggled just like ours.
7) TCU led college football in least number of games missed due to injury. Announcers spent a lot of time talking about their strength and conditioning coach and the transition that the players have made. They made a point of discussing the lack of injuries and the age maturity of the overall team.

The Jacksonville Jaguar mascot yesterday.


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Put your nuts on the table. What's it gonna be?

I think Bama and one of Miami/Arkansas get us. And then we drop another game we shouldn't.

9-3

Darrell Dickey is leaving A&M. Class guy, but one of the moves that needed to be made.

Happy Birthday my friend

Turned in on this morning.....intersting comments on Bama and Georgia....basically saying Bama has lost depth while Kirby had used the Bama model to build depth...said Georgia's 2nd unit was better than many teams first units......Kinda makes sense about Bama not being as physical to win as in the past. They also do not seem to have the playmakers they have had in the past. One other comment about this was this may be a result of the portal which is bringing both parity and inconsistency in play to teams.

OK....Peter Burns called Jimbo a "liar" for saying this game did not mean more going into it. Jimbo had said it was just a game, just like any other. You have to practice and prepare for. He did ask why A&M had not played like this before and tried to say it was just Achane that made the difference.

Taylor Zarzark (sp?) was a guest and he basically said Jimbo had lost the team during the season. He was big on Beemer and SC who he has called games for. He said players never quit on Beemer and finally began to understand his offense. That is why they played so well the last two games, and Beemer should be a candidate for SEC Coach of the year. He would not extend that thinking to Jimbo and the Aggie players. He also said Kelly did more with less as LSU is 'not a complete team" and the Ags are more talented. Said Kelly should be the Coach of the Year.

Find it interesting just how different national media treats coaches or teams. Have a great Monday!

...and amount of crow which will need to be eaten by the Twitterverse, especially tea-sips, if all these kids they've been saying are a lock to transfer don't and stay here?

That being said, I'm surprised at Ish Harris transferring. He's got potential but needs to gain 30#.

Enters the portal

To read about the new OC announcement….

The article states "Monday morning, Alabama offensive tackle Damieon George Jr. announced on social media that he would be entering the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining. ". He started three games and played in 12 games last season.
Has two years left. And we need OT like crazy.

1B Jose Abreu.

Just got home from six days of visiting my daughter, SIL, 5 and 3 year old grandson and 10 month old granddaughter. They live in an 1100 sq ft house with one BR in East Austin. My son, DIL and other 9-month-old also came over for a couple of nights.

We get along great with the kids and grandkids and always have a wonderful time. It was utter chaos for six days. Breast feeding, bottle feeding, naps, outdoor activities, indoor games (rained practically every day), meals, kids not eating, reading, clothes everywhere, boys fighting, walking, biking, scooters, boys coming to our room at 0650, incomplete house projects everywhere, tools not put away, dirty work site, did I mention rain every day. We also have to accept different parenting styles and forms of discipline. Very difficult sometimes.

My wife and I are completely worn out. Now I know why you have kids when you are young.

It was a great week, but glad its over. I can now sit down and watch the Ags btho lsu