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UPDATED - AY F 🏈 WORD PODCAST
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Good evening from Charleston, after I spent much of the day trying to get here. But, anyway, here we go.
King to start
We expected Haynes King would start after Jimbo Fisher's press conference Monday, and we had that verified today. Conner Weigman will back him up. King took the majority of the first team snaps all week, but Weigman took them last week as King tried to heal up. He's still not anywhere close to 100%, and he's got a cracked rib, so this may be a matter of how much he can take.
On the plus side...
The offensive line situation won't be quite as dire as it could have been. We've been told LT Trey Zuhn is back, so he'll move back in. That gives A&M both of their starting tackles. On the other hand, it looks like no Layden Robinson, Bryce Foster or Aki Ogunbiyi. So look for Matthew Wykoff at center, Kam Dewberry at left guard and either Josh Bankhead or Remington Strickland at right guard.
DT Shemar Turner, LB Andre White and CB Tyreek Chappell will also be back, which are two huge positives. I'm getting mixed signals on Tunmise Adeleye, so we'll have to wait and see on him until gametime tomorrow.
So that means the defense is pretty close to healthy, right?
Wrong. If you remember, Antonio Johnson left the Alabama game with a leg injury, and while he came back for a series, Jarred Kerr played most of the fourth quarter (and played well). It looks like Johnson is a no-go tomorrow, so we'll have to see how DJ Durkin works this. I think we may see a combination of Kerr, Chappell and maybe Bryce Anderson in that slot. The fact that it takes three pretty darned good players to replace Johnson tells you all you need to know about AJ.
Projected starting lineup for the offense (of course, you can only have 11 out there, but you get the idea)
QB: Haynes King
RB: Devon Achane
TE: Max Wright
TE: Donovan Green
WR: Evan Stewart
WR: Chris Marshall
WR: Moose Muhammad
LT: Trey Zuhn
LG: Kam Dewberry
C: Matthew Wykoff
RG: Josh Bankhead
RT: Deuce Fatheree
Projected starting lineup for the defense:
DE: Fadil Diggs
DT: McKinnley Jackson
DT: Walter Nolen
DE: Shemar Stewart
LB: Chris Russell
LB: Edgerrin Cooper
NICKEL: Jarred Kerr
CB: Denver Harris
S: Demani Richardson
S: Jardin Gilbert
CB: Jaylon Jones
A&M finally has their DT rotation
If Turner returns as I expect he will tomorrow, the Aggies will have their full two-deep at defensive tackle for the first time all season. Early on, Jackson was out, then Nolen, and then Turner. Now, they've got those three, and Isaiah Raikes, healthy at the same time. That, along with the return of White and hopefully Adeleye, should strengthen the run defense.
Aggies definitely looking for flips now
There are very few players with A&M offers in the 2023 class that remain uncommitted. One is New Orleans De La Salle OT Caden Jones, and there's a good chance they get him. Same with DE Johnny Bowens, even though Oregon is, again, trying hard. 4-star LB Tausili Akana will official later in the season and has the Aggies in his final list.
Outside of that....ain't much.
The Aggies are definitely looking to flip some guys, and I think they've got a very real shot at getting the flip from Notre Dame 4-star safety commit Peyton Bowen and Texas 4-star CB Malik Muhammad. 5-star FSU WR commit Hykeem Williams will visit in December right before early signing, and A&M has definitely not bagged it there. They're also still working on Rueben Owens, and the El Campo standout may be a little (a lot?) more interested in hearing from other programs as Scott Satterfield's seat gets increasingly hot at Louisville. Even though the Cardinals have a really good class, they're not meeting expectations and haven't for a couple of years now.
One guy you haven't heard about, until now
Elijah Robinson is doing his thing again at Philadelphia Imhotep. The Aggies have started to work on Michigan LB commit Semaj Bridgeman, a standout at a program where the Aggies have feasted in recent years. There's no guarantee they'll get anywhere, but this is one to watch simply because of the success A&M has had in Philly.
What about Toviano?
You haven't heard a lot about 5-star CB Javien Toviano of late because he doesn't talk to anyone. But I think the tea leaves that are being put down do not bode well for A&M. He's indicated he wants to go out of state; LSU and Michigan both think they're in good shape with him and, when he really started to get linked to LSU in a big way about six weeks ago, A&M was suddenly very much back in on Malik Muhammad. It's all circumstantial, but the signs aren't good.
