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Phone: 281-971-3362
Email: paul@westhoustonsf.com
No injury report this week, but..
We still have a pretty good idea of what's up.
Conner Weigman is allegedly a gametime decision, but Marcel Reed's starting. I'm not sure Weigman will be ready for Arkansas. The comment that Mike Elko made on his radio show, that quarterback will be a gametime decision all year, disturbed me. It may be gamesmanship, but if Weigman's shoulder is that big of an issue, that's a problem.
The re-imaging of his shoulder, by the way, showed nothing new. The AC Joint sprain diagnosis appears to be the correct one.
Koli Faaiu, who got hurt in the first half against Florida, should be back.
Safety Trey Jones, who did not play against the Gators, should also be back. And they'll need him to deal with Harold Fannin Jr., one of the best tight ends in the nation when it comes to catching the football.
I don't think we're going to see TE Garrett Miller at all this year, unfortunately. I don't know if he'll go for a medical redshirt or if his career is over, but he hasn't practiced or dressed.
Something to look for
Elko mentioned in his press conference Monday that, with the loss of Tyreek Chappell, A&M would start looking at corner options to move to nickel. The most obvious one would appear to be Donovan Saunders. Saunders got bumped from the rotation at corner by Will Lee, Jayvon Thomas and Dezz Ricks, but he brings something to the equation -- size. He's 6-foot-3, 195 pounds and can tackle. He may not be fast enough to cover speedy outside receivers at this level, but slot receivers? That may be something else.
Linebacker rotation next to York solidifying
The past two games have seen Daymion Sanford start at WILL next to Taurean York, and he's been solid. But the guy who has been the standout has been Scooby Williams. Williams has been an attacking linebacker, with 1.5 TFL in just 7 tackles. Even though he wasn't 100% against his former team, he still had a couple of tackles and a tackle for loss.
Solomon DeShields is being used in a pass rush role, and he's been very effective in it. He only had 7 snaps against Florida, but had a sack. He had 11 against McNeese and forced an interception when he hit Sixkiller's throwing arm. He still doesn't know the full defense, but what he does know is how to get to the quarterback.
If it ain't broke...
I mentioned this in my offense-defense breakdown, but after watching video of the Bowling Green-Penn State game, it bears repeating. Bowling Green is giving up 5.2 yards a carry on the ground. Against Penn State, it was 6.3 yards a carry. Keep in mind, their other opponent was Fordham of the Patriot League. The Falcons are 120th against the run and the Aggies are 9th in rushing offense. Penn State just absolutely gouged them. The holes were huge. Now, will Bowling Green move eight guys up in the box and try to force Marcel Reed to throw? Possibly, and almost likely. But still, expect the Aggies to come out with two tight ends and pound away early on. Let's see if 8 is enough.
No sacks, but...
The film review of the Penn State game did show that the Bowling Green offensive line started to break down after halftime. Penn State got more aggressive, blitzed more and their pickups were not good. Conner Bazelak was able to get rid of the ball, but he was picked off twice in the second half. He didn't have a whole lot of time. I expect they'll continue to work the short game and play action, but also expect we could see more blitzes this week than we've seen to date.
If Reed is the guy
Cyrus Allen is WR1. He may be regardless, but Allen and Reed have had a strong connection going back to the summer. Reed, of course, got most of the QB2 reps (and a good portion of QB1), and Allen -- even though we knew he'd be a key part of the rotation -- worked a lot with the 2s as well. In the two games he's played, Reed has already shown a tendency to look for Allen, and the La. Tech transfer has tended to be open.
Baseball stuff
Kaeden Kent, the son of Jeff Kent, who is the father of Kaeden Kent, has been taking reps as the starting shortstop. This was expected after he agreed to return and Ali Camarillo signed with the A's, but now it's clear he's making the move.
With Shane Sdao sidelined until 2026, the Aggie rotation tentatively looks like Ryan Prager, Myles Patton, Justin Lamkin and Troy Wansing. But guys like Kaiden Wilson, Isaac Morton and Luke Jackson -- who had a great summer after getting only a few looks last season -- could also be in the mix.
A&M's pitching staff, even without Sdao, looks like it is extremely nasty.
Phone: 281-971-3362
Email: paul@westhoustonsf.com
No injury report this week, but..
We still have a pretty good idea of what's up.
Conner Weigman is allegedly a gametime decision, but Marcel Reed's starting. I'm not sure Weigman will be ready for Arkansas. The comment that Mike Elko made on his radio show, that quarterback will be a gametime decision all year, disturbed me. It may be gamesmanship, but if Weigman's shoulder is that big of an issue, that's a problem.
The re-imaging of his shoulder, by the way, showed nothing new. The AC Joint sprain diagnosis appears to be the correct one.
Koli Faaiu, who got hurt in the first half against Florida, should be back.
Safety Trey Jones, who did not play against the Gators, should also be back. And they'll need him to deal with Harold Fannin Jr., one of the best tight ends in the nation when it comes to catching the football.
I don't think we're going to see TE Garrett Miller at all this year, unfortunately. I don't know if he'll go for a medical redshirt or if his career is over, but he hasn't practiced or dressed.
Something to look for
Elko mentioned in his press conference Monday that, with the loss of Tyreek Chappell, A&M would start looking at corner options to move to nickel. The most obvious one would appear to be Donovan Saunders. Saunders got bumped from the rotation at corner by Will Lee, Jayvon Thomas and Dezz Ricks, but he brings something to the equation -- size. He's 6-foot-3, 195 pounds and can tackle. He may not be fast enough to cover speedy outside receivers at this level, but slot receivers? That may be something else.
Linebacker rotation next to York solidifying
The past two games have seen Daymion Sanford start at WILL next to Taurean York, and he's been solid. But the guy who has been the standout has been Scooby Williams. Williams has been an attacking linebacker, with 1.5 TFL in just 7 tackles. Even though he wasn't 100% against his former team, he still had a couple of tackles and a tackle for loss.
Solomon DeShields is being used in a pass rush role, and he's been very effective in it. He only had 7 snaps against Florida, but had a sack. He had 11 against McNeese and forced an interception when he hit Sixkiller's throwing arm. He still doesn't know the full defense, but what he does know is how to get to the quarterback.
If it ain't broke...
I mentioned this in my offense-defense breakdown, but after watching video of the Bowling Green-Penn State game, it bears repeating. Bowling Green is giving up 5.2 yards a carry on the ground. Against Penn State, it was 6.3 yards a carry. Keep in mind, their other opponent was Fordham of the Patriot League. The Falcons are 120th against the run and the Aggies are 9th in rushing offense. Penn State just absolutely gouged them. The holes were huge. Now, will Bowling Green move eight guys up in the box and try to force Marcel Reed to throw? Possibly, and almost likely. But still, expect the Aggies to come out with two tight ends and pound away early on. Let's see if 8 is enough.
No sacks, but...
The film review of the Penn State game did show that the Bowling Green offensive line started to break down after halftime. Penn State got more aggressive, blitzed more and their pickups were not good. Conner Bazelak was able to get rid of the ball, but he was picked off twice in the second half. He didn't have a whole lot of time. I expect they'll continue to work the short game and play action, but also expect we could see more blitzes this week than we've seen to date.
If Reed is the guy
Cyrus Allen is WR1. He may be regardless, but Allen and Reed have had a strong connection going back to the summer. Reed, of course, got most of the QB2 reps (and a good portion of QB1), and Allen -- even though we knew he'd be a key part of the rotation -- worked a lot with the 2s as well. In the two games he's played, Reed has already shown a tendency to look for Allen, and the La. Tech transfer has tended to be open.
Baseball stuff
Kaeden Kent, the son of Jeff Kent, who is the father of Kaeden Kent, has been taking reps as the starting shortstop. This was expected after he agreed to return and Ali Camarillo signed with the A's, but now it's clear he's making the move.
With Shane Sdao sidelined until 2026, the Aggie rotation tentatively looks like Ryan Prager, Myles Patton, Justin Lamkin and Troy Wansing. But guys like Kaiden Wilson, Isaac Morton and Luke Jackson -- who had a great summer after getting only a few looks last season -- could also be in the mix.
A&M's pitching staff, even without Sdao, looks like it is extremely nasty.
