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Email: paul@westhoustonsf.com
So is THIS the weekend for Lamont Rogers?
We've been hearing for the better part of two months now that 4-star tackle and Mizzou commit Lamont Rogers was likely to flip to A&M. He saw the Aggies demolish the Tigers, and was back to see A&M beat another bunch of Tigers (LSU) a couple of weeks ago. He also visited Missouri for their win over Auburn (maybe he likes Tigers. I don't know.)
And now, he'll be back again for the New Mexico State game.
Let's be real here: you don't come to a game like this three weeks before national signing day unless you have a vested interest. You're not there for s**ts and giggles.
Add in that Rogers has allegedly been recruiting players committed to other schools to A&M and it seems like there's a strong possibility this move is coming soon. But I've been told that a few times already and it hasn't happened -- at least, officially.
USC snooping around Longstreet again
I mentioned this was a real possibility -- USC trying to flip A&M QB commit Husan Longstreet, that is -- on Monday. I think. Anyway, current USC commit JuJu Lewis, the nation's number 1 quarterback, is acting like he's anything but committed. He visited Colorado last weekend and CU people think he's going to flip to them -- but he's also going to be in Athens this weekend for Georgia-Tennessee.
No matter who wins out, USC is probably going to end up being the loser. So they're now pushing Longstreet, who is from Corona, Calif. Playing for the Trojans probably holds a lot of appeal for SoCal kids, but let's look at the bigger picture.
First, Longstreet knows A&M and the program very well by now. He's been back to College Station multiple times this season and is tight with Collin Klein and really likes Mike Elko. The Aggie program is in better shape now (7-2, 5-1 SEC) than USC is (4-5, 2-5 B1G) and likely in the future. Currently, A&M has the #9 class for 2025 and USC has the 13th-best.
There's also one other advantage for A&M. Husan's brother, Kevin, is a redshirt freshman for the Aggies and has been a hawk on special teams.
So outside of proximity, USC really doesn't have many advantages. Even Lincoln Riley's rep as quarterback whisperer is taking a hit this season. I'm not going to say it's a certainty Husan Longstreet signs with the Aggies on Dec. 4, but the odds are heavily in their favor. USC will have to make an ungodly offer ($$$$$$) to flip him.
If you want to play it that way..
A&M has not stopped in their pursuit of 4-star WR and USC commit Jerome Myles. The Aggies have his quarterback, 2026 commit Helaman Casuga, in his ear and they have not dropped communication with him. I said when Myles committed to USC that the records would determine whether the Aggies would have a real shot in flipping him, and one team is in the mix for the CFP and the other is fighting for bowl eligibility. So this one bears watching.
Injury updates
Chase Bisontis could be back for the Auburn game. There's still no certainty there, but the team definitely hopes to have him back for Texas. Clearly, there's no need to get him out there this weekend, so it'll be TJ Shanahan and Kam Dewberry again.
I've seen some stuff on X and even on here with people hoping -- maybe even irrationally expecting -- Rueben Owens to be ready for the Texas game. Let me douse that with cold water right now. From what I've gathered, he hasn't been cleared for contact and coach Elko has said multiple times that his season is over unless the Aggies get well into the playoffs. So we're talking another month to six weeks. We have two weeks until Texas. So it would be borderline miraculous for him to be ready for that game.
There may be several guys you're expecting to play tomorrow who will be held out. Not because they're horribly injured, but there's no need to risk anything more serious against NMSU. I don't have specific names at this point, but it's a word of warning. We've seen that in the past, and if there's any question, have the guy ready for the stretch against Auburn and Texas.
Moving players around
Tomorrow, Amari Daniels will start and EJ Smith will probably get a lot of work against NMSU. They've got to see if they can get him going. After that, I expect we'll see Terry Bussey in the backfield for a few carries and maybe even AJ DiNota later in the game. The real interesting one will be whether Jayvon Thomas gets any snaps. He's had a couple of weeks of practice, and this could be a shot to see what he can do.
With Thomas moving to offense, the primary backups at corner will be BJ Mayes and Donovan Saunders. NMSU is very much a run-centric team -- they're one of four worst passing offenses in all of college football -- so this is a Jaydon Hill kind of game. That could allow Mayes move outside and get some reps there as well. Saunders hasn't played much at all this year -- I'm not sure he's played a snap -- and it doesn't seem like they trust him. But, if you've got to find out what he can do, this is the game for it.
Award candidates beginning to emerge
Nic Scourton has been named as semifinalist for the Bednarik and Lombardi awards, and Tyler White is a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. It's not necessarily an award, per se, but Shemar Turner has been invited to the Senior Bowl, which has become the ultimate postseason showcase for seniors and redshirt juniors.
Likely basketball lineup for tonight
C: Pharrel Payne
PF: Solomon Washington
SF: Jace Carter
SG: Zhuric Phelps
PG: Wade Taylor
More to come from Phelps?
Buzz Williams has said multiple times that Phelps hasn't really hit his stride yet, even though he's led the team in scoring in each of his two games. He's been on a minutes restriction as he returns from injury and Williams said he's still knocking some rust off -- and expects his free throw shooting to go up and his turnover numbers to go down (he had 7 assists, but 4 turnovers, against Lamar). Phelps is not a good 3-point shooter, but he attacks the basket at a level A&M hasn't had in a long time. Boots Radford was physical and Manny Obaseki is fast -- Phelps is both.
Phone: 281-971-3362
Email: paul@westhoustonsf.com
So is THIS the weekend for Lamont Rogers?
We've been hearing for the better part of two months now that 4-star tackle and Mizzou commit Lamont Rogers was likely to flip to A&M. He saw the Aggies demolish the Tigers, and was back to see A&M beat another bunch of Tigers (LSU) a couple of weeks ago. He also visited Missouri for their win over Auburn (maybe he likes Tigers. I don't know.)
And now, he'll be back again for the New Mexico State game.
Let's be real here: you don't come to a game like this three weeks before national signing day unless you have a vested interest. You're not there for s**ts and giggles.
Add in that Rogers has allegedly been recruiting players committed to other schools to A&M and it seems like there's a strong possibility this move is coming soon. But I've been told that a few times already and it hasn't happened -- at least, officially.
USC snooping around Longstreet again
I mentioned this was a real possibility -- USC trying to flip A&M QB commit Husan Longstreet, that is -- on Monday. I think. Anyway, current USC commit JuJu Lewis, the nation's number 1 quarterback, is acting like he's anything but committed. He visited Colorado last weekend and CU people think he's going to flip to them -- but he's also going to be in Athens this weekend for Georgia-Tennessee.
No matter who wins out, USC is probably going to end up being the loser. So they're now pushing Longstreet, who is from Corona, Calif. Playing for the Trojans probably holds a lot of appeal for SoCal kids, but let's look at the bigger picture.
First, Longstreet knows A&M and the program very well by now. He's been back to College Station multiple times this season and is tight with Collin Klein and really likes Mike Elko. The Aggie program is in better shape now (7-2, 5-1 SEC) than USC is (4-5, 2-5 B1G) and likely in the future. Currently, A&M has the #9 class for 2025 and USC has the 13th-best.
There's also one other advantage for A&M. Husan's brother, Kevin, is a redshirt freshman for the Aggies and has been a hawk on special teams.
So outside of proximity, USC really doesn't have many advantages. Even Lincoln Riley's rep as quarterback whisperer is taking a hit this season. I'm not going to say it's a certainty Husan Longstreet signs with the Aggies on Dec. 4, but the odds are heavily in their favor. USC will have to make an ungodly offer ($$$$$$) to flip him.
If you want to play it that way..
A&M has not stopped in their pursuit of 4-star WR and USC commit Jerome Myles. The Aggies have his quarterback, 2026 commit Helaman Casuga, in his ear and they have not dropped communication with him. I said when Myles committed to USC that the records would determine whether the Aggies would have a real shot in flipping him, and one team is in the mix for the CFP and the other is fighting for bowl eligibility. So this one bears watching.
Injury updates
Chase Bisontis could be back for the Auburn game. There's still no certainty there, but the team definitely hopes to have him back for Texas. Clearly, there's no need to get him out there this weekend, so it'll be TJ Shanahan and Kam Dewberry again.
I've seen some stuff on X and even on here with people hoping -- maybe even irrationally expecting -- Rueben Owens to be ready for the Texas game. Let me douse that with cold water right now. From what I've gathered, he hasn't been cleared for contact and coach Elko has said multiple times that his season is over unless the Aggies get well into the playoffs. So we're talking another month to six weeks. We have two weeks until Texas. So it would be borderline miraculous for him to be ready for that game.
There may be several guys you're expecting to play tomorrow who will be held out. Not because they're horribly injured, but there's no need to risk anything more serious against NMSU. I don't have specific names at this point, but it's a word of warning. We've seen that in the past, and if there's any question, have the guy ready for the stretch against Auburn and Texas.
Moving players around
Tomorrow, Amari Daniels will start and EJ Smith will probably get a lot of work against NMSU. They've got to see if they can get him going. After that, I expect we'll see Terry Bussey in the backfield for a few carries and maybe even AJ DiNota later in the game. The real interesting one will be whether Jayvon Thomas gets any snaps. He's had a couple of weeks of practice, and this could be a shot to see what he can do.
With Thomas moving to offense, the primary backups at corner will be BJ Mayes and Donovan Saunders. NMSU is very much a run-centric team -- they're one of four worst passing offenses in all of college football -- so this is a Jaydon Hill kind of game. That could allow Mayes move outside and get some reps there as well. Saunders hasn't played much at all this year -- I'm not sure he's played a snap -- and it doesn't seem like they trust him. But, if you've got to find out what he can do, this is the game for it.
Award candidates beginning to emerge
Nic Scourton has been named as semifinalist for the Bednarik and Lombardi awards, and Tyler White is a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. It's not necessarily an award, per se, but Shemar Turner has been invited to the Senior Bowl, which has become the ultimate postseason showcase for seniors and redshirt juniors.
Likely basketball lineup for tonight
C: Pharrel Payne
PF: Solomon Washington
SF: Jace Carter
SG: Zhuric Phelps
PG: Wade Taylor
More to come from Phelps?
Buzz Williams has said multiple times that Phelps hasn't really hit his stride yet, even though he's led the team in scoring in each of his two games. He's been on a minutes restriction as he returns from injury and Williams said he's still knocking some rust off -- and expects his free throw shooting to go up and his turnover numbers to go down (he had 7 assists, but 4 turnovers, against Lamar). Phelps is not a good 3-point shooter, but he attacks the basket at a level A&M hasn't had in a long time. Boots Radford was physical and Manny Obaseki is fast -- Phelps is both.
