How did A&M do with Tate Martell?
This, I think, is the big story of the weekend from the Aggies' perspective. You've got the top dual-threat QB in the nation in town and he's got you in his top three -- but he comes from a very different part of the country. So, how did it go?
From what we've heard, things went extremely well. We'll have more later in the day, but it looks like Martell hit it off extremely well with both Jake Spavital and Kevin Sumlin. The concerns he had about the depth chart (in other words, Kyle and Kyler) appear to have been calmed. In his case, I'm sure A&M told him that Allen will only be around for one season at most if he comes in, and then it'll be him and Murray and both will play. In any event, he seems to be comfortable with things.
He also seems to have really liked A&M and College Station, which was my more pressing question coming into the weekend. After all, we are talking about a west coast kid who now plays at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. No problems, it seems; we've heard he loved everything about both the university and the city.
The main opponents for Martell are big: USC and Alabama. Still, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Aggies are in the driver's seat to pick up the #1 quarterback (in the opinion of some, but not all -- I know some people had other QBs ranked ahead of Kyler, but I'll scoff at that) in the nation for the third time in four years. That would be a pretty remarkable haul. Considering that Dillon Sterling-Cole is really the only viable QB option left for '16 and he has the Aggies behind Arizona State and Florida, it would also be vital.
So if you get Martell, then what? Possibly very good things, if he follows the trend of other QBs and commits early. You're talking about a young man who already has a national profile and won't be afraid to recruit for whatever school he chooses. Considering his ties out west, that could open some new doors for the Aggies as well as impress the targets closer to home. If Martell does pull the trigger for A&M and does so in the next few months, that immediately puts a charge into the 2017 class. The Aggies sure would love for that to happen, and who wouldn't?
Satellite camps: watch the SEC go nuclear
The SEC wants the NCAA to ban satellite camps. The NCAA, at this point, doesn't appear willing to do so, because...I don't know. They're incompetent. But anyway, to the point. Greg Sankey isn't Mike Slive in terms of coming out and cutting straight to the point, but it's pretty clear that if the NCAA doesn't ban these camps, the SEC will turn its members loose to do as many as they want anywhere they want them. Considering the budgets these schools have, that'll be tough to compete with.
It was interesting to hear the response at SEC Media Days to Jim Harbaugh and Michigan coming south to do their camps. Most people thought it was a colossal waste of time and that there will be little benefit for Michigan to come out of it. People also resented it, considering it to be a transparent way to get around the current recruiting calendar. So, if the SEC goes nuclear -- which they will -- watch for these camps to start popping up in the backyards of other schools in the conference, not elsewhere. In other words, look for LSU and Alabama to be in Dallas and Houston, and for A&M to be in New Orleans, Atlanta and, maybe, Baton Rouge just to piss Les Miles off. Oddly enough, Miles said on ESPN today that his first satellite camp would be ... in Baton Rouge. I don't think these words mean what you think they mean, Les.
A&M's DT situation -- not bad, just something that's been on my mind
So Julien Obioha is up to 280 and wants to get to 290. That would be...good. That would make him bigger than Spencer Nealy (he played at, allegedly, 277) when he was quite successful in 2012. Looking back at 2012, it's amazing how well A&M did that year with basically three guys in the middle: Nealy, Kirby Ennis and Jonathan Mathis, even though Ivan Robinson came in and helped some later in the year. Four interior linemen on a top 5 team. Just amazing.
The 2015 Aggies could match that number in the first two possessions of the season. Seriously. Now, exactly how it'll all break down is still kind of conjecture, but here's how I'm thinking: the two seniors, Obioha and Alonzo Williams, are going to start. Interestingly, Williams goes from being the "quick" guy to the "big" guy in the change of scheme from Mark Snyder to John Chavis. He IS actually a little bigger, at 305, but he's still a better fit for this scheme because he's always been a guy who wants to get upfield, not hold up linemen at the point of attack. There's no question why Obioha's inside; they want him getting in the backfield, not reading and reacting. There's no point in that.
So who's next? How about Hardreck Walker and Zaycoven Henderson together? Henderson has dropped down to about 290 and Chavis actually got to really liking him when he was on the other side of the field last year and Henderson made some plays early against LSU. It sounds crazy and contrary to what we've known, but this pairing wouldn't be much bigger than Obioha and Williams. Then, from there, how about a pairing of two guys who were known for being fast DTs in high school, DeShawn Washington and Daylon Mack?
Could A&M, who relied on three players total in 2013, be able to go three deep at both positions in 2015? It'll be fascinating to see, but it sure seems like there are a few options for Chavis to toy with once fall practices start.
This, I think, is the big story of the weekend from the Aggies' perspective. You've got the top dual-threat QB in the nation in town and he's got you in his top three -- but he comes from a very different part of the country. So, how did it go?
From what we've heard, things went extremely well. We'll have more later in the day, but it looks like Martell hit it off extremely well with both Jake Spavital and Kevin Sumlin. The concerns he had about the depth chart (in other words, Kyle and Kyler) appear to have been calmed. In his case, I'm sure A&M told him that Allen will only be around for one season at most if he comes in, and then it'll be him and Murray and both will play. In any event, he seems to be comfortable with things.
He also seems to have really liked A&M and College Station, which was my more pressing question coming into the weekend. After all, we are talking about a west coast kid who now plays at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas. No problems, it seems; we've heard he loved everything about both the university and the city.
The main opponents for Martell are big: USC and Alabama. Still, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the Aggies are in the driver's seat to pick up the #1 quarterback (in the opinion of some, but not all -- I know some people had other QBs ranked ahead of Kyler, but I'll scoff at that) in the nation for the third time in four years. That would be a pretty remarkable haul. Considering that Dillon Sterling-Cole is really the only viable QB option left for '16 and he has the Aggies behind Arizona State and Florida, it would also be vital.
So if you get Martell, then what? Possibly very good things, if he follows the trend of other QBs and commits early. You're talking about a young man who already has a national profile and won't be afraid to recruit for whatever school he chooses. Considering his ties out west, that could open some new doors for the Aggies as well as impress the targets closer to home. If Martell does pull the trigger for A&M and does so in the next few months, that immediately puts a charge into the 2017 class. The Aggies sure would love for that to happen, and who wouldn't?
Satellite camps: watch the SEC go nuclear
The SEC wants the NCAA to ban satellite camps. The NCAA, at this point, doesn't appear willing to do so, because...I don't know. They're incompetent. But anyway, to the point. Greg Sankey isn't Mike Slive in terms of coming out and cutting straight to the point, but it's pretty clear that if the NCAA doesn't ban these camps, the SEC will turn its members loose to do as many as they want anywhere they want them. Considering the budgets these schools have, that'll be tough to compete with.
It was interesting to hear the response at SEC Media Days to Jim Harbaugh and Michigan coming south to do their camps. Most people thought it was a colossal waste of time and that there will be little benefit for Michigan to come out of it. People also resented it, considering it to be a transparent way to get around the current recruiting calendar. So, if the SEC goes nuclear -- which they will -- watch for these camps to start popping up in the backyards of other schools in the conference, not elsewhere. In other words, look for LSU and Alabama to be in Dallas and Houston, and for A&M to be in New Orleans, Atlanta and, maybe, Baton Rouge just to piss Les Miles off. Oddly enough, Miles said on ESPN today that his first satellite camp would be ... in Baton Rouge. I don't think these words mean what you think they mean, Les.
A&M's DT situation -- not bad, just something that's been on my mind
So Julien Obioha is up to 280 and wants to get to 290. That would be...good. That would make him bigger than Spencer Nealy (he played at, allegedly, 277) when he was quite successful in 2012. Looking back at 2012, it's amazing how well A&M did that year with basically three guys in the middle: Nealy, Kirby Ennis and Jonathan Mathis, even though Ivan Robinson came in and helped some later in the year. Four interior linemen on a top 5 team. Just amazing.
The 2015 Aggies could match that number in the first two possessions of the season. Seriously. Now, exactly how it'll all break down is still kind of conjecture, but here's how I'm thinking: the two seniors, Obioha and Alonzo Williams, are going to start. Interestingly, Williams goes from being the "quick" guy to the "big" guy in the change of scheme from Mark Snyder to John Chavis. He IS actually a little bigger, at 305, but he's still a better fit for this scheme because he's always been a guy who wants to get upfield, not hold up linemen at the point of attack. There's no question why Obioha's inside; they want him getting in the backfield, not reading and reacting. There's no point in that.
So who's next? How about Hardreck Walker and Zaycoven Henderson together? Henderson has dropped down to about 290 and Chavis actually got to really liking him when he was on the other side of the field last year and Henderson made some plays early against LSU. It sounds crazy and contrary to what we've known, but this pairing wouldn't be much bigger than Obioha and Williams. Then, from there, how about a pairing of two guys who were known for being fast DTs in high school, DeShawn Washington and Daylon Mack?
Could A&M, who relied on three players total in 2013, be able to go three deep at both positions in 2015? It'll be fascinating to see, but it sure seems like there are a few options for Chavis to toy with once fall practices start.
