Two personnel groups I'm most confident in (one on each side of the ball)
The fact that one is on offense and one is on defense is coincidental. It's also a potentially positive thing for the Aggies, because last year there's no doubt both groups would have been on offense (O-line and wideouts).
The first is not a surprise: the wide receiver corps. This unit is completely loaded and guys who had pretty impressive seasons last year are probably going to be better this year. It's going to start with Speedy, who got himself in trouble this spring but should be fully back with the team by this week if he's not already. Before he got in hot water, he was looking good. He's so fast and so athletic that he's a nightmare to cover, but now he's actually learning how to be a wideout. That should terrify opponents. RSJ looked really good this spring. He had his explosiveness back and was catching the ball a lot better. The coaches think he's finally starting to get used to being a receiver and showed it this spring. If you have a guy like that who creates mismatches over the middle but has the speed to get to the second level too, that's a huge weapon. Josh Reynolds was Kyle Allen's favorite target last year, and he will still catch a lot of passes this year -- and he's going to be better too. Add in Christian Kirk, who looked like a superstar from day one, and you've got four top notch starters.
Then there's the backups. Ed Pope, as we saw last year, can be a real deep threat. Frank Iheanacho looks a whole lot bigger and stronger this spring, and I'm willing to bet he's going to break out this season. Quiv Gonzalez probably worked himself back into the team's plans this spring, and he's still fast and elusive. If he catches the ball consistently, he's dangerous. The coaches like Damion Ratley's potential, and Jeremy Tabuyo moved outside so use his speed more. Jamal Jeffrey's another guy who hasn't seen much time, but has the coaches thinking he'll be a weapon.
Most good teams can say they have two or three really good receivers. The Aggies feel pretty comfortable with twice that number, and they'll use them all.
The other unit that looks really good is the defensive line. What was a real issue of concern a couple years ago is beginning to look pretty stout. Obviously, it's easy when you have a superstar in Myles Garrett taking one position, and everyone is expecting him to have a huge year. But the guy I think it the linchpin to making it all work is Hardreck Walker. If he's in there causing problems in the middle -- he doesn't need to get into the backfield, just hold your ground and get the guy across from you on his heels -- then it all works. Zaycoven Henderson is a force, but you need two guys at least to hold down that position. DeShawn Washington had a pretty good spring, and if you can add Howard Houston or Kingsley Keke and go four deep, that's great. Everyone stays fresh and you have depth in case of injury. At the other tackle spot, I'm excited to see what I expect will be a combination of Alonzo Williams and Daylon Mack pushing into the backfield. Put Jay Arnold and Justin Manning in there and again, four deep with two really good ones at the top. I don't know if Mack is going to be quite the impact player Garrett was last year, but if he comes even close, the Aggies will be deadly up front. Then you've got the other ends, with Julien Obioha, Qualen Cunningham and Jarrett Johnson. Add James Lockhart and you're four deep again.
The Aggies can also mix some things up. Daeshon Hall can move over to the other side and play with Garrett in passing situations, and you can have Obioha on the inside with either Mack or Williams. That's a lot of quickness. I still think Cunningham is also going to be a real difference maker when it comes to rushing the passer, so it'll be interesting to see how he's used as well.
It was only two seasons ago that the starting four linemen were told to get ready to play every down of every game. This year, they may not have to play every down of every series. That's quite a luxury, and may make this defense a lot better than it would be otherwise.
Aggies lose series to Arkansas. Such is life.
I'm not going to get worked up over the 35-win Aggie baseball team having a bad day and falling to a horrifically breathtakingly awful 5 losses on the season. It happens in baseball, to every team ever. It's not like football, where you have a week or more of preparation. You play three games in rapid succession, and there's very little time for rest and evaluation. If you have a bad day, and everyone does, you get bit. I'd rather them have a bad day on Sunday in mid-April than a month from now. You just have to hope that everyone has a short memory.
How does the hoops rotation work?
Getting Danuel House back for next year was HUGE for the Aggie basketball team. Now, I know the mere broaching of the topic will bring potshots at the coaching, but let me get through this. I'm looking at this roster with a ton of talent and wondering how all the pieces fit.
Jalen Jones played the 4 this year, but I doubt that's his best position. Could be move to the 3, House play more of the 2 and Tyler Davis and Elijah Thomas play the 5 and the 4 at the same time? That seems to be the plan, but they have very similar skill sets -- as in, they're both largely thought to be 5s. If you do make this move, then are D.J. Hogg and Admon Gilder your first guys off the bench with Alex Robinson and take up small forward, shooting guard and point, respectively? Who is the backup at the 4? Is that still Jones? Tavario Miller and Tonny Trocha will still be around, so can one of them play any power forward?
Many pieces. I just don't know yet how they fit.
Other stuff
Rob and I finished up the AY 100 yesterday. Those suckers take a lot of work, but we didn't have to make very many changes to the first 50 that we had already slotted. We did find a few guys that we thought A&M needs to take a flier on, and we're going to discuss those guys tomorrow in one of the features where all four of us sound off on an issue. Tuesday's is going to be on what player should A&M offer that they haven't, and Wednesday is what current player that hasn't broken through is most likely to do so. The 100 will get formatted and hopefully released later this week.
A couple new offers at linebacker to report: the Aggies have offered Alton Robinson of Converse Judson (98 tackles, 20 sacks in 2014) and Brendan Ferns of Saint Clarisville, Ohio. Robinson's a 3 star (6'3", 220) and Ferns is a 4-star (6'2", 222); both are outside linebackers. Ferns will be visiting this summer. We'll try to get some more info on both for you this week.
The Browns started their OTAs this morning and Johnny Manziel was in attendance. He hasn't kept a low profile since getting out of rehab, but he hasn't been partying, either. I will readily admit that I'm biased, but I'm expecting big things from him. I also expect he'll stay clean, because he'll view that as a challenge and he always rises to meet one. With him back and Tim Tebow now an Eagle, ESPN has their programming for the month.
A lot of us have been keeping tabs on the Rockets-Mavs series, and I'm one of them. Honestly, when the Rockets had their starters out there, they dominated the game. Tyson Chandler owned the inside when Dwight Howard was out, but the roles reversed completely when Howard was on the floor. James Harden and Jason Terry were both +15 when they were on the court, which is pretty heavy. The Mavs are going to have to change what they're doing if guys like Terry, Ariza and Brewer keep lighting it up, and that may mean more one-on-ones for Howard -- and it didn't seem like there was anyone quick enough to stay in front of him Saturday night. If the Rockets continue to perform like this (big if -- they find ways to fade), this one has the potential to be over quickly.
ADDED AT 1:25 P.M.:
So Quiv is gone. In spite of the progress he made this spring, this isn't too much of a surprise. Frankly, the surprise was he was there for spring practice at all -- he'd been looking around for months at TCU and SMU, especially. So he was probably going to be in the 2-deep, but let's get to brass tacks here: he wanted to start. He wasn't consistent enough, reliable enough or good enough to do that at A&M, so he's gone. He has tremendous potential, but he has not realized it yet.
Did his displeasure affect DaMarkus Lodge? Yeah, it probably did. That's why I was surprised he was back in the spring. It's a bummer all the way around.
This post was edited on 4/20 1:26 PM by Mark Passwaters
The fact that one is on offense and one is on defense is coincidental. It's also a potentially positive thing for the Aggies, because last year there's no doubt both groups would have been on offense (O-line and wideouts).
The first is not a surprise: the wide receiver corps. This unit is completely loaded and guys who had pretty impressive seasons last year are probably going to be better this year. It's going to start with Speedy, who got himself in trouble this spring but should be fully back with the team by this week if he's not already. Before he got in hot water, he was looking good. He's so fast and so athletic that he's a nightmare to cover, but now he's actually learning how to be a wideout. That should terrify opponents. RSJ looked really good this spring. He had his explosiveness back and was catching the ball a lot better. The coaches think he's finally starting to get used to being a receiver and showed it this spring. If you have a guy like that who creates mismatches over the middle but has the speed to get to the second level too, that's a huge weapon. Josh Reynolds was Kyle Allen's favorite target last year, and he will still catch a lot of passes this year -- and he's going to be better too. Add in Christian Kirk, who looked like a superstar from day one, and you've got four top notch starters.
Then there's the backups. Ed Pope, as we saw last year, can be a real deep threat. Frank Iheanacho looks a whole lot bigger and stronger this spring, and I'm willing to bet he's going to break out this season. Quiv Gonzalez probably worked himself back into the team's plans this spring, and he's still fast and elusive. If he catches the ball consistently, he's dangerous. The coaches like Damion Ratley's potential, and Jeremy Tabuyo moved outside so use his speed more. Jamal Jeffrey's another guy who hasn't seen much time, but has the coaches thinking he'll be a weapon.
Most good teams can say they have two or three really good receivers. The Aggies feel pretty comfortable with twice that number, and they'll use them all.
The other unit that looks really good is the defensive line. What was a real issue of concern a couple years ago is beginning to look pretty stout. Obviously, it's easy when you have a superstar in Myles Garrett taking one position, and everyone is expecting him to have a huge year. But the guy I think it the linchpin to making it all work is Hardreck Walker. If he's in there causing problems in the middle -- he doesn't need to get into the backfield, just hold your ground and get the guy across from you on his heels -- then it all works. Zaycoven Henderson is a force, but you need two guys at least to hold down that position. DeShawn Washington had a pretty good spring, and if you can add Howard Houston or Kingsley Keke and go four deep, that's great. Everyone stays fresh and you have depth in case of injury. At the other tackle spot, I'm excited to see what I expect will be a combination of Alonzo Williams and Daylon Mack pushing into the backfield. Put Jay Arnold and Justin Manning in there and again, four deep with two really good ones at the top. I don't know if Mack is going to be quite the impact player Garrett was last year, but if he comes even close, the Aggies will be deadly up front. Then you've got the other ends, with Julien Obioha, Qualen Cunningham and Jarrett Johnson. Add James Lockhart and you're four deep again.
The Aggies can also mix some things up. Daeshon Hall can move over to the other side and play with Garrett in passing situations, and you can have Obioha on the inside with either Mack or Williams. That's a lot of quickness. I still think Cunningham is also going to be a real difference maker when it comes to rushing the passer, so it'll be interesting to see how he's used as well.
It was only two seasons ago that the starting four linemen were told to get ready to play every down of every game. This year, they may not have to play every down of every series. That's quite a luxury, and may make this defense a lot better than it would be otherwise.
Aggies lose series to Arkansas. Such is life.
I'm not going to get worked up over the 35-win Aggie baseball team having a bad day and falling to a horrifically breathtakingly awful 5 losses on the season. It happens in baseball, to every team ever. It's not like football, where you have a week or more of preparation. You play three games in rapid succession, and there's very little time for rest and evaluation. If you have a bad day, and everyone does, you get bit. I'd rather them have a bad day on Sunday in mid-April than a month from now. You just have to hope that everyone has a short memory.
How does the hoops rotation work?
Getting Danuel House back for next year was HUGE for the Aggie basketball team. Now, I know the mere broaching of the topic will bring potshots at the coaching, but let me get through this. I'm looking at this roster with a ton of talent and wondering how all the pieces fit.
Jalen Jones played the 4 this year, but I doubt that's his best position. Could be move to the 3, House play more of the 2 and Tyler Davis and Elijah Thomas play the 5 and the 4 at the same time? That seems to be the plan, but they have very similar skill sets -- as in, they're both largely thought to be 5s. If you do make this move, then are D.J. Hogg and Admon Gilder your first guys off the bench with Alex Robinson and take up small forward, shooting guard and point, respectively? Who is the backup at the 4? Is that still Jones? Tavario Miller and Tonny Trocha will still be around, so can one of them play any power forward?
Many pieces. I just don't know yet how they fit.
Other stuff
Rob and I finished up the AY 100 yesterday. Those suckers take a lot of work, but we didn't have to make very many changes to the first 50 that we had already slotted. We did find a few guys that we thought A&M needs to take a flier on, and we're going to discuss those guys tomorrow in one of the features where all four of us sound off on an issue. Tuesday's is going to be on what player should A&M offer that they haven't, and Wednesday is what current player that hasn't broken through is most likely to do so. The 100 will get formatted and hopefully released later this week.
A couple new offers at linebacker to report: the Aggies have offered Alton Robinson of Converse Judson (98 tackles, 20 sacks in 2014) and Brendan Ferns of Saint Clarisville, Ohio. Robinson's a 3 star (6'3", 220) and Ferns is a 4-star (6'2", 222); both are outside linebackers. Ferns will be visiting this summer. We'll try to get some more info on both for you this week.
The Browns started their OTAs this morning and Johnny Manziel was in attendance. He hasn't kept a low profile since getting out of rehab, but he hasn't been partying, either. I will readily admit that I'm biased, but I'm expecting big things from him. I also expect he'll stay clean, because he'll view that as a challenge and he always rises to meet one. With him back and Tim Tebow now an Eagle, ESPN has their programming for the month.
A lot of us have been keeping tabs on the Rockets-Mavs series, and I'm one of them. Honestly, when the Rockets had their starters out there, they dominated the game. Tyson Chandler owned the inside when Dwight Howard was out, but the roles reversed completely when Howard was on the floor. James Harden and Jason Terry were both +15 when they were on the court, which is pretty heavy. The Mavs are going to have to change what they're doing if guys like Terry, Ariza and Brewer keep lighting it up, and that may mean more one-on-ones for Howard -- and it didn't seem like there was anyone quick enough to stay in front of him Saturday night. If the Rockets continue to perform like this (big if -- they find ways to fade), this one has the potential to be over quickly.
ADDED AT 1:25 P.M.:
So Quiv is gone. In spite of the progress he made this spring, this isn't too much of a surprise. Frankly, the surprise was he was there for spring practice at all -- he'd been looking around for months at TCU and SMU, especially. So he was probably going to be in the 2-deep, but let's get to brass tacks here: he wanted to start. He wasn't consistent enough, reliable enough or good enough to do that at A&M, so he's gone. He has tremendous potential, but he has not realized it yet.
Did his displeasure affect DaMarkus Lodge? Yeah, it probably did. That's why I was surprised he was back in the spring. It's a bummer all the way around.
This post was edited on 4/20 1:26 PM by Mark Passwaters
