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Has the moment arrived for Spiller and Leal?
Tonight is rounds 2 and 3 of the NFL Draft, and Isaiah Spiller and DeMarvin Leal are the Aggies most likely to come off the board. Leal has already tweeted out his displeasure and said teams that passed him over will pay, which means he's taking things the right way. After yesterday's picks, a lot of the same candidates appear to be on in position for Leal -- Cincinnati, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Atlanta and Dallas are a few to watch. No, I wasn't going to put all 32 teams. That would be ridiculous.
After no backs were taken last night, there could be a run on them tonight. Spiller should be one of the earlier ones off the board, and Buffalo, Tampa, Arizona, Washington and the Texans could be in play for him. I've heard some smoke linking Spiller to Houston, so that may be one to watch.
NIL, not pay for play
On Thursday night, we had a first: the agent for Miami forward Isaiah Wong came out and said that if his NIL deal was not renegotiated, he would transfer. Adam Papas of NEXT Sports Agency didn't direct his comments at the university -- get this, the university wasn't even involved -- but at the guy who had signed Wong to his NIL deal.
So we had our first holdout or trade demand. We also had our first "get bent," because the John Ruiz, the CEO of LifeWallet, said no.
So, at first glance, this looked like a sign of things to come. Now, it looks like an NCAA violation.
Here's why: NIL is acceptable. That's signing a player to endorse a product or service, which can be contingent upon the player being at certain school. But what you can't do is say, "I had a good season, my value has increased and I want a raise."
That's pay for play. That's still against the rules, and this guy Papas came out openly and violated them.
The NCAA is completely inept, so it will be interesting to see if it does anything. But a vast majority of programs don't want this kind of thing going on, so there may be significant support to shut it down. That could mean Wong and Papas are sanctioned, and Miami could get hit for something they really had no part in.
Stroh down to 5
4-star offensive lineman Connor Stroh announced his final five teams today, and all will get official visits. The list includes A&M, Auburn, Texas, Florida and Arkansas. The Aggies are a late arrival, but they also have the benefit of Stroh living in a very maroon house (both parents, his aunt and his uncle are all Aggies). I think they will get him in the end.
No movement on the transfer front for A&M
At least 33 players have gone in the transfer portal today as guys try to make their move in order to be eligible for this fall -- May 1 is the deadline. Nearly 100 have gone in in the past three days. Not a single Aggie has done so, which has them at 3 over the limit (I think) at this point. It's going to take some real gymnastics for Jimbo to get the team to the 85 man limit. They'll do it, but it will not be fun.
Post-spring depth chart projection for week 1
I'll take it to at least three deep as possible. I'm not picking a QB because the coaching staff isn't ready to make a choice and it could be a coin flip. Also, I doubt this will be the depth chart in week 3. But you'll get the idea.
QB: Haynes King OR Max Johnson, Conner Weigman, Eli Stowers
RB: Devon Achane, Amari Daniels, LJ Johnson, Le'Veon Moss
FB: Earnest Crownover
TE: Max Wright, Blake Smith, Jake Johnson OR Donovan Green (I suspect this grouping will change)
WR: Chase Lane, Chris Marshall (another that could well change)
SLOT: Ainias Smith, Moose Muhammad (will play all three positions)
WR: Evan Stewart, Jalen Preston, Devin Price
LT: Trey Zuhn, Dametrious Crownover
LG: Jordan Spasojevic-Moko OR Blake Trainor
C: Bryce Foster, Matthew Wykoff
RG: Layden Robinson, Kam Dewberry
RT: Deuce Fatheree, Aki Ogunbiyi
DE: Fadil Diggs, Shemar Stewart, Jahzion Harris
DT: Shemar Turner, Isaiah Raikes, Adarious Jones
DT: McKinnley Jackson, Walter Nolen, Albert Regis
DE: Tunmise Adeleye, Anthony Lucas, Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy
LB: Andre White, Chris Russell, Martrell Harris
LB: Edgerrin Cooper, Ish Harris, Donell Harris
Nickel: Bryce Anderson, Deuce Harmon
S: Demani Richardson, Jacoby Mathews
S: Antonio Johnson (who will move a lot), Jardin Gilbert
CB: Tyreek Chappell, Brian George, Josh Moten
CB: Myles Jones, Jaylon Jones, Denver Harris (look for a lot of rotating amongst the corners)
Jimbo is...happy?
The first coach's night of the year was held in Fort Worth this week and Jimbo said he was very pleased with how things went. I don't recall him ever saying that before. He talked repeatedly about the amount of depth the team had, which means he's clearly impressed with the freshmen who came in at the mid-term. He didn't tip his hand at all about the QB competition, but mentioned Haynes King first (which may mean absolutely zilch).
Fisher said he really likes what DJ Durkin is doing with the defense, which should be more aggressive. He singled out linebacker Andre White for praise, which is a bigger deal than most people realize. White is going to have to play a critical role in the defense, because there aren't many players out there with experience. He, Demani Richardson and Myles Jones are the only three seniors I have projected to start this year.
The Evan Stewart praise train kept running, as Fisher noted he's the first true freshman to win an offensive MVP award in spring camp anywhere he's been. That's saying something.
The scene at the Green's last night (Courtney)
