What two major moves mean for the ’15 Aggies
As we move into the summer months, we know of two moves on the defensive side of the football that have already occurred: Julien Obioha will be playing defensive tackle as well as defensive end, and Brandon Williams will be playing cornerback at least part-time.
In the case of Obioha, it seems like he’ll be used inside on passing downs more frequently than running downs, where he remains the Aggies best option at defensive end (not to mention the Aggies have bigger, bulkier players to put at the tackle spots). The reason for the move is simple: speed. With Obioha inside — and his skill set is a very good match for what John Chavis wants, as he prefers to attack and push upfield when he can — that opens up more snaps for pass rush defensive ends Qualen Cunningham and Daeshon Hall. The Aggies want to give them more opportunities, as the coaches feel both can be quality bookends to Myles Garrett.
If Obioha remains inside for running downs, that will mean more snaps for Jarrett Johnson and James Lockhart, who is now pretty likely to play during his true freshman season. The Obioha move may mean decreased snaps for Jay Arnold, because their roles would likely be similar.
With Williams making the move to defense, that cements Tra Carson’s role as the starting running back. James White will be the primary backup, giving the Aggies a pair of pounders to bring at opposing defenses. Freshman Kendall Bussey will likely benefit from the move, as he’ll probably get some carries as well as play on special teams.
A&M looks at 2017 QB (Fletch)
Texas A&M kept their promise and visited Las Vegas 2017 quarterback Tate Martell last week. The young signal caller of the national powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School. A&M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital watched the quarterback throw and was impressed with what he saw.
“Coach Spavital was impressed and is talking to the rest of the A&M coaches about me,” he said. “They really want to start recruiting me hard now and for me to stay in contact with them a lot.”
Martell does not know when A&M will offer, but right now A&M is a top school for him.
“A&M is one of my top schools right now,” he said. “I’ve been a big fan of their offense since I saw Johnny Manziel run it his freshman year at A&M.”
Martell is expecting a visit from Alabama next week and also already has a list of schools he would like to visit this summer.
“I want to visit A&M, TCU, and USC the most,” he said. “I also possibly want to do visits out to either Oregon, Notre Dame, or Ohio State.”
History tells us when it comes to A&M recruiting quarterbacks, they like to offer after they have a commitment in the current year’s recruiting class. Unless a QB commits soon, A&M will probably have to send an offer out to a 2017 QB before the end of the summer. It appears the two highest on their radar right now is Martell and Shawn Robinson from Denton Guyer.
Aggies after three late additions for ’15? (Rob)
It happens every year, several junior college players find a way to slip through the cracks and become qualified after most teams have long been set at their positions. This year like most, there have been a few popping up again but this time A&M is a bit more intrigued with a few of these guys popping up at key positions in which the Aggies could use the boost.
We have talked for a while on here about DT Howard Houston whom Mark has kept in close contact with and should be getting a final answer back soon on his ability to join the Aggies. He has previously told Mark that if A&M accepts his classes and formally offers, that is where he is heading. Houston had said he’d make a decision last week, but he hasn’t yet.
We also talked last week in this spot about Kilgore cornerback J'Marcus Rhodes who is said to be re-classifying himself into the 2015 class by finishing in the summer and being available to enroll at his college of choice in the fall. This obviously fits a key need for the Aggies who are hurting at the position. We are still working on some more information including some more from Rhodes directly and will pass that along very soon.
Finally, late Thursday 2015 John Curtis (LA) high three star outside linebacker Bo Wallace, who had signed a letter of intent with Notre Dame in February, took to Twitter to announce that he would not be heading to South Bend after all. With him seemingly back on the market, and at another thin position for the Aggies, it would make sense for them to inquire.
After speaking to a couple of sources aware of the situation late Thursday night, we have learned that there is no grade issues on Wallace's end but his inability to attend Notre Dame seems to be academics related. The issue is on Notre Dame's end and it appears it is not one they will be able to work out for Wallace.
The Aggies were going to evaluate the situation late Thursday night and this morning to see if they will chase the young man from one of the power teams in Louisiana. Although the Aggies have never landed any players out of John Curtis (that I found) they have recruited the team often. LSU and John Chavis have obviously had some familiarity with John Curtis and he obviously would be involved directly if the Aggies move on this. I expect the Aggies to make a choice to pursue or not today and for this all to move very quickly. Tulane and Louisiana Tech have already been in touch with Wallace, but neither of those schools likely stands a serious threat to A&M if they offer.This will be one we will have to monitor as it unfolds and will pass along more as we get it.
Coaches making the rounds (Courtney)
Texas A&M has been all over the Lone Star State and beyond stopping in at high schools to see their top targets.
Coach Terry Price was in north Louisiana at Neville High School--home of Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge invitee, DL Rashard Lawrence-- and Coach Terry Joseph was all over south Louisiana checking in on top prospects.
If he hasn't already, then there's a good chance in the near future Coach Joseph will be making a stop at North Shore to check in on Rivals100 DB Eric Monroe. North Shore started their spring season this week, so if coaches haven't stopped by yet that is more than likely the reason why.
Despite it being just the first week, Monroe said the coaches have not stopped pouring in, so much so that he can't recall all the programs.
There are a few programs though that would stand out to Monroe if they were among the pack on the sideline.
"The schools that would catch my attention are Florida, Florida St., Oregon, West Virginia, Clemson, Maryland, UCLA, CAL, USC and yeah A&M," said Monroe.
A head coach visiting a school is of high significance because it shows a recruit they are a priority. That and simply because what high school athlete wouldn't want all the top-dog coaches in the nation at their school?
For Monroe three head coaches he hopes to see are, "Coach Sumlin, Coach Strong and Coach Saban," said Monroe.
Two of the three head coaches also fall into the category of programs recruiting Monroe the hardest.
"The programs that keep in touch the most and recruiting me hard are A&M, LSU, Florida, Texas and Baylor," said Monroe.
Flipping to the offensive side of the ball, Viera (Fla.) wide receiver Tre Nixon received a visit from Coach Aaron Moorehead this week.
Nixon is the no. 37 wide receiver and No. 191 overall prospect in the nation, and easily the no. 1 target on Coach Moorehead's list.
"We just catch up with each other and he has told me how much he wants me in his offense and different ways they would get the ball in my hands," said Nixon. "I think he is a great a guy. We basically just catch up with each other."
This relationship is nothing new, and in fact started prior to Coach Moorehead's move to A&M. Their relationship and getting Nixon to College Station, which he said should be this summer, will be very important in Nixon's recruitment. It's a bonus for the Ag's that Nixon's aunt and his mothers best friend live in Austin.
Another one of Coach Moorehead's top targets received a visit this week in Navasota's Tren'Davian Dickson. While Coach Banks was checking in on Dickson Coach Moorehead was evaluating Sachse wide receiver Devin Duvernay.
As we move into the summer months, we know of two moves on the defensive side of the football that have already occurred: Julien Obioha will be playing defensive tackle as well as defensive end, and Brandon Williams will be playing cornerback at least part-time.
In the case of Obioha, it seems like he’ll be used inside on passing downs more frequently than running downs, where he remains the Aggies best option at defensive end (not to mention the Aggies have bigger, bulkier players to put at the tackle spots). The reason for the move is simple: speed. With Obioha inside — and his skill set is a very good match for what John Chavis wants, as he prefers to attack and push upfield when he can — that opens up more snaps for pass rush defensive ends Qualen Cunningham and Daeshon Hall. The Aggies want to give them more opportunities, as the coaches feel both can be quality bookends to Myles Garrett.
If Obioha remains inside for running downs, that will mean more snaps for Jarrett Johnson and James Lockhart, who is now pretty likely to play during his true freshman season. The Obioha move may mean decreased snaps for Jay Arnold, because their roles would likely be similar.
With Williams making the move to defense, that cements Tra Carson’s role as the starting running back. James White will be the primary backup, giving the Aggies a pair of pounders to bring at opposing defenses. Freshman Kendall Bussey will likely benefit from the move, as he’ll probably get some carries as well as play on special teams.
A&M looks at 2017 QB (Fletch)
Texas A&M kept their promise and visited Las Vegas 2017 quarterback Tate Martell last week. The young signal caller of the national powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School. A&M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital watched the quarterback throw and was impressed with what he saw.
“Coach Spavital was impressed and is talking to the rest of the A&M coaches about me,” he said. “They really want to start recruiting me hard now and for me to stay in contact with them a lot.”
Martell does not know when A&M will offer, but right now A&M is a top school for him.
“A&M is one of my top schools right now,” he said. “I’ve been a big fan of their offense since I saw Johnny Manziel run it his freshman year at A&M.”
Martell is expecting a visit from Alabama next week and also already has a list of schools he would like to visit this summer.
“I want to visit A&M, TCU, and USC the most,” he said. “I also possibly want to do visits out to either Oregon, Notre Dame, or Ohio State.”
History tells us when it comes to A&M recruiting quarterbacks, they like to offer after they have a commitment in the current year’s recruiting class. Unless a QB commits soon, A&M will probably have to send an offer out to a 2017 QB before the end of the summer. It appears the two highest on their radar right now is Martell and Shawn Robinson from Denton Guyer.
Aggies after three late additions for ’15? (Rob)
It happens every year, several junior college players find a way to slip through the cracks and become qualified after most teams have long been set at their positions. This year like most, there have been a few popping up again but this time A&M is a bit more intrigued with a few of these guys popping up at key positions in which the Aggies could use the boost.
We have talked for a while on here about DT Howard Houston whom Mark has kept in close contact with and should be getting a final answer back soon on his ability to join the Aggies. He has previously told Mark that if A&M accepts his classes and formally offers, that is where he is heading. Houston had said he’d make a decision last week, but he hasn’t yet.
We also talked last week in this spot about Kilgore cornerback J'Marcus Rhodes who is said to be re-classifying himself into the 2015 class by finishing in the summer and being available to enroll at his college of choice in the fall. This obviously fits a key need for the Aggies who are hurting at the position. We are still working on some more information including some more from Rhodes directly and will pass that along very soon.
Finally, late Thursday 2015 John Curtis (LA) high three star outside linebacker Bo Wallace, who had signed a letter of intent with Notre Dame in February, took to Twitter to announce that he would not be heading to South Bend after all. With him seemingly back on the market, and at another thin position for the Aggies, it would make sense for them to inquire.
After speaking to a couple of sources aware of the situation late Thursday night, we have learned that there is no grade issues on Wallace's end but his inability to attend Notre Dame seems to be academics related. The issue is on Notre Dame's end and it appears it is not one they will be able to work out for Wallace.
The Aggies were going to evaluate the situation late Thursday night and this morning to see if they will chase the young man from one of the power teams in Louisiana. Although the Aggies have never landed any players out of John Curtis (that I found) they have recruited the team often. LSU and John Chavis have obviously had some familiarity with John Curtis and he obviously would be involved directly if the Aggies move on this. I expect the Aggies to make a choice to pursue or not today and for this all to move very quickly. Tulane and Louisiana Tech have already been in touch with Wallace, but neither of those schools likely stands a serious threat to A&M if they offer.This will be one we will have to monitor as it unfolds and will pass along more as we get it.
Coaches making the rounds (Courtney)
Texas A&M has been all over the Lone Star State and beyond stopping in at high schools to see their top targets.
Coach Terry Price was in north Louisiana at Neville High School--home of Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge invitee, DL Rashard Lawrence-- and Coach Terry Joseph was all over south Louisiana checking in on top prospects.
If he hasn't already, then there's a good chance in the near future Coach Joseph will be making a stop at North Shore to check in on Rivals100 DB Eric Monroe. North Shore started their spring season this week, so if coaches haven't stopped by yet that is more than likely the reason why.
Despite it being just the first week, Monroe said the coaches have not stopped pouring in, so much so that he can't recall all the programs.
There are a few programs though that would stand out to Monroe if they were among the pack on the sideline.
"The schools that would catch my attention are Florida, Florida St., Oregon, West Virginia, Clemson, Maryland, UCLA, CAL, USC and yeah A&M," said Monroe.
A head coach visiting a school is of high significance because it shows a recruit they are a priority. That and simply because what high school athlete wouldn't want all the top-dog coaches in the nation at their school?
For Monroe three head coaches he hopes to see are, "Coach Sumlin, Coach Strong and Coach Saban," said Monroe.
Two of the three head coaches also fall into the category of programs recruiting Monroe the hardest.
"The programs that keep in touch the most and recruiting me hard are A&M, LSU, Florida, Texas and Baylor," said Monroe.
Flipping to the offensive side of the ball, Viera (Fla.) wide receiver Tre Nixon received a visit from Coach Aaron Moorehead this week.
Nixon is the no. 37 wide receiver and No. 191 overall prospect in the nation, and easily the no. 1 target on Coach Moorehead's list.
"We just catch up with each other and he has told me how much he wants me in his offense and different ways they would get the ball in my hands," said Nixon. "I think he is a great a guy. We basically just catch up with each other."
This relationship is nothing new, and in fact started prior to Coach Moorehead's move to A&M. Their relationship and getting Nixon to College Station, which he said should be this summer, will be very important in Nixon's recruitment. It's a bonus for the Ag's that Nixon's aunt and his mothers best friend live in Austin.
Another one of Coach Moorehead's top targets received a visit this week in Navasota's Tren'Davian Dickson. While Coach Banks was checking in on Dickson Coach Moorehead was evaluating Sachse wide receiver Devin Duvernay.
