Oh, stop it
Last week was the granddaddy of all college media events: SEC Media Days. This week was the...well, let's say slightly less cared about Big 12 Media Days. During the event, players who spoke were asked to fill out a poll on whether they want to see the Big 12 expand and who they'd like to see join the conference, if their answer was yes. The leading vote-getter: Texas A&M, with 22%.
So what we've got here is 1) kids with very short memories 2) kids who have no idea about past history or 3) guys with seriously wishful thinking/delusions.
A&M's response should be something like this (which I will not post due to NSFW language), once it stops laughing. Texas A&M will never go back to the Big 12, has no reason to go back to the Big 12 and it's hilarious to think that it would ever even ponder such a move.
Sorry, Big 12, the Aggies have gone uptown. They don't have time for the riffraff.
Running backs
Wow, how's THAT for an entertaining segway? "Running backs." Go me. Anyways, the Aggies could use a couple. First, you've got Brandon Williams over on the other side of the ball, which affects only this year, but then Tra Carson is gone after this season and who knows what will happen with Jay Bradford. That means you've got James White and Kendall Bussey, which is a nice tandem in 2016 but scary thin in terms of depth (Bradford should return, it should be noted, but you have to take the most conservative approach possible with things if you don't know what they really are). Missing out on D'Vaughn Pennamon surprised me, as did Ole Miss as his destination of choice. They're doing a lot of recruiting in Manvel, which could mean Deontay Anderson heads to Oxford too (btw, on the other safeties, Brandon Jones remains an overwhelming A&M lead and I keep hearing that it's not over for Eric Monroe).
The Aggies now have three outstanding offers are running back, with a need for two now very apparent: Brandon Stephens, Devwah Whaley and Trevor Speights. Speights has stayed quiet for some time, but it seems like most people are convinced he's going to end up an Aggie. Stephens seems to like the Aggies, but he has some big offers too. Whaley is the cream of the crop, and I heard over the weekend that A&M has likely evened the score with OU when it comes to leading for him. But if Speights commits and Stephens is willing to pull the trigger before that, would A&M wait? I don't know. I didn't think so a couple of weeks ago and honestly, I don't think so now unless they're assured that they'll get him. Any mystery and they'll take the first two they can get.
Will the Aggies offer a few other backs? That's the real question now. I don't see why (or how) they can't. Even if you have two guys you think you lead for, you always keep your options open. You want to be the guy putting up the "No Vacancy" sign, not the fella out in the rain.
Options, options, Part II (defensive ends)
On Monday, I talked a little about the depth A&M should have on the interior of the defensive line, which I think is something that has been overlooked by...well, just about anyone who doesn't cover A&M fulltime. One of the reasons the inside will be deep is because the Aggies have a lot of guys who fill the bill as far as John Chavis is concerned on the outside.
One thing to realize: Chavis really isn't all that interested in guys bulking up to 275 or 280 to play outside against big tackles. He wants guys who have the ability to blow around them with their speed and agility, and that's pretty evident in his move of Daeshon Hall to the starting defensive end spot across from Myles Garrett and moving Julien Obioha inside. With the exception of Garrett, already an All-World player, Hall is A&M's best pass rush threat. THAT is what Chavis wants; a guy who can be disruptive by being fast, not necessarily by standing his ground against some guy who's going to outweigh his man by 30 to 40 pounds anyway. Hall is up to 260 pounds, which sounds good -- but he is still 6'6". But the issue is not his size, it's his speed, and he showed that in abundance this spring. It made the move to the other side make a whole lot of sense in a hurry. The idea, in theory, is that A&M will now have to guys who can get after the passer on every down, meaning teams will have to pick their poison with double teams.
But Hall isn't the only guy who can get after the passer along with Garrett. Darrell Jackson showed flashes in limited time last year, and Chavis appears to like what little he's seen of him as well. Qualen Cunningham played a lot in Obioha's old DE spot last year in passing situations, and he can be used in there as well. Your "larger" sized guys, who could be used more against the run, are Jarrett Johnson and James Lockhart.
The Aggies have, in theory, two guys who are every down threats, another two who are plenty fast and capable of providing a pass rush and two other guys who are strong enough to hold the line against the run. If all this is right and A&M can rotate three deep at all four defensive line positions, it's easy to see why Chavis has more than a little optimism about his front line going into 2015.
Last week was the granddaddy of all college media events: SEC Media Days. This week was the...well, let's say slightly less cared about Big 12 Media Days. During the event, players who spoke were asked to fill out a poll on whether they want to see the Big 12 expand and who they'd like to see join the conference, if their answer was yes. The leading vote-getter: Texas A&M, with 22%.
So what we've got here is 1) kids with very short memories 2) kids who have no idea about past history or 3) guys with seriously wishful thinking/delusions.
A&M's response should be something like this (which I will not post due to NSFW language), once it stops laughing. Texas A&M will never go back to the Big 12, has no reason to go back to the Big 12 and it's hilarious to think that it would ever even ponder such a move.
Sorry, Big 12, the Aggies have gone uptown. They don't have time for the riffraff.
Running backs
Wow, how's THAT for an entertaining segway? "Running backs." Go me. Anyways, the Aggies could use a couple. First, you've got Brandon Williams over on the other side of the ball, which affects only this year, but then Tra Carson is gone after this season and who knows what will happen with Jay Bradford. That means you've got James White and Kendall Bussey, which is a nice tandem in 2016 but scary thin in terms of depth (Bradford should return, it should be noted, but you have to take the most conservative approach possible with things if you don't know what they really are). Missing out on D'Vaughn Pennamon surprised me, as did Ole Miss as his destination of choice. They're doing a lot of recruiting in Manvel, which could mean Deontay Anderson heads to Oxford too (btw, on the other safeties, Brandon Jones remains an overwhelming A&M lead and I keep hearing that it's not over for Eric Monroe).
The Aggies now have three outstanding offers are running back, with a need for two now very apparent: Brandon Stephens, Devwah Whaley and Trevor Speights. Speights has stayed quiet for some time, but it seems like most people are convinced he's going to end up an Aggie. Stephens seems to like the Aggies, but he has some big offers too. Whaley is the cream of the crop, and I heard over the weekend that A&M has likely evened the score with OU when it comes to leading for him. But if Speights commits and Stephens is willing to pull the trigger before that, would A&M wait? I don't know. I didn't think so a couple of weeks ago and honestly, I don't think so now unless they're assured that they'll get him. Any mystery and they'll take the first two they can get.
Will the Aggies offer a few other backs? That's the real question now. I don't see why (or how) they can't. Even if you have two guys you think you lead for, you always keep your options open. You want to be the guy putting up the "No Vacancy" sign, not the fella out in the rain.
Options, options, Part II (defensive ends)
On Monday, I talked a little about the depth A&M should have on the interior of the defensive line, which I think is something that has been overlooked by...well, just about anyone who doesn't cover A&M fulltime. One of the reasons the inside will be deep is because the Aggies have a lot of guys who fill the bill as far as John Chavis is concerned on the outside.
One thing to realize: Chavis really isn't all that interested in guys bulking up to 275 or 280 to play outside against big tackles. He wants guys who have the ability to blow around them with their speed and agility, and that's pretty evident in his move of Daeshon Hall to the starting defensive end spot across from Myles Garrett and moving Julien Obioha inside. With the exception of Garrett, already an All-World player, Hall is A&M's best pass rush threat. THAT is what Chavis wants; a guy who can be disruptive by being fast, not necessarily by standing his ground against some guy who's going to outweigh his man by 30 to 40 pounds anyway. Hall is up to 260 pounds, which sounds good -- but he is still 6'6". But the issue is not his size, it's his speed, and he showed that in abundance this spring. It made the move to the other side make a whole lot of sense in a hurry. The idea, in theory, is that A&M will now have to guys who can get after the passer on every down, meaning teams will have to pick their poison with double teams.
But Hall isn't the only guy who can get after the passer along with Garrett. Darrell Jackson showed flashes in limited time last year, and Chavis appears to like what little he's seen of him as well. Qualen Cunningham played a lot in Obioha's old DE spot last year in passing situations, and he can be used in there as well. Your "larger" sized guys, who could be used more against the run, are Jarrett Johnson and James Lockhart.
The Aggies have, in theory, two guys who are every down threats, another two who are plenty fast and capable of providing a pass rush and two other guys who are strong enough to hold the line against the run. If all this is right and A&M can rotate three deep at all four defensive line positions, it's easy to see why Chavis has more than a little optimism about his front line going into 2015.
