The 2013 class: what a mess, and proof of an old recruiting adage
When the Aggies signed 31 players in 2013, the hope was that there were some a lot of high-end players and some guys who would provide depth. Right now, it looks more like a train wreck than the bedrock of a strong program. THAT class, without a doubt, appears to be 2014’s (more on that in a second). But, with the defection of Quiv Gonzalez this week, let’s take a look at the 31 guys signed. It looks like increasingly like what a few of the assistants who have moved on said at the time and later: they had to do some stretching, because they hadn’t really felt the benefit of the Johnny effect and an 11-2 season. Not only look at the guys who are gone, but how few actually made an impact before they left.
Tommy Sanders (JUCO 3-star): backup, had one good game (his last); graduated
Cam Clear (JUCO 3-star): Disappointment. Graduated
Hardreck Walker (4-star): Starter
Noel Ellis (4-star): Part-time starter in 2013, redshirted in 2014; jury’s still out
RSJ (4-star): Starter, still developing as a receiver.
Tavares Garner (4-star): Has played very little in two years
Victor Davis (3-star): redshirted, now fighting for a starting job
Isaiah Golden (4-star): Starter-to-be, was stupid, is gone
Darian Claiborne (3-star): was on his way to stardom, was dumb, is gone
Kameron Miles (4-star): got hurt, redshirted, got busted, gone
Jordan Points (3-star): redshirted, left
Jay Arnold (3-star): Trying to settle in at DT after limited roles in ’13 and ‘14
Alex Sezer (2-star): Special teamer
James White (3-star): Potential star RB in the making
Jaquay Williams (4-star): total bust, gone
Sabastian Larue (4-star): Redshirted, left
Justin Manning (4-star): Redshirted, played very little last year, has uphill battle to play this year
Jeremy Tabuyo (3-star): Backup
Joas Aguilar (3-star): Got hurt, retired
Reggie Chevis (3-star): Got too big for MLB, became a DE and may even be a DT now; has barely played
Daeshon Hall (4-star): Still waiting for him to break out. Was pretty good in 2014.
Gonzalez (4-star): Did very little, is gone
J.J. Gustafson (3-star): Jury’s still out; played early in 2014 (greyshirted in 2013) before getting hurt
Kenny Hill (4-star): Set A&M one game record before falling apart; gone
Jordan Mastrogiovanni (3-star): Starter in 2014, lost his job, retired
Kyrion Parker (4-star): 1 catch in 2014, gone
Kohl Stewart (4-star): Baseball
Jeremiah Stuckey (JUCO 3-star): Finally getting it together this spring?
Brett Wade (3-star): Did nothing at OLB; now a fullback
Ish Wilson (4-star): Transferred to Baylor
Shaan Washington (3-star): Starter at OLB
Jonathan Wiggins (3-star): has played very little, is buried on the depth chart. May be a linebacker by summer
So, check the casualty list: 3 kicked off the team, 2 retirements, one lost to the MLB draft, 8 transfers, 2 graduates, 8 who have done little or nothing (Garner, Chevis, Gustafson, Wiggins, Wade, Manning and Sezer and Stuckey) and then the guys who either start or at least play most every game (RSJ, Washington, Walker, Tabuyo, Hall, Arnold, Ellis before he got sick and Davis). Starters are even fewer: RSJ, Washington and Walker.
3 starters out of 31. 8 contributors out of 31. 15 not even with the program. Ugh. BUT, to be honest, you have to include three guys who are also contributors – the transfers, Brandon Williams, Tra Carson and A.J. Hilliard. That makes the damage slightly less, but only slightly.
Now, let’s look at the year AFTER the breakthrough season, 2014. The recruiting class that is supposed to benefit from a big season is not the one immediately after that season, but the NEXT one after that. In our case, 2014. It sure looks like that's the case, as you can see here:
Myles Garrett (5-star): Star
Kyle Allen (5-star): Starter
Speedy Noil (5-star): Starter
Josh Reynolds (3-star): Starter
Josh Walker (3-star): Starter
Otaro Alaka (4-star): Starter
Armani Watts (4-star): Starter
DeShawn Washington (4-star): Redshirt
Qualen Cunningham (4-star): backup
Nick Harvey (4-star): Backup fighting for a starting job
Tank Davis (3-star): Fighting for a starting job at guard?
Avery Gennesy (JUCO 4-star): Redshirted; likely LT starter?
Jermaine Eluemunor (JUCO 4-star): Redshirted, starting LG?
Zaycoven Henderson (4-star): Possible starter, definitely a player
Frank Iheanacho (4-star): Played a little last year, possible rotation guy
Jarrett Johnson (3-star): Rotation player
Jamal Jeffery (3-star): Limited playing time; possible backup this year
Koda Martin (3-star): Redshirted, will be in the two-deep somewhere
Donovan Wilson (3-star): Will be in the two-deep at safety
It’s still very early for this class, but THAT’S a hit rate. 21 of 21 will likely play this year in some capacity. And that’s why 2014’s class is going to be the core of this team. Will the success carry over to 2015? We’ll see. Hopefully some guys will be able to develop before being thrown into the fire.
Guys who HAVE to progress in 2015
Last week (I think), I wrote a little bit about guys I thought would be better this year. Today, I’m going to look at 10 guys who this team has to have improve If this is going to be a team that threatens 10 wins. Here they are, and why:
Kyle Allen: If you don’t know why, well, bless your heart.
RSJ: He’s got the ability to be a huge threat in the middle of the field. This offense needs that kind of threat.
Hardreck Walker: Zaycoven Henderson definitely looks like a player. If A&M can get a consistently strong performance out of Walker, they’ve got enough at that DT position to be fine. Anything else and they’ll thrive with a rotation that allows guys to stay fresh.
Shaan Washington: He’s got great athleticism, but he vanished for long periods last year. He can be a real threat as a pass rusher in this system, but he’s got to be more consistent.
Armani Watts: We’re expecting the safeties to be good, but while he was the best A&M had at collecting turnovers last year, he made some rookie mistakes too. Those have to go away.
Brandon Williams: He’s the speed element of the backfield now. He’s out of next years. He has to get better for A&M’s running game to be complete and for him to get to the next level.
Josh Walker: The Aggies need a middle linebacker. Pretty good reason why, huh?
Daeshon Hall: The Ags need another pass rush threat to go with Myles Garrett. He and Qualen Cunningham are the most likely to fill the role.
Devante Harris: He’s the veteran of the secondary. The Aggies can’t afford any more blown coverages and bad penalties from the senior.
Mike Matthews: He’s the unquestioned leader of the offensive line. He’s got the mental aspect down, now he’s got to find a way to hold up against guys who still hold 25-30 pounds against him.
When the Aggies signed 31 players in 2013, the hope was that there were some a lot of high-end players and some guys who would provide depth. Right now, it looks more like a train wreck than the bedrock of a strong program. THAT class, without a doubt, appears to be 2014’s (more on that in a second). But, with the defection of Quiv Gonzalez this week, let’s take a look at the 31 guys signed. It looks like increasingly like what a few of the assistants who have moved on said at the time and later: they had to do some stretching, because they hadn’t really felt the benefit of the Johnny effect and an 11-2 season. Not only look at the guys who are gone, but how few actually made an impact before they left.
Tommy Sanders (JUCO 3-star): backup, had one good game (his last); graduated
Cam Clear (JUCO 3-star): Disappointment. Graduated
Hardreck Walker (4-star): Starter
Noel Ellis (4-star): Part-time starter in 2013, redshirted in 2014; jury’s still out
RSJ (4-star): Starter, still developing as a receiver.
Tavares Garner (4-star): Has played very little in two years
Victor Davis (3-star): redshirted, now fighting for a starting job
Isaiah Golden (4-star): Starter-to-be, was stupid, is gone
Darian Claiborne (3-star): was on his way to stardom, was dumb, is gone
Kameron Miles (4-star): got hurt, redshirted, got busted, gone
Jordan Points (3-star): redshirted, left
Jay Arnold (3-star): Trying to settle in at DT after limited roles in ’13 and ‘14
Alex Sezer (2-star): Special teamer
James White (3-star): Potential star RB in the making
Jaquay Williams (4-star): total bust, gone
Sabastian Larue (4-star): Redshirted, left
Justin Manning (4-star): Redshirted, played very little last year, has uphill battle to play this year
Jeremy Tabuyo (3-star): Backup
Joas Aguilar (3-star): Got hurt, retired
Reggie Chevis (3-star): Got too big for MLB, became a DE and may even be a DT now; has barely played
Daeshon Hall (4-star): Still waiting for him to break out. Was pretty good in 2014.
Gonzalez (4-star): Did very little, is gone
J.J. Gustafson (3-star): Jury’s still out; played early in 2014 (greyshirted in 2013) before getting hurt
Kenny Hill (4-star): Set A&M one game record before falling apart; gone
Jordan Mastrogiovanni (3-star): Starter in 2014, lost his job, retired
Kyrion Parker (4-star): 1 catch in 2014, gone
Kohl Stewart (4-star): Baseball
Jeremiah Stuckey (JUCO 3-star): Finally getting it together this spring?
Brett Wade (3-star): Did nothing at OLB; now a fullback
Ish Wilson (4-star): Transferred to Baylor
Shaan Washington (3-star): Starter at OLB
Jonathan Wiggins (3-star): has played very little, is buried on the depth chart. May be a linebacker by summer
So, check the casualty list: 3 kicked off the team, 2 retirements, one lost to the MLB draft, 8 transfers, 2 graduates, 8 who have done little or nothing (Garner, Chevis, Gustafson, Wiggins, Wade, Manning and Sezer and Stuckey) and then the guys who either start or at least play most every game (RSJ, Washington, Walker, Tabuyo, Hall, Arnold, Ellis before he got sick and Davis). Starters are even fewer: RSJ, Washington and Walker.
3 starters out of 31. 8 contributors out of 31. 15 not even with the program. Ugh. BUT, to be honest, you have to include three guys who are also contributors – the transfers, Brandon Williams, Tra Carson and A.J. Hilliard. That makes the damage slightly less, but only slightly.
Now, let’s look at the year AFTER the breakthrough season, 2014. The recruiting class that is supposed to benefit from a big season is not the one immediately after that season, but the NEXT one after that. In our case, 2014. It sure looks like that's the case, as you can see here:
Myles Garrett (5-star): Star
Kyle Allen (5-star): Starter
Speedy Noil (5-star): Starter
Josh Reynolds (3-star): Starter
Josh Walker (3-star): Starter
Otaro Alaka (4-star): Starter
Armani Watts (4-star): Starter
DeShawn Washington (4-star): Redshirt
Qualen Cunningham (4-star): backup
Nick Harvey (4-star): Backup fighting for a starting job
Tank Davis (3-star): Fighting for a starting job at guard?
Avery Gennesy (JUCO 4-star): Redshirted; likely LT starter?
Jermaine Eluemunor (JUCO 4-star): Redshirted, starting LG?
Zaycoven Henderson (4-star): Possible starter, definitely a player
Frank Iheanacho (4-star): Played a little last year, possible rotation guy
Jarrett Johnson (3-star): Rotation player
Jamal Jeffery (3-star): Limited playing time; possible backup this year
Koda Martin (3-star): Redshirted, will be in the two-deep somewhere
Donovan Wilson (3-star): Will be in the two-deep at safety
It’s still very early for this class, but THAT’S a hit rate. 21 of 21 will likely play this year in some capacity. And that’s why 2014’s class is going to be the core of this team. Will the success carry over to 2015? We’ll see. Hopefully some guys will be able to develop before being thrown into the fire.
Guys who HAVE to progress in 2015
Last week (I think), I wrote a little bit about guys I thought would be better this year. Today, I’m going to look at 10 guys who this team has to have improve If this is going to be a team that threatens 10 wins. Here they are, and why:
Kyle Allen: If you don’t know why, well, bless your heart.
RSJ: He’s got the ability to be a huge threat in the middle of the field. This offense needs that kind of threat.
Hardreck Walker: Zaycoven Henderson definitely looks like a player. If A&M can get a consistently strong performance out of Walker, they’ve got enough at that DT position to be fine. Anything else and they’ll thrive with a rotation that allows guys to stay fresh.
Shaan Washington: He’s got great athleticism, but he vanished for long periods last year. He can be a real threat as a pass rusher in this system, but he’s got to be more consistent.
Armani Watts: We’re expecting the safeties to be good, but while he was the best A&M had at collecting turnovers last year, he made some rookie mistakes too. Those have to go away.
Brandon Williams: He’s the speed element of the backfield now. He’s out of next years. He has to get better for A&M’s running game to be complete and for him to get to the next level.
Josh Walker: The Aggies need a middle linebacker. Pretty good reason why, huh?
Daeshon Hall: The Ags need another pass rush threat to go with Myles Garrett. He and Qualen Cunningham are the most likely to fill the role.
Devante Harris: He’s the veteran of the secondary. The Aggies can’t afford any more blown coverages and bad penalties from the senior.
Mike Matthews: He’s the unquestioned leader of the offensive line. He’s got the mental aspect down, now he’s got to find a way to hold up against guys who still hold 25-30 pounds against him.
