Greetings from Reagan National Airport, where I'm waiting to get on a plane and come home.
What Kyler’s announcement means for A&M
First, it means a big sigh of relief from the Bright Building, because the Aggies now have two capable quarterbacks on their roster for 2015. Even though we’d got very strong indicators from people close to Kyler and folks close to the program that he was coming to A&M, it’s still nice to see it become official.
And it IS official (or, as official as a tweet can be).
Here’s why. One does not simply get drafted. There are steps that you have to take, including the filing of paperwork and a mandatory drug test, in order to be eligible for the MLB draft. Kyler’s not going to fill out the paperwork or do the test. He’s going to skip it, thus forgoing the draft. And that means he’ll be on campus for the next three years.
He’ll be on campus with the rest of the freshman class the first week of June and will take part in offseason workouts. I don’t expect him to win the job, but I do expect he’ll push Kyle Allen, who had an excellent spring. More importantly, the Aggies now have a capable option at the backup position no matter who starts. If Allen wins the job, Kyler’s not going to sit; he’s still going to play. He’s also going to play baseball, so the team may have just picked up its new shortstop/2nd baseman and leadoff hitter.
There are teams in the SEC – good ones – who can’t find a quarterback right now. It looks like the Aggies now have two very good ones. That’s a very nice situation for them to have.
What Brandon Williams’ move to corner means
I don’t know how you put a positive spin on this at this point. Yes, I know that Slim is a tremendous athlete (and isn’t Slim anymore; he’s muscled up) and could potentially be a very good corner – but he’s going to have to make a major adjustment in a real hurry. Making such a move over the summer without any benefit of practicing corner in the spring is going to be very, very tough.
Evidently, though, the coaching staff feels this is a chance they have no choice but to take. I can tell you the coaches were very pleased with how Devante Harris performed this spring, but they most have been very underwhelmed with Nick Harvey, Victor Davis and Tavares Garner. Harvey can cover but won’t play the run; Davis will hit, but has been a liability in pass coverage. I don’t know what the deal is with Garner, but he moved over to back up Harris early in camp and stayed there.
Williams is a burner, and he’s not afraid of taking or giving a hit. With his size, (6’, 195 to 200), he’s perfect for what John Chavis wants in his corners and will get drafted if this works. But it’s very hard for me to imagine the he’s going to pick all the intricacies of playing a new position in a couple of months to the point where he’s an effective player in the SEC. One thing I will say, though: if Williams didn’t suggest this, he probably didn’t hesitate to say yes, either. With the exception of maybe Von, I don’t think I’ve seen a player mature and become a team leader as quickly as Brandon Williams has. He got very serious this offseason, and he’s not only looking for what’s best for him, but his teammates too.
On the other side of the ball – even though Williams is still going to play running back – you’re going to get a pretty steady dose of power backs next year. Tra Carson and James White are going to carry the load. White had a great spring, and we know what Carson is capable of. This probably also means that Kendall Bussey is going to play next year, when that seemed more like a 50/50 proposition a couple weeks ago.
ESPN is intellectually lazy
On Monday, I broke down the problems all the other teams in the division had going into the summer. At about the same time, ESPN came out with their power rankings and had A&M dead last in the SEC West.
That’s just plain stupid, and their explanations showed they hadn’t tried very hard when they put their little list together. Major questions at every defensive position? Have they not heard of Myles Garrett? They’re three or four deep at every position on the front line, and each guy has different strengths. With Daylon Mack’s addition, they’re going to get even stronger. The linebackers may not be deep, but they have three capable starters. Safety is solid. Ok, you’ve got that one corner, but that is not EVERY POSITION.
While Kyler coming in for certain, the Aggies may have the best quarterback situation in the conference. Not the division, the conference. The backs may not be all-world like LSU’s, but they’re quite capable. The wideouts are the best in the conference, bar none. The line may not be phenomenal, but it will be functional at the very least.
Yeah, that’s the worst team in the west. Whatever. Do your homework.
My top 20 guys from the last 20 years. See how it compares to yours.
Johnny Manziel
Dat Nguyen
Von Miller
Shane Lechler
Mike Evans
Luke Joeckel
Jake Matthews
Leeland McElroy
Jamaar Toombs
Jorvorskie Lane
Terrence Murphy
Ryan Swope
Sammy Davis
Seth McKinney
Ryan Tannehill
Ty Warren
Keith Mitchell
Damontre Moore
Red Bryant
Terrence Kiel
What Kyler’s announcement means for A&M
First, it means a big sigh of relief from the Bright Building, because the Aggies now have two capable quarterbacks on their roster for 2015. Even though we’d got very strong indicators from people close to Kyler and folks close to the program that he was coming to A&M, it’s still nice to see it become official.
And it IS official (or, as official as a tweet can be).
Here’s why. One does not simply get drafted. There are steps that you have to take, including the filing of paperwork and a mandatory drug test, in order to be eligible for the MLB draft. Kyler’s not going to fill out the paperwork or do the test. He’s going to skip it, thus forgoing the draft. And that means he’ll be on campus for the next three years.
He’ll be on campus with the rest of the freshman class the first week of June and will take part in offseason workouts. I don’t expect him to win the job, but I do expect he’ll push Kyle Allen, who had an excellent spring. More importantly, the Aggies now have a capable option at the backup position no matter who starts. If Allen wins the job, Kyler’s not going to sit; he’s still going to play. He’s also going to play baseball, so the team may have just picked up its new shortstop/2nd baseman and leadoff hitter.
There are teams in the SEC – good ones – who can’t find a quarterback right now. It looks like the Aggies now have two very good ones. That’s a very nice situation for them to have.
What Brandon Williams’ move to corner means
I don’t know how you put a positive spin on this at this point. Yes, I know that Slim is a tremendous athlete (and isn’t Slim anymore; he’s muscled up) and could potentially be a very good corner – but he’s going to have to make a major adjustment in a real hurry. Making such a move over the summer without any benefit of practicing corner in the spring is going to be very, very tough.
Evidently, though, the coaching staff feels this is a chance they have no choice but to take. I can tell you the coaches were very pleased with how Devante Harris performed this spring, but they most have been very underwhelmed with Nick Harvey, Victor Davis and Tavares Garner. Harvey can cover but won’t play the run; Davis will hit, but has been a liability in pass coverage. I don’t know what the deal is with Garner, but he moved over to back up Harris early in camp and stayed there.
Williams is a burner, and he’s not afraid of taking or giving a hit. With his size, (6’, 195 to 200), he’s perfect for what John Chavis wants in his corners and will get drafted if this works. But it’s very hard for me to imagine the he’s going to pick all the intricacies of playing a new position in a couple of months to the point where he’s an effective player in the SEC. One thing I will say, though: if Williams didn’t suggest this, he probably didn’t hesitate to say yes, either. With the exception of maybe Von, I don’t think I’ve seen a player mature and become a team leader as quickly as Brandon Williams has. He got very serious this offseason, and he’s not only looking for what’s best for him, but his teammates too.
On the other side of the ball – even though Williams is still going to play running back – you’re going to get a pretty steady dose of power backs next year. Tra Carson and James White are going to carry the load. White had a great spring, and we know what Carson is capable of. This probably also means that Kendall Bussey is going to play next year, when that seemed more like a 50/50 proposition a couple weeks ago.
ESPN is intellectually lazy
On Monday, I broke down the problems all the other teams in the division had going into the summer. At about the same time, ESPN came out with their power rankings and had A&M dead last in the SEC West.
That’s just plain stupid, and their explanations showed they hadn’t tried very hard when they put their little list together. Major questions at every defensive position? Have they not heard of Myles Garrett? They’re three or four deep at every position on the front line, and each guy has different strengths. With Daylon Mack’s addition, they’re going to get even stronger. The linebackers may not be deep, but they have three capable starters. Safety is solid. Ok, you’ve got that one corner, but that is not EVERY POSITION.
While Kyler coming in for certain, the Aggies may have the best quarterback situation in the conference. Not the division, the conference. The backs may not be all-world like LSU’s, but they’re quite capable. The wideouts are the best in the conference, bar none. The line may not be phenomenal, but it will be functional at the very least.
Yeah, that’s the worst team in the west. Whatever. Do your homework.
My top 20 guys from the last 20 years. See how it compares to yours.
Johnny Manziel
Dat Nguyen
Von Miller
Shane Lechler
Mike Evans
Luke Joeckel
Jake Matthews
Leeland McElroy
Jamaar Toombs
Jorvorskie Lane
Terrence Murphy
Ryan Swope
Sammy Davis
Seth McKinney
Ryan Tannehill
Ty Warren
Keith Mitchell
Damontre Moore
Red Bryant
Terrence Kiel
