Leon O’Neal was a slam-dunk for the Aggie Heart Award from the viewpoint of an outsider, and it was nice to see it validated by his fellow players. O’Neal’s maturing over the past couple of years has been a sight to behold as he’s improved as a person and a player. His performance this year was strong, and you didn’t see any of the hot-headed mistakes that had plagued him in past years. Instead, he was a steady presence and surprisingly good tackler in the back end of the defense. What I really appreciated was he absolutely loves Texas A&M and Aggies love him back. That kind of mutual affection is the type which lasts decades.

The Aggies now have 21 commits and I think they can get another six players – at least – in this class. But what do they actually still need? This question got thrown to the board last night and I

chimed in. After further review, I’m sticking with what I said: they need a linebacker, an offensive tackle and a speed rusher. On the speed rusher front, I’m pretty confident they’ll get their guy in Enai White. At linebacker, they’ve led for Harold Perkins for a long time, but LSU is going to likely fight tooth and nail to get him over the next week. The offensive tackle may be a tougher task. Kam Dewberry could fill that need, but I’m not sure he’s not a guard at the next level. Kiyaunta Goodwin, Miles Frazier and Kelvin Banks are still out there, and the Aggies will have to try to land one of those three. Which it’ll be, I don’t know — and it won’t be easy to get any of them. But, then again, A&M has pulled the rabbit out of the hat repeatedly in this recruiting cycle.

There are rumors out there that Texas – excuse me, people who are in no way related with the Texas program but would be happy to see him in Austin and are willing to pay for it – is prepared to offer Quinn Ewers an NIL package worth $3.8 million. That would be the most Texas thing ever: throwing a huge amount of money at one of many problems, only to run the risk of alienating the locker room and undercutting your coaching staff.

If Ewers gets $3.8 million, what does a proven player like DeMarvion Overshown merit? The baseline has already been set for the offensive linemen, and it’s not $3.8 million. What’s Xavier Worthy get? He’s a freshman All-American. When you publicly go out there and throw a ton of money at a player and act like he’s the savior of everything, you run the serious risk of fracturing the locker room. And if that player gets a big ego from all the money and attention, you’ve got a brewing disaster.

And let’s say Ewers gets the big deal and then isn’t that good. What does Steve Sarkisian do? Can he bench the $3.8 million man? People with skin in the game are going to want a return on their investment and will have very different (and likely skewed) expectations. I’m not sure he’d be able to put the hook out and pull Ewers without 1) Ewers reacting negatively and 2) the boosters losing their minds. This is a risky situation for Texas and there’s a good chance it blows up in their face. And boy, wouldn’t that be a bummer.

Everyone knows that A&M is putting together a good class. I said last week that if it closes the way it could, it could be the best class ever. Sounds like I’m not the only one.

The Aggies have a really good wideout class for 2022. It may be the nation’s best. There, I said it. When the Rivals 250 came out this morning, 4-star Chris Marshall had jumped 67 spots to 69th overall. He’s starting to get the attention and credit he deserves, and he’s still learning the game. He and Evan Stewart could be a very dangerous combination in a year or two.

A&M has 14 players in the new Rivals 250. Their major remaining targets – Enai White, Denver Harris, Kam Dewberry, Anthony Lucas, Kelvin Banks, Kiyaunta Goodwin, Harold Perkins, Jacoby Mathews and Shemar Stewart – are all 250 guys. Actually, they’re all 100 guys. Adding six or more members of the 250 to give them 20 (or more) would be astounding.

One thing the Aggies are going to have to do is replace Jerry Schmidt, their esteemed strength and conditioning coach who is going back to OU to work for Brent Venables. This isn’t anything he had against A&M or Jimbo; he’d worked for the Sooners for 18 years before coming to College Station. He considers that home and, being someone who knows the allure of home, I get it. But odds are this is a quick hire in terms of a replacement. Brandon Sanders, currently A&M’s Sports Performance Coach, was with Jimbo for six years at FSU and spent nearly a decade in total in Tallahassee before joining the A&M staff last year. This is a guy who knows Jimbo, knows the program and can keep things going as they were if (when) Schmitty leaves.

There’s a legitimate concern that Duke might come after Mike Elko for their head coaching job. But there’s no certainty that 1) he’ll be offered it and 2) that he’ll take it. I did a little searching and found that David Cutcliffe, a coach with 21 years of head coaching experience, was making around $2.9 million at Duke this past season. North Carolina has a state tax of 5.25%, knocking that down by appromimxately $152,000. So we can say he was making $2.75 million before federal taxes. Elko is currently making $2.1 million at A&M. With no state tax. And a lower cost of living than Raleigh/Durham by a pretty considerable amount. Now, if Elko wants a head coaching job, there’s nothing you can do. But if this comes down to money, Duke isn’t likely to offer Elko more than the $2.9 million base Cutcliffe had. And A&M can match that if need be. It’s good to be able to throw around money.

It’s common knowledge that major college football coaches spend 0 minutes, 0 seconds on things like polls or All-conference lists. In that case, I’m personally offended by the interns who put together the 2021 coaches All-SEC team. Isaiah Spiller being second team is stupid enough, but no Antonio Johnson at all? Do you people not do television? Is there just a telegraph where you live? That’s just absolutely obscene. He’s one of the five best defensive players in the conference, not just an All-SEC player. Guess what: He’ll “suddenly” get good over the summer and both journalists and coaches will act like he’s a revelation. Puke.

Something a little different for the 10th thing. Not only is today the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but it’s the first anniversary of the deal of an American legend/badass: General Chuck Yeager. I never met Yeager, but I conversed with him quite a bit over Twitter. For a man in his 90s, the general was quite busy online and we talked a lot about our mutual love of aircraft. Of course, he’s the greatest pilot to ever lace ‘em up and I’m…not, but to be able to even be in the “presence” of one of the bravest humans to ever walk the face of the earth was a distinct honor.