It's time for 10 Things for Thursday, sponsored by JFQ Lending!
1. Orebo transfer shows (again) the hard reality of bigtime football
RJ Orebo came to A&M three seasons ago as a project. He was rated a 2-star at the time, was boosted up to a 3, and had tremendous height (6-foot-7) going for him. The question was, where did he fit? He was rush linebacker in high school, but that didn't seem to fit him in college. He moved to defensive end, where he ended up being too big, and then defensive tackle, where he didn't weigh enough.
Now he's in the transfer portal because a wave of highly talented and game-ready players have joined the program since he did.
What did Orebo do wrong? Not a darned thing. He busted his butt and made every effort to adjust. He's now 285 pounds and is pretty quick to boot. When he did get a shot to play, he did well -- 2 tackles and a tackle for loss. He was a constant on special teams. He never complained.
But he also wasn't going to play at A&M and the Aggies have a numbers crunch. The best thing for best parties was for him to graduate, get his ring and find a place where he can be a difference maker. Will that be at a G5 or an FCS school? No idea, but he should get a shot. He deserves no less.
Such is life in the day of the 85-man scholarship roster.
2. Car wreck shows the hard reality of concrete barriers
One of those personal, non-Cody related moments you've come to loathe. As some of you know, I was in a car wreck yesterday. It clearly wasn't that bad, because I'm writing this (though my right forearm is still pretty bloody), but it wasn't exactly fun either.
I was driving into Houston and noticed that my car was acting funny. It was hydroplaning -- a lot -- and pulling to the left. Considering that it was raining, this was not good news. I was trying to keep it steady and had slowed down to about 50 and was, honestly, looking for a place to exit and go home, but I was on a toll road. Not many exits to be had.
Then I felt it -- the lack of response when you try to correct a swerve. Instead, I felt the fast turn of a real spin start.
"Heeerrrre we go," I thought. By this point, I wasn't surprised it was happening.
The car spun to the right and slammed into a concrete barrier. Thankfully, I was on a toll road, so there was nobody around and the barrier stopped me quickly. Of course, that quick stop comes with consequences for you and the car.
But was I thinking about my life, regrets or whatever? Nope. I remember two very present thoughts, instead.
First: "OH YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME CAR PRICES ARE UP 20%"
Boom. Impact with the wall.
Second: "Oh, the airbag deployed this time!"
Somehow, the car didn't flip or even go back out into traffic. I was able to get it -- or what was left of it-- straightened out and stopped.
I guess the airbag deployed onto my arm, because that's where the cuts are. Nothing else except a few bruises. I have no idea how nothing else happened or how the car didn't flip.
So the wife and I are in the market for a new car and have to tell Cody that no, it won't be a sports car.
Hydroplaning is not fun. Avoid it. 0/10, would not recommend or do again.
3. What's going on at Ole Miss?
Starting corner Keidron Smith entered the portal today. He had a nice season, with 65 tackles, 2 forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions. If the Aggies weren't loaded at corner, I'd take a serious look at him.
But that's not the reason for this. The big point is that 18 players have now entered the portal for the Rebels, and that's a lot. They've also picked up eight players, which is also a lot. They've also lost several coaches, including (of course) defensive coordinator DJ Durkin.
Weird things seem to follow Lane Kiffin, even when he's successful -- and he was highly successful in 2020. But a lot of key players have decided not to stick around for another run. That, in and of itself, is weird.
Sean Payton stepped down as coach of the Saints today. So what does Lane post on his Twitter? A picture of a sign in a dorm window that said "Whodat Nation."
Just...weird.
4. Another argument for keeping Antonio Johnson at nickel
ProFootballFocus has Antonio Johnson as one of its highest-rated returning players. He racked up a total score of 87.4 last season, and an 88.1 in pass coverage. That's the thing with Johnson; he's big, but he's fast and can cover someone in man. That's why some people insist on calling him a corner when he's not. But he's got the cover skills of one, while tackling like a safety or linebacker.
That's why I want him at nickel. He can be close to the line to make plays against the run or eliminate slot receivers in the passing game. I know I'm probably not going to get my wish, but this is apparently the hill I'm going to die on.
5. Oh, nice to see you -- not
Over the past few days, A certain school has started to offer players in Washington, D.C. and across Pennsylvania. If you said the Aggies, you'd be wrong. They haven't started doing that, they've been doing it, successfully, for years. As one Penn State insider told me, "If you're a defensive lineman in Pennsylvania and you get an A&M offer, it's 'Oops, see ya.'"
The school in question is Texas.
This is immensely amusing because Texas hasn't seriously offered anyone from those areas in ages. Last year, they offered one player from Pennsylvania: Enai White.
As in Texas A&M signee Enai White.
In the 2021 class, they offered a lot of guys from Virginia, a few from Maryland and two from Pennsylvania.
In 2020, they offered one player from Maryland (Marshawn Lloyd) and one from Virginia (Tony Grimes).
In 2019, no offers at all in DC, Maryland, Virginia or Pennsylvania.
In the Northeast, Texas is a non-entity. Meanwhile, A&M has dominated. Not just in Pennsylvania, but New Jersey and even up into New York City.
If you're going to win in bigtime college football, you're going to recruit nationally. Alabama has and look what they've done. A&M is and is not moving into elite territory. Georgia has and they're the champs.
And Texas has left an entire portion of the nation untouched, largely because they didn't think they needed to go up there. That's pretty arrogant, no?
But now they are, but as they tend to be, they're way behind the curve.
6. Players who will out-perform their final ranking.
First is Conner Weigman. In my opinion, he was by far the best quarterback in the Under Armour All-American Game, which had the best competition of the all-star games this year. He was extremely productive and has a superior skill set. He may not play this year, or maybe even next, but he will be the next big thing.
Chris Marshall should be in the conversation for the top wideout in America. He's big, fast, physical and, for a player who's still just getting started, is technically sound. His best days are ahead of him, and that should terrify opponents.
I think Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy is also underrated. His speed at that size is just too much. He will be scary next to Walter Nolen.
Linebacker Martrell Harris is going to be legit. I guess he's the guy I'm banging the drum for loudest this year, because he's really good and overlooked. And, like Marshall, is still developing. He can impact all phases of the game.
Bryce Anderson is a natural athlete with great speed and natural coverage skills. If you're one of the reasons the A&M coaching staff thinks it's safe to move Antonio Johnson off of nickel, you're good.
7. This seems good
A&M signee Donovan Green jumped up bigtime in the final Rivals 250 and is now the top tight end in the nation. He passed up Jake Johnson, who is now 5 spots behind him on the 250 and the fourth TE in the nation. So, basically the two swapped places from the last update. Yeah, that doesn't suck.
8. My new favorite Aggie basketball player
There are some likable players on this growing A&M basketball team, but I've got my favorite: forward Henry Coleman.
The Aggies are undersized and take a pounding on the boards. But Coleman fights for every rebound and is fearless on offense, taking opponents into the post repeatedly. On a guard-heavy team, Coleman's the big man to fear.
He's second on the team in scoring, second in rebounding and is even fourth on the team in steals. Coleman just hustles and does all the fundamental things well. Why Duke didn't give him more playing time is beyond me, but Aggies should be thankful.
9. Bigtime 2023 prospect coming to town this weekend
Milton, Ga. DE LT Overton is coming to A&M's junior day this weekend. Overton, as most of you will recall, was born in College Station and remains an Aggie fan. Already a top-10 prospect, Overton is one guy that Terry Price and Elijah Robinson would love to get -- and the sooner the better.
10. Thoughts on Bonds, Clemens and the Hall of Fame
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens both failed to gain entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame Tuesday on their 10th and final time on the ballot. Both were around 65%, or 10% short of election. The reason they didn't get in is simple: their association with performance enhancing drugs.
But do they deserve to be in? Is it an open and shut case that, since they were users, they're out? David Ortiz, who went in today, allegedly failed a steroid test as well but got in.
It's really tough. You're talking about the alleged all-time home run leader and a guy who won 7 Cy Young Awards and more than 300 games. They're not scrubs. On numbers alone, they're in the top 20 players, easily, to lace 'em up.
But it's not that easy, clearly. So here's where I fall, and it's probably a bit of an easy way out. I look at where these guys were when they (likely) started using and act like their careers ended there. Would they then be Hall of Famers?
For Clemens, there's a very marked change between his final year in Boston (10-13, 3.63 ERA) and his first year in Toronto in 1997 (21-5, 2.07 ERA). Considering two of his last four seasons in Boston ended with ERAs over 4, the 1996 season wasn't out of the ordinary; 1997 was. And the numbers after that continued to be stellar. It's alleged that he started using PEDs in 1997, which seems sensible.
So was he a Hall of Famer based off his Boston time alone? That would be 192 wins, 2,590 strikeouts, 38 shutouts, and a WAR of 80.8. Those are all the best in Red Sox history. He was also a six-time All-Star, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and an MVP.
Was he the dominant pitcher of his era? Yes. I think he would go in just on that. It would be tough, but Pedro Martinez only won 219 games total in 18 years; Clemens had those 192 in 12.
Now, what about Bonds? They say he started using in 1999. He hit 34 homers in 102 games that year at age 34. Then 49, a career high, in 2000 at 35. At age 36, no longer looking like the same guy he hit 73 in the 2001 season.
At that the start of 1999, he had already hit 411 homers, had driven in 1,216 runs, had 1917 hits, a career average of .286, 8 All-Star appearances, 8 Silver Slugger Awards and 9 Gold Gloves. Again, domination of a decade.
So I would have put them both in and not hesitated.
But as it tends to happen, greed happens to those cursed with greatness. They wanted more, and got it. They put up staggering numbers, but now they'll always be mixed in with those who attempted to cheat the game.