Sponsored by Brent Campbell, Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 1998. Brent is a Commercial Real Estate Broker, serving all of Central Texas and specializing in sales, leasing & development. He leads a retail acquisition and sales team and was recognized by the Austin Business Journal as a Commercial Real Estate Heavy Hitter in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 & 2023.
In the last 22 years, he has closed deals with a total transactional value of over $375 million and has leased more than 4.5 million square feet. Brent currently serves as the president of the board of directors for Habitat Homes, Inc. and Pathways Youth and Family Services. He is a former president of the Heart of Round Rock Neighborhood Association and a former member of the Round Rock Zoning Advisory Committee, the Round Rock Business and Retention Committee, and the City of Round Rock Ethics Commission, which has led him to begin developing in Williamson and Travis County.
An Austin native, Brent lives in Round Rock where he and his wife have raised four boys. Brent works for Don Quick and Associates, Inc. in Round Rock, TX and can be reached at brent@donquick.com.
Here's 10 Things after A&M's opening weekend loss to Notre Dame:
1. If you're looking for positives...
That was a better offensive line performance than the Aggies have had in two years, especially if you consider the quality of the opponent. They were able to get away with moving Ar'maj Reed-Adams back to right guard, and the duo of Trey Zuhn and Chase Bisontis on the left side was pretty solid. They weren't great, but after the trash Steve Addazio peddled? I'm pretty optimistic Adam Cushing can get something done with these guys in a positive sense.
2. Something was very off with Conner Weigman.
I mean, that's obvious. 12-30 for 100 yards is off. But his security blanket has always been Noah Thomas, and Thomas was the only guy who got consistent separation Saturday night. And Weigman looked like he was afraid to throw to him. Maybe Notre Dame's secondary -- which is excellent -- intimidated him. Maybe he wasn't feeling good. But after seeing him risk serious danger to get Thomas the ball the last two seasons, it just doesn't seem right.
3. I liked the defensive aggression.
DJ Durkin blitzed a lot last year after Jimbo laid down the law post-Miami. But Saturday night was really bringing the house. And, for a change, the Aggies have the corners to handle it. Riley Leonard did a great job avoiding a number of sacks, but 5.3 yards per attempt ain't much to write home about. That's called getting rid of the ball before you got killed.
4. Maybe Jayvon Thomas has turned a corner?
Last year, in his first game against serious competition, cornerback Jayvon Thomas was eaten alive by Miami. Things didn't get much better throughout the season, to the point where he didn't play in some games even though the Aggies were desperately thin at corner.
I don't care what the PFF score says (63.5 score in coverage), he was light years better Saturday night. He was aggressive, physical and didn't seem to be intimidated. Notre Dame's wideouts may not be the best, but they're capable and put up big numbers elsewhere. They targeted Thomas three times and completed one pass. That's a marked improvement.
5. For Ricks, not a bad first outing
Saturday night was Dezz Ricks' first real playing time (he got on the field on special teams at Alabama last year). He played 17 snaps and, predictably, the veteran Leonard went after him (4 targets, 3 catches). But they only picked up a total of 37 yards and zero yards after the catch. For a guy in his first time out, that's not too shabby. Maybe my standards are low after 2023, but keeping a guy in front of you is a pretty decent start.
6. The biggest battle is between the ears
Trey Zuhn said Saturday night the Aggies beat themselves. If you go back and look at things, he's not far from wrong.
Obviously, Weigman didn't trust his eyes and was feeling pressure when there was none.
Jahdae Walker got busted for a key false start because he wasn't sure what the play was.
Several receivers messed up routes because they blew their reads.
The defense gave up two big touchdown runs because they misfit gaps -- something we've seen before.
The linebackers and safeties also had trouble tackling.
With the exception of maybe tackling, these are all mental SNAFUs. And it's possible to argue that taking bad angles contributed to the missed tackles. A&M's biggest problems were not getting physically handled, they were all between the ears.
To be sure, they've got some crap to clean up. But they were playing mind games with themselves Saturday night and lost.
7. Now that I just got done skewering the linebackers...
Scooby Williams was pretty darned good Saturday night. He ended up with 5 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and, as far as I could tell, was only out of position in a big way once. One of the big questions coming into the year was who would replace Edgerrin Cooper, and after Saturday night, Scooby might have the other linebackers thinking, "ruh roh."
Sorry. Had to do it.
8. Something I would like to see early Saturday
Yes, the competition level is down, but I'd like to see some quick passes, crosses or quick outs, to the receivers. In particular, I mean Noah Thomas and Terry Bussey. They can do some things with the ball in their hands. Just get Weigman in a rhythm -- if you can -- and see what he can do from there.
Thomas and Bussey (and Cyrus Allen) are the guys capable of the explosive play. So they need to be fed the ball until opponents react and leave themselves open to mismatches elsewhere.
9. Another guy who needs the ball more
Is tight end Tre Watson. He had the longest catch of the night Saturday and that was the only target he got all night. Watson has proven all spring and summer that he is a quality receiving tight end and Collin Klein's offense has relied heavily on pass catching tight ends in the past. So, in my opinion, more looks his way are a requirement if the offense is to operate the way it should.
10. They'd better play really well Saturday.
Yes, it's McNeese. But a 31-6 win would be a huge letdown and make you wonder about the rest of the year. Like I said, most of their problems Saturday appeared to be mental. If you let those fester or they compound, then you've got trouble.
This team still has a lot of talent. Weigman has proven he can play at a high level in the past. Florida and South Carolina looked awful. Mississippi State and Arkansas beat cupcakes of the highest magnitude. LSU did not look all that hot against USC. So opportunities are there to still win quite a bit this year.
But it truly is up to them. If they get their heads screwed on right -- and by them, I mean coaches as well as players -- and play with controlled anger, they can do some things. But if they don't make the adjustments they need to, and should be able to, then we're looking at more of the same.
- TE
- PRO
- ILB
- CB
- DT
- DT
- CB
- WR
- RB
- ILB