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.

1. Just a gut feeling here, but I would not be surprised if we got more of a K-State offense from Collin Klein this season. By that I mean more RPO and quick passes for Marcel Reed. One thing A&M really lacked last year was receivers that were quick off the snap. I don’t mean fast overall, I mean guys who can gain an advantage over a corner in the first couple of steps. KC Concepcion, Mario Craver and a healthy Terry Bussey should be able to do that. If you can get a quick move inside on a corner or get to the sideline and up before him, you already have the advantage and the quarterback can get the ball out faster.

2. I also think the offense will move with a faster pace this year. They tried to do it in the spring game, but the mess with the offensive lines made it tough. Last year, time of possession was key because they felt like they had to grind wins out. This group is, ostensibly, closer to what Klein wants, so tempo may go up accordingly.

3. Outside of Reed, the success of the season may hinge on the offensive line. As I said in Monday Thoughts, the last time A&M returned a whole starting offensive line was 2019 to 2020, and the difference was massive. 2024’s line was way better than 2019’s, so they should be capable of making the move into a very good group. A&M’s disinterest in offensive linemen in the spring portal would seem to indicate they are satisfied with what they have.

4. One of the longest-used, and most annoying, catch phrases involving Aggie football has been, “Can he play linebacker?” This year, at least, you can shelve it. Look for something else. A&M has more good linebackers than it has had in quite a while, and may have a tough time finding enough snaps for everyone. Taurean York and Scooby Williams are the starters, Daymion Sanford is next up and then you have Jordan Lockhart and Tristan Jernigan. Lockhart, especially, impressed this spring. And then true freshman Noah Mikhail opened a lot of eyes in his first spring practice. That’s a half-dozen linebackers, at least, who should get a look. Jernigan should be in the mix too, and that’s seven. It’s been a long time since the Aggies could go that deep into the linebacker depth chart and not be terrified by the results.

5. How good is Texas A&M’s recruiting class right now? They have 11 commits, all 4-stars, and that’s good enough for sixth nationally. Only one team, LSU, has fewer commits (10) and is ahead of A&M. In other words, they’re likely to do some jumping before it’s all said and done.

6. This may be the most difficult recruiting year ever, and not because of a lack of talent. Right now, teams are recruiting to a number they’re not even sure is right. The football scholarship total will be at least 85 next year, but could be more. How much more is yet to be determined. The Aggies have 20 seniors or grad students, 14 juniors and five redshirt sophomores – all of whom will be draft-eligible. And who knows what will happen with the portal. They won’t lose all 39 of these players, but they could lose 30 of them – so how do you approach this process with the House v. NCAA case still unsettled? And is there a right answer to that question?

7. Is it possible that Caden Sorrell is the best hitter in college baseball right now? In just 22 games, he’s hitting .346 with 10 homers, 5 doubles, a triple and 28 RBI. His slugging percentage is over .800 and his OPS is an absurd 1.252.

8. I’m just putting it out there and I’m sure it will be ignored, but I think Jace LaViolette may want to consider coming back for another season. His numbers are down considerably across the board, which may push him from the top of the draft to the middle or later parts of the first round (big whoop, I know), but he’ll make a ton of NIL money if he stays and teaming him with Sorrell, a healthy Gavin Grahovac, Bear Henseler, Terrence Kiel II and who knows what else may give the Aggies another shot at a national title.

9. If the Aggies are to make a long run in this postseason, it’s largely going to be due to the arms of Ryan Prager and Justin Lamkin. After a horrible slump in the middle of the season, Prager has rounded back into form, giving up just two runs in the last 12 ⅔ innings against No. 1 Texas and No. 2 LSU (a 1.42 ERA). His ERA, which was up as high as 4.55, has dropped to 3.76. Lamkin gave up three earned runs in his two starts against the same opponents, for an ERA of 2.53 over the two games. He also struck out 14 in 10 ⅔ innings while walking only three. If they can keep that up – and the offense gets its act together, A&M becomes a very difficult out in the postseason.

10. If the Aggies do make the postseason and then make a run, two overlooked freshman pitchers will likely have a lot to do with it. Righthander Gavin Lyons and lefthander Caden McCoy have both played key roles over the second half of the regular season. Lyons has been the midweek starter and has a 2-0 record with a 1.96 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 18 ⅓ innins. McCoy has been a reliever all year and has given up one run in his last six appearances, dropping his ERA from 8.10 to 4.43. His most recent appearance was his best, giving up two hits in 3 ⅔ innings of shutout ball while striking out six against LSU. He’s now struck out 27 batters in 20 ⅓ innings. Lyons could be a critical starter in the regionals behind Prager, Lamkin and Myles Patton, as well as in Omaha if A&M gets that far. McCoy has earned himself a spot in high leverage situations from here on out.