Q: Coaching crew sure seems solid to an ingrate like me. Is it only time will tell thing or do you feel we really caught, or bought, lighting in a maroon colored bottle? (docgere)

A: I think it's definitely a time will tell thing, but one thing's for sure: this is one of the best coaching staffs, on paper, in all of college football.

Q: 1. Fletch mentioned how crazy Bobby Brown's recruitment has been. What is the craziest recruitment you remember covering and why?

2. Compare and contrast the difference in philosophy between the incoming defensive coaching staff vs the last one?

3. Who will be handling special teams coaching? (AggieLuke04)

A: 1) Floyd Raven's was pretty nuts, thanks to his mom forging his signature on an LOI to Ole Miss when he had sent one to A&M. But I'm going to take Lorenzo Phillips, a linebacker in the 2012 class. He stood on the stairs of the Bright Building after committing to A&M and told Courtney and me that he was solid to A&M, he hated LSU, he'd never consider LSU, blah blah blah. Keep in mind Courtney is videotaping all this.

Five days later, LSU offers and he flips. And then calls us liars for printing what he said. Of course, he says he never said it, and the video goes up. Did he do anything? No, he was useless. But I'll always remember him for that.

2) Both are attacking defenses, but I think the real difference is flexibility. John Chavis was going to run his 4-2-5 as much as possible, matchups be damned. Mike Elko has proven he'll adapt his scheme from week to week to go after what he deems an opponent's weakness.

3) I don't know yet. You've got several guys on the staff who have done it before, so they may split the responsibilities. That's happened before.

Q: 1. Any reports from the team on interactions with the new coaching staff? Any player comments?

2. Clearly they will not wait until Spring Football to start familiarizing with the playbook, terminology, etc, any word on how that is going?

3. Am I the only one freezing his ass off? Remind me of this feeling in late July. (BC93)

A: 1) The only thing I've really heard is from recruits, who have said it's a new, very exciting vibe. Jordan Moore was definitely impressed by the new guys. I haven't heard any complaints at all from the current players, so it looks like a solid buy-in.

2) No, that's not something they're going to really get into.

3) I'm writing this with a blanket draped across my shoulders, so no.

Q: Any update on Marvin Wilson? It seemed like he was a possible transfer when Jimbo arrived, but haven't heard anything since.

Is Mailbag going back to Thursdays?

I'm stoked about this new staff. Who is your personal favorite position coach and why? (hogtide)

A: 1) Nothing to report at this point. I think he stays at FSU.

2) It is this week.

3) I think it's Jerry Montgomery. He's got a great track record, he's still young, he's recruited key areas for A&M in the past (with great success) and he's clearly improved players at both the college and pro level.

Q: 1. Who are the possible surprise uncommitted (so far) recruits who may sign with A&M on NSD? How many of your list of 10 do you expect to actually sign with the Aggies?

2. What's your revised overall grade of the assistant coaching hires?

3. Does Billy Kennedy survive the season if the Ags don't even their SEC Conference record? And actually make the NCAA or NIT?

4. Will you get an AggieYell exclusive interview with Jimbo Fisher? (Chuck70)

A: 1) I think "surprise" varies from person to person. Would I be surprised if Isaac Taylor-Stuart chose A&M? No. I wouldn't be surprised if Vernon Jackson flips from Alabama. I wouldn't be surprised if Leon O'Neal and Jaylen Waddle both end up at A&M. That may surprise other people, but there's a good bit of information or evidence out there that suggests it could happen. Of my list of 10, I could see them getting 6. Maybe more, but I'm being realistic but leaning pessimistic.

2) Oh, a solid A. This is a really good staff.

3) They'd better get into the NCAA and win a game or two if he wants to be really secure. I said this with Kevin Sumlin a lot over his last two seasons -- all the excuses are gone. This is his team, with his players and his assistants. There's only one constant left. There's no one else to blame.

4) I hope.

Q: Why did renfro keep playing this season? He got absolutely torched.

Who else you say? Oh I dunno. Siverand? Elam? Fuller? (Atelot)

A: So you'd throw a guy out there who was just learning the position, a guy who was torched so bad in the opener he didn't play again and a guy who had a penchant for getting ejected for targeting over Renfro. He wasn't good, but at least he could tackle and force turnovers. That's more than the other three did in their opportunities. To be fair, I think Siverand can play. But it's not an overnight process.

Q: Last few signing days have been rather uneventful. Odds of big, pleasant last minute signings for a change? If you sense a positive swing, which players come our way? (ag22)

A: I don't know if things will go all the way to signing day, but A&M remains firmly in the mix for a lot of talented players. Just a few: RB Charles Strong, S Leon O'Neal, CB Isaac Taylor-Stuart, WR Jaylen Waddle, TE Glenn Beal and DE Jeremiah Martin. That's not the full list. But if they got those guys to sign on and get the Manvel kids and Tyree Wilson to do the same, it's a strong class.

Q: We’ve heard Elko will be multiple in his defensive alignments. With our current personnel, what do you feel is the optimal alignment to field the best unit as our base D?

Seems Madibuke, Keke/Mack, Peevy could be a formidable 3 man front. Then a combination of the above on the inside with Durham and Clemons on the outside in a 4 man front.

Where does Okeke fit in the new scheme. Elko utilizes what he calls a rover in a nickel set, with this player being more a tweener than a true DB, correct? Seems like a great role for him. (cosc_ag)

A: I think they're still best in a 4-man front. They don't really have a nose tackle, though Mack could be that guy. If they had a Zaycoven Henderson type, I might reconsider, but they don't. I'm also a little iffy on the linebacker situation. I thought .a 3-man front was the way to go last year, but Landis Durham altered that equation. But with the lack of depth at DE right now, who knows where they go?

I'm intrigued to see what they do with Okeke. Right now, they've got Donovan Wilson, Larry Pryor, Derrick Tucker and Keldrick Carper at safety. Wilson and Tucker are good starters, but they definitely need more depth. But he does fit the role of a rover, because he's almost got linebacker size. It'll be interesting to see if they try a few possibilities with him in the spring. If O'Neal does come back, then that opens up more possibilities for Okeke.

Q: Due to the difference in both defensive and offensive schemes that Jimbo will deploy versus what Sumlin did, what team(s) next year do you think we will benefit playing against that we otherwise struggled under Sumlin’s system? (MChiles9008)

A: Auburn and Mississippi State immediately came to mind, for whatever reason. Hopefully, they'll scheme better for LSU as well. The defense really hasn't been the issue against Alabama; it's been the offense turning the ball over frequently.

Q: What is your opinion of the coaching staff in regards to player development? You have mentioned he has assembled a great recruiting staff, but how are they on development. (GCJC)

A: Jay Graham has put a bunch of running backs in the NFL, including Davin Cook. Tim Brewster coached Antonio Gates and Bo Scaife. Mike Elko developed a bunch of no-names into a tough defense at Wake Forest. Maurice Linguist developed his Minnesota secondary into one of the nation's best. We all know what Jim Turner and Terry Price have done (Joeckel, Matthews, Ogbuehi, Harrison, Garrett, Hall). So yeah, they've got some guys with some scalps on the wall.

Q: The new staff, will their impact be bigger in recruiting or coaching? (h273)

A: Across the board? Recruiting (hopefully).

Q: What is your level of confidence we land the following recruits:

Joseph Ossai Joshua Moore Keondre Coburn Tyree Wilson (Have Gun Will Travel)

A: 1) I can't get a gauge on the Ossai situation. He's not talking. Texas has definitely made strong inroads and A&M will have to cut them off quickly. Otherwise, he'll end up in Austin.

2) I don't think Moore is a real priority for this staff.

3) Coburn seems to be wavering some. He's taking an official to Miami this weekend. The Aggies need to press him hard to get him to flip, though.

4) Wilson's definitely looking around. I say it's 50/50 he sticks with A&M. He could go to Arkansas. They sure think he's going to end up with them.

Q: Prediction on our first appearance in the CFB Playoffs? (Aggie911)

A: You don't want my predictions. Ever.

Q: Suppose we have eight spots left, call your shot(s).? (pkag032)

A: This is what I'd love to see: Taylor-Stuart, Martin, O'Neal, Waddle, Vernon Jackson, Glenn Beal, Coburn and James Foster. Pull that and you're incredibly happy. Of that bunch, I feel most confident about O'Neal and Waddle.

Q: 1) Who are the top 5 “must have” recruits for 2019 for us in your opinion?

2) Can you explain how Jimbo’s offense will mesh with or differ from Dickey’s offense? (gigem85)

A: 1) Honestly, I haven't looked a whole lot at the '19 class. But here are a few names that have caught my eye already: QB Grant Gunnell, RB Trey Sanders (Noah Cain and Isaiah Spiller are nice, but this kid is at another level), DE DeMarvin Leal, LB Marcus Brooks. I also like WR Arjei Henderson. All of those guys are in-state, save Sanders.

2) It's Jimbo's offense, don't think otherwise. But a lot of the general concepts are the same. They're going to want to get the ball out to receivers quickly, but I think they'll be running different routes than what we saw the last few years (thank God).

Q: Depict Elko rover for me and name some names you find fitting it. (Hurting_10toes)

A: This is what Elko said about it 51 weeks ago: “Years ago, we realized there is this group of kids out there who are really good football players who are really athletic, really good blitzers, really good tacklers that can’t play in the box as linebackers and can’t play as safeties.

“So we created this positon where the responsibility of that job is to do the things they’re good at — blitz, run and hit, make plays on the perimeter without having to cover as a high safety, without having to line up over a guard and play physical linebacker.”

A: Three guys come to mind for me off the bat: Ikenna Okeke, true freshman Brian Johnson and...Buddy Johnson.

Wait, what?

Hear me out on Buddy. He's listed at 220 pounds, but I don't know if he's really there. But he's extremely athletic, showed the ability to cover some last season and what's he do best? Blitz, run and hit and make plays on the perimeter.

Now that I've said that, two guys I overlooked are backup safeties: Larry Pryor and Keldrick Carper. Both guys struggled in pass coverage last year, but both guys have size and can hit. They've got the speed to blitz as well. They've got a few options, and I'll be really interested to see how this plays out.

Q: Are there any candidates on our current team to move to DE for depth? I’m looking at those guys that formerly were TEs mostly like McZeal. (Jessexy)

A: McZeal is really the only one that could be a fit. But he'd have to gain another 15 pounds at least from the 235 he's listed at to even have a shot. But it's an entirely new position for any of those guys.

Q: So did B. Brown just have a second coming and wanted to go back to Alabama or did the coaching change have that much influence on his decision? On Signing day? Why did he wait until then to decommit and commit to Big Al.(Miltond)

A: He seemed to be really upset that Sumlin and John Chavis were gone, but now he's listening again. I have no idea why he did what he did. Trying to pry into the mind of a 17-year-old football recruit is dangerous and foolhardy.

Q: Could you give a run down of the status of all Aggies that were either drafted or free agents from last year's class. This would include which team they are on and if they start, on roster or no team. Thanks. (Davidimy)

A: Myles Garrett (1st overall) -- NFL All-Rookie Team, 31 tackles and 7 sacks in 10 games.

Justin Evans (2nd round, Tampa) -- 66 tackles, 3 INT before going on IR after week 13.

Daeshon Hall (3rd round, Carolina) -- played in one game. No stats.

Josh Reynolds (4th round, LA Rams) -- 11 catches, 104 yards, 1 TD

Jermiane Eluemunor (5th round, Baltimore) -- NFL All-Rookie Team

Ricky Seals-Jones (UFA, Arizona) -- 12 catches, 201 yards, 3 TD after being activated in mid-season.

Trevor Knight (UFA, Arizona) -- 3rd string QB for Atlanta

Avery Gennessy (UFA, Jacksonville) -- Jags practice squad

Speedy Noil (UFA, Seattle) -- Released

Claude George (UFA, Seattle) -- Released

Jeremy Tabuyo (UFA, Rams) -- Released

Q: Can you explain how it will work between Fisher and Dickey so far as their responsibilities in practice, plan preparation, and game day execution? (AgNok)

A: Dickey will probably oversee most of the offense (certainly the QBs) during practice, even though Fisher will probably be actively involved (read: yelling at QBs if they screw up). They'll collaborate on the game plan and Fisher will call the shots on Saturdays.

Q: What type of salary do FB Graduate Assistants (such as C McQueen) make?

Who are the Graduate Assistants working under Jimbo? (BoxsterBoy72)

A: 1) Not much at all. I'd be surprised if it's $30,000 a year.

2) I know of two: Lee Grimes and former FSU QB Sean McGuire.