Q: Do you see Saban going as long as Paterno did and if so do you think he sustains the same level of dominance he has now? (Blumpkinator Dong)

A: no and yes.

Q: You mentioned Sedrick Van Pran in the Monday Thoughts, but he's been mentioned less and less in connection with A&M in the past several weeks. With scholarships getting tight in the 2020 class, does he have a spot if he's ready to commit? Would his commitment help with Zack Evans? (Jessexy)

A: if he were to commit tomorrow, he would. But he isn’t going to and I think he’s going to run out of space (but he’s going to Georgia). As for Evans, I’m sure he’d help a little but not much.

Q: Who is the Next 12th Man?

A: Braden White is my guess.

Q: This may be too detailed of analysis, but how in the heck do they make decisions on starters on the offensive lines. So many configurations. (Richard23)

A: as Jimbo described it, they’re looking for the group that works together best. It may not be the five most talented linemen, but the guys who can operate as a cohesive unit.

Q: Who do we miss most off last year’s team? I watched a game recently and thought to myself how many plays Keke made. Sure would like to have an experienced linebacker back. Then again, how much do we miss an NFL caliber athlete off special teams? (TAMU-83)

A: either Alaka or Dodson. Having an experienced linebacker is a huge plus.

Q: Name the top remaining prospects in order of priority. You can exclude Evans if he is indeed our top target. (4cag)

A: in my opinion or the staff’s? They may not be the same. In my opinion, it goes like this:

Noah Sewell

Donell Harris

Zach Evans

Josh Eaton

Chris Morris

Dontae Manning

Garrett Hayes

Princely Umanmielen

Daniyel Ngata

EJ Smith

Q: In the spring game Moses Reynolds looked like an All SEC corner. Will this carry over to getting a legit shot at one of the corner positions or he's not good enough and will soon be a transfer portal candidate. (poootshy)

A: Moses Reynolds, and he’ll have to get off to a really fast start to stay in the competition. So far, I have not seen him with any of the first three teams.

Q: Who do you think will be a surprise player this year? Each year It seems we have someone that it finally clicks with and they become a solid contributor. See DCS or Pryor last year. Who are you looking for that to be in 2019?

Could you give one guy on offense and one on defense? Thanks (DXB19)

A: Caleb Chapman looks like he could be the surprise player on offense. On defense, I think we may be surprised at how much playing time Andre White gets.

Q: Madubuike, Leal, & Brown go into a cage fight. Who comes out alive? (hippin)

A: All three. They destroy the cage.

Q: Orebo at 6’7”, 265 lbs. What do we do with this guy? Jimbo seemed to really like him. What’s the plan here? Jimbo and Elko have to be scheming something here. Is this guy going to turn into something really special? (elicrow)

A: Right now, he’s a rush end, which is what I expected. And I don’t think they’re scheming anything at this point. They’re trying to get him acclimated to bigtime football. Sorry to disappoint, but he’s got a lot to do before he becomes something special.

Cupp listed at 6’6” 245lbs. How big does he get before he leaves? Can he add 20-30 lbs without losing speed/quickness? Would love to see him too fast for LBs and way too big for safeties...match up nightmare! (elicrow)

A: I think he could probably get up to 260 or so and be just fine. Maybe more.

Q: This may be redundant, but break down the opposing styles of the running backs.. I assume Ngata is the speedster, Evans the bruiser...where does that leave EJ? .. I've seen that kid run and he seems an all around balanced back. Achane is the triple threat? I know he has speed galore and moves. I think we are getting played by Evans but I trust Jimbo if he thinks we have a shot. Id hate to lose out on Smith.. I think that kid has a lot of Dad in him..good player, better student, even better young man to be the "face" of the Aggie program... Ive also heard there will be grade issue with Evans... but those insights are from some tsip folks who are just butt hurt I imagine. We've got limited space so I cannot imagine we take all four.. and I bet Evans is a hold out until late in the season or after..If only for the drama and keeping his name in the spotlight. Does jimbo hold a spot for him ....that late?

And give us our best option for a fullback....H back/ one of the TE.. and of the backs bulk up to the position...sure wish Foster wasnt out of action... (bobdoc54)

A: Ok, easy thing first: Foster is not out of action. Vernon Jackson is. And he is not a fullback. Cagan Baldree is the fullback for 2019 barring a major change and they will use a lot of H-Back.

Now, with Evans/Ngaga/Smith/Achane: Evans is the do everything back. There's not many like him. He brings it all to the table. Ngata is the most elusive. Achane would be a multi-purpose threat like a Percy Harvin. Run him, use him on jet sweeps, put him in the slot, stuff like that. EJ...I don't know where he fits. I know the staff likes him and wants to take him, but the numbers game is pretty serious. They have to make a tough decision with one or two of these guys. And just because EJ is Emmitt's son is NOT a good reason to take him. A&M is running a football team, not a PR factory.

Here's my thought on it: Evans is unique. You hold a spot for him, but see if you can get him to decide earlier as opposed to later. He's likely down to A&M, Alabama and LSU, so you can see what they're doing and figure out the musical chairs. Then you decide between EJ or Ngata. If you have space for Achane, great. But that's just my approach.

Q: What are the keys for us to beat Clemson (as you see it). (js1105)

A: First thing is to make Trevor Lawrence uncomfortable. If you don’t mess with him, you have no shot. Second will be controlling the clock. That’s how A&M got back in the game last year and it will be a necessity this year. Of course, you have to take advantage of every opportunity you get, which A&M did not do last season.

Q: Just read a thread on Pro Football Focus grades for returnIng SEC players. How many of our OL guys do you anticipate grading out above 70 by season's end? Having your best OL guys in the 50s does not inspire confidence. And will overall OL be better this season without McCoy, Sutherland, etc. (pebbycree)

A: Will the line be better? I hope so. They have a lot of experience now with Moore, Green, Hocker and even McCollum. If Prater wins the right guard spot, the line will be junior/junior/redshirt junior/senior/junior. At least they have that going for them. How many will be in the 70s? No clue. If they’re all in the mid-60s, the line will be markedly better.

Q: 1. Roster information just released has the count at 84. The Aussie punter puts us 85, correct?

Correct.

2. How much more attrition do you see and how will that affect the 2020 class size?

They’re going to sign 25. They have 6 scholarship seniors. They need to be at 85. You can do the math from there.

3. For the 2020 season we look to return every starter on both sides of the ball.How does that affect the 2021 recruiting class size? (Have Gun Will Travel)

It may. But as we’re seeing now, Jimbo won’t hesitate to replace veterans if he can recruit really good talent.

Q: Never too early to understand where things are headed with the next recruiting cycle, right? Jimbo and crew are already ahead of it with Stowers (QB) and now Banks (WR). I was looking at the Rivals100 for '21 and there are a lot....a lot....a lot of TX kids on that list.....currently 15. We have Banks in the fold, Bama has McCutchin (CB), and Texas has Milroe (QB), Davis (WR), and Bowman (ATH). What I'm wondering is if you can give some status on where we stand in the recruitment of the balance of: (slixey)

Camar Wheaton #5 RB

Visited for the pool party. A&M will be a player for him, probably.

Savion Byrd #7 OT

Not coming to A&M. They have a ton of other line options.

Tommy Brockermeyer #10 OT

Look at the last name. This is done.

Ja'Tavion Sanders #38 SDE

A&M is actively recruiting him.

Donovan Jackson #40 OT

A&M leads.

Landon Jackson #64 WDE

A&M and Arkansas seem to be up at the top for him.

Tunmise Adeleye #71 SDE

He was supposed to be heading to Alabama, but A&M is back in the game.

Marcus Burris #86 DT

A&M is recruiting him.

Latrelle Neville #96 WR

Not coming to A&M.

Jaeden Roberts #97 OG

No idea.

Before you freak out about the OL comments, consider that A&M not only is in great shape with Jackson, but Bryce Foster, Ruben Fatheree and Colorado OT Trey Zuhn. I would take that haul today and be fine with it.

Q: Just curious, do you think, or know, if the staff will continue to recruit Vernon Broughton or have they moved on? (biromeag)

A: Done. See ya. Good bye.

Q: Could you see Demani Richardson or Brian Williams moving into the Rover or Star position on defense? (ag20)

A: Yes, I could.

Q: Really feeling like Hansford could be key. If he can be a quality backup and even push for significant PT, then we can keep the freshmen off the field in key situations and bring them along more slowly. Can you take us through a couple of the most likely scenarios/combinations at LB? (elicrow)

A: I would like to agree, but right now I don’t. If I had to guess right now, the most likely pairings are:

Buddy Johnson (MIKE), Anthony Hines (SAM)

Andre White (MIKE), Ikenna Okeke (SAM)

Braden White shouldn’t be ignored either. The other freshmen have work to do. Hansford remains a complete unknown at this point. We have seen very little of him, but physically, he looks fantastic. So we’ll see.

Q: Jimbo is killing it on the recruiting trail and it looks like we'll soon have elite talent through the two-deep. We have the facilities, the fan base, the money......texas seems to be on the same track with Herman. I don't want to debate SEC vs Big XII and paths to the playoffs. That's obviously two different things......It's been said though that Texas high school football produces enough talent for both programs to be perennial powers. Do you feel like things are headed in that direction where we'll see the good guys and the sips ranked in the Top 5 like we saw with Florida, Miami, and FSU, back in the day? (slixey)

A: I think we’re pretty much there. A&M and Texas are competing for a number of players, clearly, but not for a lot of others. A&M is running a 4-3 defense and will be looking to find guys that fit that (fast ends, larger linebackers, big DTs); Texas runs a 4-3 and will be looking for a bunch of really big guys to play the 3 down linemen spot and possibly smaller linebackers. A&M is running a pro set and Texas is running the spread. There are some guys that will fit in one program and not in another.

Q: What’s up with C. Richardson? Former 5* now 5th on the depth chart...is this a reflection of the talent we have in the stable, or is he just a bust? Also on the weight side, if he can’t get low enough and we have plenty of depth at RB, why not let him bulk up and play FB? What am I missing here? (elicrow)

A: First, he was never a 5-star. He was a 5.8 4-star. And to play FB, you have to be willing to block first and occasionally get the ball and catch a pass. Richardson came to A&M to run the football. He has no interest in being a fullback. He’s down to 235 pounds, but he’s got a lot of talent to compete with.

Q: Say we lose all four of the big games, but each are close, and we win our bowl game. Where do we end up ranked? How many of those do we need to win to end up top ten? (TAMU-83)

A: If A&M finishes 9-4, they’re between 12th and 15th. If they’re 10-3, they’re in the top 10.