Q: Regarding attrition...if a player is approached about departing and given a gentle nudge, but would rather stay because they simply love being part of the team and want to graduate from A&M, do they get to keep their scholarship and stay on the team? Or would the coaches simply “cut” them

Also, why do you think Larry Prior left so close to end if his career? (aggiewoo)

A: Scholarships are renewed from year to year. So if they're not getting the job done, then it's possible the scholarship can be made an academic one where they stay at A&M, but they're not playing football anymore. It's not a frequent occurrence, but it happens.

As for Pryor, I think he felt like his playing time was diminishing and he may have just decided it wasn't worth it anymore. He's got his degree, a little baby boy and a serious girlfriend. Those could have been a lot more important than spending 40 hours a week studying, working out and practicing for 10 snaps or so a game.

Q: Thoughts on 2020 O-line? Who of the 2nd team, redshirts and fish make a push in 2020 for playing time? Does K. Green move outside? Who will be our next C? (Bankwalker1)

A: The easiest one is the next center. It'll be Ryan McCollum barring something unforeseen (which is exactly what happened this year). As for the rest of the line, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same group again in 2020. You'll have three seniors (four, with McCollum) in Dan Moore, Jared Hocker and Carson Green; more importantly, nobody has shown up to challenge them. Blake Trainor and Cole Blanton could challenge at tackle, but they have to stay healthy. Same goes for Tank Jenkins at guard. Luke Matthews and Bart Clement haven't shown much yet, and Chris Morris and Aki Ogunbiyi probably won't be ready to play as true freshmen. As for Kenyon Green, I think he'll eventually play tackle. It's just a matter of when the move comes.

Q: Who out of Jaylon Jones and Eric Young gets moved to safety? Could you compare their cornerback skill sets? Jalen Preston what gives? (Prater1978)

A: I think your question is already answered – Young is at safety now and played it last week. It fits him well because he's big, physical and can hit. He's not quite as fast or as smooth as Jones is as a corner.

What gives with Preston? He got a concussion in the first half last week and that's why he didn't play later. He's backing up the best wideout on the team (Jhamon Ausbon), so he hasn’t many opportunities. Neither have any other backups on the outside.

Q: Will Jimbo reach out to some FSU commits?

Why would he? Has no connection to them.

Did Jimbo completely stop contact with guys like Kimber & Lindberg, or does he keep recruiting them since some guys change their mind late to stay close to home?

I'm sure they check on occasion, but they're hardly a priority.

Is Young to safety likely a permanent move; and if so, do we need to add 2 more CB? (SGMan)

A: I could easily see it being permanent, but it could also be a Deshazor Everett kind of move where he's doing it out of necessity. We'll see. And no, they don't need two more corners. They have two in this class already and will likely get a third.

Q: How does Jimbo manage the QB's over the next three-four years with all the talent and ego's? How do you think he should manage the QB's, what's the best case scenario? (Big Smoothie)

A: Answer to both questions is a lot more simple than you think – best player plays. He's not going to pull a Sumlin and play favorites. If you look at how Fisher operated at FSU, he tended to have one very good starter and at least one excellent guy waiting in the wings. He's trying to build that kind of depth at A&M now. If you get Mond, then Calzada or Haynes King and then Eli Stowers, you start to build the Christian Ponder to EJ Manuel to Jameis Winston string Jimbo had at FSU.

Q: What are our W-L coming out of a bye week? Seems like we always come out flat and get lit up. (LTGrenader)

A: They are 2-5 after the bye week since 2013, including two losses to Mississippi State and two to Alabama. They are on a 5-game losing streak after bye weeks.

Q: Rank the below positions in order of importance to win a Natty. Which positions can we be deficient in and still compete for championships? Which positions require elite recruits, which do not? What positions groups do we under and over recruit in your opinion?

O-line

QB

WRs

RBs

D-line

LBs

DBs (oamj)

A: If you want to win a national championship, you have to be really good IN ALL AREAS. No deficiencies. The only way you can avoid that is having a player like Johnny with the team A&M had last year, that stuffed the run but could be beaten in the air. Manziel could probably be the antidote to that, but how often do you have a player like that? There's a reason he'll be remembered for generations.

I think Jim Turner under-recruited offensive linemen. That seems to be changing, but the 2021 class has to be great. Wideouts, they get plenty. I think they recruit enough everywhere except maybe linebacker this year, but if you get Antonio Doyle to go with Chris Russell, Andre White, Ke'Shun Brown and Tarian Lee, you may have something anyway.

Q: Who are your Top 10 2021 must-get recruits? (gigem85)

A: I don't believe in "must-get"s. There are positions of need you have to fill with quality talent. How you fill those can come from a bunch of different directions. But getting Eli Stowers and Shad Banks is a really great start.

Q: What are your thoughts on the basketball team and how they will do this year-in conference and overall? (bigty)

A: I think they're young; their talent level is improving rapidly; they have a lot of outside shooters who can also cut to the basket but they are desperately lacking size. They will probably get pounded on the boards and inside. I think they'll be better than last year, but does that make them a tournament team? I have serious doubts.

Q: Besides the obvious, name your all-time most fun to watch Aggies on both offense and defense. For me, offense would include Dickey, Leland, Rodney, and Javorskie. Defense would be Von, Miles, Ty Warren, Roper/Wallace and Neeley. All-time however would have to be Domingo Bryant. Don’t know if the stats back it up, but he always seemed to make a big play when you needed it. Mostly though I just like to say Domingo. (TAMU-83)

A: My frame of reference is a little less than some folks. One guy I enjoyed watching was Dat, because he was always in the right place when he needed to be. He was a machine like that. Von and Myles were gimmes. Armani Watts is a guy who didn’t get credit for being fun to watch, but he didn’t mind hitting people and loved to jump a route. Being on the sideline for his picks against Tennessee and Arkansas was awesome.

I don’t know you can put together a list of offensive players and not add Christian Kirk and Trayveon Williams. They were a blast to watch. Kirk just made so many amazing plays, and Trayveon had no quit. I also loved Ja’mar Toombs for that same reason — no quit. Try to bring him down. And Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews were fun just because they dominated everyone they faced.

Q: A) Why hasn't Camron Horry played more? He played at the first of the season and then has disappeared. Is he hurt or just not good. Renick a walk on has stepped up and taken his playing time.

A: Horry hasn’t been dressed for a month. Whether he’s off the team or hurt hasn’t been made clear, but I think he’s done. Renick wouldn’t have been out there otherwise, but he has done more than either Horry or Glenn Beal.

B) And if Horry is not good and will not see the field, what does someone like him do regarding school? He is a redshirt Sophomore, which means he is hopefully a Junior in school and would be a graduating senior next year. Someone like him who is not good enough to go pro would not want to transfer if they are graduating next year but are "asked" to leave the team to make room for the new class, what do they do? It is not like Starkel or Martin who transferred after they had already graduated from college or a freshman or true sophomore who could transfer and not lose much of a step school wise. Someone like Horry would not want to transfer if he would be graduating in the next year school wise. Granted Horry's dad could pick up the school tab, but what about those in his position who can't afford to pay for school and they would be in a position to graduate in a year? I'll hang up and listen. (syoungblood)

A: They can have their scholarships transferred to an academic one, freeing up a spot. Either way, there will be an opening on the 85 man roster.

Q: Is Illinois a serious threat in the recruitment of Antonio Doyle? (jessexy)

A: I’m not counting them out, but I’m still expecting him to commit to A&M.

Q: Could you offer your thoughts on Calzada, his games played/redshirt status? If over the four game limit, why do you think he played last week and not Foster? Why do you think Jimbo coaxed Foster from the portal ledge if he has no plans to use him? (SuwaneeAg)

A: Calzada is at three games, so his redshirt is intact. That’s why Foster played against Mississippi State. And why did he talk Foster off the ledge? Because he would have two quarterbacks if he didn’t. Look, Connor Blumrick is no longer a quarterback. He’s played running back and been on special teams the last two games. There’s a need for Foster on this football team, for both 2019 and 2020 — regardless of whether he starts.

Q: 1)I know we have a running joke about needing more linebackers because for years we did need them. But given that we rarely have more than 2 LB's on the field and seemingly one at times, just signed a bunch last year that are showing promise, should we worry less about quantity and just focus on getting 1-2 good ones each year?

A: I think I would be more happy if they could get 3 good ones. How’s that for a dodge? Frankly, I think they’re still a little thin at the position. But getting Doyle to go with the guys they have will have you in pretty good shape for 2020. But 2021, you need to go get some numbers again.

2) Odds that Inside FSU twitter guy is right and Saban is going to coach the Seminoles? (Taxman90)

A: 0%.

Q: How bad is Kenneth Phillips injury and was he projected to play LB or Safety? What do you think A&Ms chances are with Sewell? (Ag20)

A: It’s bad enough that I think he could use both a regular and medical redshirt before he sees the field. He was projected to be a hybrid between linebacker and safety — a real Rover, as it were.

As for Sewell, those chances aren’t nil but they’re pretty close.

Q: Do we get the trifecta....Manning, Doyle and Harris? (el capullo)

A: I feel good about two of the three — Harris and Doyle. Manning? I just don’t know enough to say. But he’s seemed to be leaning A&M’s way for a while before going radio silent.

Q: Are we in danger of losing any coaches? If so, who? (h273)

A: Let’s get to hiring season and see what’s open first.

Q: You mentioned the Walk-On TE as someone that has helped the running game emerge over the last few weeks. What are the other contributing factors? I just thought we have been playing really weak DL’s. Will USCe give us any trouble there? Or will we not find out if they have really improved to be average until we go to Athens? (DXB19)

A: Well, two things right off the bat: Ole Miss does not have a weak D-line. They’re one of the surprises of the season and have been pretty solid against the run — they’re 35th nationally, giving up 129 yards a game. And Arkansas’ run defense sucks — 123rd — and A&M couldn’t run on them. So that kind of defuses the idea it’s just been crappy defenses that they’ve taken advantage of. Something has changed and improved things.

I think there are a few possibilities: first, and most obvious, has been the addition of the designed quarterback run as a consistent part of the offense. Kellen Mond has run better and the running game has improved since it happened. Second, the tight end has become more of a part of the offense, with both Jalen Wydermyer and Renick being out there a fair amount. Third, Isaiah Spiller has really developed over the past four games. And, maybe the line has finally started to gel. The offense has gotten consistently more effective over the past month, and the rushing game has gone from 100th nationally to 73rd. That’s still not great, but it’s tangible progress.

Now, for A&M’s next two opponents: South Carolina has the No. 47 rush defense nationally. A&M should be able to run on them some if they keep playing as they have. Georgia may be another story. They have the No. 4 rushing defense in the nation and the No. 8 defense overall. Mond is going to have to carry the load in that one.

Q: Jeremiah Martin, just undersized, lack of speed what’s your thoughts on him going forward? (trogge)

A: I don’t think he’s too small or too slow. He’s just been ineffective. He hasn’t really developed any secondary moves to help him rush the passer, and he’s not going to outmuscle linemen. He’s got to refine his game.

Q: I take that a player/transfer we get thru the portal counts against total scholarships, not the 2020 class only…

Correct...

How many portal players would you think have an interest in coming to Aggieland for a final season or two? Any names? and do we just let natural attrition give us the space to sign them, like Trevor Knight.... And whats jimbo's feeling about transfer portal players... Worked out well with recent TE for the Aggies (Bobdoc54)

A: He wants the best players and doesn’t care where they come from. As for who might want to come, we know about Javonne Shepherd. The rest, we’ll wait and see. But I don’t expect them to be big players for transfers. They don’t have the room.

Q: I think we all had hopes that 2020 might be the year for A&M to make a run. Knowing that the team will have 25 new freshmen next year, does that alter your expectations? Any other factors alter your expectations? What are 3 things the program needs to compete at a championship level consistently?

The 25 freshman doesn’t alter my expectations at all. That was, in fact, something I was expecting. The big thing I need to see is the offensive line performing at a much higher level. As for the three things you need to do: recruit very well, develop that talent and put together a scheme that maximizes their abilities.

On another topic, I asked earlier in the week about O'Grady and Divinity specifically. Suppose both of these guys were true sophomores when they were dismissed / left the team. Could they, or would they have to, enter the portal to join another team? Would they have to sit out or would that be up to the NCAA? (boo yah)

A: If they want to transfer, they have to go in the portal whether they have been booted or they left the team or whatever. Then, if they haven’t graduated, they would have to appeal to play in 2020.

Q: Will shepard come through the transfer portal? Will he count against the 2019 or 2020 class. (4cag)

A: ALL transfers go through the portal. And he will not count against any class; he will count against the 85-man total. Nothing on this has really changed.

Q: 1. 2nd team OL. Did you see enough last week to get an idea of who is showing the most potential for moving up in the rotation? Not starting but maybe earning more snaps.

Heck no. But if I did evaluate them in that fashion, none of them would have helped themselves.

2. Trying to understand how guys like Renick, Morris, etc. apparently don't show enough in practice to earn playing time, but when 'forced' into action they do well in games. Were they so far down the depth chart early in the season that they didn't get enough reps in practice to get noticed? (pebbycree)

A: They were down the depth chart and didn’t flash when given their (limited) opportunity. Also, both were hurt over the summer — Renick didn’t even get onto the field until after we had stopped being able to watch practices. Morris missed at least two weeks. So they were stuck behind the 8 ball, and it took injuries for them to get their shot. Glenn Beal went down and Camron Horry vanished, so Renick got his shot. Morris got in because Roney Elam got unofficially suspended, Charles Oliver got hurt and Clifford Chattman went down. They both took advantage of the opportunities once they had them.