AggieYell Mailbag

Q: A&M’s record going to the Bama game in late November will be?

Under the original schedule, I would have said 10-0. Now, I don't know. We have to see what changes are made.

Who will be the 3rd RB on the depth chart?

Devon Achane.

Give me the 5 backup OL this year? (El Capullo)

Chris Morris, Barton Clement, Luke Matthews, Tank Jenkins and Cole Blanton.

Q: 1. You're SEC Commissioner Sankey. What data do you objectively use to say Conference football opponents only for the 2020 season; delayed start of the fall season with 12 games; 2020 season start postponed to the 2021 spring; 2020 season scrapped and start over with 2021 spring practice for the 2021 season?

A: I'd use projections and trends to see which direction the infection and death rates are going. The death rates are now considerably lower than where they were three months ago, but I can't answer what "acceptable risk" is for an individual or a conference.

A: You're AD Ross Bjork. How do you distribute stadium seating for whatever number of games are played at Kyle Field, if any, for the 2020 season given the pandemic requirements of social distancing, masks, and whatever else the government health officials say must be done? (Chuck70)

A: At this point, you can't point to a single thing because you don't know what options are going to be presented to you. That's one of the most difficult parts about all this.

Q: High school coach yesterday told me yesterday that he does not see any way of being able to play HS football this fall. So what is the impact of that for the HS football players who are seniors and are juniors? No one gets to see them play. Many keep their grades up to play and if they cannot, they will likely slide. How will this impact 2020 and 2021 recruiting? (DentonAg80)

A: Well, 2020 recruiting is done, so it's 2021 and 2022. It's going to make things very difficult, more seriously. It's going be going off of old film and what high school coaches say. The next two years, especially, are going to be an even better crap shoot in terms of recruiting.

Q: The Big10 followed the Ivy League and now the PAC is following them. Do you expect Sankey will fall in line to a "conference only" schedule?

Also, how ridiculous does that idea sound to you vs. playing all games? (maddog83)

A: I think the SEC is going to be examine every option they can before making a decision, but ultimately, I don't think they're going to have a choice. That will be both exciting (if it happens) and depressing. I would have liked things to stay as they were, from A&M's perspective, but that's already an impossibility.

Q: What is the driver for all these conference only decisions? It’s not money ( at least I don’t see it). It has to be more than just COVID concerns. (dad_in_tx)

A: No, I think it really is COVID reasons. Have you ever seen an athletic conference turn down an opportunity to make a buck if the potential for significant liability wasn't involved? That's blood in the water for them, so they must be terrified of a lawsuit.

Q: Why are the Aggies going after such low rated palyers at such an early stage in recruiting? There aren't that many sleepers out there. Do you really expect the new committments to compete against the talent we already have on campus? How so? (aggdoc)

A: My response to this is simple: watch. the. film. I don't care if guys like Tyreek Chappell are ranked as 5.5 3-stars -- their performance is far superior to that. It's been a difficult time to scout and some players have not been evaluated as they would have been otherwise. So they're not sleepers, they're guys who have not been properly evaluated. And yes, I expect them to compete. They wouldn't be offered if the staff didn't think they could play. This isn't Playstation where stars automatically translate into a great player.

Q: If you had to pick the most underrated player on our defense who is it? (ChampKindKHOU11)

A: Jayden Peevy. And it took me about two hours of thought to decide on him. But if you look at plays made per snap, he's way up there. I've been banging on this drum for a few years, and I expect he'll have a huge senior year (whenever that is).

Q: Since we have one of the most experienced teams, wouldn't we benefit more than most from a conference only schedule? (3s2ghill)

A: That depends on the form of the conference-only schedule. What if they decide to go with 10 games and add Florida and Georgia for A&M? That's hardly a benefit. That's a screw job.

Q: Your wild ass guesses:

% probability we only do a conference teams only schedule? If so , do we back fill with teams from the East, like Missouri, Tenn, Florida?

A: 75% and falling. And yes, I expect they'd add teams from the East.

% probability the entire season gets cancelled? If so, do players get another year of eligibility and are scholarship limits relaxed to match? (HaveGunWillTravel)

A: 25% and rising. And I would think you'd have blanket redshirts and no real scholarship limits for at least two years. Which would be wild.

Q: With the movement towards conference games only, do you know if conference championship games will happen and if there will still be a playoff to determine the national championship? It seems as if the leagues are satisfied with just conference games which one would think would increase the odds that if there is a playoff, the SEC has a better chance of getting two teams into the playoffs. (localag)

A: I don't know for sure, but I've got to think if they have the season, they'll have the championship games.

Q: Although recruiting under Jimbo has been at an all time high can you name some guys who you thought were going to be Ags but went elsewhere? In hindsight I wish Jimbo would have reeled in Brock Purdy (jakeh05)

A: I thought EJ Smith was up until the end, but that deal worked out when they got McKinnley Jackson with that scholarship (at least, I think it worked out). There haven't been many players under Jimbo that have suddenly decided they're going somewhere else. Christian Harris is the one who really bugs me in that respect.

Q: What’s the logic in a conference only schedule being somehow “safer”? (ag98)

A: Uniform rules for testing, quarantines and travel. That's about all I can give you on that one.

Q: We seem to be reeling in a bunch of 3 star recruits, are they better then their ratings and just haven't been reevaluated because of COVID? (Defaultag)

A: Like I said above, watch the film. I think the last two guys, especially, are better than 3-star status. Considerably so.

Q: So I was watching the GA game again yesterday. Our oline is terrible. Prater is gone, but any real chance Moore or Green are replaced? They play tackle like they are wearing roller skates. (darrelljones1212)

A: My response would be, with who? There's nobody who really projects to a left tackle besides maybe Chris Morris or Kenyon Green (who I think would be more likely to start on the right side). Your other options are Cole Blanton and Blake Trainor. So that's four guys with a combined zero snaps at tackle in a college game. For three of them, zero snaps period. Not optimal.

Q: What do you think the fallout will be if schools were not to play this Fall: Is it highly likely they would shift Spring sports to accommodate, would there still be visits allowed, and how would the scholarship limits be handled with some not playing their Senior year? (Apollo1914)

A: Great questions. The only thing I can believe is that all the other sports would still go on as scheduled, and what a train wreck that could be. Could you imagine a football, baseball AND basketball game on campus on the same day? As for the rest, I don't know if the powers that be even know. It would be another mess to sort out.