AggieYell Mailbag

Q: Which Senior/Seniors on the team do u think could come back and play 1 more year to help the team win? (El Capullo)

A: Two guys who could really help, and I think would benefit from it, are Aaron Hansford and Jayden Peevy. Both guys have been productive this year, but an extra season of development could increase their draft stock significantly. Dan Moore is at least considering it, and having a veteran presence back would sure help with a very young line next year.

Q: Theme on other sites seems to be that we are coming up short in both recruiting and development of WR's due to the fact that none of our supposed talented Fish (Demas, Moose) and RS-Fish (Wright, Jackson) can get on the field, especially when our targets have narrowed greatly. What says you? Is the offense too demanding of these new players? Are we not recruiting the right players or developing them properly? Does Craig need to go as the WR coach? (Bankwalker1)

A: I think it’s premature to make that kind of comment. Demas may be on the field Saturday, and what if he tears it up? What then? I think it’s ridiculous to look at 4 games and decide that’s how things will be for the future. The offense is complex. There’s no doubt about that and Jimbo Fisher is demanding. But if they’re not developing guys, how do you explain Chase Lane? Or Ainias Smith? They’re being selective by not including them. And last I checked, Shad Banks was one of the top wideouts in the 2021 class and they’re legitimately in it for another Rivals 100 wideout in Brian Thomas.

TL/DR: no, I don’t agree with that.

Q: Do you ever think the following agreement is made with a 2 or lower 3 star player? Coaches at aTm (or other big school) will accept your verbal early and count you toward our class. If the spot remains open you are welcome to join the class. But if we fill up you will need to go somewhere else. If along the way you find a school you like better and think you'll get more PT we understand. This could benefit both parties as it would help the lower star player get his name to be higher profile or if the class doesn't fill he gets to be included. I'm not asking this just as an aTm thing but does it happen at all? (Aggiebutts03)

A: All that typing for this: No.

Q: Do you see the potential for smaller schools getting more higher star recruits as a result of the transfer portal "free agency" that seems to be emerging? At what point when a player hits the portal are other schools allowed to recruit them? Seems no one wants to sit and learn anymore and will be more inclined to move on to a, say, TCU or Tech to get the PT. Immediate gratification. I noticed the Sopsher kid that everyone wanted last year is now leaving Bama. (Tsmith3001)

A: teams can contact players the instant they hit the portal. Could it mean lesser programs get some bigger names? Quite possibly. But if they couldn’t hack it where they were, what’s to say they’ll succeed elsewhere?

Q: Any chance we see Achane in the kick off return game ? Just to give him a crack to use his speed back there -I remember Corbin taking one to the house vs Arky his freshman year (gatillero_76)

A: I wouldn’t mind it, but they don’t seem to like that idea at the moment.

Q: Ausbon made the comment about how complex Jimbo's offensive playbook is. How would you compare the complexity of Jimbo's offense to Bama and other teams? (DentonAg80)

A: A&M’s offense is one of the most complex in college football and I’ve heard it called NFL-lite in the past. It’s a lot more complex than rival SEC programs.

Q: How much of the class do you see as being filled by early signing period (Wick)

A: I’m really not sure at this point. It’s a very strange year.

Q: Who are the future NFL players on Arkansas roster? How did the Arkansas defense do a better job containing Ole Miss than the Alabama defense did? How did a walk-on (filling in for an injured starter?) have 3 interceptions against Ole Miss? Was it blind luck interceptions or previously undiscovered great talent in the walk-on? How good is their secondary? (SGMan)

A: Arkansas went out, rushed 3 and dropped 8 and played zone and forced Matt Corrall to be patient and make throws into tight spaces. He couldn’t. Alabama didn’t change their scheme, played man and got burned.

Q: Next season will all returning players be classified as they are now? For example, will Demas and Jones still be considered freshman? Or, will they progress as normal but be given 2 senior years? (Aggiewoo)

A: they will be the same classification that they are now. Freshmen will remain freshman and so on.

Q: What’s the recruiting strategy that we have for defense? Do we recruit for specific positions or do we recruit a type of athlete that can be multiple in function in a defensive unit? (Big Smoothie)

A: They recruit for specific positions, but they’ve had the good fortune of signing players who have the ability to play more than one spot.

Q: Opponents 3rd down conversion is the biggest blemish on the D lately. What do we do differently to get off the field?

Tackle.

Piggy OL has graded out pretty well based on PFF, but their running game is pretty bad. Why the discrepancy? They've also given up 11 sack. Seems like the scores would be lower.

I don’t have an answer to that one. The interior offensive line, especially, hasn’t been very good.

Ag D allowing 75 rush YPG; Piggies averaging about 100. Does our average go up or down this week? (Elicrow)

A: It goes up a little bit. 75 yards a game is pretty darned low.

Q: 1) Other than Dan Moore, have any of the other senior OL hinted at returning next year due to their bonus eligibility?

Not yet.

2) Best guess at starting OL next year if none return?

Kenyon Green (LT), Aki Ogunbiyi (LG), Luke Matthews (Center), Layden Robinson (RG), Blake Trainor (RT)

3) Will Jaylon Jones and McKinley Jackson (and any other true freshmen with significant playing time) still be considered freshmen next season since this year doesn’t count. (Gigem85)

A: Yes.

Q: If it's true Calzada has been passed by King on the depth chart, will he stay put next year? (Longneck80)

A: I can’t get into his head and say. I think they’ll compete through camp, so the situation now may be irrelevant.

Q: Do you still believe we end up with a top 10 recruiting class? (Thepassag)

A: Yes.

Q: Mark it looks like Bobby Taylor is trending toward an Aggie Lock. He has a tweet proclaiming him the leader of the 2022 Aggie class when do you think he commits and who follows. Also noticed a tweet from Leal about big things happening in CS and the same day Ewers decommitted any connection? (aggiecadet03)

A: I’m not sure when he’ll commit, but he sure seems like he’s heading in that direction. As for the Leal tweet, it’s possible but I don’t think it’s likely.

Q: Have we ever had this kind of opportunity - with the sips falling apart and 0U, lsu & Auburn being mediocre? If so, when and what happened?

Not that I know of. Also, in most times, A&M didn’t care about what LSU and Auburn were doing. That (especially Auburn) is a new development.

If we go 9-1 (in addition to all that above) what could happen with this class and the next? When will we start to see the effects? (DXB19)

A: If they go 9-1, then you could see some effects later in this class if they have some spots after the early signing period. The biggest effect will be in the 2022 class.

Q: Who are the three biggest de-commitments A&M has ever had? (brohrer28)

A: There are so many that I don’t even know where to start, except for Corey Nelson.

Q: Who are YOUR top 10 targets for 2022? (Wrckncrw)

These guys would be on the list:

Q: I’ve been saying for a few years that our backup QB’s need some PT. Trevor Lawrence tested positive, what happens to us if the same thing happens to Mond? (h273)

A: I’d seriously like to know when you think they’ve had the opportunity this season to get the backups in except Alabama, and Haynes King got in. So if something happens to Mond, the backup -- who gets reps in practice -- goes in.