AggieYell Mailbag

Q: I have a question regarding transfers. After reading the table someone posted earlier this week detailing transfers to and from the different schools I got to wondering how these schools sign the transfer student under the scholarship limitations each school has each year. It is my understanding that a school when it takes a transfer has to use it against the 25 allotted scholarships it has each year. If that is the case, how does a school sign transfers if it uses all of its allotted annual scholarships. Alabama, if I remember correctly signed more than 25 during the last cycle (using the prior year available scholarships), so how does it have room to sign the linebacker from Tennessee?

A: there are a few ways they can do it. If they undersigned one year and freshman come in for the spring semester, they can move some of those scholarships to the previous year until that group hits 25. There’s also the idea of a greyshirt, where players don’t enroll until the following spring after signing day, so their scholarships count to the next class (see Braedon Mowry). There’s also the blueshirt, where a player comes in “unrecruited” — no calls, official visits, in-home visits, etc., gets a scholarship late in the summer and then counts to the next year. That was going to be what happened to Earnest Crownover, but it turned out not to be necessary. It looks like the same thing will be happening with Dametrious Crownoever this year.

Also, the same question regarding basketball transfers. Does the same rule apply? I'll hang up and listen. (SYoungblood)

A: So far as I can tell with basketball, it’s whatever gets you to a max of 13 scholarships, total. The Aggies have nine new players right now as opposed to two months ago, so that’s a pretty clear indication there’s no hard cap for hoops.

Q: Whats the expectation for D Walker this year? He seems to be a year or so off from contributing. (Tschaar)

A: Right now, it looks like he’s defensive tackle five, behind Jayden Peevy, McKinnley Jackson, Isaiah Raikes and Adarious Jones. That means his snaps are probably going to be pretty limited, but nothing’s set in stone right now.

Q: If we pay extra, will you go off on the *&%@* national writers? (RogueAggie)

A: Not sure you guys would like how much extra that would cost.

Q: Chapman has had 2 ACL surgeries on the same knee, correct? IMO he is our deep threat but maybe a fragile one. This may be bad thinking on my part but with a 2 tight end formation and Ainias running in the middle of the field is Cupp fast enough to run a deep route? I think he caught a deep pass in his first spring game. (H273)

A: Chapman is A deep threat. Not the only one. Demond Demas can be as well. Ainias already is. Can Cupp get open deep? Not like a wideout can, but he can stretch the field more than virtually any tight end. Conveniently, one of the other ones who can do that is his teammate, Jalen Wydermyer.

Q: Ags have recruited well @ WR the past few years on paper, but it hasn't equated into production on the field.

If another year goes by without a WR having a solid year, would Craig be in Jimbo's doghouse? (36 Ag)

A: Define “solid”. People don’t like hearing this, but Ainias had a very good year as a receiver last season. Chase Lane averaged better than 14 yards a catch. Caleb Chapman was breaking out when he got hurt. People think that wideout is a failure because Demas hasn’t produced yet, Dylan Wright didn’t before transferring and some other guys haven’t been what they were supposed to be. But Craig brought Quartney Davis back from obscurity and made him a solid wideout, albeit one who made a horrible mistake leaving early. Ainias is very good. We’ll see about Demas. You’ve also got Wydermyer (and Jace Sternberger before him) taking catches away from wideouts. So it’s not a total loss, even though I get the frustration.

If Smith and Chapman are healthy, I think they’ll put up nice numbers this year. Demas should be out there too. Jalen Preston won the most improved offensive player award this spring, but I’ll wait until I see more before jumping back on that bandwagon. But if there’s no real improvement in production this season, then you have to start wondering. All the same, remember: at this point last year, Josh Henson was someone a lot of fans wanted gone.

Q: With our 2 new analyst , I’m interested to know I guess what benefit does it give the analyst to take the position over a coaching position , the motivations for the department to want analyst , have we had any high profile analyst on payroll that went on to do great things (fatrobby)

A: This is easy on both ends — it’s a higher-profile slot (and maybe better-paying) than what they had before. A lot of them were graduate assistants or lost their job in a coaching change. It gives them a chance to land on their feet, or advance, with a big name program. For the team, it brings in a guy with experience or superior recruiting ability. As for analysts who have gone on to do other things, Ishmael Aristide is the new linebackers coach at Miami. Tyrone Nix parlayed an analyst role into a safety coaches job at Virginia Tech, then an outside linebackers coach job at Ole Miss and now he’s the defensive coordinator at UTSA.

Q: So with this players getting payed for their likeness stuff (Alabama and Florida have already passed the legislation, more to follow) how in the. world does this not turn into an out and out bidding war between schools for recruits?? Going to take a lot of bucks to bid against the likes of Texas, Bama, LSU etc.....but we’ll have no choice. Pay or get run over on the recruiting trail. (Agcatter123)

A: Is there really a question here? I think you laid it out already without any help.

Q: Do you know the AD's policy about getting athletes vaccinated? Will they push to have all football players vaccinated when the fall practice season starts? I understand they have an intensive testing protocol. (Have Gun Will Travel)

A: The AD and the coaching staff have already had experts in to talk to the team about vaccinations, take questions they have and encourage them to get vaccinated. Jimbo seems to be pretty comfortable with the number of players who have decided to take the vaccine, so I don’t think this is going to be a serious issue by summer.

Q: Instead of Achane being the backup to Spiller why not use him in a two back set? (86 Aggie)

A: Who said they won’t? They have in the past. But here’s a question to counterpoint yours — who do you take off the field?

Q: Two part question:

Where does Albert Pujols rank all-time among MLB 1st baseman?

I think you can make a pretty good argument that he’s in the top five. Lou Gehrig is clearly first. But who’s after that? Jimmy Foxx, probably? I think he goes ahead of Willie McCovey, Jim Thome, Hank Greenberg, Eddie Murray and Johnny Mize, for sure. Also ahead of Miguel Cabrera. If you count Stan Musial as a first baseman, he may be ahead of him. But if they were on the same team in St. Louis, Musial would likely be in right field.

So let’s say third or fourth.

2. How old is Albert Pujols?

A: 206.

There's a very real possibility the A's will leave Oakland. What are your top 3 cities that need a MLB team? (Colt Seavers)

A: Las Vegas, Nashville and San Antonio. By the way, loved the Fall Guy.

Q: I watched some replays recently and Hunter looked solid at DT, especially for a freshman. What is the story behind his changing positions to OL? Who initiated the change of positions? What will make him better on OL instead of DL? Is he going to play OG or OT, and how long will it take him to get on the field once again? (SGMan)

A: His move is a pure numbers game. There’s a lot of talent at defensive tackle and not as much at offensive tackle. Hunter played on offense in short-yardage situations last year and did pretty well, so the move was a sensible. The coaches asked him to do it, and he was willing to give it a shot. He’s got the size, but has to learn technique and the footwork. It’s going to be a process for him, and if you’re expecting him on the field quickly, forget it.

Q: I’m a big fan of Jimbo and what he’s doing for our program. He has upgraded almost every aspect of Aggie football in his time so far. Coming up on year 4 of a 10 year contract... what would you say would need to happen to facilitate a change? No conference championships? Never beating bama? Barring a scandal, what would be unacceptable and by what year? (Oamj)

A: Why would anyone even be considering a move at this point? That’s BAS of the highest magnitude. He’s putting together top 5 classes and just had the best season in terms of final rankings since 1939. They haven’t even topped out in terms of existing talent yet. I really don’t think this is anything that needs to even be considered in that area for several years. If they’re .500 in conference in three years, that would be cause for concern. But there’s no reason to even think they’ll be in that situation.

Q: In the Rivals world what team sites have the most subscribers? Is there any sort of ranking or top 10 you are aware of?

I assume that the sips have the most based on the bias you see in the reporting from the national guys but curious as to who has the most, how many more they have than the others and where we sit in number of subscribers. (TKoz)

A: I don’t know how many more they have than we do, but it’s a significant amount. We’re not in the top 10. We’re between 20 and 25, and I’d love to change that. I need to be a better salesman in that respect, but hopefully you guys like what you’re getting out of the AY staff to recommend us to others.

Q: Who does Tunmise remind you of....current and former Ags. (Shaky84)

A: Right now? Nobody. Maybe DeMarvin Leal a little bit. He’s tall and still thin at 295. That’s a tough one.

Want to climb on this too. Is he following the same pattern as Madubuike to Leal to him? A guy that can go inside and out? (Tsmith3001)

A: I think it’s more Keke than Madubuike. But there’s a real possibility that he and Shemar Turner could both fill that role.

Q: Why exactly did the NCAA cancel that golf tournament you Tweeted? The players didn’t seem happy. (H273)

A: They said the course (in Baton Rouge) was playable, but not “championship playable”. And they automatically just moved the top 6 teams forward. It was an absolute crock of crap and if the NCAA had any shame (they don’t), they’d be embarrassed.

Q: Haven’t look to see what has already been asked but I’ll throw one out there, if it hasn’t been asked - who do you think will be our next commitment and when? I realize restrictions have been lifted and tons of kids want to take their official visits but just curious if you heard if any of our targets are ready to pull the trigger? (TAMU_Fan)

A: I would be very surprised if there’s a commitment before the first week of July.

Q: Over/under commits by the end of June? (Travster23)

A: 8.

Q: The OL worked incredibly well together last year. What feedback are you getting on the development and team work with the current line? I would be curious to know how well they held up (or didn't) against our DL during spring. (oferAg)

A: Considering Jimbo doesn’t seem like he’s expecting any real competition in the summer except maybe at right tackle, that must not have done all that badly. He’s very high on Luke Matthews, who we haven’t seen. The expectations for Layden Robinson, after he wrecked shop in limited opportunities last year, are high. Aki Ogunbiyi was one of the top recruits last year. If Jahmir Johnson is able to handle right tackle, they should be ok. But they need to get as many snaps as a unit as possible as quickly as possible.

Q: How many games out will the Orioles be this time next month? (Blumpkinator Dong)

A: They’re 5 1/2 out now. So let’s double that and say 11. But they won’t be dead by Memorial Day, so that’s a relative victory.

Q: Where do you think we land in recruiting rankings when the dust settles this year? (Ricky)

A: Top 10 almost certainly, another top 5 is a legitimate possibility if they can land some of these big time players they’re after.

Q: Do you think we will see an abundance of 21 personel with Cupp - Wyd and smith and achane to take advantage of mismatches? (LufkinAg)

A: No. I think we’ll see some of it, but no. If you came out and showed me that formation, I’d blitz you off the edge repeatedly with my defensive backs.

Q: I'm sure this has been discussed before, but what is the summer workout routine consist of? I know coaches aren't supposed to take an active part, but what can they do indirectly? When incoming fish arrive on campus after HS graduation, how are they assimilated into the program? Throw them into the fire or is it somewhat a gradual process to get into a SEC football summer routine. Always wondered about the behind the scenes aspect during summer workouts. (Gjags)

A: Summer workouts consist of weight work, player-led football activity and agility work. Coaches can do more now, with classroom time and film work, but they can’t go out there and lead workouts. But you can bet what the players do has already been laid out for them by the staff.

Q: Who do you respect less, @MFarrell or @samspiegelman? (Topher06)

A: Garcon? Check please.