Q: 1. Prediction of how many games Ainias misses because of this? Who will fill in for him if he misses games?

A: Maybe one. If he does, then I would expect Moose Muhammad to be out there.

2. Heading into fall camp, which qb do you project starts? Is it safe to say that anyone one if the three will be an upgrade from last year?

A: I really don’t know. I have heard the players are still leaning towards Haynes King, but that means about zilch before training camp begins.

But yes, any of the three should be an improvement.

3. Have you seen Terminal List?

A: Not yet. I don’t watch much TV these days.

4. Which coach impressed you the most at SEC media days?

A: Probably Mike Leach, just because he clearly didn’t give a damn and wasn’t afraid to show it.

5. Will your daughter come back for a Mailbag cameo in the near future? (Aggie_in_NB)

A: Oh, for sure.

Q: Why can’t we have nice things?

But seriously, we joke around about CSPD. Do we have poor relationships with the PD, are our athletes getting multiple warnings first, and we’re just hearing about things once they’ve gone on too long?

Thankfully these don’t happen all that often, in B/CS, but it feels like we’re due for one each year.

Does Jimbo unleash his wrath, or is he composed and methodical in his approach to this kind of stupidity. It’s GOT to be tiresome at a minimum.

Finally, what does something like this do to the locker room? (AggieTabi)

A: Right now, everyone has Ainias’s back, and with reason. First, he’s been a standup guy for three seasons. Second, it looks increasingly like the charges against him were garbage. So, if anything, it’s unified the locker room.

Q: Not to beat a dead horse but one would think Jimbo and his cohorts would beat this issue that Ainias is caught up in to death. I know he's a leader but most players know the rules and follow them, if this was topic one at most team meetings we wouldn't see much of it. How would you prevent it if you were Jimbo? (H273)

A: If it had been as serious as initially reported, I’d have thought seriously about dismissal. But it’s not anywhere close. I’m not even sure, at this point, that I’d have him running that many stairs. But he will.

Oh yes, he will.

Q: Is it finally pool party weekend? Will we get some big commitments, finally, at last? (Agnok)

A: No and yes.

Q: Have any reason(s) been given for why the ncaa imposed a dead period at this time and prevents us from hosting official visits that have already been scheduled? This seems very out of the blue and last minute. What would happen his Jimbo told the ncaa to F-off and still carry the official visits? (Maddog83)

A: I don’t know what the deal is, but it doesn’t matter. They’re all coming anyway. But you don’t sit there and spit in the NCAA’s face. That would be enough to get you in serious crap, as useless as the NCAA is.

Q: With all the transfers at SEC schools, will this be one of more difficult seasons to get a handle on how good or bad teams will be? I see A&M, Bama, Georgia, and Tenn as the top 4 favorites. Is that the way you see it? (DentonAg80)

A: I’m not sold on Tennessee. I like Hendon Hooker and that offense, but the defense? Not so sure.

Q: Which new hire SEC coach were you most impressed with at the SEC media day?

A: Even though he’s not technically a new hire, I’ll go with South Carolina’s Shane Beamer. He’s all in with the Gamecocks and really believes his team is on the right path.

And how many hours did Coach Kelly spend with a speech coach to lose his newly acquired southern accent? (Jamisko11)

A: I don’t know, but it definitely did not make an appearance at Media Days.

Q: Did the Big 10 really get a good deal by picking up usc and ucla? I realize SoCal has millions of tv’s, but how many will actually tune in to any of the sc or ucla games against the big 10. Can’t wait for the tv ratings for the usc @ Purdue game which will start at 11:00am. CST. I realize the sips and ou don’t bring as many tv’s but when those 2 teams are playing, most of the tv’s in their area will be tuned to the games. My point is, SoCal does not give a crap about college football and the time zone issues are just a small part of the problem. Will the networks take this into consideration when new tv contract negotiations start? (Gunsnwoodrow)

A: I don’t know about this idea that SoCal doesn’t care about college football. USC, especially, is still a very big deal. UCLA draws pretty well at the Rose Bowl. And the Big 10 wouldn’t have made this move if they didn’t think (and ESPN or Fox hadn’t indicated) that they’d increase the contract value significantly.

Q: 1. Offensive Line worse, equal or better than last year?

A: Better. More experience on the right side at center/guard/tackle.

2. QB derby is decided when?

A: Jimbo says they’ll tell him. I call BS. It’s decided when they start real practices.

3. More rollouts and bootlegs from the QBs this season?

Depends on the quarterback.

4. Beating Bama. Track meet or slow game down as much as possible?

A: Well, they won a track meet last year, so I think they can win it either way.

5. Fan bases (outside of us). Most friendly to opponents? Most unrealistic? Most annoying? (JustAvgIllini)

A: Are we keeping it SEC only?

Most friendly: South Carolina

Most unrealistic: Tennessee or Auburn (if expanded, Texas)

Most annoying: Ole Miss (if expanded, Texas)

Q:

Question: Does this (Ainias) situation make your head spin around like in the Exorcist? (Crashholsomback)

A: It did at first, no question. Now, I’m more irritated that he was silly enough to speed after drinking (intoxicated or not), and really annoyed at the crap law enforcement seems to have pulled. And remember, I spent 5 years covering cops and courts, so I’m not anti-cop by any means.

Q: I think you’re fairly accurate on your future casts but do you keep your accuracy stats? If so, what are. They? Biggest misses? (TnAgs)

A: The last couple of years, my only misses have been when I forgot to change some. I haven’t gotten blindsided by any.

Q: What's your best case & worst case scenarios for Wins vs. Losses this year for the fightin' Texas Aggies?

A: Best case: 14-0, National Champions. Worst case: 8-4

Do you think A&M can dethrone Stanford or tU and win the directors cup in the next 10 years? (Big Smoothie)

A: I could not possibly care less.

Q: Chances we end up will all 4 5*'s from Texas? Hill, Hicks, Shannahan, Toviano? (Ag_2000)

A: Better than average.

Q: Does A&M finish with a top 5 recruiting class for 2023? (Mtholmes)

A: In terms of points, maybe not. In terms of average per player, absolutely.

Q: Are you getting any vibes or straight up statements from of the players on the team about the QB? Last year, the players let it slip a few times on who was the QB that would get the QB1 position. (Aggdoc)

A: See above. But really, I think you haven’t seen the best of King or Johnson yet, so it’s all speculation.

Q: How critical is the potential loss of Ainias Smith to the team's 2022 season should he be unable to return? (Chuck70)

A: I don’t think this is a possibility.

Q: Why wouldn’t this work?

Texas A&M: Arky, LSU, tu

Sips: A&M, OU, Arky

Arky: A&M, Mizzou, tu

UT: Bama, Vandy, UK

UK: UT, Mizzou, SCar

SCar: UF, Vandy, UK

Auburn: Bama, UGA, MSt

MsSt: Ole Miss, AU, OU

OU: tu, Mizzou, MsSt

Georgia: AU, UF, Vandy

Vandy: UT, SCar, UGA

Ole Miss: LSU, MSt, Bama

Alabama: AU, UT, Ole Miss

Florida: UGA, Scar, LSU

LSU: A&M, Ole Miss, UF

Mizzou: UK, OU, Arky (waymore blues)

A: Because that’s not what the SEC wants.

Q: Is there a currently committed '23 player that is spearheading the recruiting of other athletes in this A&M class, ala Bobby Taylor from last year's class? (3G Ag)

A: Over the past week, all of them have gotten in on it. Before that, Colton Thomasson was the most vocal.

Q: What exactly prevents schools from blatantly raiding other team's rosters? In other words, if Florida needs a DE what exactly prevents a Florida coach from picking up the phone and calling one of our many DEs and offering them a starting spot?....especially with NIL enticements. Don't coaches now constantly have to recruit guys already on their roster to keep them around in addition to recruiting high school seniors? Why aren't head coaches screaming bloody murder about this insanity? All I hear from them now is crickets. (Agcatter123)

A: Trust me, they’re yelling. And everyone knows the programs that are abusing the system the most. The NCAA refuses to do anything and Congress hasn’t touched it, so we’ve got what we’ve got.

Q: What is your gage on Hill going into the visit? (Idiallo4440)

A: Texas made up some ground, but not as much as they think. Not nearly as much as they think. A&M leads.

Q: Mark, in another thread you mentioned the possibility of spinning Jacoby Matthews down to linebacker if need be. I'd had this as a thought in my mind already. Which of the other in our plethora of defensive ends/ DBs do you think might be considered for such a move if necessary? (Win77)

A: Well, it’s already happened with Donell Harris. And maybe it could with Jahzion Harris or Erick Young, should he return.

Q: I’m sure fan bases and A&M in general have little pull in the SEC but is there anyway to petition A&M and/or the SEC to get Ark into our 3 permanent rivals? I really enjoyed watching us whip them most years and we have history with them over the Miss school. (Hammr40)

A: You can try, but there’s no reason to think they’ll listen.

Q: You’re FutureCasts are better than my gypsy fortune teller. Can you give us a list of who you have picked to the good guys that aren’t currently committed? Is there an easy way to get this info? (Elicrow)

A: Right now, I think I have TJ Shanahan, Anthony Hill, Jordan Hicks, Javien Toviano, Hykeem Williams and Adam Hopkins all futurecasted to A&M.

Q: What's it looking like for the 23' recruiting class size for us? I seem to recall 18 is the number. (84Aggiect)

A: Something around that number is likely.

Q: This may be the dumbest question ever so ignore it if you wish. Why does our 3rd basman have a different hat than every other member of the baseball team? Go back and see any pic or game and he clearly has a white outline of his front panel. (Cedarcreekag)

A: Don’t have an answer for you on that one.

Q: What’s the latest with QB…Novosad? (elicrow)

A: He's going to check out Notre Dame and Baylor again this week, and could come in to see A&M as well. He seems to have slowed down the process.