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Q: Can kids who have signed LOIs, either early or on NSD, portal off to another school at the end of the spring semester even if they don't enroll early and have never set foot on a college practice field or in a college classroom? (I assume that early enrollees can leave after just attending for the spring semester.)
In other words, does an LOI mean anything at all? (Battalion Ex)
A: No, they have to actually enroll in order to enter the portal. If they don’t, they can just request that their NLI be voided (good luck). So you have to actually be there, in college, to get into the portal. But once you are, nothing’s stopping you from going in once it reopens.
Q: Do you think not having named a DC was the reason we lost any commits, or why some commits are signing later? (Phastman)
A: No, I don’t think so. What probably cost them some commits was getting a new DC and new position coaches. It’s one of the things that frequently happens when a new coaching staff comes in.
Q: Are there still a lot of transfer portal options available to fill out the roster for 2024 season? (Ag20)
A: Oh, definitely. Several hundred, at least.
Q: I don't have the time to keep up, like some on this board, regarding commits so I was wondering:
How many commits that we had when Jimbo was fired decommitted, and who? Only asking about High School kids, not portal related.
A: This is a tricky question, because it includes players who definitely decommitted a few that were told it might be smart for them to. Cam Coleman, Jaylan Hornsby, Debron Gatling, TyAnthony Smith, Anthony Maddox, Coen Echols and Gabriel Reliford.
2. How many commits did we get after Jimbo was fired, and who? I know of at least two on signing day. High School only. (SYoungblood)
A: Three.
Q: Any validity to piggy's accusation about our staff just dropping the ball (effort wise) on the kid that signed with Tenn? (Ringdunker93)
A: They goofed it up. I’ll just say that. It happens, but the timing and the player make it a bigger deal.
Q: TJ Shanahan, is he fully recovered from his knee surgery? Will he crack the 2 deep in the spring? He was a road grader in high school, will it translate to the sec? (Jakeh05)
A: Yeah, he was playing at season’s end.
Q: Best player in class?
A: Terry Bussey, but he hasn’t signed yet.
Player with the most potential?
A: Solomon Williams.
Will Rivals start ranking portal signing classes? (BC93)
A: I think they do.
Q: Would you recap the non-coaching hires made by Elko? G.M., Director of FB Ops, etc? (Oldarmy72)
A: They seem to be solid, but it’s hard to really say until we see some of their actual work.
Q: What’s the latest on us going after EJ Smith? Any developments there like a visit? (ChampKindKHOU11)
A: He’s supposed to visit early in the new year, and just spitballing, I think A&M is in solid shape to get him.
Q: Signing a LOI seems like a kind gesture of intent with the portal. How soon can a player enter? Tomorrow ? Does he have to have graduated HS? Does he ever have to set foot on campus?
A: He has to be on campus and registered as a student. So the guys who signed this week will have to wait until the spring at the earliest.
You said the coaches really only minded 2 players going into the portal and one was Bisontis. Who was the other? (Eyecutter98)
A: Jake Johnson.
Q: You listed 9 OTs on the roster for 2 positions and 6 OG/C for 3 positions. Would a couple of those OTs be able to move inside? Bisontis? Erb? If not, add interior line to RB and CB as areas where we still have some work to do. (Chrisholsomback)
A: I do think you’ll see guys like Bisontis and Erb move inside eventually, but since they’re at tackle right now, I left them there for the time being
Q: Are there any receivers in the portal that a&m are looking at to replace Evan Stewart as an instant starter? (Robbiemtz12)
A: No.
Q: Coen Echols didn’t sign. Would we try to get him back? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)
A: I doubt it.
Q: You reported that Elko mentioned in the press conference that’s some commits were cut loose. Can you expand on which recruits were advised to look elsewhere?
A: No, I’m not going to do that. You can take a look at the decommits and time them up with when Elko arrived and draw your own conclusions.
Which current players in the portal were encouraged to give it a shot? (SouthernAg)
A: Again, not going to do that. That’s just insulting to the player and it would be unprofessional on my part.
Q: Your assessment of the DTs per SEC standards, especially the new ones? (BoxsterBoy72)
A: They have some talent there, but they need depth now in a big way. And, considering there aren’t any new DTs, that just compounds the issue.
Q: Between our remaining unsigned commits, if you could only take one who would it be? (MC9008)
A: With all due respect to the other guys, Bussey. No question.
Q: If Elko delivers us a championship and Jimbo introduced us to Elko, was Jimbo’s contract ultimately worth it? (Reggiep47)
A: It will be for him!
Q: We have consistently had top recruiting classes under Fisher, but that did not translate to success on the field. Was this due to poor evaluation, or player development in your opinion? (GCJC)
A: Probably some of both. I’d also add in a lack of overall program discipline.
Q: I am trying to understand how to look at needing a 4th running back from a coaching point of view.
Should you go with a one year rental like Marks from Mississippi state?
A transfer who is ranked lower but has more years to play? Or a 3 star you can use in a pinch but allowed to develop or let hit the portal next year?
A: Personally, I’d take a run at Woody Marks, but there’s a problem: who does he take carries from? One of the reasons A&M doesn’t have a running back in this class is that they can’t find someone who might be willing to wait or get a minimum number of carries this season. Marks is looking to prove he’s an NFL running back, so fighting Moss, Owens and Daniels for snaps probably doesn’t appeal.
In a perfect world, they’d find someone who could be productive in a pinch but only has a year or two left so they can go after bigger fish in 2025. Maybe that’s why an EJ Smith works.
And finally, does coach Klein look for a running back on the smaller side who like he did in KSU with success? (Maroon Mudbug)
A: I don’t think he cares on size. He knows how to work with what he has.
Q: You are king of the world. How would you fix this portal/NIL mess? (Eyecutter98)
A: I would nuke it and start from scratch. You get one go in the portal until you graduate, and NIL would have uniform regulations and a maximum salary cap.
Q: Elko’s comment about going for quality vs quantity made me think immediately of the 2022 class. Was Fisher too focused on stars to properly vet a player’s fit with the team? It seems to me that the bad apples spoiled the bunch. (Kpalger)
A: Yes. Absolutely. He can claim he wasn’t looking, but that’s bogus. He put talent ahead of everything and figured he’d just handle things if and when they came up. I know for a fact that the A&M staff was warned about a few highly-rated players who are no longer with the program and those warnings were ignored.
Q: Why would a player consider leaving an AAU university with a lifetime network for a second-tier university in the poorest state in the country? Just for a possible little extra coin? (Aggie1983)
A: Because they could not care less about the things you just mentioned. It’s all about the biggest, fastest payday.
Q: Any idea why any of the committed recruits were cut loose either on offense or defense? I think we had a pretty good group of commits so that is puzzling. (DentonAg80)
A: Pretty simple: the new staff came in, took a look and decided that some of these guys did not fit. So they told them it would be smart to look elsewhere. Elko did a much better job of explaining it yesterday than I am.
Q: Since we finally hired a DC, how do you grade out Elko's individual coaching hires and as a whole? (Big Smoothie)
A: I think you have to wait and see on all of it. My gut feeling is that Collin Klein is a really good get. The OL coach is really good. On defense, I just don’t know. They’re not big names, but they’ve got some skins on the wall. You can argue those one way or the other. But I am happy Ish Aristide is back.
Q: What happened with the 4* RB that we got in on late?
A: He signed with Georgia Tech, for the reasons I mentioned above — he didn’t want to fight for carries.
Is Smith now our only target and what are our chances?
A: At the moment he is, and I think they’re good.
Any other rb options is we whiff on both? (SuwaneeAg)
A: They haven’t offered anyone else, which doesn’t mean anything.
Q: Elko indicated something by Friday. Maybe that was the DC. Are there any rumors or indications of news Friday or Saturday. I presume other news will wait until after the wonderful bowl game. (DentonAg80)
A: I think he meant Tristan Jernigan’s signing.
