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Q: Has the big OL committed to OU signed? If not, are we still working on getting him? (Aggdoc)
A: Michael Fasusi signed with OU Wednesday afternoon.
Q: Is there still a possibility of a coordinator change, mainly Defense.
A: I really don’t want to get into the possibility of firings and stuff like that. I’ll simply say that I don’t think we’ll see the same exact staff in 2025.
Was Weigman asked to talk a walk? (Majorogden44)
A: No. They would have very much liked for him to stay, but anticipated he would want to give it another shot somewhere else.
Q: What is your feeling about the team moving forward, using your inside connections as your basis of information? (Wick) A: They have a better foundation to work off of and they believe in one another (not everyone, but we’re talking about 105 guys, so there will always been some differing opinions). But they’ve got some serious work to do in the portal. They also need some players (Marcel Reed and Dezz Ricks, specifically) to take a big step forward over the course of the offseason.
Q: When shopping for a coach what is more important, ability to recruit or ability to coach? I'm obviously asking about Wiggins. (H273)
A: It depends on the position, but you’d like to have a guy who’s capable of doing both. There are some positions where you stash good recruiters (traditionally running back or tight end), but receiver’s pretty important. Wiggins wasn’t off to a great start at A&M in terms of production on the field, but adding Jerome Myles at the last minute was huge. The next month, though, is where he really has to make his money and assemble a stronger receiver group.
Q: Which current freshman make a contribution next year. Any making a impact? (talking about on campus kids, not the recruiting class) (Richard23)
A: I think there are a few who can (or will need to). Defensive end Solomon Williams, safety Myles Davis, receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman and that Bussey kid all come to mind. I know you didn’t mean Bussey, but he technically qualifies.
Also, watch for linebackers Jordan Lockhart and Tristan Jernigan. A&M has depth at linebacker now, but both looked really good this year.
Q: We need an elite wide receiver out of the portal. List a couple that would be great for ATM to land. (RacerRod)
A: There are already a ton of really, really good guys in the portal to go after. Micah Hudson from Texas Tech has gotten a lot of attention because he’s a former 5-star who gave A&M a long look last year, but there’s also Nic Anderson, who had 38 catches for 789 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023 (that’s 21 yards a catch). He’s from Katy. Barion Brown of Kentucky is a guy who could be a target. He put up solid numbers in an absolutely awful passing offense. LSU receivers CJ Daniels and Shelton Sampson could (should?) Get a serious look. USC’s Kyron Hudson is another. There are probably 15 guys who have already announced their intention to transfer that A&M might want to consider.
Q: Is Dane Key getting calls from our coaching staff? (Maroon Mudbug)
A: The portal isn’t officially open, so you know how that goes. But he would certainly be one of the 15. 47 catches for 715 yards and 2 touchdowns in that offense (Kentucky) is Herculean.
Q: What are your thoughts on QB next year. I like Reed, but he seems to have difficulty going through his progressions and if his 1st option isn’t open, the play breaks down, often missing wide open receivers. Do you think he can become a high level QB by next year, or do we need to bring someone more developed to compete with him? (Thepassag)
A: I think people need to remember that he’s going to make his eighth start in the bowl game. He wasn’t supposed to start for at least two years, and got thrown into the fire well ahead of schedule. He’s not a finished product and I expect he will improve as he gets more comfortable in Collin Klein’s offense (and Klein gets more comfortable with him). All the same, I’d be looking for a competitor to not only compete with him, but to ensure the depth chart isn’t terrifying.
Q: What are your thoughts on Reeds feet giving away plays? (AgsRule97!)
A: That’s a great pickup on Texas’ coaches part and a terrible blunder by A&M’s.
Q: Mark, I have a question about next year's revenue sharing. Do you have any idea how it will be split up? Will it only be for sports that are on TV? Or, a combination of TV and ticket sales? Or, will it take into account sponsorship money that comes into sports as well? I have read that it'll be approximately $20M - $30M per school. Any idea how many student athletes that will be spread over? (Ringdunker93)
A: I have absolutely no idea at this point. I don’t think they’ve publicized a plan for it, whether it would be a model figured out by the NCAA, the SEC or each individual school.
Q: Did you get to meet Queen Cersea Lannister and Marc Menchaca in College Station? (Geb)
A: I did not. But, in all fairness and running the risk of a riot, I have never watched a minute of Game of Thrones.
Q: What happened?!? We looked like world beaters against Missouri and LSU, ended up just less than even with a bad Auburn and finished up unable to do anything against tx. Coaching/Schemes? Conditioning?
I've said for years that A&M cant handle the pressure of playing when something is on the line. That played out again this year. Is it Programatic? Coaching? Culture? I'm resigned to the idea we will never get over the hump. Tell me why I'm wrong.
Thanks for all your hard work! Especially this year with everything else going on in your world. (Boo yah)
A: I don’t think that it’s any secret that Mike Elko came in with the intent of changing the culture, and I think that one thing that has to go out the window is the Aggie sense of complacency. A&M fans are loyal and devoted and love the players, which is great — but the coaches have to be able to light a fire under them so they don’t feel like good enough is good enough. Nobody since R.C. has found that secret sauce for more than a season, and the only reason Sumlin had it was Manziel and a bunch of seniors.
But beyond that, I think we saw some schematic issues get exposed. A&M’s defense was undisciplined this year, alarmingly so. They didn’t get beat so much as they beat themselves. Even against Texas, Wisner was breaking off runs because A&M had run themselves completely out of position. Tackling, clearly, was terrible all year. If you attack the way Elko likes to and you don’t get home, you’ve created a problem for your secondary. They didn’t do nearly well enough in creating pressure.
Offensively, I think that teams adapted quickly once they saw what Reed did to LSU and worked to take that away. A&M wasn’t able to make another adaptation well enough, and losing Le’Veon Moss was devastating.
If you’re looking for reasons to be optimistic, A&M has a very intelligent coach and a group that, for once, all seems to be on the same page. And they’ve got a pretty good talent base to work from. The offensive line, running backs, linebackers and secondary all look like they’re in really good shape.
Q: Give us a SWOT analysis of the football program following the season and NSD.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats (BC93)
A: Strengths — Offensive line, linebacker, running back
Weaknesses — defensive line, wide receiver
Opportunities — Quarterback, wide receiver
Threats — lack of additions to the defensive front, no step forward at quarterback, reliance on freshman at corner
Q: Do you think Anderson should be practicing as a nickel in the spring?
Nickel was a problem this year, we don't know if Chappell will come back 100% or hold up and we don't want to throw a freshman out there if we don't have to; furthermore, Anderson has played much better at nickel than he did at safety. (d_machen)
A: Doesn’t matter what I think; Elko has made it clear multiple times he wants Anderson at safety and not at nickel. So I don’t think he’ll be there.
Q:You listed Stewart and Scourton as both being first round draft choices. The way our defense played the past month how would they both go in the first round? We didn’t record sacks are set the edge on runs. Is this more on potential instead of production? (GCJC)
A: Scourton didn’t play as well as everyone hoped, but he still put in an All-SEC caliber season (37 tackles, 14 TFL, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble). Stewart didn’t (31 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks — with a team-high 7 hurries), but I expect both guys will be invited to Indianapolis and dominate the underwear Olympics and teams will be so entranced by the physical attributes that they’ll swear they can get more out of them.
Q: IF there are coaching changes, when should we expect to get the word?
A: Could be at any time. With national signing day and the portal opening being so close, it makes things really tough to negotiate.
How's Arie? (Tip despiser)
A: She’s actually having a pretty decent day today. But the pain is pretty constant and I feel terrible for her.
Q: Who in our Portal would you want to stay and why? (Big Smoothie)
A: Conner Weigman and Cyrus Allen. Weigman is a guy I still think could be a really good quarterback if he’s got his head on right, and Allen would be a big target next year.
Q: Film study has been a topic of discussion this week. A video was released allegedly pointing to Reed tipping plays pre-snap. Given that our defense continue to make the same mistakes throughout the year I was wondering if you could offer any insight into how the team watches film. Do they study on their own? Do the coaches set time blocks each week to review film in front of players? Conner after ND mentioned that he watched the film on his own and talked to Klein about it afterwards, then shifted to practice. That doesn’t seem like “hands on coaching”. (MC9008)
A: They watch film individually and as position groups. Film study is a big deal, which makes the tipping plays thing all the more perplexing.
Q: Do you think there will be more players in the college transfer portal than last year?
A: Considering how things are starting, yes.
Also, do you think A&M will be able to address their needs at DL, WRs and TE? (Ag20)
A: I sure hope so.
Q: 1. Your thoughts on Ernest Campbell seeing the field next season? What are possible positions and roles he might be used in?
A: Slot receiver, possibly used in the backfield a little and as a returner.
2. Your insights into why the 3 DL (Sylla, Samu, and Dindy) hit the Transfer Portal? (BoxsterBoy72)
A: Playing time, and they either determined or were told that it may not increase a ton next year.
