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Q: I see futurecasts in for Branden Arrington, but he’s taking 3 officials after the Ags and actually visited the nearby USC folks more than he came to College Station. Would be an awesome get. How concerned should we be that he stays close to home instead of heading to CS? (98 Percenter)

A: Honestly, he should have visited USC more because it’s a short drive. College Station is a haul for him. But I think the real threat to A&M is Oregon, because they’ll be able to pony up the money. But, from what I’ve heard, A&M remains confident in where they stand with him right now.

Q: How concerned should we be? (Richard23)

A: Extremely. Perpetually.

Q: How is our baseball team hitting so terribly with 2 hitting coaches on staff and do you think Early survives if we miss the post season. (MrRocknrolla)

A: I don’t know the answer to either question. If Earley didn’t have a considerable buyout, I’d think he’s a goner after this season. But he does, and he has an awesome recruiting class coming in (if he doesn’t lose a lot of guys to the MLB Draft).

Back to your first question, it’s baffling. But it’s not just hitting, it’s hitting with runners in scoring position. They’ve been awful at that all year. They don’t work counts, they don’t use the opposite field and they’re pull-happy to the point where it has caused a couple of players to have serious slumps. That shouldn’t be happening.

Q: How did Shanahan and Dewberry do at their new schools following spring training? Did they earn a starting position? Becoming a starter was the reason they left us. (GCJC)

A: Dewberry looks like he has the inside track at left guard for Alabama, and Shanahan is projected as a backup at Penn State. That sort of reinforces my feeling that Dewberry needed to move because he’s running out of time and wasn’t going to beat out Chase Bisontis or Ar’maj Reed-Adams, but Shanahan was foolish to go because he was set to move in next season after getting extensive playing time the previous two seasons.

Q: Is HalfCat really just Badash with a new top-secret code name?

A: One left April 23 and the other appeared April 23. So…maybe.

Is it likely we win 10 games or more this year in football? (Superag1000)

A: Is it likely? No. Would I be surprised if they did? Also no. This season really comes down to three things: the offensive line, the defensive line and Marcel Reed. If the offensive line improves, Reed improves. How much he improves beyond that is up to him. If the defensive line can stop the run and apply pressure, then they’re a very dangerous team.

Q: Was curious when you posted a list of potential transfers a couple of weeks ago. There was a kid from Army on there. Are those kids not enrolled in the army? And when they are done playing, don't they do time in the army? How does an Army football player transfer?

Sorry for saying army so many times (tsmith3001)

A: They are not enlisted in the Army until they graduate, at which time they are commissioned officers. Then they have to do, I believe, five years of active service at a minimum (unless they get a waiver).

If they transfer within the first two years, no harm, no foul in most cases. If they transfer after that, they could be required to repay their tuition costs. But they can go in the portal just like anyone else.

And go Air Force.

Q: What are you hearing re our head baseball coach?

A: Not much right now. I know he’s not popular with the fan base, but there’s not much being said by the AD.

If we miss the NCAA tournament do you think he’ll be here next year? (Phastman)

A: I would normally say no, but this isn’t a normal situation. A&M spent more than $25 million on severance payments in FY ’24 and Earley has a $3 million buyout. We already have seen this AD is not quick to pull the trigger on a firing where there’s a buyout of significance in place (i.e. women’s basketball). That may lead to him being here in 2026.

Q: the list from TTFT was a fantastic read. Are there any others that were close to making the cut?

A: oh, certainly, but it would be for things that were a little different. Like Johnny Manziel going to look for my camera at the Bright Building after I left it in 2012 (He didn’t find it, but I got it back), a pre-game fist bump with Drew Kaser before every game, the personal decency of guys like Layden Robinson and Taurean York to take the slings and arrows for their teammates after tough losses, Jimbo pointing to my chair at a presser and going, “Where’s he at?”When I didn’t show up on a Monday. Those things kind of stick with you. There’s been a lot of good guys that have passed through over the years that we’ve dealt with.

Q: We've seen some big WRs and some skinny, fast TEs in the game over recent years. For instance, Mike Evans was 6-5 and 217 and body-slammed a DB when we've recruited similar-sized guys to be TEs. At what point do you draw the line and say this guy is definitely a WR or definitely a TE? What delineates between the two? A: Here’s the weights of the current tight ends: 240, 250, 260, 260, 265.

Here’s the weights of the current wide receivers: 165, 195, 190, 190, 165, 180, 215, 185.

There’s a pretty clear delineation there, and I would guess if you’re 230 to 235, you’re a tight end.

Speaking of Evans, I think we would have lost at least 3 or 4 more games during 2012-13 without him, and Johnny wouldn't have been able to be quite so "Johnny." I think he should have won the Heisman or at least the Biletnikoff. Besides him, can you think of any other recent Ags that were so criminally unrecognized? (3rd Gen Ag)

A: Jace Sternberger wasn’t even a finalist for the Mackey Award, even though he was a first team All-American. Myles Garrett won the Bill Willis Trophy as the SEC’s best defensive player in 2015, and he didn’t win any national awards. He wasn’t even a finalist for the Bednarik Award in 2015. That he didn’t win every trophy known to man is insulting.

Q: Seems like filling out the basketball team has slowed down, and idea when that will pick up again? (Travster23)

A: It’ll probably speed up again after the NBA Combine ends on the 18th. Then we’ll have a better idea of who’s staying in the draft and who’s coming back.

Q: How best do we offset the advantages Texas has recently built over us in respect to football recruiting due to their 2 playoff appearances, NIL spending and just being in the SEC now. (RacerRod)

A: Win. Plain and simple. They have the money, they’re adding the talent. Now win.

Q: who is one recruit the coaching staff can not miss on (Half_cat)

A: I really hate these questions because if there’s a player who’s that good, everyone will be after him and all but one team will have “missed”, regardless of their depth chart. The two players who would have come closest in A&M’s eyes (or, at least, in my estimation), were Jackson Cantwell and Manny Iheanacho — and they missed. So now you look at who’s left out there and the guys who stand out to me are Brandon Arrington, Boobie Feaster, Justin Henry and Lamar Brown. Get one of them and you’re in serious business. Two and you’re cooking with gas. More than that? It’s a likely top three class.

Q: Apropos of nothing whatsoever… if we happened to be in the market for a new baseball coach in the next week or two:

-Who are the top names Alberts is probably talking to?

A: I don’t know yet. I’m increasingly of the opinion he won’t be talking to anyone.

-It’s my impression, we ponied up via NIL to keep this team intact and even bring in some top ranked transfers. Plus Early is making $4M (?). What do you estimate the tolerance of donors to pony up more money for an established coach. This isn’t football, after all.

A: Not very high. They’re more likely to pony up for more players or to keep guys like Gavin Grahovac and Caden Sorrell.

-Could we be looking at a small school/up and comer type like we did in basketball? If so, who would that sort candidate be?

A: I don’t know yet.

-Is the recruiting part of the job more important than coaching in ncaa baseball? My guess it lies somewhere between football (coaching>recruiting) and basketball (recruiting> coaching).

A: I personally think coaching is more important than recruiting.

-Will any coaching announcement come before or after CWS? (Boone8466)

A: If they were to make a change and A&M doesn’t make the tournament, it would probably be announced quickly. A hire would be after the CWS.