Q: What does the QB and TE depth charts look like for the SoCar game? (BoxsterBoy72)

A: QB is still un-determined. At TE, I expect Max Wright and Donovan Green will start and, hopefully, Jake Johnson will be ready to go to back them up.

Q: Did we really go into the season with just two playable tackles? (Naytch)

A: Yeah, sure seems like it. Keep in mind that Blake Trainor, who would have been a backup at tackle (at worst; he may have been a starting guard), had to retire over the summer.

Q: What can A&M do to prevent players from hitting the transfer portal if more games are lost this year? (Ag20)

A: Make sure that they understand their roles in the future and how close they are to winning big. And there’s NIL, too.

Q: Did Kerr beat out Bryce for playing time? (Tschaar)

A: I don’t think so. I think they’re playing different positions.

Q: Who do you think will start at QB vs South Carolina? (AggieTom2000)

A: Too early to say. It may come down to how much pain Haynes King can tolerate.

Q: Was the last play of the game the same as Alabama ran in 2012 when D Everett intercepted. (86Aggie)

A: No.

Q: You are probably the single most vocal advocate of keeping CW on the bench on this board, yet I get from some of your posts that you expect him to win the job outright next year. That indicates to me that his natural abilities are better than who we're playing now but his mastery of the Jimbo Offense is holding him back. And yet we have a lot of fish playing all over the field and getting better every day. USC IMO is maybe the easiest opponent left on our schedule, what will really happen to Conner if he gets the start vs. USC and wins the game in impressive fashion? (H273)

A: I am not an advocate of keeping Weigman on the bench, I’m an advocate of not putting him out there before he’s ready with a bad offensive line in front of him. And as for Conner getting the start and doing well against South Carolina — I’d direct you to Kyler Murray. He had a big game against them, got the next few starts and crashed and burned because (all together now) he wasn’t ready.

Q: Are the new college offensive schemes better than Jimbo’s offensive scheme and its ability to be successful?

A: Yes, simply because there’s been less time to adapt to them.

Do you think he’ll let Dickey call the offense or go get an up and coming OC like LSU did?

A: No idea. I think he’d probably go outside the organization and find someone.

Is Addazio a good coach or is he one of the offensive issues?

A: historically, he’s been a very good offensive line coach. But it’s very hard to find the first half of the year acceptable.

How will this years poor offensive output affect recruiting offensive players? (Big Smoothie)

A: You can have two ways of thinking about it: one, “this is terrible and I want nothing to do with it” or, two, “Hey, I could get playing time right away!”. I think it’s going to be very easy to sell early playing time by season’s end, when you see what Evan Stewart, Chris Marshall and Donovan Green end up doing.

Q: I gotta ask, what happened to Caden Davis? (Aggiefox27)

A: He didn’t make field goals. And he missed a critical one very badly.

Q: 1. Jared Kerr. More a product of: (a) our evaluation (b) other teams' "miss" or (c) our willingness/their unwillingness to take on the injury concern?

A: I think A, mostly, but Texas saw what he could do too and really wanted him. He wasn’t a complete diamond in the rough.

2. If Weigman starts, does Jimbo simplify the play sheet? Or at least, shorten it?

A: I would sure think so.

3. When do you usually start hearing rumblings about early enrollees?

A: Soon.

4. Looks like Diggs is starting fill in the Clemons role a bit. Going forward, who are the best candidates to fill Johnson's position on the edge?

A: Gotta be Enai White or Malick Sylla. But I’m not sure that there is a guy who compares to Shemar Stewart.

5. I once heard Mike Singletary describe LB play as "see, scrape, hit." Too often, I see our LBs aggressively "give themselves up" early in a play. Is that due to impatience on our part?

A: Yes, they’re frequently playing undisciplined.

Bonus - "Hunger Games" fan? (JustAvgIllini)

A: Nope, no interest at all.

Q: The 23 class has no offensive skill players committed yet. You've talked about it some but early signing day seems to be rapidly approaching. Who has visits scheduled and what targets are most likely to come on board? (DriverD)

A: Right now, Hykeem Williams has an official set for December and they’ve had a few guys committed elsewhere visit. But right now, there’s not much else out there, so they’re either going to have to flip guys or get into the portal.

Q: So, are we completely going to whiff on RB and WR in this recruiting class? I've never seen that happen to a major program in the SEC or anywhere for that matter. That seemed unimaginable but I assume other programs are having a field day hammering Jimbo's "offense". Appears to be working or am I missing something. (Agcatter123)

A: I don’t think Ole Miss got a whole lot of skill position guys in their recruiting class; they got them in the portal. Same with Mississippi State. What’s to say that A&M doesn’t do the same?

Q: Rank your all-time Oriole shortstops

Miguel Tejada

Mark Belanger

Mike Bordick

Luis Aparicio

CR Jr

JJ Hardy

A: Cal, easily

Tejada

Hardy

Blade (Belanger)

Aparicio (just because it was late in his career)

Bordick

Did I miss any?

A: None that are any good.

Do you believe that Jimbo and other coaches have pointed out to Dirkin that we are a better D in a 4 man front?

A: I sure hope so.

Will Jimbo run more next weekend?

A: Considering South Carolina’s rush defense isn’t very good and you’ll either be starting a true freshman or a banged up King, that would be a prudent course of action.

What's the single biggest change come next weekend that we'll see from Jimbo & Co.?

A: Hopefully a comfortable win.

Q: Looking at Addazio's resume he has had good success in the past with the offensive line, however he has been a head coach prior to becoming our OL coach. . With 2 freshmen all Americans, a preseason all SEC guard, and two four star rated players one would think the OL should have been stronger this year. Do you think he has been away from being a position coach to be as effective as he had in the past?

A: I don’t know if it’s that, but you do hear a lot of comments about him being “old school”. It’s fair to question if he’s lost the touch of being a position coach after the first half of the year, or that maybe he just isn’t connecting with his players. Either way, it’s a big problem.

In the Jimbo pressers he always indicates there is nothing wrong with our offense it is just a matter of execution. There are a lot of people saying he needs to give up the OC duties. However one must first feel there are shortcomings before they can effectively change. I don't think Jimbo feels there are any shortcomings with his offense (or his play calling) so do you think we will see the same in the future? (GCJC)

A: Well, I saw some changes in the offense against Alabama. There was more motion, some misdirection and some shots down the field. That’s at least a small sign of adapting. But there’s much, much more than needs to be done. I’m in the camp that Jimbo’s desire to win will override his desire to run his offense.

Q: I know we want to feed #6, but do u forsee another back really picking up a consistent number of carries from here on out ? (gatillero_76)

A: Barring injury? Not really. Amari Daniels hasn’t gotten a carry in a month, and LJ Johnson is used largely in short yardage. Le’Veon Moss has one carry so far.

Q: Do you think we finish with a top 10 recruiting class?? (Mtholmes)

A: If they don’t, it’ll be because they don’t take enough guys. In terms of quality of commits, only Ohio State currently has a higher average star raking per player.

Q: why is Preston on the field??? (LufkinAg)

A: For the most part, to block. But I figured out pretty quick who the “blocking wideouts” were, so they put in a couple of real pass plays for them. Chase Lane did something with his, picking up 25; Preston picked up 5, and had a safety draped on him.

Q: Haven't heard much about Javian Toviano recently. Which way is the wind blowing in his recruitment? (Boone8466)

A: You haven’t heard much because he doesn’t say much. He’s extremely quiet. Right now, I think it’s A&M and LSU and the Tigers likely lead for him. But I don’t think he’s ready to make a decision, and if A&M can beat LSU, that could make a difference.

Q: Is there not a better option for a LT than a 2nd team guard in cement shoes who scores a “3” on PFF?

A: No, there isn’t.

Does A&M aggressively look to the portal for tackle help? JC ranks? (CypressAggie)

A: I would think the portal. But look, let’s get serious about the JUCO ranks. A lot of people think those guys are just plug and play superstars because they’re older. They’re extremely hit or miss, and we’ve seen that. Micheal Clemons came on late in his A&M career and needed the extra time. Avery Gennesy and Jermaine Eluemunor were good, but Elijah Blades and Brian George have been an absolute bust or a disappointment so far. The bust rate for JUCOs is just as high as for high schoolers, if not more so.