AggieYell Mailbag
Here’s this week’s edition of the AggieYell Mailbag, sponsored by Tipton Auto Group:
Q: Do you think we might see a new alternate uniform this season? Or is that something we will see a couple seasons down the line? (Shanehammett12)
A: I don’t see why not. I don’t know if they actually will have an alternate uniform this year, but I wouldn’t put it past Mike Elko and Adidas. He recognizes the attention-getting value of those kinds of things.
Q: Who was the most shockingly disappointing recruit in your time covering the Ags?
A: Demond Demas. Not even close.
Who was the most pleasant non-Ag football coach you’ve talked to?
Terry Bowden. Extremely nice guy.
What assistants (other than Elko, Kingsbury and DeRuyter) have you felt the strongest that they will someday be a head coach?
How about a player instead of a coach? In that case, Conner McQueen.
How the heck did TX Tech suddenly become an NIL-enabled recruiting powerhouse? Where did all of the money come from?
Double Eagle Pipeline. Look it up.
Along similar lines, supposedly, the general population in California doesn’t care about college football like the South or Midwest do, so how do they get their money?
USC has a very wealthy fan and alumni base. And not everyone out there is tofu on college football.
You said no one runs the 3-4 defense anymore, but what about the 4-3? (3rd Gen Ag)
A few do. Not surprisingly, a lot of them are Big Ten schools. Ohio State and Penn State are “multiple”, but frequently go to the 4-3. That’s a really, really good question!
Q: A lot of maroon kool-aid being passed around lately. I know your job is to cover our beloved Ags, but do you get a feel from other sites that the red, crimson, purple/gold, orange/blue kool aid is being over-consumed? Maybe you got some back-channel discussion at media days that some are just “meh” about the upcoming season. Or is every team think they are Atlanta bound? (Tsmith3001)
A: I think most guys I talk to are realistic and know the flaws the teams they cover have. I don’t like talking to the rah-rah guys who think their team is perfect and everyone else sucks, so I don’t. I think Alabama and LSU have reason to be optimistic. I’m not sure about OU and Auburn.
Q: Gun to your head, balls on the table, what percentage would you give, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being higher than 1? (Richard23)
A: I’d give it an 85% chance. Doesn’t everything around here have an 85% chance?
Q: Will success this season be largely based on Addazio leaving around 20 months ago? (Reckless75)
A: Yes. The more of Adam Cushing the better.
Q: 1.How confident are you in our OT depth behind fatheree?
A: I’m not. Hard to be confident in something you’ve never seen.
2.How do you think some of A&M’s top basketball targets would fit into our system? (Chickennugget666777)
Interesting question, and my answer is, “I’m not sure.” I really want to see it in action before I try to apply it to anyone. But if you’re a shooting guard or a small forward — or a 4 who can shoot — you have to be looking at A&M now.
Q: What is your candid assessment of the current Texas A&M University Athletic Director and his direct report staff? (BoxsterBoy72)
A: I have no complaints at this point. He’s doing a respectable job when he inherited a tough situation. For once, A&M has an AD who recognizes that the same old same old isn’t working and he’s actively going about changing it.
Q: Final thoughts on D line
personnel
A: This may be the biggest question on the team, but I think the have pieces that fit well together. I’m excited to see Cashius Howell on the field all the time, I think Dayon Hayes is underrated and Marco Jones could be exciting to watch even as a true freshman. Not to put too much on him, but a lot of this depends on DJ Hicks. If he breaks out and becomes a 5-star, third overall player in the nation type defensive tackle, then they’ll be very good.
Philosophy
It’s clearly different this year with virtually everyone slimming down or signing players who are significantly lighter than their predecessors. They want speed and they want athleticism. They were too big last year and I think they realize that now, so they’re taking another approach.
blitz packages. (Richard23)
I think they’re going to blitz more, and blitz differently. Jayden Peevy said the other day on X (Twitter) that it’ll be like 2020, and that was a very aggressive group.
For home games does the team move into a hotel or just stay put at home?
A: They stay at a hotel. I’m not telling you which one.
Which apartments house the bulk of the players? (H273)
A: No comment.
Q: Jerome Myles.. when can we expect him back? (Blumkinator Dong)
A: I honestly don’t know, but at this point I’m not real optimistic about seeing him anytime soon.
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