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MrPhlegm

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11 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Didn’t a college station person have thei first case in Texas?

No. That guy tested negative. They told him if he wanted to catch the virus he had to wait until next year.

Quote

DSHS Announces First Case of COVID-19 in Texas

News Release
March 4, 2020

Travel-related case in Fort Bend County

The Texas Department of State Health Services and Fort Bend County Health and Human Services are reporting the first positive test result for COVID-19 in Texas outside of the passengers returned under federal quarantine from Wuhan City, China or the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The patient is a resident of Fort Bend County who recently returned from travel abroad and is currently isolated in the hospital.

https://dshs.texas.gov/news/releases/2020/20200304.aspx

 

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Get ready for the talk about how the legislature is going to have to bail out the aggys because they can't meet the $28 million debt service om their athletics facilities debt.

Already in debt to the academic side and has been since 2006. Academic side already needed a bailout from the legislature last session. No emergency contingency fund. And now, the prospect of not playing football in 2020. Not a happy time to be an aggy, even though they will show their ignorance by claiming their SEC membership will take care of all their problems.

Quote

Kirk Herbstreit would be ‘shocked’ if college football is played this fall

https://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/03/27/college-football-kirk-herbstreit-shocked/

 

 

aggy debt 2019.jpeg

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3 hours ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Btw, if there’s no season, will we be making our debt servicing via cash on hand or some other internal mechanism so we don’t have the same issue?

The licensing fee for LHN $14.3 mil. Texas gets that regardless of the performance of LHN. Remember when aggy was laughing at Texas because the SECN deal was a revenue sharing with ESPN? Well...that revenue will be a negative for SECN is there was no season. Nike contract, Coca Cola, etc, are all much larger than aggy's licensing deals. UT debt service - $17 mil. UT's emergency fund - $40 mil. Texas' game day expenses - far higher than A&M's.

Remember, aggy was barely breaking even as things were.

large.1216518562_aggybreakeven140.jpeg.712708dccc221dc92cf8fbf245aae88c.jpeg

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On 3/26/2020 at 11:14 AM, 'stache said:

State universities are arms of state government. I'm pretty sure that's how Tech got out of paying Leach the remainder of his contract when they took CJK5H's story over his. The bigger question in my mind is how it works for colleges like Colorado which I've read is 75% private at this point. How much state funding is needed to make it an arm of the state? A single dollar?

UT gets way less than 25% of its funding from the state.  Hell, Texas State probably gets less than 25% now.

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11 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

UT gets way less than 25% of its funding from the state.  Hell, Texas State probably gets less than 25% now.

For the 2018-2019 school year, UT Austin received $54,880 per student (FTSE). 28.7% as appropriations from the state, 33.8% self-funded from institutional resources, 19.3% from the feds, and 18.9% from tuition. (A&M received $31,417 per student, 32.4% from state appropriations, 26.7% self-funded from institutional resources, 8.4% from the feds, and 32.8% from tuition).

One thing people forget about when considering direct state appropriations is the university lands. Last year, university lands contributed well over $1B to the endowment. Just that one year's contribution to the endowment is equivalent to the entire endowment of Arky, UGA, NC State, or Univ of Tennessee. Just since 2010, the endowment contributions from UT lands have exceeded the entire endowments of Rice, USC, or UVa, and if a separate endowment would rank in the Top 20 of all universities in the nation, not just public universities.

Add state appropriations and funding from institutional resources and one gets 62.5% from state resources for UT Austin, and 59.1% for A&M. Neither UT Austin, nor A&M can easily complain they are not being well funded by the people of Texas. I need to look at the recent numbers, but even giving UT's agricultural branch college credit for 1/3 of the PUF, I'm fairly sure the endowment of UT's agricultural branch college still exceeds that of all other 15 S!E!C! members combined, and UT Austin's endowment exceeds the combined endowments of the other 15 S!E!C! member institutions, plus A&M.

It would be nice if there was a way to allocate more AUF money as excellence funding, rather than for facilities, but that is a discussion for another day.

State appropriations funding for Texas State in San Marcos was $9,957 on a total FTSE funding of $24,282 (39.4%).

 

THECB 2019 UT almanac.jpeg

Edited by Randolph Duke
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I sell Funko/collectibles on the side and just came across this gem, in a thread about a new line of college mascots:

aggyfunko.png


Some examples of figures in the Icons and Legends lines:

Icons: Dr. Seuss, George Washington, Jim Henson, Edgar Allen, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, John F. Kennedy

Legends: Muhammad Ali, Babe Ruth

Yes, a Yell Leader and 12th Man should fit perfectly in those series, aggy.

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On 3/27/2020 at 6:07 PM, Walden Ponderer said:

I can just see that foreclosure proceeding... banker sayin' "Oh, hell nah!"

I mean, seriously, would you want to take possession of that monstrosity?

depends upon my redeployment/ redesign options.

I could see a fabulous, "Hell yes!" answer to that question.

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1 hour ago, Armybrat said:

Or paint it Burnt Orange with Bevo logos all over it. And claim all the fake championships off that wall of jokes.

 

I thought about that, too, but it seems disrespectful to UT.  Maybe paint it up red and black and put Tech logos all over it.  Replace the fake accomplishment wall with Tech's real accomplishments. 

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2 minutes ago, markstanco said:

There are no losses on LHN.  

I know...But this game has always been(to me at least)the aggyest aggy has ever aggyed a game up... Texas comes in undefeated with a loaded team, aggy is 5-4-1. It's windy as fuck, and Texas sleepwalks through the 25 minutes of the game and aggy is about to lose their shit..."We're showin you, you arrogant sips! Whoop!"  

Then in 15 minutes of game time, Rick McIvor comes in at QB and Texas erupts for 45 fucking points and aggy doesn't pee a fucking drop 

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8 hours ago, Scheiss Meister said:

I thought about that, too, but it seems disrespectful to UT.  Maybe paint it up red and black and put Tech logos all over it.  Replace the fake accomplishment wall with Tech's real accomplishments. 

If you went that route, just put "something, something, and you're not entitled to the only vet school, motherfuckers..."

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28 minutes ago, markstanco said:

Agreed.

I was watching the UCLA aggy game, and like a moron I changed the channel.

 

For some reason I kept watching that day... It was GLORIOUS!!!

 

 

Auburn 2018 comeback was fun too!!!

 

Edited by LTtxfan
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14 hours ago, markstanco said:

Agreed.

I was watching the UCLA aggy game, and like a moron I changed the channel.

 

14 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

 

For some reason I kept watching that day... It was GLORIOUS!!!

 

Looch and the aggy bunch have spun this loss so hard, that this was actually great for aggy, since this got the ball rolling to get Jimbo. 

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10 minutes ago, Randolph Duke said:

Liucci's has a wonderful track record of predicting "aggy greatness."

 

large.928410443_liuccirisetopower.jpeg.9ce81db7298044345d588d0240ba9657.jpeg

if you thought he was done there, you'd be wrong. very wrong. he goes on and on and on with shit that would make Pravda editors blush. It's really quite astonishing

 

Spoiler

For proof, all one need do is study what’s transpired in College Station over the past three months and with the Class of ’13 in general.

In addition to dominating recruiting in Texas, the Ags are riding a wave of momentum after an unforgettable first season in the SEC. A&M compiled 11 wins, a rousing victory over the back-to-back champs in Tuscaloosa, a Cotton Bowl win, an Outland Trophy, a potential No. 1 NFL Draft pick and a Heisman Trophy.

Sumlin’s Aggies seized control of the landscape in the nation’s most fertile recruiting ground. They surpassed Oklahoma and Texas and re-emerged as the power player in the Lone Star State.

Texas coach Mack Brown and OU’s Bob Stoops rode rosters loaded with Dallas, Houston and East Texas talent to national championships, and neither had the year one success — on the field or on the recruiting front — that Sumlin has enjoyed in Aggieland.

Throughout Sumlin’s first few months, the Aggies quietly built recruiting momentum leading up to the season due mainly to the SEC move and the excitement generated by a staff of young, energetic and proven recruiters. As the season progressed, however, a seismic shift occurred in a state that had been run by Mr. February and Big Game Bob.

The Longhorns didn’t win a single game of note and dropped four games against an embarrassingly easy schedule. Oklahoma danced around defensive deficiencies to go 10-2, but the Sooners drew the one opponent that the Brothers Stoops did not want to see in the Cotton Bowl.

A&M’s thoroughly convincing, 41-13 beatdown of Stoops’ Sooners at Cowboys Stadium was an emphatic message delivered on national television to every noteworthy recruit in Texas: There is a new sheriff in town who is known to occasionally survey the Friday Night Lights in a candy-painted maroon helicopter and whose tweet game was on par with that of most of the players the Aggies were targeting.
Sumlin and the Aggies served notice that for the first time in about 15 long years, Texas A&M was not only an on-field bully but also the “cool” destination for Texas high school prospects.

The shift began early in the season, but didn’t fully take hold until November 10 — a day Aggie fans will remember forever. With Johnny Manziel leading the way (and vaulting himself into legitimate Heisman contention), an inspired A&M team toppled Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in front of 100,000 rabid Tide fans.

The Ags' defeat of the defending and eventual repeat national champs sent shockwaves throughout the college football world and vaulted Manziel, Sumlin and Texas A&M into the national conscience.

Since that fateful afternoon, Manziel and the Aggies have been the hottest thing going.

A&M has enjoyed the following: Manziel hoisting the Heisman and then becoming the most talked-about and celebrated athlete in the country; Johnny Football or A&M being mentioned what seemed like 20 times during the national championship game; Sumlin joining Urban Meyer on the Gameday set for the BCS title game; NFL Draft talk centering on Luke Joeckel and Damontre Moore; and talk of a preseason No. 1 or No. 2 ranking.

In other words, the Aggies’ Q-Rating is as high as any program this side of Alabama. Hell, Sumlin is even making Saban look over his shoulder. If you think Saban and the Tide don’t have September 14, 2013 circled on their schedule, you’re not paying attention to what next year’s A&M-‘Bama game at Kyle Field truly represents.

There isn’t a bigger threat to break up the Alabama dynasty than Texas A&M. Saban is fully aware of this fact. That’s why the Aggie-Tide rematch is going to be college football’s most highly-anticipated and most-hyped regular-season game since the Alabama-LSU ‘Game of the Century’ two seasons ago.

Last November’s 29-24 win was a perception-changer as much as it was a season- or even program-changer. For proof, look at the four weeks following the Ags’ first-ever road win over No. 1.
During that span, Sumlin tweeted his now trademark “Yessir!” following commitments from the state’s two best players in two separate classes. Picking up commitments from Ricky Seals-Jones and Justin Manning in the same week represented a watershed recruiting moment in the post-Jackie Sherrill/R.C. Slocum Era.

The Ags also managed to land 2014’s best in La Porte LB Hoza Scott and Lancaster DB Nick Harvey.

Since the win over ‘Bama, the spotlight has also been shining brightly on Manziel and an offensive system that is exciting and appealing to prospects around the country.

Skill-position stars are drawn to the offense like moths to a flame — as evidenced by the Ags inking the state’s No. 1 quarterback, second-rated tailback and six highly-regarded wide receivers, five of whom were recruited nationally.

The attractive style of play, star power, dynamic and engaging head coach and big season in the SEC have made the Texas A&M brand bigger than ever. While recruiting under Stoops as an OU assistant coach, Sumlin learned the importance of striking while the iron was hot on a national level. This year’s Aggie haul included nine non-Texans and the Ags came close to landing several other blue-chip out-of-staters.

Sebastian LaRue was one of California’s highest-ranked prospects, Jeremy Tabuyo was a top-10 player in Hawaii, Ja'Quay Williams was Georgia’s No. 1 player in 2012 and A&M inked three Louisiana defenders. The Ags are already casting a wide net in the ‘14 race and appear positioned to recruit nationally for the first time in ages.

Speaking of the 2014 class, Sumlin and his staff have exploded out of the gate with seven outstanding commits and three or four more not too far off.

Nobody wins the SEC without successfully stack classes. A&M’s 2012 haul was a top-15 group, Wednesday’s class earned top-10 acclaim and, though it will be smaller, the 2014 class might be even better.

Another ingredient to sustained Southeastern Conference success is signing game-changers along the defensive front. A&M inked five of the state’s six most coveted defensive linemen, including three of Texas’ four best defensive tackles and a pair of nationally-recruited ends.

Four of the Ags’ seven signees up front are state top 20 prospects. Position coach Terry Price has coached some great ones during his 18 years in the SEC and he considers this year’s A&M group possibly the best he’s been a part of signing.

Justin Manning and Isaiah Golden have what it takes to quickly emerge as dominant inside forces, along with heavily-recruited Westfield DT Hardreck Walker. At end, the Aggies missed on pass-rushing ace Torrodney Prevot, who chose Oregon, but did land the promising Daeshon Hall, who chose A&M over Washington.

With one of the nation’s best defensive line hauls setting the tone, Defensive Coordinator Mark Snyder, Price and Marcel Yates put together an 18-man class as good as any since the Jackie Sherrill/R.C. Slocum-led glory days of the Wrecking Crew. Seven defensive backs and five linebackers join the blue-chips up front to provide across-the-board depth.

The Ags also recruited bona fide playmakers at all three levels of the defense, with ballhawks like Noel Ellis, Kameron Miles and Tavares Garner looking like very early contributors on the back end. At linebacker, Tommy Sanders was the nation’s No. 1 OLB from the JC ranks and the Ags were able to bolster the middle with SEC size in 250-pound Reggie Chevis and 6-3, 230-pounder and late OU defection Jordan Mastrogiovanni.

The Aggies were known more for their thrill-a-minute offense in 2012, but, whether shutting down Alabama’s vaunted ground game or holding OU to a single touchdown, Snyder’s defense was rock solid. Even so, Sumlin and his staff entered the 2013 recruiting race determined to “increase the team’s profile” on that side of the ball by signing a group representing an upgrade in size, talent and athleticism.

Wednesday’s signees represent a significant step forward for the Aggie defense. While roughly half of the conference celebrated equally impressive defensive hauls, A&M’s offense is better than anyone else's. If the Ags continue to climb the talent ladder on defense, an SEC Championship trophy will soon find its way to College Station.

In addition to adding elite-level talent at several spots, the Aggies addressed every need — large or small — by loading up at more than one position. Need an impact signee at defensive tackle? How about three? The Ags lost three starting receivers and signed six.

Depth was a major concern in the secondary, so Yates brought in seven new faces. Tight end was a major need; the nation’s most SEC-ready player at the position was the answer. Kenny Hill or Kohl Stewart may very well be who takes over after Manziel becomes an NFL signal-caller.

Sumlin also targeted several players who weren’t quite as highly-regarded by the recruiting services because he was convinced they fit into the system and filled a need. Coaches of even the most successful programs know that evaluation and “a feel” for when a player fits is far more valuable than any type of star rating.

David Beaty and Clarence McKinney paved the way in Dallas and Houston, respectively, and the Aggies inked 20 players from the state’s two largest cities and raked in well over half of the state top 50 prospects in the two hotbeds. The Ags’ dominance in Big D and ability to flex their muscles in H-Town is of paramount concern to Big 12 coaches, including the guys who get together at the Cotton Bowl every October.

The Aggies clearly got the best of their two primary recruiting adversaries, owning Oklahoma every bit as badly as they did on the field last month and hitting Texas where it hurt by landing Manning and RS-J.

Here’s the painful truth for Texas Longhorn fans to try and digest: During January’s stretch run, Lake Highlands OL Kent Perkins was probably the only member of Brown’s 15-man haul that Sumlin and his staff would have taken.
 

Facing them on the field or not, decisively beating natural recruiting rivals is another key ingredient to remaining in the SEC’s upper-echelon. Examples include South Carolina/Clemson, Ole Miss/MSU, Alabama/Auburn and Florida/FSU/Miami.

The in-state head-to-head battles weren’t the only ones Summy and the Aggies were winning. One of the most remarkable notes from this year’s A&M class regards the seven players the Ags signed who were previously committed to another school.

Seals-Jones (Texas), LaRue (USC), Williams (Auburn), Kyrion Parker (LSU), Mastrogiovanni (OU), Garner (Tech) and Miles (Tennessee) all chose to play at Texas A&M after seemingly finding a home elsewhere.

I’ve always liked to judge the strength of a recruiting class on some of the high profile battles won and lost. This year’s A&M haul features a lot of high-profile heads-up wins … especially when it comes to guys who Sumlin and Co. were able to flip.

As you might expect, several of those changes came following the Ags’ breakthrough win at Alabama and the Heisman, Cotton Bowl, 11-win season, etc. Further proof of how Aggieland has become one of college football’s ‘it’ destinations seemingly overnight.

And to think, the Aggies managed to not only hold things together but also put the finishing touches on a top-10 class while losing three assistant coaches during December and January…

For years, if you mentioned Texas A&M to a college football analyst, fan or even BCS conference coaches, you might get a two-word response — “sleeping giant” — followed immediately by a “If they ever get the right coach in place down there … watch out.”

Watch out, indeed.

A&M finally had that long-overdue breakout season, and they did it on the game’s biggest stage. While momentum continues to build, the members of the Ags’ Class of 2013 may very well find themselves contending for multiple championships (SEC and/or national) during their time in College Station. These guys are that good.

Just like recruiting top-10 classes, that level of excellence will no longer be the exception but, rather, the norm.

 

 

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1 hour ago, TexasMan said:

 

if only we had some kind of history of how they did in the b12

  • 97 - lost in Cotton 
  • 98 - lost in Sugar
  • 04 - lost in Cotton
  • 10 - lost in Cotton

lets re-wind to after the change to RC

  • 91 - lost in Cotton
  • 92 - lost in Cotton
  • 93 - lost in Cotton

so just to be clear, they did make a few NY6 bowls...and their record in their last 7 is 0-7 in those NY6 bowls. this was over a 23 year timeframe. 

funny enough during their time in the B12, they actually went 2-9 in bowls. in 11 they beat the always dangerous Northwestern Wildcats and in 2001 they beat TCU. 

Edited by NoName
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8 minutes ago, NoName said:

if only we had some kind of history of how they did in the b12

  • 97 - lost in Cotton 
  • 98 - lost in Sugar
  • 04 - lost in Cotton
  • 10 - lost in Cotton

lets re-wind to after the change to RC

  • 91 - lost in Cotton
  • 92 - lost in Cotton
  • 93 - lost in Cotton

so just to be clear, they did make a few NY6 bowls...and their record in their last 7 is 0-7 in those NY6 bowls. this was over a 23 year timeframe. 

funny enough during their time in the B12, they actually went 2-9 in bowls. in 11 they beat the always dangerous Northwestern Wildcats and in 2001 they beat TCU. 

Yep. Only aggy could not win the conference for 20 years and then talk about how easy it would be to win the second they leave. 

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if you thought he was done there, you'd be wrong. very wrong. he goes on and on and on with shit that would make Pravda editors blush. It's really quite astonishing
 
Spoiler

For proof, all one need do is study what’s transpired in College Station over the past three months and with the Class of ’13 in general.

In addition to dominating recruiting in Texas, the Ags are riding a wave of momentum after an unforgettable first season in the SEC. A&M compiled 11 wins, a rousing victory over the back-to-back champs in Tuscaloosa, a Cotton Bowl win, an Outland Trophy, a potential No. 1 NFL Draft pick and a Heisman Trophy.

Sumlin’s Aggies seized control of the landscape in the nation’s most fertile recruiting ground. They surpassed Oklahoma and Texas and re-emerged as the power player in the Lone Star State.

Texas coach Mack Brown and OU’s Bob Stoops rode rosters loaded with Dallas, Houston and East Texas talent to national championships, and neither had the year one success — on the field or on the recruiting front — that Sumlin has enjoyed in Aggieland.

Throughout Sumlin’s first few months, the Aggies quietly built recruiting momentum leading up to the season due mainly to the SEC move and the excitement generated by a staff of young, energetic and proven recruiters. As the season progressed, however, a seismic shift occurred in a state that had been run by Mr. February and Big Game Bob.

The Longhorns didn’t win a single game of note and dropped four games against an embarrassingly easy schedule. Oklahoma danced around defensive deficiencies to go 10-2, but the Sooners drew the one opponent that the Brothers Stoops did not want to see in the Cotton Bowl.

A&M’s thoroughly convincing, 41-13 beatdown of Stoops’ Sooners at Cowboys Stadium was an emphatic message delivered on national television to every noteworthy recruit in Texas: There is a new sheriff in town who is known to occasionally survey the Friday Night Lights in a candy-painted maroon helicopter and whose tweet game was on par with that of most of the players the Aggies were targeting.
Sumlin and the Aggies served notice that for the first time in about 15 long years, Texas A&M was not only an on-field bully but also the “cool” destination for Texas high school prospects.

The shift began early in the season, but didn’t fully take hold until November 10 — a day Aggie fans will remember forever. With Johnny Manziel leading the way (and vaulting himself into legitimate Heisman contention), an inspired A&M team toppled Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in front of 100,000 rabid Tide fans.

The Ags' defeat of the defending and eventual repeat national champs sent shockwaves throughout the college football world and vaulted Manziel, Sumlin and Texas A&M into the national conscience.

Since that fateful afternoon, Manziel and the Aggies have been the hottest thing going.

A&M has enjoyed the following: Manziel hoisting the Heisman and then becoming the most talked-about and celebrated athlete in the country; Johnny Football or A&M being mentioned what seemed like 20 times during the national championship game; Sumlin joining Urban Meyer on the Gameday set for the BCS title game; NFL Draft talk centering on Luke Joeckel and Damontre Moore; and talk of a preseason No. 1 or No. 2 ranking.

In other words, the Aggies’ Q-Rating is as high as any program this side of Alabama. Hell, Sumlin is even making Saban look over his shoulder. If you think Saban and the Tide don’t have September 14, 2013 circled on their schedule, you’re not paying attention to what next year’s A&M-‘Bama game at Kyle Field truly represents.

There isn’t a bigger threat to break up the Alabama dynasty than Texas A&M. Saban is fully aware of this fact. That’s why the Aggie-Tide rematch is going to be college football’s most highly-anticipated and most-hyped regular-season game since the Alabama-LSU ‘Game of the Century’ two seasons ago.

Last November’s 29-24 win was a perception-changer as much as it was a season- or even program-changer. For proof, look at the four weeks following the Ags’ first-ever road win over No. 1.
During that span, Sumlin tweeted his now trademark “Yessir!” following commitments from the state’s two best players in two separate classes. Picking up commitments from Ricky Seals-Jones and Justin Manning in the same week represented a watershed recruiting moment in the post-Jackie Sherrill/R.C. Slocum Era.

The Ags also managed to land 2014’s best in La Porte LB Hoza Scott and Lancaster DB Nick Harvey.

Since the win over ‘Bama, the spotlight has also been shining brightly on Manziel and an offensive system that is exciting and appealing to prospects around the country.

Skill-position stars are drawn to the offense like moths to a flame — as evidenced by the Ags inking the state’s No. 1 quarterback, second-rated tailback and six highly-regarded wide receivers, five of whom were recruited nationally.

The attractive style of play, star power, dynamic and engaging head coach and big season in the SEC have made the Texas A&M brand bigger than ever. While recruiting under Stoops as an OU assistant coach, Sumlin learned the importance of striking while the iron was hot on a national level. This year’s Aggie haul included nine non-Texans and the Ags came close to landing several other blue-chip out-of-staters.

Sebastian LaRue was one of California’s highest-ranked prospects, Jeremy Tabuyo was a top-10 player in Hawaii, Ja'Quay Williams was Georgia’s No. 1 player in 2012 and A&M inked three Louisiana defenders. The Ags are already casting a wide net in the ‘14 race and appear positioned to recruit nationally for the first time in ages.

Speaking of the 2014 class, Sumlin and his staff have exploded out of the gate with seven outstanding commits and three or four more not too far off.

Nobody wins the SEC without successfully stack classes. A&M’s 2012 haul was a top-15 group, Wednesday’s class earned top-10 acclaim and, though it will be smaller, the 2014 class might be even better.
Another ingredient to sustained Southeastern Conference success is signing game-changers along the defensive front. A&M inked five of the state’s six most coveted defensive linemen, including three of Texas’ four best defensive tackles and a pair of nationally-recruited ends.

Four of the Ags’ seven signees up front are state top 20 prospects. Position coach Terry Price has coached some great ones during his 18 years in the SEC and he considers this year’s A&M group possibly the best he’s been a part of signing.

Justin Manning and Isaiah Golden have what it takes to quickly emerge as dominant inside forces, along with heavily-recruited Westfield DT Hardreck Walker. At end, the Aggies missed on pass-rushing ace Torrodney Prevot, who chose Oregon, but did land the promising Daeshon Hall, who chose A&M over Washington.

With one of the nation’s best defensive line hauls setting the tone, Defensive Coordinator Mark Snyder, Price and Marcel Yates put together an 18-man class as good as any since the Jackie Sherrill/R.C. Slocum-led glory days of the Wrecking Crew. Seven defensive backs and five linebackers join the blue-chips up front to provide across-the-board depth.

The Ags also recruited bona fide playmakers at all three levels of the defense, with ballhawks like Noel EllisKameron Miles and Tavares Garner looking like very early contributors on the back end. At linebacker, Tommy Sanders was the nation’s No. 1 OLB from the JC ranks and the Ags were able to bolster the middle with SEC size in 250-pound Reggie Chevis and 6-3, 230-pounder and late OU defection Jordan Mastrogiovanni.

The Aggies were known more for their thrill-a-minute offense in 2012, but, whether shutting down Alabama’s vaunted ground game or holding OU to a single touchdown, Snyder’s defense was rock solid. Even so, Sumlin and his staff entered the 2013 recruiting race determined to “increase the team’s profile” on that side of the ball by signing a group representing an upgrade in size, talent and athleticism.

Wednesday’s signees represent a significant step forward for the Aggie defense. While roughly half of the conference celebrated equally impressive defensive hauls, A&M’s offense is better than anyone else's. If the Ags continue to climb the talent ladder on defense, an SEC Championship trophy will soon find its way to College Station.
In addition to adding elite-level talent at several spots, the Aggies addressed every need — large or small — by loading up at more than one position. Need an impact signee at defensive tackle? How about three? The Ags lost three starting receivers and signed six.

Depth was a major concern in the secondary, so Yates brought in seven new faces. Tight end was a major need; the nation’s most SEC-ready player at the position was the answer. Kenny Hill or Kohl Stewart may very well be who takes over after Manziel becomes an NFL signal-caller.

Sumlin also targeted several players who weren’t quite as highly-regarded by the recruiting services because he was convinced they fit into the system and filled a need. Coaches of even the most successful programs know that evaluation and “a feel” for when a player fits is far more valuable than any type of star rating.

David Beaty and Clarence McKinney paved the way in Dallas and Houston, respectively, and the Aggies inked 20 players from the state’s two largest cities and raked in well over half of the state top 50 prospects in the two hotbeds. The Ags’ dominance in Big D and ability to flex their muscles in H-Town is of paramount concern to Big 12 coaches, including the guys who get together at the Cotton Bowl every October.

The Aggies clearly got the best of their two primary recruiting adversaries, owning Oklahoma every bit as badly as they did on the field last month and hitting Texas where it hurt by landing Manning and RS-J.

Here’s the painful truth for Texas Longhorn fans to try and digest: During January’s stretch run, Lake Highlands OL Kent Perkins was probably the only member of Brown’s 15-man haul that Sumlin and his staff would have taken.
 
Facing them on the field or not, decisively beating natural recruiting rivals is another key ingredient to remaining in the SEC’s upper-echelon. Examples include South Carolina/Clemson, Ole Miss/MSU, Alabama/Auburn and Florida/FSU/Miami.

The in-state head-to-head battles weren’t the only ones Summy and the Aggies were winning. One of the most remarkable notes from this year’s A&M class regards the seven players the Ags signed who were previously committed to another school.
Seals-Jones (Texas), LaRue (USC), Williams (Auburn), Kyrion Parker (LSU), Mastrogiovanni (OU), Garner (Tech) and Miles (Tennessee) all chose to play at Texas A&M after seemingly finding a home elsewhere.

I’ve always liked to judge the strength of a recruiting class on some of the high profile battles won and lost. This year’s A&M haul features a lot of high-profile heads-up wins … especially when it comes to guys who Sumlin and Co. were able to flip.

As you might expect, several of those changes came following the Ags’ breakthrough win at Alabama and the Heisman, Cotton Bowl, 11-win season, etc. Further proof of how Aggieland has become one of college football’s ‘it’ destinations seemingly overnight.

And to think, the Aggies managed to not only hold things together but also put the finishing touches on a top-10 class while losing three assistant coaches during December and January…

For years, if you mentioned Texas A&M to a college football analyst, fan or even BCS conference coaches, you might get a two-word response — “sleeping giant” — followed immediately by a “If they ever get the right coach in place down there … watch out.”

Watch out, indeed.

A&M finally had that long-overdue breakout season, and they did it on the game’s biggest stage. While momentum continues to build, the members of the Ags’ Class of 2013 may very well find themselves contending for multiple championships (SEC and/or national) during their time in College Station. These guys are that good.

Just like recruiting top-10 classes, that level of excellence will no longer be the exception but, rather, the norm.
 

 

This part:

There isn’t a bigger threat to break up the Alabama dynasty than Texas A&M.


Aged especially well. Good job billy.
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