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closetojumping

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Posts posted by closetojumping

  1. 6 minutes ago, Burt Macklin said:

    To add some context to the work Sark’s done with the roster, from 2012-2020 we had 9 guys drafted in the first 3 rounds. Sark hasn’t even had a single one of his full recruiting classes on campus for 3 years and he’s about to have 5 guys drafted in the first 3 rounds this year. 

    So that'll make seven. Next year you have Banks and Ewers almost seeming like locks to tie that prior period. Other emergences could obviously drive well north of that. It's a good time to be a fan.

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  2. 8 minutes ago, Park Gothic said:

    I lived in Louisville for a year. Went down to Lexington / Versailles as often as I could. That part of the country is beautiful, the fall weather is amazing, the the town itself is super fun. 

    /csb But I had a buddy from Louisville come down to visit me in Houston this past season. He and his son were gifted some nice tickets to the Steelers' game against the Texans, which was the same weekend that we played Kansas. They came over to my house and watched the game with my family. His son is 11 and mine is only 5, so the boy didn't have much to do except watch football with the old men. Apparently he's a big football fan and we were talking about the move to the SEC, how weird Aggies are, etc. 

    As I was talking to his dad, I noticed the boy seemed to be rooting for Kansas. I said "You know, coming from Kentucky I would not expect you to be such a big Kansas fan."

    He said, "I'm not, it's just....you know."

    "What, that they're playing Texas?"

    "Well yeah, gotta root against Texas."

    I looked at his father, shook my head, and said "In my own damn house." We had a pretty good chuckle about. 

    So even random children from Kentucky are being raised to root against Texas. 

    I have a good friend who played at Kentucky during the Mumme/Leach years and he has some great stories. He also has excellent CFB and NFL connections because of a lot of folks around that program during that era went on do shit in coaching, sports journalism/media, and administration around the game. We're taking he and his wife, also a UK alum, to the game this year and they're getting us tickets together for next season. It's weird, there is a zero percent chance I will consider going to the Ohio State away game in 2025 and yet I can't wait to go to the Kentucky away game instead. I've never been to that area and folks who have rave about it.

    • Like 1
  3. I also posted this on the aggie thread in the football forum, but recognizing that some of you elitists don't visit there:

    The Elk has confessed to his audience, after the first aggie scrimmage, that things are ... not so great right now.

    https://247sports.com/college/texas-am/longformarticle/texas-a-m-football-notebook-aggie-coach-mike-elko-says-team-remains-a-work-in-progress-230249778/#2404181

    "I am a coach, so I do not know how to sugarcoat all of this stuff," Elko said. "It is not great right now, because they are not comfortable in it yet. That is part of spring. It is just learning how the system works, taking more and more reps of it. 

    "The challenge that we will have coming out of spring ball is understanding where we are and having a phenomenal summer so that when we get back to fall camp, practice one, we are 100 days better and not taking any steps back."

    Spoilered the full article in case the link is subscriber only:

    Spoiler

    COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M head football coach Mike Elko covered a variety of topics in his mid-spring press conference Wednesday. Here are five highlights from what he discussed with the media.

    The Aggies are still a 'work in progress'

    A&M is beyond the halfway point of spring football, completing nine of its 15 practices so far. The Aggies also held their first spring scrimmage Tuesday. But in his three spring football press conferences, Elko has seemingly refrained from giving many revealing takeaways.

    Elko does not appear to be playing coy with his answers. He has simply suggested that his Aggie team remains far from a finished product, describing them as a "work in progress." With a new coaching staff and 30 scholarship newcomers this spring, A&M certainly has a learning curve.

    "Every time our kids are going out on the field, they are doing something for the first time," Elko said. "I think that is always a challenge, and that is what makes the first spring so challenging. Very happy with our guys in terms of their mindset, how hard they are working, the things that they are doing to try to get this thing in the right direction. 

    "We have managed to stay relatively healthy, which is huge, and getting a lot of guys out there and getting a lot of reps and a lot of work."

    With six practices remaining, the Aggies should only continue to progress and have a better understanding of the scheme and depth chart. They are expected to have two more scrimmages this spring – one next Tuesday and the other for the Maroon and White Game in Kyle Field next Saturday.

    "I am a coach, so I do not know how to sugarcoat all of this stuff," Elko said. "It is not great right now, because they are not comfortable in it yet. That is part of spring. It is just learning how the system works, taking more and more reps of it. 

    "The challenge that we will have coming out of spring ball is understanding where we are and having a phenomenal summer so that when we get back to fall camp, practice one, we are 100 days better and not taking any steps back."

    QB Conner Weigman is not exactly cemented as the starter

    Going into the spring, Elko named redshirt sophomore Conner Weigman as his starting quarterback. However, that label should not be considered permanent. If quarterbacks Jaylen Henderson or Marcel Reed outperform Weigman in practice, they could conceivably leapfrog him on the depth chart. At least, that is how Elko seemed to describe the situation.

    "Just because you go in the spring as the number one (quarterback), that does not really mean anything other than your number one going in the spring," Elko said. "Conner had earned that right, we felt like from how he had performed. But like every kid in our program, competition is there. So Conner knows there is a level of play that he needs to reach in order to continue to be number one and be number one when we play Notre Dame."

    Weigman began last season as the top option and impressed in his four starts. He completed 68.9% (82 of 119) of his passes for 979 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions while turning 12 carries into 63 yards and two scores.

    However, Weigman remains limited from the season-ending left foot/ankle injury that he suffered against Auburn last September. He has been practicing with restrictions throughout this spring.

    "He is not 100%," said Elko of Weigman. "He is not going to be 100% coming out of spring. He is still recovering from the ankle. So he is able to go. He is a tough kid, and it is a testament to him that he understands how important it is to get these reps."

    After what they showed last season, Henderson and Reed appear to have the talent to push Weigman in the coming months.

    Henderson started the last four games last season, though he permanently exited the TaxAct Texas Bowl vs. Oklahoma State early after going down with a right arm/elbow injury. In his three full starts combined, Henderson completed 67.5% (52 of 77) of his passes for six touchdowns with two interceptions while turning 40 carries into 97 yards and two scores.

    As a true freshman last season, Reed initially served as the fourth-team quarterback. But he replaced Henderson in the bowl game and shined, completing 20 of 33 passes for 361 yards with an interception. He also rushed for 29 yards and a score on 10 carries.

    "Jaylen Henderson is getting a little bit more and more comfortable functioning within the system," Elko said. "He is obviously extremely athletic. He does have the ability to throw the football well. Just seeing the game and getting the game to slow down for him a little bit so it can be a little bit more consistent, the way he delivers the football, I think would help. 

    "Then Marcel Reed as a young kid – and you saw it in the bowl game. I think he has really high potential. It is very similar, though. It is, can we get it to be out there every single play? A little less peaks and valleys and a little bit more consistent execution and operation is what we need to get."

    New transfers who have stood out this spring

    A&M has landed 24 scholarship players from the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason, and only three of them are not on campus yet. After fielding a question about who has stood out among the new transfers, Elko initially dodged it with a quip.

    "I could reword that question," Elko said. "'Hey, coach, you brought in 24 guys. Are there 22 you would like to really get upset by singling out only two?' I am trying to figure out how to word it without doing that."

    Elko eventually named defensive end Nic Scourton (Purdue), offensive lineman Ar'maj Reed-Adams (Kansas) and tight end Tre Watson (Fresno State) as three transfers who have made a solid first impression this spring. He added that Watson has been dealing with a shoulder injury, though, and did not participate in the scrimmage Tuesday.

    Scourton impressing is no surprise. He led the Big Ten in sacks last season with 10 and received second-team all-conference honors. Reed-Adams and Watson emerging are the more interesting developments.

    The 6-foot-5, 325-pound Reed-Adams brings versatility and significant experience. In four seasons with the Jayhawks, he appeared in 31 games with 14 starts. Reed-Adams started his first eight games of the 2023 season at left guard before lining up at right tackle for the final three. His other three career starts came as a true freshman in 2020 and were all at right guard. Reed-Adams will likely compete for one of the two starting spots at offensive guard for the Aggies.

    A&M lacks a cemented starter at tight end, and Watson has the talent to be in consideration. He is seen as more of a receiving tight end but had a productive 2023 season with the Bulldogs, catching 38 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns. Watson and Henderson were teammates at Fresno State in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

    Elko also named most of the eight new transfers in the secondary as standout performers. Safety Trey Jones III (Central Michigan) and cornerback Dezz Ricks (Alabama) have been dealing with injuries. Safety De'Rickey Wright (Vanderbilt) is not set to join the Aggies until June.

    "From Marcus Ratcliffe to Will Lee to Donovan Saunders to BJ Mayes … every one of those kids has flashed at times," Elko said. "They are going to add a lot of value back there."

    Bryce Anderson affirmatively moving to safety, other DB tidbits

    As a sophomore, Bryce Anderson entered last season with lofty expectations. He stepped into a starting role at nickel cornerback and looked ready to fill the void that the previous starter, Antonio Johnson, left. But while Anderson had his moments, he mostly produced mixed results.

    Perhaps because he played out of position.

    "Bryce is a safety. We recruited Bryce to play safety," said Elko, who as the former A&M defensive coordinator helped pursue Anderson out of the 2022 recruiting class. "I have always envisioned him being a safety in this defense. He is not playing nickel. I do not think he is a nickel."

    Anderson seems like a lock to secure one of the two starting safety jobs. Which player will claim the other starting spot remains unclear. Jones and Wright bring the most starting experience, but one has not been 100% healthy and the other is not with the team yet.

    Elko noticeably raved about Dalton Brooks, who played a lot of high-leverage reps as a true freshman last season.

    "Dalton Brooks has taken a huge step forward this spring and been really happy with him," Elko said. "He is an elite run-and-hit safety. He still has a little bit of a gap to close in terms of processing and understanding everything that we are doing, which he is doing every day. But I do think he has got some really elite traits, and we are excited about that one."

    With Anderson permanently leaving the nickel unit, that position group will be worth monitoring as well. 

    Going into the spring, Florida transfer Jaydon Hill seemed like the favorite to win the starting nickel job. He started 11 games at nickel for the Gators last season. However, Elko mentioned that incumbent starting cornerback Tyreek Chappell has been cross training on the outside and at nickel. He said cornerback Bravion Rogers has seen action at nickel, too.

    "Nickel is probably a little bit harder than corner," Elko said. "You are a little bit closer to the ball. There is a little bit more going on. From a scheme standpoint, the more reps you can get at nickel, it probably benefits you than always needing them to be out at corner."

    The next step for running back Rueben Owens II

    In an interview with the media last week, A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein opined that the days of a workhorse running back are "probably not there anymore." The Aggies using a committee approach in 2024 would certainly make sense. Running backs Amari Daniels, Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens II shared an equal workload last season, and they all produced similar numbers.

    Still, Owens will be worth monitoring as someone who could emerge from the group this offseason. He has the recruiting pedigree, receiving a five-star rating in the 2023 class. And despite being a true freshman last season, Owens played about as well as Daniels and Moss.

    To reach another level as a player, though, Owens will probably need to improve his pass protection and ability to gain yards after contact. Pro Football Focus gave Owens a 16.8 pass-blocking grade last season. Among the 119 FBS running backs who played at least 50 pass-blocking snaps, that grade came in last. His 2.53 yards after contact per attempt ranked 143rd out of 157 FBS running backs (minimum 100 attempts).

    "He has had a really good spring in terms of doing the things he needs to do to take his game to the next level," Elko said. "He is extremely athletic. He does a really good job catching the ball out of the backfield. 

    "He needs to just learn how to be a running back in the SEC and how to get four and five yards sometimes. He does a really good job of getting the 30 and 35 yards. That is his natural athleticism. We have to get him to be a little bit cleaner at the four and five yards, and that is what he is working on. I think he is getting really good at it."

    For the tl/dr crowd, Weigman isn't working out as much as Elko thinks he needs to, so Elko is hinting that he might not be QB1 after the spring; Reuben Owens is a pussy who still can't pass protect and goes down immediately on contact; Bryce Anderson is a safety and they don't know who the other safety will be, nor do they have a clue who the corner will be; outside of Nick Scourton and a guard from Kansas, they are in deep shit regarding transfer talent.

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    • Haha 1
  4. 18 minutes ago, Park Gothic said:

     

    I’m taking the Akana tidbit from @FreeHorn’s post above. Maybe I’m misreading it and he did, in fact, mean to refer to Duane Akina. 

    Got it. I don't think those guys are likely in this cycle, but maybe FreeHorn knows something different.

    12 minutes ago, Red Five said:

    We don't ever see Jaray Bledsoe in these discussions. He's not in the two-deep right now, and that's before we bring in 1-2 more DTs. 

    Also, on a related note, WTF is up with Bledsoe? He's supposedly a true freak, and now weighs about 300 lbs. What's the issue?

    He's mentioned in a lot of the practice notes. I will be surprised if he's not part of the rotation.

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  5. I'm surprised you guys are concerned about Gaston leaving. I didn't watch more than half the games, so some of y'all saw a lot more of the team than I did and maybe that's my problem. I felt like she disappeared for entire quarters or halves sometimes. My view was that they could be better at that spot. That considered, I know I'm not some sort of WBB analyst or something.

  6. 16 hours ago, Herpa Derpa said:

    iScr3q.gif

    Hadn't seen The Natural since I was a kid. I watched it a few night ago with my 10 YO who loves baseball. He pushed to watch Alien again but I thought he'd like The Natural and, sure enough, he did and it was a fun watch for me too. I have a buddy who read the book awhile back and said that Roy Hobbs actually strikes out in that last at bat. That's fucking nuts, if true.

  7. 14 hours ago, Getafix said:

     

     

     

     

    Two backs drafted in early rounds last year and another one this cycle (maybe two is Robinson is snagged at the end of the 7th or something). It's clearly up in the air in terms what Blue does this next season, but I think it is credible to argue that his measurables will play pretty at the combine/pro day. It would be kind of kickass to see a back moving on to the NFL after each season for a while. Seems like Bama pumped out a back from their factory every season for a decade, but I'm sure there was a cycle or two where they missed. Still, we're walking in some high cotton with the roster right now.

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  8. 14 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

    I think the travel is better than most think if you can tolerate SWA and rental car companies. 

    piggy - drive or flight to Tulsa

    aggy - drive

    LSU - drive

    Bama - flight to Birmingham 

    Auburn - flight to Atlanta 

    Georgia - flight to Atlanta 

    Florida - flight to Orlando

    South Carolina - flight to Charlotte

    Mississippi schools - flight to Memphis 

    Vandy and Tennessee - flight to Nashville

    Misery - flight to KC or St Louis 

    Kentucky - Louisville or Cincy 

    OU - drive

    United has flights to/from Houston and Bentonville. It's extremely easy to get to an Arkansas game from Houston. 

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  9. 11 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

    Walton is the player I’d want to keep out of that group.

    We’re trying to win championships not Gaskamp Awards. 

    I'd like to keep all of them. Swanson is a player if he can get to and sustain 290+. He'll probably go to ASU and put up solid starter numbers. Tapp is being recruited right now by major P4 programs for a reason. Walton is the least interesting of the three to outside parties, so if Texas loses the other two, he damned sure needs to be productive eventually.

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  10. 10 hours ago, mulletpelini said:

    My athletic programs?  I don't own them, I'm not an alumni.  Not mine.  Not a fucking thing you say about Nebraska would effect my day.

    You asked a question and I answered it, dummy. I wasn't thinking specifically of you in regard to my response. I already said a "fucking thing" about Nebraska that "effected" your day. You felt compelled to show up a week later to my response and remark on it.

    "Surly, suggest to me a witless poster who adds negative value to the board and cheers for Nebraska." "Good morning, CTJ. There is only one possible poster who fits that profile. mulletpelini."

    See, even Surly understands you. It's science.

  11. 15 hours ago, TexMexBuddha said:
    On 4/9/2024 at 3:12 PM, closetojumping said:
    You can't move the argument from "Oregon beats us for players in California" to "Oregon has beaten us for players historically from across the land". Since the addition of NIL and the move to the SEC, Texas won the only battle it has had with Oregon. If memory serves, they'd lost to Louisville on Moore and then Louisville had HC turnover and Texas won that NIL battle as well. Oregon is as well-funded as anyone, and that anyone includes Texas at the top. Neither side is prone to insanity, so the circumstances are more likely to come down to preferences/needs beyond NIL.
    Texas doesn't have Harris as high as like 5 other guys on their board, but there's the need to keep some guys warm in case something doesn't work out, as well as keep up appearances with contacts in California that funnel players to Texas.

    Not sure what we call Kelvin Banks, but that one changed our team trajectory.

    I would call that serendipity. 

    • Like 1
  12. 8 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

     

     

     

    giphy.gif?w=144

     

    7 minutes ago, irishtexan said:

    Wait. You were joking? You thought the shit you were typing was funny? 

    Also, you don't need to respond to every single person calling you an idiot. And if a ton of people are calling you a boring dolt, maybe shut the fuck up. You don't need to respond to every single person calling you out, Derka. 

     

    4 minutes ago, ousux said:

    Not funny, just a throw away observation, but thanks for outing yourself even though I wasn't targeting you personally with that commentemoji23.png

    Guys, geez. Let's all take a deep breath here and realize that we're all cheering for the same team with similar interests. No need for the vitriol on this level.

    • Haha 3
  13. 8 minutes ago, ousux said:
    20 minutes ago, closetojumping said:
    Park Gothic is correct on the matter. Davis was offered an opportunity to return to a place he enjoyed for a lot of money in order to coach his son while hanging out with two of his best friends on the coaching staff. The guy has a ranch in Mississippi that he wants to be permanently living on within the next five years. LSU is his final job barring something insane and he took the chance to jump on it when they cleared the way for his kid. He didn't leave Texas due to any bad blood or problems with the program.
    Helicopter parents have been a part of the job in coaching since at least the days of Norman Dale, and probably further back than that. That said, it's not every player and it doesn't help those players with parents behaving as such. The bigger issue is when the player is bitching about shit that is just part of the grind and the parent is then whining about their baby's treatment. That gets really old. 

    My original post was in jest more than anything else, but I forgot this place is filled will humorless aspies who fixate only on stats and facts...and can't abide any speculation. Btw, I already acknowledged the fact I don't think helicopter parents made the difference in his leaving, but could have made the decision easier if said parents and player are above and beyond the usual delusion. I know coaches have to say all sorts of things to land a commit, and sometimes backing up the living room talk just isn't possible...but some parents (and/or player) will never get that through their skull and would rather trash the coach (or coaches) and school. I will say this: if Bo gets his kid drafted then he is more of a DL witch than I ever realized.

    You're always welcome to take anything I type personally, but that post was attempting to help clarify and had no direct shots in it intended for you, sweetheart.

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  14. 15 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

    These days everybody would talk about it for a day or so and then move on to the next thing. We would be reminded every once in a while when a new twist happened in the legal case.

    Also this thing happened after OJ had been retired for years. 

    Sometimes you show up on this site and it's almost like you're determined to hammer a shitty take into the center of a thread no matter how fucking dumb it is. 

    OJ Simpson was a national celebrity and beloved to boot. He hadn't disappeared into the limelight. He was a major endorser of products, a sideline reporter, an actor, and never far from the tv screen in everyone's homes. It is a fucking ridiculous premise, and almost certainly purposefully disingenuous on your part, to attempt to imply that he was a largely irrelevant figure. 

    Beyond that, the nature of the celebrity for someone like that in the context of today, isn't hard to find. If Charles Barkley or Michael Strahan damned near lopped off the heads of their ex-wife and her presumed lover and then acted shocked and innocent while trying to flee the country as the authorities closed in, the whole country would be mesmerized. That would include the build-up to the trial and so forth. 

    Get a fucking grip with pushing the absurd notion of something otherwise.

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