Jump to content

Aggy 2024: Still waiting on the Looch 44


golfclap

Recommended Posts

25 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

Tarp said the 1st team OL left-to-right was:  Demetrius Crownover-the Australian JUCO guy (Moko)-Remington Strickland-Robinson-Fatheree.

2nd unit was:  Thomasson-Dewberry-Nabau-Bankhead-Bisontis.

Other notables was Sanford and York already running 2nd team LB.  CB has no depth (Chappell, two portal guys, then walk-on).

 

So is Owens in the portal yet? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Enchubben said:

Dang dewberry second string? That guys seems to have really regressed since stepping on campus. He was supposed to be right behind Banks as far as natural talent goes. 

It's what happens when the Spirit of aggy land possesses one.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looch team notes

Quote

Five in Five: Storylines to watch as Texas A&M opens spring practice
By Billy LiucciMarch 21, 2023
9386Tweet
Share
Texas A&M football will feature a new-look offense under Bobby Petrino in 2023, but there are plenty of other areas of interest with the Maroon & White. Billy Liucci introduces you to some storylines to keep an eye on through spring practice in 2023.

This is the first installment in Liucci’s Five in Five series during A&M’s 2023 spring practice.


Petrino makes his Maroon & White debut
I can't lie, it was a bit surreal seeing the former Arkansas head coach in Maroon & White on Monday. Petrino went 4-0 against the Aggies as the boss man in Fayetteville and Louisville, and now he's teaming with Jimbo Fisher in hopes of replicating some of that same offensive magic in College Station. As you'd expect, Fisher was asked for the 700th time on Monday whether or not his new OC hire will be calling plays on Saturdays this fall, something I'm convinced we're going to see. I've been told by several inside of Bright that the Xs and Os and personnel conversations between Fisher and Petrino and the rest of the offensive staff (including recent addition and longtime SEC OC Jim Chaney) is what you'd describe as “can't miss” football talk. It's why staffers and players alike have been fired up to see it all put into practice on the field.

Fisher and Petrino enter spring ball very much on the same page, and I get the feeling the sixth-year Aggie head coach is a lot more excited about the bold offseason OC hire than most believe. All eyes were on the head coach and OC early in Monday's first practice, but when we get used to seeing Petrino working with quarterbacks and Jimbo being able to oversee all things at once, the focus will shift to Bobby P's actual impact on the offensive scheme and style.

Faster. More aggressive in the passing game.

However, what hasn't been talked about enough is the fact that Petrino and Fisher share a lot in the way of philosophy, including a commitment to running the football and doing so with power and physicality.

We'll talk about individual players later this week, but Petrino is the single-biggest offseason addition for the A&M program, so his impact should be noticeable from day one and increase as spring ball progresses.

Durkin's defense in year two

Jamie Maury, TexAgs
A&M’s defense ranked seventh in the SEC in yards allowed per game at 365.0. In Durkin’s first year, the Aggies ranked fourth in points allowed per game at 21.2.
While concerning depth issues at corner and linebacker are undeniable, the fact of the matter is that — entering year two — A&M defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin has a hell of a lot to work with. While so much of the offseason A&M chatter around the country had to do with players leaving College Station, what folks could soon realize is that there should have been a little more energy centered around what the Aggies were bringing back. Defensively, gone are Antonio Johnson and Jaylon Jones. The NFL-bound cover men will be missed, but that's pretty much it in terms of returning players who were expected to make significant contributions in 2023.

Durkin returns a ton of talent and quite a bit of experience. That's particularly true along the defensive line and in the secondary. We'll talk more about specific position battles later this week, but I'm sitting here today excited to simply go out to practice and realize that, even before five-star signee DJ Hicks' highly-anticipated arrival, the Aggies will go three-deep with five-star and/or extensive SEC experience in the defensive trenches. McKinnley Jackson returns for his senior season and should be one of the conference's best, and he'll be joined by fellow fourth-year linemen Fadil Diggs and Isaiah Raikes. Shemar Turner (a potential impact player) and Albert Regis also return after taking noticeable steps forward last season. Then there's last year's heralded true freshman class taking the step from year one to year two. Guys like LT Overton, Shemar Stewart, Enai White, Malick Sylla and Big Walter Nolen. There's also a young man by the name of Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, a five-star signee who was sidelined most of last fall due to an offseason knee injury, but he is back and ready to ball this spring.

In the secondary, things at cornerback scare me a little, but I love the potential starting duo of Tyreek Chappell and UNC transfer Tony Grimes, whose athleticism has caught the attention of anyone who has watched spring workouts closely. Where Durkin is going to have plenty of depth and a litany of options is at safety and nickel. Demani Richardson is back for a rare fifth season as a starter, and he'll be joined on the back end by several guys who impressed last fall. Junior Jardin Gilbert and second-year men Bryce Anderson, Jacoby Mathews and Jarred Kerr are exciting and versatile youngsters who will be joined by new faces like FSU transfer Sam McCall and true freshman Bravion Rogers from La Grange.

Durkin's defense had some good moments and also experienced some disappointing Saturdays last fall, due mainly to injury and inexperience, but the year one to year two jump at Ole Miss caught the attention of the entire SEC back in 2021. Fisher is expecting a similar jump for the Wrecking Crew this fall. Don't be surprised at all when you hear that the Aggie defense looks lightyears better this spring because the pieces are in place for a pretty dramatic improvement.

Quarterback progression

Jamie Maury, TexAgs
Conner Weigman made four starts last year for the Aggies as a true freshman.
You've all read the pre-spring chatter from the various SEC blogs.

Even in a year when the league looks to be in as much a 'rebuild' mode at the quarterback position as we've seen since the Ags entered the league in 2012, A&M is getting little to no love in terms of quarterback rankings or lofty expectations at the position for 2023. Interesting take by the conference 'experts' and talking heads on multiple levels.

First and foremost, the last time we saw Conner Weigman play, he was dropping dimes to Moose Muhammad and playing pretty spectacular football en route to leading the Aggies past then-No. 5 LSU. Weigman was also lights out in a close loss to what was a top-10 Ole Miss team three weeks prior. Meanwhile, Max Johnson had led A&M past both Miami and Arkansas before a broken hand ended his season. Combine that with Petrino's arrival and the fact that all of the buzz from inside Bright is that the Ags will be more aggressive in the passing game and fast-paced offensively... It's easy to see why coaches and players alike are pretty bullish on quarterback play next fall.

A veteran presence
Looking back, the Aggies have been hindered by what turned out to be a bit of a leadership void in the upper classes in each of the past two seasons. Part of the issue, in my opinion, has been the lack of an established, tone-setting quarterback. Last year, the Ags were dealing with both uncertainty under center and the simple fact that they had very few senior starters. Come to think of it, by mid-season, I think the only senior starting for the Ags at any of the 22 positions on offense/defense was Demani Richardson. A fascinating stat that segues perfectly into my point.


Jamie Maury, TexAgs
A starter since his first game at A&M, Demani Richardson is back for his fifth season with the Aggies.
The senior safety — who most believed was NFL-bound — decided to return for a rare fifth go-round as an SEC starter, and he wasn't alone. Everyone's favorite playmaker Ainias Smith passed on the opportunity to turn pro, as did McKinnley Jackson, Edgerrin Cooper and Layden Robinson. Aggie Heart Award winner Max Wright also opted to return. That's a lot of veteran leadership (not to mention a ton of experience) returning for Jimbo Fisher in 2023. Again, it's something that the Ags were missing a year ago and even in 2021 when, as it turned out, a large group of talented juniors may have had one foot out the door to the NFL. Combine that with experience at quarterback in both Weigman (four starts as a true freshman) and Johnson (two starts last year and an entire season-and-a-half at LSU), and I think you change your expectation level when it comes to how the Aggies practice this spring. Most of the names I just mentioned rate among some of the better players on the roster, so their voices will be heard loud and clear, something I think should be pretty obvious as we start to watch this team practice every day.

Having a large group of key players return when they had the option to test the waters at the next level is something we haven't seen enough of around Aggieland of late, and it's something that could really swing the pendulum in the right direction as it pertains to program culture.

Offensive line improvement
It may seem impossible given Jimbo Fisher stating Monday that two starters and four offensive lineman total will be out of action this spring, but the bottom line is that there isn't a 10-win scenario in 2023 that doesn't involve the Maroon Goons showing significant improvement over last season. Bryce Foster and Trey Zuhn are important starters who will miss spring ball, and Matthew Wykoff started most of last season at center and will also be out of action, as will second-year man Hunter Erb. A lot of holes during an important 15-practice stretch bridging March and April, but we're also talking about a tremendous opportunity for some youngsters to step up and prove to Steve Addazio and Fisher that they intend to remain in the starting lineup through August and on into September. Whether or not that happens when the would-be starters return would obviously remain to be seen, but any breakthrough springs in the offensive trenches would enhance depth, which is nearly as important, particularly at tackle.

Third-year man Remington Strickland will see plenty of action at center, while program insiders are increasingly excited about the potential of young interior guys like Jordan Moko, Kam Dewberry and Mark Nabou. At tackle, Dametrious Crownover has high-end NFL talent, and the reps he'll log with Zuhn out this spring represent a real opportunity. Don't rule out true freshman Chase Bisontis either, as the mid-term enrollee has turned heads throughout spring conditioning work

 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, texifornia said:

I've been told by several inside of Bright that the Xs and Os and personnel conversations between Fisher and Petrino and the rest of the offensive staff (including recent addition and longtime SEC OC Jim Chaney) is what you'd describe as “can't miss” football talk. It's why staffers and players alike have been fired up to see it all put into practice on the field.

This doesn't seem like it will backfire at all Looch.. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Vertigo said:

This doesn't seem like it will backfire at all Looch.. 

Can something backfire when it's targeted at a group of people who are consistently fine paying to get kicked in the balls every year have an almost sublime ability to lie to themselves at the very basest levels of humanity? It's like pointing out to a rock that being thrown off a cliff might eventually backfire and hurt. Rock DGAF. 

  • Haha 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What are ya'll thinking for the record this year?  I'd love to see it blow up like last season, but I see them reverting back to the norm of a 8-4/7-5 type season.  Jimbo's teams have yet to play well on the road or beat a good/ranked team so I see losses @ Ole Miss, @ Tennessee, and @ LSU.  I see an ugly road win @ Miami just because Christobal is a moron.  I think they'll beat Bama' at home, but drop one to someone they think they should beat like Auburn or Mississippi State (it's what they do).  Arky is a toss up.  They'll beat the three cupcakes and South Carolina at home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

What are ya'll thinking for the record this year?  I'd love to see it blow up like last season, but I see them reverting back to the norm of a 8-4/7-5 type season.  Jimbo's teams have yet to play well on the road or beat a good/ranked team so I see losses @ Ole Miss, @ Tennessee, and @ LSU.  I see an ugly road win @ Miami just because Christobal is a moron.  I think they'll beat Bama' at home, but drop one to someone they think they should beat like Auburn or Mississippi State (it's what they do).  Arky is a toss up.  They'll beat the three cupcakes and South Carolina at home.

Literally all on injuries, give them a few injuries here or there and they fall back down to 4-7

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, texifornia said:

Offensive line improvement
It may seem impossible given Jimbo Fisher stating Monday that two starters and four offensive lineman total will be out of action this spring, but the bottom line is that there isn't a 10-win scenario in 2023 that doesn't involve the Maroon Goons showing significant improvement over last season. Bryce Foster and Trey Zuhn are important starters who will miss spring ball, and Matthew Wykoff started most of last season at center and will also be out of action, as will second-year man Hunter Erb. A lot of holes during an important 15-practice stretch bridging March and April, but we're also talking about a tremendous opportunity for some youngsters to step up and prove to Steve Addazio and Fisher that they intend to remain in the starting lineup through August and on into September. Whether or not that happens when the would-be starters return would obviously remain to be seen, but any breakthrough springs in the offensive trenches would enhance depth, which is nearly as important, particularly at tackle.

Third-year man Remington Strickland will see plenty of action at center, while program insiders are increasingly excited about the potential of young interior guys like Jordan Moko, Kam Dewberry and Mark Nabou. At tackle, Dametrious Crownover has high-end NFL talent, and the reps he'll log with Zuhn out this spring represent a real opportunity. Don't rule out true freshman Chase Bisontis either, as the mid-term enrollee has turned heads throughout spring conditioning work

Ah, the ol' name every player on the depth chart Loochi special, I missed you 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, Elmer_Fudd said:

What are ya'll thinking for the record this year?  I'd love to see it blow up like last season, but I see them reverting back to the norm of a 8-4/7-5 type season.  Jimbo's teams have yet to play well on the road or beat a good/ranked team so I see losses @ Ole Miss, @ Tennessee, and @ LSU.  I see an ugly road win @ Miami just because Christobal is a moron.  I think they'll beat Bama' at home, but drop one to someone they think they should beat like Auburn or Mississippi State (it's what they do).  Arky is a toss up.  They'll beat the three cupcakes and South Carolina at home.

Their first team is strong, and probably a top ten to fifteen team depending on Weigman, but they're thin at several position groups where one injury compromises their team worst than a similar injury would to other teams of their first team caliber 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Gut Wagon said:

They'll go 6-6. Make that 6-7 if they dare go bowling. 

Let's see...major dust up between Bilbo Baggins and Petrino by the 4th game, Weigman and Johnson injuries, a few OL injuries and they're looking at 4-8, 5-7 at best.

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Their schedule is softer than the Staypuft Marshmallow Man.

NM win

@the U - toss up because their starters might still be intact

ULM win

Barn win

Pig win

Bama - humiliation on the home field. The lack of depth will bite them.

@ Tenn - loss

USCe - toss up because who knows if the gamecocks will ever amount to anything

@ Ole Miss - loss

MSU - toss up because at home against new coach after Leach

ACU win despite no meaningful QB left healthy

@LSU - horrid season-ending loss

Bowl - forfeit

Bottom line: great roller coaster potential, especially should they get by Miami. O/U at 6.5 wins

Edited by Magus Ossis
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Fud said:

Their first team is strong, and probably a top ten to fifteen team depending on Weigman, but they're thin at several position groups where one injury compromises their team worst than a similar injury would to other teams of their first team caliber 

I thought I just read that their LB and CB positions are extraordinarily young, weak, and shallow. On offense, their OL which was putrid is missing spring training. I don't know what their record will be, but I don't see those problems making them a generally strong first team nor a top 10-15 team. Maybe they'll start out in the 23-ORVs area of the ranking, but they'll have to earn that.

You didn't include coaching in your anlaysis which is limited to talent. However, I think the strong part of their team will not develop well due to holes in the coaching staff.

The parts of a Swiss cheese that are cheese are very hearty and good. The holes? Not so much.

Written respectfully.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Magus Ossis said:

Their schedule is softer than the Staypuft Marshmallow Man.

NM win

@the U - toss up because their starters might still be intact

ULM win

Barn win

Pig win

Bama - humiliation on the home field. The lack of depth will bite them.

@ Tenn - loss

USCe - toss up because who knows if the gamecocks will ever amount to anything

@ Ole Miss - loss

MSU - toss up because at home against new coach after Leach

ACU win despite no meaningful QB left healthy

@LSU - horrid season-ending loss

Bowl - forfeit

Bottom line: great roller coaster potential, especially should they get by Miami. O/U at 6.5 wins

This kind of exercise is fruitless ahead of the closing of the May transfer window, but I enjoy it anyway. Things to consider:

Auburn - They've completely overhauled their OL with transfers. This was their worst position on the field last season. They've also added a bunch of other transfers with starting experience at various positions. Freeze will coach circles around Fisher. Even though this game is a trap game for Auburn ahead of playing UGA and the game being played at Kyle Field, I don't view this one as a certainty. 

Miami - Cristobal hired an Air Raid guy to be his new OC this year. They have the QB for it. We've seen how ATM has handled the AR. The problem for Miami last year, or one of many problems but one of the biggest, is that they had basically zero playmakers. No one on their team scared anyone. Does that change this year? The recruiting class was very strong on paper, but they did the ATM thing where they bought a bunch of random guys that didn't necessarily "need" to be Hurricanes. Does that work out?

South Carolina - They're probably a top 25 team this year. It's at Kyle, but a lot will have to go right for ATM in this one. SC will have 10 senior or super senior starters on offense. Also, did anyone here know that South freaking Carolina signed Nycholes Harbor? Wow.

Mississippi State - I'm assuming that MSU falls apart this year. 

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quote

Noun[edit]

goon (plural goons)

  1. A thug; a usually muscular henchman with little intelligence. quotations ▼
  2. A fool; someone considered silly, stupid, awkward, or outlandish. quotations ▼
  3. (ice hockey, derogatory)  An enforcer or fighter. quotations ▼
  4. (UK, World War II, PoW slang) A German guard in a prisoner-of-war camp.
  5. (slang) One hired to legally kidnap a child and forcibly transport them to a boot camp, boarding school, wilderness therapy, or a similar rehabilitation facility. quotations ▼

I wonder in which sense of the word they intend that they are goons? So many great choices: Nazi soldiers, idiots, kidnappers. Definition 4, while unflattering, at least isn't explicitly racist or stupid.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Mississippi State - I'm assuming that MSU falls apart this year. 

Probably so, but Arnett convinced a lot of guys to come back for a 6th year with the Covid year.  Also, Will Rogers is back and will look to pull a Nick Fitzgerald by going 3-0 against aggy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Also, did anyone here know that South freaking Carolina signed Nycholes Harbor? Wow.

That guy is a monster among monsters. Incredible size-speed package. Should be in Austin for football and track, but I don't think we were ever much on his radar. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, RomaVicta said:

I thought I just read that their LB and CB positions are extraordinarily young, weak, and shallow. On offense, their OL which was putrid is missing spring training. I don't know what their record will be, but I don't see those problems making them a generally strong first team nor a top 10-15 team. Maybe they'll start out in the 23-ORVs area of the ranking, but they'll have to earn that.

You didn't include coaching in your anlaysis which is limited to talent. However, I think the strong part of their team will not develop well due to holes in the coaching staff.

The parts of a Swiss cheese that are cheese are very hearty and good. The holes? Not so much.

Written respectfully.

Their first team LB should be good- Russell and Cooper- and one of their two starting corners should be good in Chappell. Their first team defense, if healthy, should be solid to very good across the board, with the biggest question mark at CB2 (Grimes, McCall, Harmon are all meh). The DL should be very good, and that by itself can keep you in games at times. 

On offense, their first team WRs and TE are good. RB seems jaggy, although Moss has some upside. OL is why their first team isn't higher than 10-15th to me, it's a problem with Addazio for strings running the show, even though they have some talent. QB is a wildcard if healthy; I think he's likely erratic with some great moments, but there's a chance he's just really good. Again, this is all assuming good health and only talking first team; Max could transfer and Wiegman could get knocked out week one. 

Coaching is included in my estimation. If their first team stays healthy, I think they can play at a 10-15 level if their QB takes a realistic second year step forward. 

Of course, they're an injury at starting LB (either), CB (Chappell), and RB (Moss), from having a big drop off 

  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, closetojumping said:

3) He glosses fully over the absolute lack of depth at CB and LB. At the same time, he ignores the problem of there not being enough snaps to keep their 4 deep at DL and 3 deep at S happy. I will be flat out shocked if there isn't a major transfer from both areas in May.

When I read the part about DL my first thought was Dindy and Nolan. There is zero chance one or both of those guys are going to spend another season at third on the depth chart. I would be really curious to know just how much effort and money it took to keep 2022 class from leaving, but it feels like Fisher is staking his job on that class and then not letting many of them play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yokel overkill.

You have traditions? Other schools have traditions? We'll have more traditions than everybody and talk about them all the time!

tu has more students than us? We'll let everybody in and brag about it like it's great! They will love our traditions!

Facilities? Oregon spent a ton on facilities? Players care about facilities? Well, we'll spend all our money on facilities so recruits can't say no to our facilities especially when we keep telling them how expensive the facilities were to build! Great facilities will become a new tradition!

Those renderings are so close to being parody.

The Bright Football Complex right beside the Football Indoor Performance Center for Football Players to Play Football Indoors. Performance center? Complex? Use power words to awe everybody! Words like traditions, facilities, performance, and football football football.

Okay, Jethro.

Edited by RomaVicta
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/21/2023 at 6:17 PM, Fud said:

Their first team LB should be good- Russell and Cooper- and one of their two starting corners should be good in Chappell. Their first team defense, if healthy, should be solid to very good across the board, with the biggest question mark at CB2 (Grimes, McCall, Harmon are all meh). The DL should be very good, and that by itself can keep you in games at times. 

On offense, their first team WRs and TE are good. RB seems jaggy, although Moss has some upside. OL is why their first team isn't higher than 10-15th to me, it's a problem with Addazio for strings running the show, even though they have some talent. QB is a wildcard if healthy; I think he's likely erratic with some great moments, but there's a chance he's just really good. Again, this is all assuming good health and only talking first team; Max could transfer and Wiegman could get knocked out week one. 

Coaching is included in my estimation. If their first team stays healthy, I think they can play at a 10-15 level if their QB takes a realistic second year step forward. 

Of course, they're an injury at starting LB (either), CB (Chappell), and RB (Moss), from having a big drop off 

the Texas LB room has had it's issues, and Cooper and Russell are fine but that is literally half of the non freshman LB on the roster. one of the others is a LB transfer from Rice who had 17 tackles last year in 9 games. . the other 2 are Chantz Johnson, who i don't think took a visit anywhere other than College Station and Taurean "Should have been a 5* based on his stats if he was 3" taller, 20 lb heavier and faster than he is now per Tex Ags" York who was headed to Baylor or Duke before A&M.

basically any injury at LB is going to require them to switch dudes positions or play true freshman major minutes.

as a reminder, they didn't go after any LB in the portal (or couldn't get anyone to come, they got the OSU LB to enter but he went elsewhere lol), didn't make any coaching changes and have a LB room where adding Jett Bush and Luke Brockermeyer would significantly raise the floor of. We know how that went here.

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, NoName said:

the Texas LB room has had it's issues, and Cooper and Russell are fine but that is literally half of the non freshman LB on the roster. one of the others is a LB transfer from Rice who had 17 tackles last year in 9 games. . the other 2 are Chantz Johnson, who i don't think took a visit anywhere other than College Station and Taurean "Should have been a 5* based on his stats if he was 3" taller, 20 lb heavier and faster than he is now per Tex Ags" York who was headed to Baylor or Duke before A&M.

basically any injury at LB is going to require them to switch dudes positions or play true freshman major minutes.

as a reminder, they didn't go after any LB in the portal (or couldn't get anyone to come, they got the OSU LB to enter but he went elsewhere lol), didn't make any coaching changes and have a LB room where adding Jett Bush and Luke Brockermeyer would significantly raise the floor of. We know how that went here.

Yes, my original point was their first team is good, but they lack depth

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...