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Aggy 2024: Still waiting on the Looch 44


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On 12/12/2023 at 5:26 PM, Gene Parmesan said:

Is every fanbase obsessed with S&C coaches, or are we just special?

Strength coaches and their philosophies and training regimens dictate a lot about a team's performance. Dead legs in 4th quarters are often the result of a shitty S&C coach. Pay attention to Bennie Wylie coached teams, for example. But Wylie looks the part and has made cute videos to put out on social media.

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What is this imbecile talking about? A&M players didn't know about the portal or that they could use it to follow a coach? He goes on to say that it's a "subtle way of giving them a blueprint." Next he'll send a subtle code explaining how to raise a toilet seat.

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That word! Stop using that word! Players announcing that A&M is where they will stay does not generate excitement of a sense serial success. If anything, it shows that leaving A&M is something all the players are considering and the call is very close.

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1 hour ago, Getafix said:

 

Read this note, people.  Interesting.

Covers Robinson, transfer portal stuff and some '24 stuff.

 

A couple of excerpts:

"The A&M players were promised a final game with Robinson and have bought into that idea. If the Aggies pulled that rug out from underneath them, it would not go unnoticed among the players. It could even be a little messy.

Various A&M players remain undecided on if they want to stay in College Station or leave following this season. There are some players in particular – who I will not name – who are thought to be goners if Robinson was abruptly let go. I am telling you, they do not think it would be good."

"I would be more worried about A&M’s 2024 recruiting class. Based on how things are going right now, I fear the Aggies are in a very precarious spot. Keep an eye on it as the three-day early signing period approaches."

 

A few things (long post)

Carter Karels (Aggie 247)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

A few things (long post)

Carter Karels (Aggie 247)

 

I have been hesitant to weigh in on this whole ERob thing, because it is a weird situation and there is more that goes into it than you might think. But the uproar has been loud and there are some things that need to be addressed and clarified.

Here is what I have gathered, with some context/backstory added at the beginning as a refresher (and stay tuned for some transfer portal updates at the bottom):

The Backstory

After firing Jimbo Fisher last month, the Aggies promoted Robinson to interim head coach. The move made a lot of sense. The players love Robinson and quickly bought into the idea of him in that role. And at the time, the move helped stabilize the A&M team during chaotic circumstances.

Beyond this season, though, the Aggies did not see Robinson as more than a defensive line coach. They never considered him when searching for their new head coach and ultimately hired Mike Elko on Nov. 26. Then, Elko passed on the idea of making Robinson his defensive coordinator.

A&M obviously wanted to keep Robinson. There were talks about retaining him as DL coach and making him the highest-paid non-coordinator in college football. But the Aggies could not have predicted that Syracuse would hire Fran Brown as its head coach, which was announced on Nov. 28. Brown quickly looked to add Robinson as his defensive coordinator and did so.

Even though Robinson would be making way, way, way less money with the Orange, the opportunity intrigued him. He is close friends with Brown. He is from the northeast. He had never been a DC. So Robinson took the job, which people learned on Dec. 3.

How A&M responded

Instead of immediately moving on from Robinson after he accepted the new job, the Aggies chose to keep him in his role through the bowl game. That decision has made the situation grow increasingly awkward over the last couple weeks.

Now, Robinson is still performing his interim head coach duties. He was with the A&M team when they started bowl practice Tuesday. But Robinson has had one foot out the door and is focusing on some Syracuse-related things.

Here is where it gets awkward

Last Friday, Robinson attended a high school football game that featured Lafayette (La.) Acadiana’s Dominick McKinley, a five-star defensive lineman in the 2024 class who has been verbally committed to the Aggies since September. Robinson was seen on the sideline and was not wearing his A&M apparel from Adidas. He instead donned his new Syracuse apparel from Nike, which suggested that he was there to recruit McKinley to the Orange.

Those suspicions were confirmed Monday, when Robinson took part in Syracuse’s in-home visit with McKinley. It is worth noting that before hiring Robinson, the Orange were not in the mix whatsoever for McKinley.

Syracuse and Robinson are also pursuing A&M starting defensive end Fadil Diggs, who entered the NCAA Transfer Portal last Friday. He is still weighing his options but plans to take a visit to the Orange this weekend. Syracuse is considered a major player in his recruitment.

One more thing: Syracuse flipped A&M receiver commit Jaylan Hornsby on Monday. That news might have only added to the bad optics surrounding this situation. However, it should not be considered a big deal. All I have been told is that Hornsby should have never been a take for the Aggies. They were fine with the Orange taking him.

What all of this means

For starters, it is common for a coach in similar situations to shift some of his focus toward his next move. Why wouldn’t they? They need to do what is best for them and make sure they start as well as they can at their next stop. This is not entirely uncommon during a transition period.

At the same time, though, what Robinson has done is not the best look. He is not exactly hiding the fact that he is actively recruiting a current A&M pledge to his next program. And he is using his current platform to gain access to a five-star recruit that the Orange otherwise would not even sniff.

In his TaxAct Texas Bowl press conference earlier this month, Robinson said he would not pursue any Aggie player unless they were in the portal. On the surface, that comment seemed noble. But doesn’t that comment give every A&M player who might want to follow Robinson a reason to enter the portal? Whether it was intentional or not, it was a subtle way of giving them a blueprint. We are seeing it play out with Diggs.

I am not sure anyone can entirely fault Robinson for pursuing Diggs or kicking the tires on McKinley. He wants to do what is best for Syracuse. And it is not his fault that A&M wanted to keep him around. But this is the kind of stuff that can burn bridges.

Why the Aggies can’t move on from Robinson … yet

The Aggies could have moved on from Robinson when he accepted his new job. But they were not willing to make that change. They wanted to keep Robinson through the bowl game in hopes that it would continue to help stabilize their program during a time of uncertainty.

Now, A&M has to live with that decision. People act like the Aggies can easily let Robinson go, because no one cares about the bowl game. They think that A&M could lose 63-0, and it would not matter. They are not wrong about the bowl game being irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. But it is not that simple. There is not an ideal way to cut him before the bowl game.

The A&M players were promised a final game with Robinson and have bought into that idea. If the Aggies pulled that rug out from underneath them, it would not go unnoticed among the players. It could even be a little messy.

Various A&M players remain undecided on if they want to stay in College Station or leave following this season. There are some players in particular – who I will not name – who are thought to be goners if Robinson was abruptly let go. I am telling you, they do not think it would be good.

Think of it like this: What is more risky for the Aggies … keeping Robinson or cutting him? The prevailing perception is that cutting him would be more risky. So unless he does something that is considerably damaging, getting rid of him is not the answer right now.

And that is why, even though Robinson has ruffled some feathers, it is safe to assume that his Syracuse-related activities are not as bad as they appear from a public perception standpoint. Which leads me to …

Why this is not THAT big of a deal … at least so far

The optics are a lot worse than the reality when it comes to this situation, at least so far. Here is why:

1. Syracuse is not flipping McKinley. I know it is unwise to speak definitively when it comes to recruiting (or anything else in this crazy college football world). But this is not happening. Now, could McKinley go somewhere else? Absolutely. He is a major threat to flip elsewhere. But McKinley is not going to Syracuse.

2. Yes, Diggs is in the transfer portal and plans to visit Syracuse this weekend. However, A&M still has a chance of bringing him back. In fact, the Aggies still have a decent chance of retaining most of the top talent on their roster (more on that later). Even if Diggs goes to Syracuse, I am not sure it would be the end of the world.

3. Hornsby is not a player you need to worry about losing. I think everyone already understands that, though.

The Texas Aggies United stuff

You guys probably noticed that Texas Aggies United, the official NIL partner of A&M athletics, has been posting on X about players coming back for the 2024 season. Defensive back Bryce Anderson and offensive lineman Kam Dewberry were announced Monday and Wednesday, respectively.

I received some texts from folks who thought those posts were over-the-top silly. Because, of course Anderson and Dewberry are coming back! They are not draft-eligible and never made it known that they were thinking about leaving the team.

But you guys have to understand two things: 1. Without going into all of the details, retaining your roster and keeping everyone happy is an extremely fluid and ongoing process. Anything can change at any time. And 2. Building momentum with this stuff is never a bad thing.

I expect there will be a lot more of these announcements in the coming days. Some of them might make you yawn. Some of them might make you excited. But it is all about building momentum like you see with high school commitments. Hopefully for the Aggies, it will lead to a domino effect of players opting to stay.

Which leads me to …

The transfer portal

A&M has lost 13 scholarship players to the portal so far: quarterback Max Johnson, offensive linemen Chase Bisontis, Jordan Spasojevic-Moko and Remington Strickland, wide receiver Raymond Cottrell, tight ends Jake Johnson and Fernando Garza III, defensive tackle Walter Nolen, defensive ends LT Overton and Fadil Diggs, cornerbacks Tyreek Chappell and Deuce Harmon, and safety Jardin Gilbert.

There are going to be some guys who the Aggies are fine with leaving. You can probably count the Johnson brothers, Spasojevic-Moko, Strickland, Cottrell, Garza, Overton and Chappell as gone. There will be more players who enter the portal as well.

We will see about Harmon. I don’t see A&M going all out to bring him back. I am not sure Chappell will even be able to transfer anywhere or come back. He has academic issues. I bet he goes to the NFL Draft.

Bisontis, Nolen, Diggs and Gilbert are worth monitoring. A&M wants them back for sure. I am also keeping an eye on defensive end Shemar Turner and a few other guys. I could see Turner going to the NFL Draft. We will see. Nolen is a total wild card. I really have no clue what he is going to do.

Anyway, just because someone is in the portal and visiting other schools does not mean they are not coming back. Again, these are extremely fluid situations. And when it is all said and done, the Aggies could retain almost everyone they wanted to keep.

I would be more worried about A&M’s 2024 recruiting class. Based on how things are going right now, I fear the Aggies are in a very precarious spot. Keep an eye on it as the three-day early signing period approaches.

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

Texags going from hyping Jimbo up for years to now telling their subscribers he left a mess is just so damn beautiful. 

They are too damn stupid to realize they've been lied to for 25 years. 

fify

Texags has been lying to them since the late 90s. 

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4 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

One thing the aggies are trying to do in their new NIL agreements is a notion of a grant of rights. Even if a player goes elsewhere and makes NIL money, the money goes to the Aggie United shit. If the player doesn’t transfer the money, the aggie NIL fund is telling the players they’ll sue. 

So someone somewhere is supplying Hamm with some legit info about the idiotic and desperate shit the aggies are trying to do in order to plug holes in the leaking dam. 

I'm sure this will go over well with recruits and transfers. 

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8 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

One thing the aggies are trying to do in their new NIL agreements is a notion of a grant of rights. Even if a player goes elsewhere and makes NIL money, the money goes to the Aggie United shit. If the player doesn’t transfer the money, the aggie NIL fund is telling the players they’ll sue. 

So someone somewhere is supplying Hamm with some legit info about the idiotic and desperate shit the aggies are trying to do in order to plug holes in the leaking dam. 

Man that would be suicide the moment that became knowledge that opposing coaches were aware of. Sark, Saban, Kiffen, Smart, Venables, and Kelly would absolutely nuke them. 

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5 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

One thing the aggies are trying to do in their new NIL agreements is a notion of a grant of rights. Even if a player goes elsewhere and makes NIL money, the money goes to the Aggie United shit. If the player doesn’t transfer the money, the aggie NIL fund is telling the players they’ll sue. 

So someone somewhere is supplying Hamm with some legit info about the idiotic and desperate shit the aggies are trying to do in order to plug holes in the leaking dam. 

Sul Ross would be proud.

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8 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

If the player doesn’t transfer the money, the aggie NIL fund is telling the players they’ll sue. 

 

This is greatness.   Another collective just needs to structure an agreement with indemnification for any losses with guaranteed representation from a friendly attorney pro bono.  Let those fucking idiots "sue" a former athlete and see how that goes for them.  Please let this happen.

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1 minute ago, Skipper said:

This is greatness.   Another collective just needs to structure an agreement with indemnification for any losses with guaranteed representation from a friendly attorney pro bono.  Let those fucking idiots "sue" a former athlete and see how that goes for them.  Please let this happen.

Same thing will happen when schools try to block a transfer. A player will bitch on Twitter and the school will change their position. 

All this will amount to is bad PR. 

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I never thought there would be something so stupid that I’d think they can’t be that stupid.  This is it, though.  No NIL expectant player would ever go to aggy knowing that’s the deal. There’s no way they are that stupid…are they?

that’s like a non-compete clause where instead of not being allowed to work elsewhere, you have to give them your earnings. Good luck in court with that. 

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12 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

This whole thing is just beyond remarkable. The football program is being held hostage by a potential mutiny from whichever mercenaries haven't already portaled because they can't relieve a position coach of his interim head coaching duties in an absolutely meaningless bowl game. This is the same coach who has already taken another job (for less money, btw) and is actively recruiting both off the current A&M roster and from their verbal commitments.

I gotta hand it to them. Even for A&M, this is as an impressive of a self-inflicted nut kick as I've ever seen. But it's all gonna be okay because their collective is putting out tweets every time one of the current roster members holds them up for more cash and they are able to meet the demand. That's how you control the narrative, apparently.

I could have made up about 100 different hilarious scenarios on how an aggie coaching change would go down, and there is no way that I could have come up with something this embarrassing.

They've successfully met a whole two demands!

 

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9 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

If I could explain the who and the how on this one, you’d all laugh your ass off and absolutely believe it. 

If an agent scratches that language in the new deals, the aggie NiL folks do cave, apparently. 

As it relates to Nolan, remember what I said about the house in The Woodlands. It’s going to take a big package to justify them letting themselves get kicked out. I assume no other program is stupid on that level, so he’ll be back and flashing for a fifth of the defensive snaps every game in prep for his 5th round selection in the 2025 draft. 

Also, Texas had zero interest after confirming their suspicions after one phone call with the Nolan camp. 
 

 

There is only one school and one coach crazy/petty enough to try and pull that off and it would be great internet comedy seeing reactions. Ole Miss. haha

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58 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

One thing the aggies are trying to do in their new NIL agreements is a notion of a grant of rights. Even if a player goes elsewhere and makes NIL money, the money goes to the Aggie United shit. If the player doesn’t transfer the money, the aggie NIL fund is telling the players they’ll sue. 

So someone somewhere is supplying Hamm with some legit info about the idiotic and desperate shit the aggies are trying to do in order to plug holes in the leaking dam. 

please, please, please, please, please have their NIL cooperative sue a player.

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2 minutes ago, Rickylovesweed said:

What am I missing here? 

Couldn't get playing time at Georgia and wasn't even a full time starter for an atrocious offense like Miss State. 1 reception for 18 yards at Miss State. Maybe he can block. 

They are leaking like a sieve, anything to gain some "momentum" in recruiting. IMO 

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