Bayareaag17: What are our chances against Stanford for Savage
The Aggies are still after "The Savage."
Hamm: I would lean towards favorable at this juncture. With some news I received this week, I really feel there’s a good chance Savaiinaea ends up at Texas A&M. Brian Polian has done an outstanding job with the Hawaiian native and I’m hearing that Isaac is telling many people close to him that A&M is even with the Cardinal. Stanford will get the last word so A&M is not out of the clear yet. However, I think it worked out best for Kevin Sumlin’s staff to get the first visit because now A&M is the benchmark. Schools he visits now have to beat A&M out, not the other way around, which is a good thing.
Goodbull92: How are the 2012 recruits that appear to be red-shirting panning out? Who among them look to be the most promising for next season?
Hamm: This is an impossible question to answer halfway through the season. The red-shirt guys are not getting many reps in practice and spending most of their time with Larry Jackson. We’ll get back to those guys after the season once we get closer to spring ball.
Bloom: Yeah, just to echo what Hamm said, most of these guys are spending most of their time on scout team running other team's plays so it's really hard to say where they're at for next season.
Atraylat88: Next year we are looking pretty thin and scary at the safety position. What is the status of Kenneth Marshall and who of the JUCO S's do you see us having the best chance with?
Hamm: Kenneth is fully recovered from his knee surgery and I can tell you that Marcel Yates can’t wait to get him on the field. They’re excited about his potential. Justin Cox from EMCC is A&M’s top JUCO safety target but I think it’s going to be tough to pry him away from Mississippi State, the team he signed with out of high school.
RVnut, Kilrain: Any chance of us getting a commitment this weekend? If so, who do you think might pull the trigger?
Hamm: Be on the look out for guys like Shaun Nixon or Ricky Seals-Jones. I wouldn’t say there’s an overwhelming chance either commits but if I had to guess those would be the ones I’d lean towards.
Ryan Swope has been Johnny Manziel's second favorite target this season.
Onthenickel42: If Swope can't play on Saturday, Who gets the majority of his snaps? I understood Kennedy to be iffy too.
Bloom: That sounds like a simple question but there are a few variables. In the four wide set at slot I would think Kenric McNeal and Malcome Kennedy would take most of the reps in the slot, but they were also out last week with an injuries. Behind that group is LeKendrick Williams and I think you'll see more of Derel Walker this week if those injuries persist.
Onthenickel42: Is your disdain and volatility towards the swamp kitties growing as your apathy towards the whorns grows too?
Bloom: I don't know if I have any disdain for anybody, but I was talking to some colleagues last week in Shreveport about how little we pay attention to Big 12 Football now. I used to be able to tell you most of of the players for the top half of the league but watching OU and Texas last week was like watching a bunch of strangers play. I hardly knew anyone out there for Oklahoma.
D-2guidon08: Do you think we can split head to head battles against Texas in the 2014 class?
Hamm: If A&M wins on Saturday and finishes the season strong, they will win the majority of heads-up recruiting battles against Texas.
Bluecouchdude: How many JUCOs do we take in December?
Hamm: 3-5
A&Ms own Von Miller will be back in town this weekend.
AustinDavid00: What are your thoughts on the offensive scheme for the week. Seems like we have seen fewer jump balls to Evans lately and is this the defense to really give those a shot with since the DB's are so inexperienced Lastly, are you expecting some trickeration this week that KK has been holding back on us?
[bBloom:[/b] ]I think they're definitely going to open the playbook as far as they can this week. No reason to hold anything back now. As far as Evans goes, I think you've seen a few jump balls thrown his way but the thing is Manziel has gotten better with the deep ball and the receivers have been open the last few games so there's really no need to risk throwing it up on a 50/50 ball. However, there may be times Saturday that the Aggies have to lay it on the line a little bit. And when that's the case, Evans is usually the target (like on 3rd and long against Ole Miss.)
Wigeon: What do we have to do to fix the problems with the A&M secondary. We've been god awful for years. Is it lack of talent? Depth? Coaching? Scheme? Or is it a wicked combination of all of those?
Bloom: It's really all of those things, but it starts with talent and depth. I mean who was the last really elite cover guy the Aggies have had? Who was the last safety that could really hold his own in coverage consistently? And you add on top of that the they've switched defensive coordinators about 55 times in the last ten years and you have recipe for disaster. Right now the biggest issue is inexperience and depth. There's some talent back there, but young players make mistakes, that's just all there is to it.
VON: Sorry for the multi question post but they just kept flowing...
Does KK open up the offense more for JFF this week? Or do you think they go conservative similar to the UF game to avoid turnovers? Chances Joekel and Matthews can contain Montgomery and Mingo one-on-one? Have our receivers improved with getting off jams at the LOS? That will play into the type of time JFF needs in the pocket and if we can get the quick hitters going early. Thoughts on using TWill more this week to get his speed on the field and see if we can get him in space against the LSU speed? Can we go more than 1 deep at DT this week? Those boys will be taking a pounding and will need some assistance.
Bloom: Nice! I like it, the more questions the better in my mind.
1) Yes, I think we're going to see some wrinkles that we haven't seen yet, but I'm not completely sure they're going to be for Manziel. The Aggies absolutely have to find a way to get the running backs going in this game. As for the second part, I don't think they can afford to be conservative, and being conservative isn't really Kingsbury's style.
2) I think the Aggie tackles will hold up fairly well in pass protection as long as Manziel doesn't wait to make decisions. That's not to say he has to cut the ball loose, but if he's going to get out of the pocket he's going to have to do it pretty quick. If he waits until things start collapsing the arm reach of these guys is going to be a problem.
3) That's a good question, and one we don't really know the answer to. They weren't exactly great at it against Florida, but that was ages ago in new coaching time. The LSU secondary isn't exactly veteran though so I think there will be chances there.
4) Williams has to be involved somehow. In big time games you need big time players and he's certainly one of A&M's biggest.
5) Well, the Aggies basically go three deep at tackle, but that's really it for the most part. That's why it's going to be important for the Aggies to force some third and longs so that they aren't just getting pounded play after play.
Wigeon: Aggie Bball player has the biggest impact this season?
Bloom: Well, there's no doubt that A&M's best player is Elston Turner, but if you mean what newcomer is going to have the biggest immediate impact I'd say Fab Harris. He's quick and he can score from the point guard spot which is something the Aggies desperately needed last year.
- Aubrey Bloom
- Texas A&M Insider - Gigem247