SB Nation - Bradley Stephens

Aggies Pick Up Another 4* RB for 2010, Mister Jones Now One of Three

irish1611 — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:21:47 -0000

A week ago today, the Colorado Buffaloes top recruit and Colorado prep RB Mister Jones changed his pledge from the Buffs to the Texas A&M Aggies. It was just another reason many can't wait to turn the calendar on 2009 to 2010 because '09 has been a year to forget in every aspect of Colorado football. But hopefully Mister Jones might rethink his decision to commit to Texas A&M.

Yesterday, the Aggies added their third running back of the cycle, another 4 star player according to Rivals in Texas high school prep D.J. Jones. Here are all three 2010 running back commits:

2010 RB Commits
Name	Class	National RB Rank	Star Rating
Mister Jones	Fr	28th	4*
D.J. Jones	Fr	27th	4*
Ben Malena	Fr	25th	4*

Texas A&M currently has ten running backs on its roster, seven of which are underclassmen. They return their two top backs from a year ago in soon to be junior Cyrus Gray and sophomore Christine Michael, a former 5 star and top running back recruit in 2009.

The Colorado Buffaloes on the other hand have six total running backs on the roster. Demetrius Sumler will be a senior next year which leaves only Rodney Stewart and Brian Lockridge as running backs who have seen any action. The Colorado coaches made it clear last year that they don't have a desire to play Lockridge with any consistency although he is one of the fastest players on the team. Mister Jones was thought to have had a chance to play from day one especially when you consider Rodney Stewart has not stayed healthy for a full season his first two years.

Here is a breakdown of the Aggies top running back's from a year ago:

2009 RB Commits
Name	2010 Class	National RB Rank	Star Rating	09 Carries	09 Yards	09 YPC	TD
Christine Michael	So	3rd	5*	151	767	5.1	9
Kalvin Guyton	RFr	46th	3*	Redshirt
2008 RB Commits
Name	2010 Class	National RB Rank	Star Rating	09 Carries	09 Yards	09 YPC	TD
Cyrus Gray	Jr	5th	4*	156	752	4.8	5
2007 RB Commits
Name	2010 Class	National RB Rank	Star Rating	09 Carries	09 Yards	09 YPC	TD
Bradley Stephens	Jr	12th	4*	27	132	4.9	1

In 2009, A&M boasted the 25th ranked running game in the nation with underclassmen Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael and second in the Big 12 with 190 yards per game. Colorado, on the other hand, was the 11th ranked rushing team in the Big 12 and 113th in the nation this past year, totaling 87 yards a game. Colorado only returns one running back in Rodney Stewart who carried the ball more than 40 times a year ago. Demetrius Sumler was used as a situational blocking back in 2009 while Brian Lockridge only carried the ball 12 times. The Buffs have zero running back commits for the 2010 class.

Needless to say, Mister Jones looks to be one of seven at A&M while he would probably be one of two at Colorado. Hopefully Darian Hagan and Dan Hawkins can convey that message to Jones and get him to come on back to Boulder.

Oklahoma State Review - Quick Hits

Beergut — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:01:32 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson (1) throws a pass against Oklahoma State during the third quarter of a NCAA football game Saturday, Oct. 10, 2009 in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Browse more photos »

I was sick and tired of heating about Dez Bryant before the first quarter was over. Funny how we've played without our best WR for the last two games, and no one says anything, but Okie State is a bunch of saints overcoming horrendous privation because they don't have a WR who was dumb enough to lie to the NCAA, and get caught doing it.
Uzoma Nwachukwu is ridiculously talented. Having him and a healthy Jeff Fuller on the same field together will be scary.
Having EZ, Fuller, and Jerrod Johnson behind a competent offensive line is what I dream about.
Our offensive line is keeping Christine Michael from becoming a serious Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate. I don't think he'll gain enough yards, mostly because our offensive line hinders more than it helps him.
While there are still a lot of times I question what Cromwell is doing in his playcalling, I did love the use of Jamie McCoy as a fullback, and that we gave him several carries. It gives us another weapon to use and something else the defense has to prepare for without changing personnel on the field.
I didn't see us try to run option on State at all today. I know we have it in our playbook, I'd like to see us use it. With McCoy at FB, it is another facet of our offense we can explore.

Von Miller was held without a sack for the first time this season, but had 5 tackles and 1 TFL. Good performance considering he was going up against possibly the best LT in the nation in Russell Okung.
We still need to work on defending the screen pass. A lot.
Joe Wickline has OSU's offensive line executing like a symphony; that is why there isn't a drop-off in production, regardless of which running back is carrying the ball.
That was an incredible interception by Matt Moss; unfortunately, it was also our only interception of the game. I believe we have two interceptions on the season now, and neither of them are from members of our secondary.
Stephen Campbell was okay replacing Jordan Pugh, despite the one play he fell down to give up the long TD reception. He was fourth on the team in tackles, with 8 on the day.
Three of our four leading tacklers in this game were members of the secondary; that is never a good sign.
I liked what I saw of Spencer Nealy in this game. He is a capable backup for us.
I am disappointed we didn't get the ball to Ryan Swope during this game. Because of our weakness on offensive line, I think we should focus more ont he short passing game, and Swope should be a big part of that.
We need to use play-action passes to gain 6-8 yards, not 15-20. A 15 yd pass off play-action takes longer to get there, and is a lower percentage play. We should take the quicker, higher percentage play.
We're also not using Bradley Stephens much as a wide receiver or a running back.
Our next game, on the road against Kansas State, is one of the ones we need to win to become bowl eligible. After their 66-14 loss to Texas Tech, they'll be pissed and ready to play against us.

UAB Game Review

miketag — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:51:38 -0000

Just watched the UAB game DVD. I saw a lot of good things. UAB may have been the worst team we played so far. They definitely had the worst pass defense. As bad as they were, it is still fun to see our defense improve game by game. Also fun to see guys like Bradley Stephens score TDs. Here are a few thoughts on the game:

First and foremost, we have found ourselves a left tackle. Stephen Barrera is the best LT we have put on the field so far. He was very impressive in pass pro. He did have a freshmen moment on the first series when on a 3rd down screen play he rushed out and blocked Brandal Jackson. Barrera had a better game at LT than Danny Baker had at RT. Barrera will take his lumps as a freshman. He still still ahead of where 99.9 percent of freshmen are in pass pro and he looks like a natural tackle.

Sean Porter is a very nice special teams player. More time than not on punts and kickoffs he is going to make the tackle or be right around the tackle.

Terrence Frederick had one of those highlight reel type hits that Sherman has been lamenting that have been missing for the past few years.

Defense struggled early with tackling, but got better as the game went along.

Glad to see the coaches calling some running plays for JJ. We are going to need him to use his feet and arm if we are going to make a bowl game.

Still amazed we had over 200 yds rushing with Chrisine Michael on the sideline.

Ryan Tannehill is one of the finest athletes to put on an Aggie uniform.

I am convinced that Von Miller would have fit right in on any of the great Wrecking Crew defenses.

When I was at A&M in the mid to late 90s, we would blow out the teams we were supposed to blow out. We are slowly but surely approaching that level again.

Aggies Release Football Depth Chart

Beergut — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:17:19 -0000

We finally know who all of our starters on offense and defense are (at least until they hit the field, and we see what changes have been made) as the depth chart has been released:

Starting Offense

Line


LT Danny Baker	LG Michael Shumard	C Kevin Matthews	RG Matt Allen	RT Lee Grimes

Backs


QB Jerrod Johnson	TB Cyrus Gray	FB Anthony Veela

Receivers


TE Jamie McCoy	WR Terrence McCoy	WR Jeff Fuller

Thoughts: Since our main personnel groupings this season will be 10, 11, and 0 personnel, in that order, I don't thnk we'll be seeing much of Anthony Veela at the FB position, but he will play in short yardage. I expect to see Christine Michael and Bradley Stephens see plenty of time at TB as we share the load when running the ball. Likewise, I expect Uzoma "EZ" Nwachukwu, Kenric McNeal, and Ryan Swope to see plenty of playing time at WR. When we go to 10 personnel (11 is shown here), Howard Morrow will be the fourth WR. Our passing game will be as good as Danny Baker lets it be; our running game will progress with Matt Allen and Lee Grimes' maturation.

Starting Defense

Line


DE Matt Moss	NT Tony Jerod-Eddie	DT Lucas Patterson	Jack Von Miller

Linebackers


OLB Garrick Williams	MLB Kyle Mangan	OLB Ricky Cavanaugh

Defensive Backs


CB Justin McQueen	FS Jordan Pugh	SS Trent Hunter	CB Terrence Frederick

Thoughts: I expect Justin McQueen to move to second on the depth chart once Coryell Judie gets his feet under him, and learns the defense. I am hopeful that Ricky Cavanaugh and Garrick Williams will be more comfortable with their second season in the defense, and that experience will show on the field. Even though the DT position is listed as Patterson OR Eddie Brown, I think Brown should be starting. I just have never been impressed with Patterson as a 3-tech. I would be a lot happier if Matt Featherston was starting at the other DE spot opposite Von Miller rather than backing him up at the Jack position. I expect Spencer Nealy to receive significant playing time at the strongside DE spot behind Matt Moss.

Specialists


K Randy Bullock	P Ryan Epperson	H Ryan Tannehill


DS Corey Gibas	KR Christine Michael	PR Dustin Harris

Thoughts: I am happy we return Bullock at kicker; he was solid last season, 6-7 on FG attempts, 6-6 inside 40 yds. I expect Cyrus Gray to take over the KR duties before long, and wouldn't be surprised if this is a gambit by Sherman to start Michael there. I also expect to see Dustin Harris playing CB behind Terrence Frederick. He may struggle with bigger receivers because of his slight build, though.

What do you think of our starting lineup?

SB Nation 2009 Big 12 Preview: Texas A&M

Beergut — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:31:32 -0000

SB Nation Big 12 Preview: In conjunction with The Ralphie Report, all Big 12 blogs are previewing their teams. The conference preview will run over at The Ralphie Report tomorrow, but A&M's preview is running today.

Texas A&M Offense: A&M returns 8 starters on offense, with virtually all of their skill position talent returning. QB Jerrod Johnson will be leading the offense for his second season, and WRs Jeff Fuller, Ryan Tannehill, Terrence McCoy will lead our passing attack. Tight end Jamie McCoy also returns, as does offensive linemen Evan Eike, Kevin Matthews, and Lee Grimes. Top backup RB Cyrus Gray will be the starter in the offensive backfield next to Johnson, although he may share playing time with Christine Michael. The offense averaged 5.3 yds per play last season, and a poor 340.9 yds per game total offense. If A&M is to have a winning season and go to a bowl, those numbers have to improve.

The Running Game: A&M averaged a pathetic 2.9 yds per carry on the season, while averaging 88.5 yds rushing per game, good for last place in the Big 12 in rushing offense. On the season, A&M rushed for a total of 1062 yds; to put that in perspective, Oklahoma had two running backs (Chris Brown and Demarco Murray) who gained more yds rushing than that individually. The return of three starters on the offensive line would seem to be an advantage for our rushing attack in 2009, but when it was some of the same players who manned a poor line last season, you have to question how much of an advantage that returning experience is. Right now, the starting offensive line in Fall Camp is Lucas Patterson and Lee Grimes at tackle, Mike Shumard and Matt Allen at guard, and Kevin Matthews at center. There has been some movement of Patterson from let tackle to right tackle on different days in camp, so it is unknown yet exactly who will start where. With the return of Gray and redshirt sophomore Bradley Stephens, and the addition of true freshman Christine Michael, A&M has the talent at running back to have an effective rushing attack. The question is whether or not we will have the blocking up front to get the job done on the ground.

The Passing Game: A&M returns record-setting starting QB Jerrod Johnson, who currently holds the records for most TD passes in a season (21), and most passing yards in a game for an A&M QB (419 yards vs. Kansas State). A&M also returns two record-setting wide receivers in freshman Jeff Fuller (most TD receptions for an A&M WR, with 9) and Ryan Tannehill (freshman record for receptions in a season, with 55). With John Mackey Award candidate Jamie McCoy returning at TE (43 receptions, 500 yds, 5 TDs), and senior Howard Morrow, freshmen Kenric McNeal, and Uzome "EZ" Nwachukwu providing quality depth at WR, A&M's passing game looks to continue to excel in 2009. The Aggies averaged 252.4 yds passing per game last season, a number that should rise with the return of so much skill position talent, and the implementation of a no-huddle spread attack this season.

Texas A&M Defense: Texas A&M was horrific on defense last season, no other way to put it. If the Aggies can improve to just being an average defensive team this season, i.e. giving up an average of 250 yds per game passing and 150 yds per game rushing, so giving up right at 400 yds per game in total offense, we will win enough games to be in a bowl game. The defense returns only 5 starters, but that may not be a bad thing, considering we gave up an average of 462 yds and 37 points per game last season.

Defensive Line: The Aggies lost both defensive ends as Michael Bennett and Cyril Obiozor used up their eligibility. They will be replaced by junior college transfer Matt Moss on the strongside, and hybrid Jack linebacker Von Miller on the weakside. Walk-on defensive end Spencer Nealy may also see significant time this season. On the interior line, A&M returns two players who saw extenisve action in 2008, with Eddie Brown returning at defensive tackle, where he started two games, and Tony Jerod-Eddie returning at nose tackle, where he started seven games last season. Redshirt freshman Rod Davis will provide key depth inside. As I have noted before, the key to improvement on our defense starts up front.

Linebackers: Von Miller is expected to be the Aggies' biggest playmaker this season, coming from his Jack linebacker position. Former MLB Matt Featherston will back up Miller at the Jack position. The middle of our linebacking corps will be manned by freshman Kyle Mangan, nicknamed "Ice Cream" by his teammates. Garrick Williams and Ricky Cavanaugh are battling for the other outside linebacker position. Linebacker is one area where an infusion of young talent and speed can really help us.

Secondary: A&M returns safety Trent Hunter and cornerback Jordan Pugh in the secondary, although Pugh has now been moved to safety. Backup Justin McQueen is currently running first team at one cornerback, and Jordan Peterson has moved from free safety, where he started last season, to compete for the spot with McQueen. True sophomore Terrence Frederick is the starter at the other CB spot and has had a very strong camp. I would argue that we were actually okay in the secondary last season, because Trent Hunter is a difference-maker at safety. Considering the fact that our cornerbacks and safeties had to stop the run AND cover the opposing receivers all the time, they didn't do too badly last year. With the improvement in the front seven of our defense this season, there is reason for hope for a solid season from our secondary. I don't look for us to be world-beaters, but we should be okay, and Trent Hunter should receive serious consideration for some post-season awards.

Overall prediction for A&M: I think we'll finish 4th or 5th in the Big 12 South, going 6-6 or 7-5. Is that overly optimistic? Maybe. I am a fan, after all. I think wins over Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas State, and Baylor can be expected in conference. Swing games that will define our season are aganst Arkansas in Arlington, Texas Tech in Lubbock, and texas in College Station.

Notes On A&M's Sunday Scrimmage

Beergut — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:11:48 -0000

First, some stats:

Jerrod Johnson: 8-12 passing, 120 yards, 36 yds rushing
Cyrus Gray : 3 carries for 77 yds.
Christine Michael: 9 carries for 56 yds, 2 TDs
Bradley Stephens: 6 carries for 49 yds, 2 TDs
Howard Morrow: 3 receptions, 65 yds

Ryan Tannehill: 2-5 passing, 44 yds
Tommy Dorman: 4-7, 32 yds, 1 TD

My first reaction on reading these stats is that it looks like our offense had no problem running the ball, which would seem to be a good sign for our offensive line. Then I read this:

The Aggie defense forced several three-and-outs and totaled 11 sacks on the afternoon.

Yeah, that doesn't sound too good. Ricky Cavanaugh, Matt Moss, and Kyle Mangan each had two sacks each. Von Miller had 1 1/2 sacks in limited action. Giving up eleven sacks is horrific, there is no other way to look at that. Given how well we were running the ball, I am left to wonder if they were selling out to stop the passing game, at the expense of the running game. It sounds to me like our defense pinned their ears back and just attacked relentlessly, which means we'll have a chance to make some plays in the running game.

Sherman seems happy with some of the results of practice, particularly Jerrod's play:

"Jerrod had a good day," Sherman said. "He ran the ball when he had to take off and run, and he threw it when he had guys open. We dropped a few balls today that we have to catch, that would have been big plays. But overall I was pleased with the performance."

While I am happy to see we seem to be making some progress on defense and on offense as far as having difference makers making plays, we seem to be lacking consistency on either side of the ball, if these stats are any indication. Neither side seems to be able to exert its will over the other one, which means instead of dealing with one unit that has a slight edge over the other, we're dealing with two units that are prone to flashes of greatness inbetween costly mistakes.

It is important to note that we didn't let firsts go against firsts, and the units were a collection of first, second, and third teamers all playing with and against each other, so we can't read too much into the results of our first scrimmage of the Fall.

Focus On Running Game Improvement Is Misplaced

Beergut — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:13:45 -0000

Brent Zwerneman has a nice little article on how Cyrus Gray has improved so far in practice, because he knows his playbook and assignments now, and how having Gray, true freshman Christine Michael and redshirt sophomore Bradley Stephens means the Aggies' running game is in good hands. However, Z misses his mark when looking at our poor running game last season, and blaming it almost solely on the backs. He mentions that Mike Goodson never became the every-down back Sherman envisioned him being last season, but he only pays lip service to our real problem last year: the offensive line.

I went back and took a look at our offensive line recruiting for the past five years, and the results are enough to make you want to cry. The 2004 recruiting class was truly Dennis Franchione's first recruiting class, because the '03 group had been put together by the previous coaching staff, so that is where I began my research. In 2004, we took three offensive linemen: Yemi Babaloa, Grant Dickey, and Travis Schneider. Babaloa ended up more interested in smoking pot than beng a football player, and he is now doing time for his part in an assault on a drug dealer. Dickey was a juco transfer who only played two seasons. Schneider redshirted in 2004, and played four years for the Aggies. He was the one major contributor from the '04 class on offensive line.

In 2005, we signed four offensive linemen: Robbie Frost, Lee Grimes, Kellen Heard, and Michael Shumard. (By comparison, we signed 6 DBs in that class. I know we are facing spread offenses in the Big 12, but 6 DBs seems excessive.) Heard redshirted then moved to defensive line, where he played for three seasons before deciding to leave the program after the '08 season. Grimes and Shumard both redshirted in 2005, and are now fifth-year seniors. Shumard is currently running first team at LG, while Grimes is running first team at RT. Robbie Frost redshirted in '05, played in four games in '06, seven games in '07, and six games in in '08, earning a start against Army. It was announced last week that Frost has been placed on a medical redshirt, and will no longer be playing on the football team.

In 2006, we signed one offensive lineman, Lucas Patterson, Patterson redshirted in '06, and played on the defensive line in '07 and '08. He is now being moved back to the offensive line, where he is being pencilled in as the starter at LT. I'm just wondering how we can recruit only one offensive lineman in a recruiting class?

In 2007, we signed two offensive linemen, Daniel Baker and Evan Eike. Eike redshirted in '07, and then started all 12 games last season at LG. Baker redshirted in '07, and saw action in 9 games last season, at both RG and TE. Baker is a versatile player who is serviceable as a blocking TE.

The 2008 class was Sherman's first class, although many of the players were also recruited by the previous regime. We signed six offensive linemen in the '08 class: Josh Ayers, Leroy Chevalier, Jeffrey Hyde, Chris Lathrop, Brian Thomas, and Joe Villavisencio. Ayers, Chevalier, Hyde, Lathrop, and Thomas all redshirted last season, while Villavisencio saw playing time in two games last season after his redshirt was pulled, starting the Iowa State game, and also playing against Baylor. Chevalier has been placed on medical redshirt, and Lathrop has been moved to defensive tackle to provide depth on the DL, so we are looking at four redshirt offensive linemen from the '08 class to provide depth this season.

For those doing the math at home, that means we had classes of 3, 4, 1, and 2 offensive linemen signees going into the 2008 season. The '08 class had six OL, but you can't expect true freshmen to come in and play on the offensive line right away, b/c they are not physically or mentally ready to excel there (unless their name is Orlando Pace). If you subtract the two people who moved to defensive line (Kellen Heard and Lucas Patterson), our numbers go down to 3, 3, 0, and 2. Take away the attrition because of arrests (Babaloa) and juco eligibility expiring (Dickey), and the numbers shrink to 1, 3, 0, and 2. So we entered the 2008 season with basically six scholarship offensive linemen. Is it any wonder that we were decimated by injuries? Is it any wonder that we lacked the depth to replace those injured players? Sherman and offensive line coach Jim Turner did a terrific job just keeping enough bodies out there to field a team.

Sherman only took four offensive linemen in the 2009 recruiting class (Stephen Barrera, Patrick Lewis, Clint Naron, and Rhontae Scales), and has five committed in the 2010 class so far. That means in his first three recruiting classes so far, Sherman has brought in 15 offensive linemen, almost doubling Fran's effort when you look at the players he actually put on the OL. With the numbers we have, Sherman couldn't be blamed if he brought in classes of eight OL the last two years, just to get enough healthy bodies on the roster who can contribute to the program. Averaging five OL per year, which we are doing right now, will get us on the right track to balanced recruiting classes.

Before we can fix the running game, which Sherman is making a priority, we need to fix the lack of depth at offensive line, and Sherman and Turner's recruiting has reflected that priority. Now once we get those players through the Strength and Conditioning program, and onto the field, even Zwerneman himself will be able to run for positive yardage behind them.

Depth At RB A Good Problem To Have

Beergut — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:17:38 -0000

We may have too many RBs ready to play for us right now, and that is a good problem to have. With sophomore Cyrus Gray and redshirt sophomore Bradley Stephens returning, and true freshman Christine Michael getting a look at contributing this season, we have a wealth of talent at RB. This isn't forgetting true freshman Kalvin Guyton, who Coach Sherman mentioned after both of our first two practices. This depth means if the unmentionable happens, and we have some injuries at RB, we have talent ready to step up and carry the ball for us. It also means we might be able to help out other positions on the field while also helping further develop the skillset of our backs.

All indications are that we're going to be running 10, 11, and 0 personnel for the majority of offensive downs this season, which means we'll be almost exclusively in one-back or no-back sets. Our RBs will see time split out at slot receiver when we go to 0 personnel, and will be called on to block in the passing game. Our depth at the TB position also means we might be able to look at using a TB extensively at slot receiver if needed.

Right now, Ryan Tannehill is competing for a starting job at QB, which leaves us without his talents at WR. Even if Tannehill is willing to return to WR if he doesn't win the starting QB job, just to be on the field, Sherman might keep Tannehill at QB just to ensure we have depth at the position. Enter a TB willing to move to spend some time at wide receiver, and we have our answer. I think the player most likely to be able to shift from TB to receiver would be Bradley Stephens, simply because he has that open-field running style that lends itself to playing in space. Sherman has also said we need to find ways to get Stephens more touches in each game, and motioning him out to the slot from 20 personnel would definitely achieve this goal. It would also increase the likelihood of getting a linebacker matched up on him in space, a schematic advantage we could exploit all game long.

While we will be running a no-huddle spread attack this season, and will be using mostly one or no-back sets, I expect we will be going back to Sherman's beloved West Coast pro-set attack when we have the proper personnel in place. Spending time at WR would help develop Stephens as a receiver coming out of the backfield, so his adjustment if/when we switch schemes again would be seamless. It will also give plenty of pro scouts an idea of how he will project as a running back/receiver on the next level.

As a single-wing fan, my first reaction to seeing four talented backs is to put them all on the field together and make the opposing defense stop all of them, but Coach Sherman doesn't appear ot be headed in that direction yet (I hold out hope, though). The next best thing to hope for is that we can get the ball into our players hands as often as possible, and possibly using one or more of these backs as a receiver out of the backfield or motioning him to the slot would help us accomplish this goal.

And So It Begins.....

Beergut — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:21:18 -0000

Today is the first official day of Fall Camp for the 2009 Aggie football team. After reporting Sunday and moving into their rooms, getting their paperwork taken care of, meeting the coaches, hanging at Mike Sherman's house, etc, the team will hit the field for the first practice of the beginning of the 2009 season tonight at 6 p.m. It's been a long time coming.

Key questions to be answered during two-a-days:

Who is the backup quarterback to Jerrod Johnson? We can talk about Ryan Tannehill and Tommy Dorman competing for the starting spot, but the starting position in Johnson's to lose. I think Tannehill and Dorman are sparring off for #2.
Where does Christine Michael fit into our offense? We already have Cyrus Gray ready to start at tailback; will Michael take over his spot? Will they split reps? Will we move Bradley Stephens out to slot to get him the ball more, or go to a running-back-by-committee?
Will we have a viable offensive line this season? The failure of our offensive line was our biggest disappointment last season, even moreso than our defense. Our inability to run the ball especially hurt us all season long. Our line was decimated by injuries, and our lack of depth meant we had no one could step up, meaning we played games with injured players starting. With players like Joe Villavisencio burning their redshirt season, we do have some young experience returning on the line, but I am hopeful Sherman's recruiting and a redshirt program mean we'll have some young talented depth ready to step up if needed.
Who will our starting wide receivers be? With Tannehill concentrating on QB, we will need another WR to fill in since we'll be looking at running more 10 and 0 personnel this season. Assuming Jeff Fuller, Jamie McCoy, and Terrence McCoy are the most likely to start, who gets the fourth wide receiver position? Howard Morrow? Will we see freshman Ryan Swope moved into the slot?
Can Rod Davis keep his weight under control enough to contribute on the interior defensive line? Tony Jerod-Eddie and Eddie Brown will be counted on to be the leaders on our defensive interior, but I expect Rod Davis to play often, assuming he can keep his weight under control. Redshirt freshman Adren Dorsey is also expected to contribute.

Our season begins on September 5 at 6 p.m. at Kyle Field, when we play New Mexico. Let's hope we have the answers to some of these questions when that time arrives.

10 Things That Need To Happen For A&M To Make A Bowl Game

miketag — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:07:32 -0000

I have been reading all the articles coming out of the Big 12 Media Days that predict doom and gloom for the Ags. While I understand that the media always bases this season off of what happened on the previous season, it is somewhat humorous to read of the pessimistic outlook for A&M. While I recognize that we have some tremendous challenges facing us, I see reason for optimism and not pessimism. That is probably why I am a fan. I felt compelled to compile a list of ten things that we need to happen this season in order for the Ags to improve on their record from last year and qualify for a bowl.

10. Rod Davis needs to step up. After redshirting last year, Davis looked very poor in the first half of the spring game but did step it up in the second half. He may be one of those players who only turns it on, on gameday. He needs to live up to his recruiting hype and provide quality depth on the DL if we are going to have any kind of ability to stop the run this year.

9. No sophomore slumps. We saw a bunch of true freshmen step into important roles on the year last season and excell. We need those players to continue to progress as they get more experience and develop into team leaders. This is especially important on defense where at some positions (DT) the sophomores are the most experienced at the position.

8. Maintain the good chemistry. Much has been made about last years upperclassmen not buying into what the coaches were preaching. One of the advantages of having the youngest team in America, is that the younger guys are more willing to buy into a program they are going to be a part of for the next 4-5 years. The word coming out of Aggieland is that this team has developed very good chemistry. We need to maintain that chemistry because during the season, there is going to be adversity during some games. The players on the field are going to have to fight for one another if they are going to get through the adversity and see success.

7. Lucas Patterson needs to be the answer at LT. There may not be a more important position for A&M this season than LT. Jerrod Johnson spent all of last season running for his life. It is amazing that he put up the numbers he did considering how poorly out OL played. We need Patterson to develop into a good LT so we can keep Shumard at LG and turn a bad OL into a possibly decent one.

6. Jeff Fuller needs to become a dominant WR. Fuller showed during the offseason why he was the best football player on the team. Now he needs to show the rest of America why he is a future first round draft pick. We need Fuller to draw double coverage to open up the rest of the offense.

5. Bradley Stephens needs to hold onto the ball. Cyrus Gray is going to be the starting RB against New Mexico. Christine Michael may end up being a star in the making. However, you need three good RBs in college football today because invariably you have injuries at the position. No one has ever quationed Stephen's ability, he just needs to hold onto the ball so he can see more playing time. His inability to do so last year during practice was why he rode the bench.

4. A freshman WR has to step up. We really need one of the freshmen WRs to step up and give us someone with gamebreaking speed in the rotation. Fuller, Tannehill, and McCoy make for a fine rotation but are not going to break 4.5 in the 40. We need Easy Nwachukwu or Ryan Swope to step in and be the speed guy right away.

3. Freshmen have to play like upperclassmen. The old football axiom is that you will lose one game for every freshman that you have in the starting lineup. Considering that 15 freshmen will likely see extensive playing time this year, that cannot be the case. We need freshmen like Dustin Harris, Spencer Nealy, Ryan Swope, and Christian Michael to play like Trent Hunter did last year. We need better athletes on the field making plays, and the freshmen are going to have to provide it.

2. Beat someone we are not expected to. We need to win at least one game no one gives us a chance in. Right now my best guess would be possible wins at Tech, home vs. OSU, home vs. tu, or Arkansas at Jerryworld. We need to win a game that no one expects us to win in order to arrive at the magical number of 6 to qualify for a bowl.

1. Stay healthy. We simply cannot afford to have injuries like we did last year. We do not have enough depth especially at positions like the OL. We are going to have to have some luck with the injury bug if we are going to succeed on the field this year.