SB Nation - Garrick Williams

ISU Game Thoughts

miketag — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:21 -0000

Just watched the DVD of the ISU game. Saw a couple of good things and a few areas that still concern me. The ISU team I saw on the video did not resemble the team that beat NU in Lincoln IMO. Maybe the NU offense is just that slow. ISU defense looked much quicker in that game. In our game they reminded me a lot of the UAB defense. JJ could have passed for 400 yards in this game if we wanted him to. The ISU secondary was hard hitting, but played off our receivers a bunch. There were holes in their zone coverage all day long. The ISU coach was correct in his pregame statements that they simply do not have the athletes right now. On defense, they were outmanned. Our defense struggled all game long IMO. That is still a major achilles heal of our team. If we want to stay in the game against OU and even tu, we need to really pick it up on that side of the ball.

Too many missed tackles. At times we look like an average defense out there, other times we resemble last years unit a lot with the first guy never making the tackle. It may just be that we need another year in the S&C program until out athletes are where they need to be.

For the second game in a row, Cyrus Gray ran very strong. He is dancing less and running vertically more. There were three or four instances in the game where he was pushing the pile forward at the end of the play; he was refusing to go down. He has really improved as a running back this year.

Second game in a row the OL opened huge holes for the running game. We are going to need our OL to play like that in every game the rest of the year if we want to win them.

Jeff Fuller, Kenric McNeal, Uzoma Nwachukwu, and Brandal Jackson are starting to remind me of the OU WRs in Rhett Bomar's first year. They are going to struggle with being consistent this year, but the next two or three years should be a lot of fun.It was nice to see Fuller back and almost to full strength.

Kyle Mangan played the run well in this game. He is starting to become more of a complete LB.

Our LBs as a whole need to get a lot better as a unit. Garrick Williams is improving, but too many times RBs break through the LOS and it is a free run into the secondary and a 10-15 yd gain.

Defense as a whole just needs to play better. We cannot play defense like we did on Saturday and expect to win any more games this season.

Special teams were very poor in this game. Too many long kickoff returns.

Jamie McCoy seems to have grown into his role as an H-back. Hopefully that will make him more enticing to the NFL scouts.

JJ had a nice game, but had two balls that should have been intercepted. He needs to continue to play within himself and not force the ball down the field. Tannehill is a hell of a playmaker, but that does not excuse throwing into triple coverage.

I've Watched The Game - Tech Review

Beergut — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:55:33 -0000

I finally had a chance to watch the game last night. For those who haven't watched the game yet, you can see it here; it is a feed from the jumbotron at Tech's game. You'll see a lot of Tech-centric advertising, but that is to be expected.

I'll just do this in bullets:

The key to the game was the play of Patrick Lewis, Kevin Matthews, and Evan Eike. They mauled the Tech DTs, which meant the middle of the defensive line was open for us all day.
Michael Shumard may have played his best game at LT in the last two years. His ability to pin the DEs outside made it easier for us to operate in the pocket, and for Jerrod to run the ball.
Our defense still needs a lot of work.
Screens were effective against us on the first offensive drive; we stuffed them in the second half. Good adjustments.
Christine Michael is a freaking animal.
Cyrus Gray is running with speed and power; he is running harder than I've ever seen him run. Tech was Cyrus' best game as an Aggie so far.
Patrick Lewis is already an accomplished mauler at LG, and he is only a true freshman. The future is very bright for him.

The need for Tech to keep two over the top in coverage of Uzoma Nwachukwu meant they couldn't spy anyone on Johnson when he started scrambling. EZ basically made for a dual-threat, because if you covered him, Jerrod would get you, and if you didn't double him, he'd beat you deep. Pick your poison, defense.
The running plays were fairly basic: power off-tackle, counter, trap. If this reflects a return-to-basics strategy to help the offensive line, I like it.
We still don't tackle well enough on defense. Too many arm/shoulder tackles. This is a fundamental issue we need to improve at.
Garrick Williams is very quietly becoming a very good player.
The one thing Seth Doege gave Tech when he entered the game was an improved tempo. He kept the offense in a rhythm.
There were a lot of holds that weren't called in this game, on both sides.
The refs need to do a better job of controlling the game. There were too many personal fouls, and they need to talk to the coaches to stop that.
I'd like it better if the Tech jumbotron showed the score occasionally.

For those who may not have seen it yet:

Matchups :: Texas A&M Aggies Edition

Seth C — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:01:11 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

about 1 month ago: Texas Tech's Brandon Sharpe (92) swats down a throw by Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee (5), as Nebraska's Ricky Henry (74) and Marcel Jones (78) block Texas Tech's Colby Whitlock (93), in the first half of their NCAA college football game in Lincoln, Neb., Saturday, Oct. 17, 2009.(AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

Browse more photos »

Texas A&M Aggies (3-3, 0-2)

vs.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-2, 2-1)

Game Information:
Date: October 24, 2009 :: Time: 6:00 p.m. CST :: Weather: Lubbock, TX
TV: None :: Radio: Affiliates :: Game Cast: Fox Sports

The figures next to the team name are, in order, yards per game / national rank / conference rank.

Texas Tech Passing Offense vs. Texas A&M Passing Defense

Texas Tech (413.57 / 2 / 1): Not surprisingly, the Texas Tech offense struggled a bit against Nebraska, but a win is a win, especially when it's on the road against a nationally ranked opponent, and you beat that opponent by 21. QB Steven Sheffield was a manager, and since all indications lean towards Taylor Potts or Seth Doege taking the reins on Saturday, then I'm hoping that he takes the same advice that Leach gave Sheffield:

I wanted him to throw the ball and hit some fat guy in the stands. That didn’t consistently happen. We had a conversation on that.

I do think that Potts is a quality quarterback, and if there's one thing that Leach has consistently been able to do since he's been here is to coach up a quarterback or two. I don't think that's going to stop and although Potts wasn't perfect (again, there is no perfect QB other than St. Tebow) he's still pretty damned good. If it's 3rd string Seth Doege, then I'm concerned about his ability to play on such a high level without so much experience, but I trust Leach. I think it's a testament to the receivers on this team, but each week, we're seeing a different receiver step up and make plays. In fact, after a few weeks of Tramain Swindall leading this team in receiving, Detron Lewis is back on top. And to jazz you just a tad bit more, there's less than 120 yards separating the top 4 receivers. In other words, one great game and you could see Alexander Torres, Lyle Leong, Swindall or Lewis lead this team.

Texas A&M (226.67 / 73 / 6): The Aggies really haven't played a true passing team, except for Arkansas, and TAMU promptly gave up 271 yards and 4 touchdowns. We're going to continue to talk about this until there are a few more conference games to compare, but TAMU has faced Oklahoma St. and Kansas St. thus far in conference play. Not exactly passing teams and it's hard to gauge whether or not the pass defense is truly struggling (73rd in the nation) or if it's going to get worse. I did have the opportunity to watch quite a bit of the OSU game and I thought that the Aggies do have athletes in the secondary, but they're young, and that's a bad combination going into the meat of the Big 12 schedule. A big part of the pass defense success is the outstanding play of Von Miller, who already has 10 sacks, which includes 12.5 tackles for a loss. And aside from Miller, no player has more than 2 sacks for the year, perhaps indicative of the bigger problems at TAMU, there's talent at certain positions, but it's not enough to win a bunch of football games.

Verdict: I'm nervous about this pick, especially if Potts cannot play, but I'll still take Texas Tech.

Texas Tech Rushing Offense vs. Texas A&M Rushing Defense

Texas Tech (70.43 / 118 / 12): It would be easy to say that the Red Raiders ignored the rushing game on Saturday, and there were times that I thought that the line did a good job of creating holes, but 14 rushes between RB Baron Batch and Harrison Jeffers just isn't going to be enough. Again, the rating looks much worse than it probably is, due in part because Potts took so many sacks earlier in the year (he's working on that . . . promise). The loss of LT Terry McDaniel could prove to be a huge loss for this team I don't know if OL coach Moore has many more options other than to start Chris Olson at left tackle. The only other player that's received significant time is Mikey Okafor at right guard, who was later benched in favor of moving Brandon Carter back to the right side.

Texas A&M (166.83 / 88 / 11): There's going to be a similar theme that I have with the Aggies in that I do think there's talent there, but it's young talent. The Aggies have played two teams that feature their running game and gave up 169 yards and 3 touchdowns to Oklahoma St. and 232 yards and 6 touchdowns to Kansas St. The defensive line features 2 freshmen or sophmores and the linebacking corps also has a freshman and sophomore. Garrick Williams and Kyle Mangum are the linebackers who make most of the plays. The Aggies are 37th in the nation in tackles for a loss, but as mentioned above, Miller is responsible for 12.5 of thoese tackles, which means that the Aggies have 1 player truly making plays thus far.

Verdict: Despite the Aggies looking as bad recently been.

Texas A&M Passing Offense vs. Texas Tech Passing Defense

Texas A&M (320.50 / 6 / 3): The skill position players for TAMU are actually fairly talented and for this reason alone, you shouldn't overlook the Aggies. Freshman WR Uzoma Nwachukwu has been tremendous thus far this year while WR's Ryan Tannehill and Howard Morrow each have over 20 catches. TE Jamie McCoy is an offensive threat, with 21 catches for 251 yards. QB Jarrod Johnson has been remarkably good, not Heisman worthy, but he's been pretty good with a horrible offensive line. Johnson isn't as accurate as you might want him to be, but he's still completing 57.8% of of his passes and has 16 touchdowns to only 3 interceptions. As mentioned before, the offensive line has allowed 2.67 sacks a game, which is good for 95h in the nation. That's been Johnson's problem all year, the young offensive line,

Texas Tech (238.57 / 89 / 8): The Texas Tech pass defense has been good, not great and this is something that I keep mentioning, and it's something that's going to have to continue this week, is not to ge beat deep. The pass defense isn't great, but the pass efficiency defense (I really don't know what this is) is at 40th in the nation. In any event, the secondary is also healthy, except that S Will Ford may be out, but there's been enough guys who have seen sufficient reps that I'm not too concerned about losing Ford. The Red Raiders are 8th in the nation in sacks, led by their DE's: Brandon Sharpe (8), Daniel Howard (5) and Rajon Henley (3).

Verdict: I like Johnson, Tannehill and Nwachuksu, but it's the pass blocking that's the problem.

Texas A&M Rushing Offense vs. Texas Tech Rushing Defense

Texas A&M (156.83 / 49 / 5): Prior to this game, I wondered how much the Aggies were actually running the ball, expecting a bit more production from RB's Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael. Both are supposedly heralded, especially Michael, who's had 11 to 14 rushing attempts since the first game. This unit isn't bad, in fact the Aggies are 49th in the nation in rushing offense, which is pretty good, but maybe the point I was trying to make at the beginning, is that why not slow the game down just a tad bit more, in the hopes that the Aggies could hang onto the ball, and chew up some of that time of possession.

Texas Tech (101.86 / 24 / 5): The rush defense has been consistently good all year, and I keep mentioning this point, but the key to a good defense is being able to stop the run. The rush defense is only allowing 3.05 yards a game and despite some rough patches against Texas (135) and Houston (144), the Red Raiders only gave up 70 yards to Nebraska that is averaging 151 yards a game and 116 yards to Kansas St. that is averaging 184 yards a game. DT's Colby Whitlock and Richard Jones aren't showing up in the box score, but coupled with the outstanding and oftentimes overlooked play of the linebackers, this unit is slowly but surely becoming adept at stopping the run. I thought DE Rajon Henley's play last week deserved mention, especially against the run. I thought he was outstanding.

Verdict: I'll take the Red Raiders again.

Sean Porter's Role In Defense Gives An Idea Of Where We're Headed

Beergut — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:22:43 -0000

Z's article on Sean Porter caught my eye for a reason not connected to Porter's stellar play as a backup so far this season (7 tackles, 1 TFL while backing up Garrick Williams). This quote caught my eye:

"In the defense we run, it's kind of like a roll-down safety," Porter said. "So we're out there in coverage with the receivers a lot. But when it's a running play, we're expected to get in the picture quick."

Sherman said in the old days, a nickel back would occasionally replace the outside linebacker. No more.

"We don't have to substitute and can still play a base defense," Sherman said. "Just like Von Miller is kind of a hybrid linebacker/defensive end, this position is a hybrid linebacker/safety. He can run with a tight end, he can blitz, and he can chase down the screen pass."

Hybrid linebacker/defensive end. Hybrid linebacker/safety. Sounds a lot like a normal 33 Stack defense, although Joe Kines likes to use multiple fronts on the DL, so we're not solely an odd-front defense. I really like two things about what we're doing on defense, though: 1) We're emphasizing speed over size; speed can make up for a lot of mistakes on defense (and if you substitute correctly, you won't be worn down by the opposition's size), and 2) We're making our defense multi-faceted and multiple within the same personnel. This means that teams that use the no-huddle offense (like we do) will have a more difficult time causing personnel mismatches, because our scheme means we will have the correct personnel on the field for any formation.

Most importantly, fielding a team of speedy playmakers in the back seven means we can bring pressure at the point of attack on every play from any direction, which I believe is Joe Kines' ultimate goal for our defense.

Texas A&M 38, Utah State 30: Not-So-Immediate-Game Reaction

Beergut — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:07:54 -0000

Last season, while we were in the midst of a miserable 4-8 season, I used to force myself to wait as much as 24 hours after a game before I did a game recap. This was mostly to make it possible for me to calm down after what turned out to be many losses, so I wouldn't say something I would later regret. It also forced me to think about what had happened, and get some perspective on the game (important when the team you live and die for loses two-thirds of its games during the season). Here we are now, almost twelve hours after our 38-30 win over Utah State, and I have some thoughts on the game.

An ugly win is much better than a pretty loss. Ask Oklahoma if they'd take an ugly win over BYU right now, and they'd unanimously say yes.
Coach Sherman said having a bye week so early in the year made this game like starting a second season after the New Mexico win; we played like this was another season opener.

After giving up two TDs on two of Utah State's first three offensive posessions, we held them to a field goal on eight of their next nine posessions. That means we made some adjusments on defense.

After giving up over 100 yds rushing in the first quarter, we held USU to ~80 yds rushing for the rest of the game. You're never happy when you give up over 100 yds rushing in a game, period, but at least we made some adjustments.

EZ Nwachukwu is a STUD. 3 receptions, 101 yds, 3 TDs, 1 carry, 39 yds, 1 TD. That defines "stud".

I won't complain about a game in which Jerrod Johnson passes for over 300 yds and 4 TDs.

Another game, another 3 sacks for Von Miller (two were of the intentional grounding variety, I believe). He's off to a nice start this season.

Johnson spread the ball around to 8 different receivers; that is what this offense is designed to do.

We had no turnovers in the game, while State had two fumbles lost. The first part of winning games is making sure you don't lose them; the best way to lose a game is to turn the ball over. We've done a good job of ball protection so far this season.

Another part of not losing games is not hurting yourself with penalties; we have A LOT of work to do there, as we had 16 penalties for 147 yds. That is simply atrocious.

Injuries can kill you. Having Fuller and Michael go dow with injuries during the game is disheartening. It is impressive that we slogged on and played through it.

I am hopeful we can get Ryan Swopes more involved in the offense. Through two games, he has no receptions and no carries.

Our top two tacklers in this game were linebackers Kyle Mangan and Garrick Williams. Four of our top six tacklers in this game were members of the defensive front seven. That is what you want your defensive production to look like; when members of your secondary make up your top two tacklers, that is when you know you are in trouble.

Lucas Patterson's line for the game: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery. Not too shabby.

The defense as a whole had nine TFL for the game; that means we're getting upfield and making plays. It means we're being aggressive, which also means we're going to get burned sometimes.

I'll have more thoughts after I am able to watch the game film. I'm not sure when this game will be available on Aggies All-Access.

Quick Thoughts After Watching The New Mexico Game

Beergut — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:48:21 -0000

by Dave Einsel - AP

Texas A&M's Kenric McNeal (81) runs past New Mexico's Frankie Baca on the way to a 44 yard touchdown reception in A&M's 41-6 victory over New Mexico.

View full size photo »

I haven't received my game DVD in the mail yet, but I watched the A&M-New Mexico game online at Aggies All-Access. Some people have e-mailed me with questions where they can watch the game online: you can either go to Aggies All-Access online, click on Featured Events, and click "Watch" for the New Mexico game, or you can click on this link here. I should warn you that the direct link contains some typos in the title pages, and also has a chunk of a series repeated in the second half, as I note below.

To read my thoughts on the game, click on through the jump.....

Dustin Harris needs to read his blocks and go on punt returns; no dancing around.
Danny Baker really struggled out there in the first half; he played better in the second half.
Jeff Fuller is a man among boys out there. He makes us look a lot better than we are.
Our tackling is much improved. We gang-tackle, and the first guy actually wraps up and makes the play.
First sack of Johnson is because Christine Michael completely missed on his block; looked like he didn't know who to pick up. That will come with experience.
I am impressed with our no-huddle attack. We get the plays in and are ready to go quickly. Only one delayed game penalty that I saw.
We had to go for a field goal inside the 20 to make it 10-0 because we don't have a power running game to pound it in.
Garrick Williams is starting to look good. Had a great tackle on the screen pass on the series right after we went up 10-0. Most LBs don't make that play.
We're very multiple on defense, switching from an even to an odd front often, going from a 4-2-5 to a 33 Stack to an Eagle 40 to a true 3-4. We seem to do better when we were in an odd front, not surprising considering UNM probably practiced against a 4-3 during their camp.
Jonathan Stewart, the true freshman LB from Louisiana (Byrd HS) was the man on our goal line stand to end the second half. New Mexico had the ball on our four yd line due to a pass interference call, and Stewart tackled the RB out of the backfield for no gain, got a QB hurry (and almost a sack) to force Porterie to throw the ball away on second down, and assisted on the tackle of the TB on third down. Three plays, no yards, UNM settles for a FG. Great series for Stewart right there.
I like the shotgun split-back sets with Kenny Brown in the backfield as a blocker. Brown is a pretty good lead blocker, although I'm not sure how much of a runner he is.
Good, efficient, business-like drive to start the second half. Drive right down the field and score, let UNM know they really aren't in this game.
The defensive pass interference call on Jordan Pugh on third down on UNM's first series of the second half was bogus. That was just good defensive play.
Terrence Frederick and Trent Hunter may be the two best defensive backs on our team, and two of the best in the conference. What is scary is that both of them are just sophomores.
This officiating crew really enjoyed tossing the laundry. I don't think I've ever seen so many penalties called on one team in a game.
The halfback pass didn't work, but I like the idea. We ran it out of the same formation we run that power sweep from that was so effective. Good packaging by the coaches.
The beautiful thing about Johnson's 44 yd TD pass to Kenric McNeal is that he has two defenders barreling down on him, yet he stood there and made the throw. Excellent poise by Johnson.
49 of New Mexico's 231 yards of total offense came on the drive after we went up 41-6 in the fourth quarter, and was against our 2nd and 3rd teamers. This means that our starters allowed about 189 yards of total offense on the night; not too shabby.
There is a mistake in the video, where they repeat Fuller's catch from our 39 to their 44 twice, where he fumbles the ball after being down. The series is replayed from that point all the way to Fuller's reception to give us a first and goal at the UNM 4.

Overall: I like what we're doing on defense. We seemed to go with odd fronts often to tempt New Mexico to run, just so we could stuff their running game. Our use of multiple fronts meant the UNM offensive line had problems picking up their blocking assignments, which meant we were able to get more pressure on their QB, something that was missing last season.

Offensively, we seem to be doing as much as we can to de-emphasize the importance of the offensive line on some plays, a practice that may be a necessity until our line matures and gels as a unit. We're nowhere near where we need to be as an offensive line.

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?

Ten Days Left And Still Questions Remain

miketag — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:04:46 -0000

We have ten days till the season opened against New Mexico. Unfortunately, a lot of the questions that we had when we started two-a-days have not been answered. At the start of camp everyone wanted to know how Lucas Patterson would progress at LT, who would apply pressure opposite Von Miller, and who was going to step up in our secondary?

Witht he move of Patterson back to defense, we can call that experiment a failure. The sad fact of the matter is that Patterson is now more needed on the DL than he was on the OL because Adren Dorsey and have Rod Davis have not stepped up and become adequate backups to the "Two Eddies." I have a feeling that Davis may step up when it is gametime. He may simply not be a practice player. When Spencer Nealy gets back to 100 percent he will really help on the DL. I have no idea what is going on with Dorsey.

Evidently Danny Baker has played well enough at LT to satisfy Sherman to some extent. I foresee Hutson Prioleau getting a lot of playing time in Big 12 play when we will need him to help Baker block the opponents best pass rusher. I think if Baker weas really the answer, he would have shown that he was the top choice at LT earlier in camp. I get the feeling we are just settling at the position. I guess an optimist would point out that Sherman would not have made this move if Rhontae Scales and Steve Berrerra had not shown they were capable backups at the tackle position. We will have to see how it all works out but right now I am not sold on our LT spot.

We are still trying to figure out who will start at LB for us. Kyle Mangan seems to have the middle locked down. Garrick Williams seems to have solidified his hold on one OLB spot although Jonathan Stewart is nipping at his heels. Ricky Cavanaugh and true freshman Sean Porter are fighting it out for the other OLB spot. Right now I feel confident in stating that Mangan will start in the middle against UNM, and that is it.

Sherman keeps mentioning in interviews that we need to find someone to apply pressure from the opposite side of Von Miller. I think Matt Moss will do a workman like job and should get somewhere between 2-5 sacks this year from his DE spot. If Spencer Nealy is healthy I think he will give us a pass rush also from the inside and outside. I think Nealy will soon be a fan favorite because of his high motor. I think we should expect something like 1-3 sacks from Nealy, depending on how often he plays. He has the talent to be a difference maker this year, he just needs to stay healthy and learn the system.

The secondary is clear as mud. Coryell Judie not gaining admittance until this week threw everything out of whack. Justin McQueen has been starting at one CB. I think McQueen may eventually be a good nickel back but I do not think he is a legit Big 12 corner. Terrence Frederick is starting at the other CB spot and has had one of the best camps of anyone. Dustin Harris was making a serious play for a starting spot opposite Frederick until a hit from Steve Campbell caused him to miss a few practices. Judie will have to pick up the defense extremely fast in order to be ready for New Mexico. Right now I expect McQueen and Frederick to start at CB, with Hunter and Pugh starting at safety. Harris, Judie, and Steven Terrell should back up at CB and play in the nickel. I expect one of those three (;ikely Judie) to be starting by Arkansas in place of McQueen.

Basically, we are in the same situation we were at the beginning of August. We still are wondering if the freshmen will step up and fill the holes on this team. It appears to me that we will not have an answer to those questions until conference play begins. Hopefully, a positive solution can be found at every position. The most concerning spot to me is LT. We cannot afford to have Johnson receive the kind of pressure he got last year. Hopefully an imporved interior OL will result in an improve running game and more play action to keep defenses honest.

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.

Starting Lineup

miketag — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:11:09 -0000

The two deep is likely to change a lot as camp progresses and the freshman class makes their impact on the roster. The frst team on Monday looked like this: QB Johnson RB Gray TE McCoy WR Fuller WR McCoy WR Morrow LT Patterson LG Shumard C Matthews RG Allen RT Grimes Jack Miller DT Eddie DT Brown DE Moss OLB Cavanaugh MLB Mangan OLB Dumas CB Frederick CB McQueen S Hunter S Pugh.

The one name that stands out to me is Dumas at OLB. If Garrick Williams cannot step up and earn a starting spot that spells trouble for the Ags. I am not one of those guys who thinks that all walk-ons are terrible players. However, I have seen Dumas play, and really hope that we have a better option at LB.

As was expected, freshman LB Malcolm Johnson will redshirt this year while he tries to recover from another knee injury. In a surprising move to me, LB Aaron Arterburn is starting out at the jack position; I expected him to see time in the middle. Mike Lamothe is getting a look in the middle. Jonathan Stewart is starting out on the outside. Rhontae Scales and Stephen Barrerra are manning the 2nd team at LT and RT respectively. Patrick Lewis is the 2nd team center. Dustin Harris is getting a look at KR.

The Ags will put on the shoulder pads tomorrow and it will be time for the cream to rise to the top. We will see who is really ready to play this year.