SB Nation - Cyrus Gray

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.

That's Aggie Commit Mister Jones To You

Beergut — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:08:53 -0000

The Aggie football program hosted 17 recruits on their official visits this weekend, and one of them was Littleton HS (CO) RB Mister Jones, a Colorado commit. The four star running back changed his commitment after he returned home, and decided to commit to Texas A&M. His commitment gives the Aggies their eighth four-star commitment in the 2010 class, according to the rankings Rivals.com uses.

Jones stands 6'2, weighs in at 205 pounds, and runs a 4.5 forty, per Rivals. Jones is a power back, and tries to run through people more than he tries to run around. Jones' video shows him to be a powerful runner who will make a nice addition to Cyrus Gray and Christine Michael in the backfield as we head into the 2010 season. Fellow RB recruit Ben Malena of Cedar Hill (TX) HS will also be vying for playing time in 2010.

The SB Nation Colorado blog, The Ralphie Report, is not happy about this development, as you can imagine. Jones is one of their top commits, and the failure for him to stick with the Buffs is seen as a further proof that Dan Hawkins isn't getting the job done in Boulder. Jones had 149 carries for 1097 yards (7.4 yards per carry), and 15 TDs during the 2009 season. He makes a nice addition to our recruiting class, as Mike Sherman continues to do well in recruiting as he rebuilds the Aggie football team.

texas Game Review

Beergut — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:37:10 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson (1) towers over texas quarterback Colt McCoy (12), much like his performance Thursday night outshone McCoy's stellar effort. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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In order to win the game, we needed to win the turnover battle, run the ball on their top-ranked run defense, and not have any special teams miscues. We gave up one KO return for a TD, and that turned out to be a backbreaker for us.
Even though he had an incredible performance last night, I still don't think Colt McCoy deserves the Heisman, because he wasn't even the best QB on the field last night. Jerrod Johnson took the best defense in this conference and one of the best defenses in the nation and made them look stupid.
I may be in the minority on this issue, but I didn't like the decision to go for the FG on the 4th and 3. The way our offense was playing, we could have made the three yards, and the TD would have kept the pressure on texas. Score the TD, get the onside kick, and you have the option of driving for the winning TD or going for the tie with a FG. A FG at that point still puts you down by a TD, and limits your options.
McCoy's 65 yard TD run up the middle was a pretty bad defensive breakdown; no excuse to not have anyone manning the middle of the field on 3rd and 2.
texas picked on Justin McQueen pretty good. With Coryell Judie coming off his redshirt next season, we should have someone there to play across from Terrence Frederick.
We rushed for 190 yards against the #1 rush defense in the nation; good job of creating some holes by the offensive line.
Christine Michael had a solid game, but he needs to learn to lock up the ball before the runs forward. His one fumble was a poor job by him of locking up the handoff. Jerrod had a few miscommunications in the runnning game, but it wasn't enough to hurt us seriously.

I like the Fly series we ran, although I think we should have given it to Uzoma Nwachukwu more than once.

Adam Ulatoski was holding on Von Miller pretty blatantly all night long. I was surprised they never flagged him for it.

Jerrod's performance last night makes him the first 3000 yard passer in Aggie football history.

Jerrod is also adding on to his own record for TD passes, with 28 so far this season, and one more game left to play.

After Jerrod and the wide receivers, I think the most impressive performance on the team was by our interior offensive line. They kept texas' DTs in check most of the game.

I really hope Ryan Epperson gets some work in this offseason with his position coach and improves greatly, because punting is still a weakness for us.

If we're not going to use Cyrus Gray on kickoff returns following the OU debacle, I'm okay with Ryan Swope. He was doing a stellar job out there against texas, and will only improve with time.

I was a little disappointed we didn't run any Wildcat this game. Hopefully, we'll show it again in the bowl game.

Baylor Game Review

Beergut — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:11:20 -0000

More photos » by Jerry Larson - AP

Texas A&M's Christine Michael (33) dives over Baylor's Jeremy Williams, left, to score on a 97-yard run during the second quarter of the Texas A&M-Baylor game. Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, in College Station, Texas. The run was the longest in A&M's history. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Jerry Larson)

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It's hard to complain about a game in which you won by 5 touchdowna, and your defense holds the opponent to fewer than 300 yards of total offense and a field goal. The Aggies gained a season-high 375 yards rushing on 52 carries for 3 TDs and an average of 7.2 yards per carry. We were 19-25 passing for 153 yards and 2 TDs. We had 528 yards of total offense. The defense gave up 82 yards rushing on 26 carries for an average of 3.2 yards per carry, and 215 yards passing on 24 completions, while snagging 3 interceptions. All appearances are that the Aggies dominated the game to gain the win and bowl eligiblity. However, a closer look below the surface shows things aren't what they appear.

Offensively, I have little to complain about. I wasn't happy with Christine Michael's fumble, but I won't complain about his effort on a day he set the record for the longest play from scrimmage in Texas A&M football history. Michael does need to learn to protect the ball better. However, 114 yards rushing on 11 carries and a TD isn't too bad of a day. Cyrus Gray had 107 yards rushing on 14 carries, an average of 7.6 yards per carry. Along with Jerrod Johnson's 83 yards on 16 carries, Gray and Michael helped combine for the second 300-yard game from A&M's two starting RBs and the QB since the Tech game.

I was satisfied with the passing game. Jerrod spread the ball around to ten different receivers, and was an efficient 19-25 for 153 yards and 2 TDs. When Baylor came out in the second half and loaded the box, all but daring us to beat them with our passing game, I would have liked to see us go to the air some more, but when you can run the ball at will, like we were doing, there really is no reason to stop yourself if the defense can't stop you. Ryan Swope and Ryan Tannehill led the team with 4 receptions each, and Tannehill had one TD catch. I was also pleased to see Kenny Brown snag a TD on his one catch; his reception was on our first possession of the game, and helped us take the early lead. Considering the fact that Baylor only scored on a field goal, you could say Brown's one reception was the game-winner. Brown will be part of our future at the TE position, so it is nice to see him being productive. I enjoyed seeing Ryan Swope's role in this offense continue to grow; he is going to be a good one for us. I was surprised to see Uzoma Nwachukwu and Jeff Fuller only have 5 receptions between the two of them. I'm not sure if that is an issue of playcalling, or if defenses are doing a better job of getting help over deep to cover them, but Fuller and EZ should have a minimum of 15 receptions between the two of them each game, at least.

Defensively, out scheme continues to frustrate me. We seem to want to be aggressive on first and second down to stop the run, then drop off and keep the passing game in front of us on third down, and make the tackle. If the offense makes it down the field, we wait until they get to the red zone, then we play aggressive again, and try to force a field goal. Against Baylor, this strategy led to 3 interceptions, but better teams don't make those mistakes. We only had three sacks for the game, two of Nick Florence and one of Blake Syzmanski. We simply need to be able to bring more pressure than that. I know Baylor uses a lot of screens to take some pressure off their QB and get the ball out quickly, but we still gave Baylor too much time to pass the ball. Our run defense was okay; Jay Finley had one 26 yard run, and Jarred Salubi had a 34 yard run, but other than those two runs, we keep their ground game in check. We only gave up 177 yards passing to Florence on 21 completions, which means we were tacklng well, for the most part.

Overall, I am happy about this game, but we need to play better, especially on defense, if we want to win our next two games.

Baylor Preview

Beergut — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:31:24 -0000

I'm sure there are some Aggies who are looking at Baylor's 4-6 record so far this season and thinking they'll be no problem for us on Saturday. I'm sure there are some fans who think because Robert Griffin is no longer leading Baylor's offense, they aren't much of a threat to beat us in College Station. We can't afford that kind of overconfidence. We're not good enough to overlook anyone.

The most important thing we need to do against Baylor is experience some offensive success early and jump out to an early lead. Baylor's defense isn't incredible, but they haven't given up an offensive touchdown in the last three games in the second half. This means that their hafltime adjustments are working, and it also means that they don't quit despite being behind.

Baylor's offense is led by redshirt freshman Nick Florence, who has poassed for 1609 yards, 6 TDs, and 7 interceptions since taking over for Robert Griffin. Florence is a decent quarterback, despite his numbers, who can hurt us through the air and on the ground. Getting pressure on Florence and sacking him a few times is imperative. Baylor's passing game depends heavily on WR screens and bubble screens, which is the bane of our defense's existence. We need to be disciplined, get off the blocking receiver, and make the tackle. It would also help if we didn't play zone all game, but that is a scheme issue.

The two Baylor players who worry me the most are wide receivers Kendall Wright and David Gettis. Both are terrific athletes who make plays with the ball in their hands. Baylor will use Wright on Jet sweeps to stretch the defense laterally. RB Jay Finley isn't a burner, but he is effective. He ripped us apart last year in Waco.

Defensively, LB Joe Pawelek is the main person we need to be aware of. Pawelek leads the team in tackles, sacks, and is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss. He is simply a playmaker. One Baylor defender who I think is overrated is safety Jordan Lake, who I think we can take advantage of in the passing game. I think Lake is overrated in his coverage abilities, and Uzoma Nwachukwu and Jeff Fuller should be able to beat him deep, assuming we are able to get the ball to them. up about 167 yards per game rushing, so we should be able to run the ball on them, especially if we can block Pawelek, and go off-tackle. Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray should be able to have a good day.

If we do what we're supposed to do, we should be able to beat Baylor, earn our sixth win, and attain bowl eligibility. We need to start out fast on offense, put some points on the board, and put pressure on their offense to keep up with us in the early going. This will allow us to run the ball, run the clock, and control the game in the second half. If we do what we need to do, we will win the game.

Nebraska Safety Matt O'Hanlon is Big 12 Player of the Week, Kicker/Punter Alex Henery Ignored

Jon Johnston — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:46:38 -0000

More photos » by Nati Harnik - AP

Henery - a masterful weapon overlooked by most.

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The Big 12 selected Matt O'Hanlon as Defensive Player of the Week yesterday. It wasn't that difficult a selection. O'Hanlon tied a school record for interceptions in a game, the fourth player in Nebraska history to do so. The last time this happened was 30 years ago (almost to the day), on November 10th, 1979, when Ric Lindquist intercepted three passes against Kansas State. The other two times came in the first week of November as well - Dana Stephenson against Colorado on November 1st, 1969, and Joe Blahak against Kansas State on November 14th, 1970.

O'Hanlon had a career-high 12 tackles against Oklahoma, include nine solo tackles. While his three interceptions all came in the second half, nine of his tackles were in the first half, so you might say he spent the first half getting warmed up. He stopped Oklahoma from scoring with his interceptions coming at the NU 25, NU 19, and at the NU six-yard line to seal the game.

Kicker/Punter Alex Henery had a masterful game. I'm surprised that more hasn't been written this week about him. He was not selected as Big 12 Special Teams player this week. Texas A&M's Cyrus Gray got that honor for returning a kick 99 yards for a touchdown, and another for 45 yards for the Aggies final score in a game in which they lost to Colorado. I guess it's more important that you score rather than recognize the value of field position in a field position-based game.

Fans don't recognize the value of punting as easily as they would O'Hanlon's interceptions, but as far as the game went, they were just as valuable. Henery consistently punted the Huskers out of trouble, and for the most part kept Oklahoma's dangerous playmaker Ryan Broyles out of the game. Henery had two punts downed inside the 20, including the 66-yarder (mentioned in the postgame overreaction article) that flipped field position in Nebraska's favor. He would have had two more punts inside the 20 had it not been for returns.

Here's Henery's work as a punter against Oklahoma (I only listed return yardage where the ball moved past the 20):

from the 16 for 43 yards
from the 11 for 44 yards
from the 30 for 35 yards
from the 32 for 66 yards, downed at the two-yard line
from the OU 42 for 34 yards, downed at the eight-yard line
from the 31 for 39 yards - out of bounds at the OU 30
from the 40 for 43 yards to the OU 17, returned to the 29-yard line.
from the 11 for 48 yards to the OU 41
from the 27 for 44 yards to the OU 29, out of bounds
from the 33 for 42 yards to the OU 25
from the 41 for 43 yards to the OU 16, returned 35 yards to the NU 49-yard line.

His performance against Oklahoma gives him 19 punts downed inside the 20 this season. He was leading the Big 12 in that category before the game (Still is, depending upon whether you go by number or percentage).

Unfortunately, Henery broke his streak of 25 straight field goals of less than 50 yards when he missed a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter. He did hit a 28-yarder in the third quarter to extend Nebraska's lead. Between the two field goals he is 12-for-15 on the season and 38-for-44 for his career.

Henery is an incredible weapon on a team desperately looking for them. He deserves more recognition than he's getting.

Cyrus Gray Wins Big 12 Special Teams Player Of The Week

Beergut — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:55:31 -0000

More photos » by JACK DEMPSEY - AP

Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray (32) celebrates with teammates Ken Wood (26) and Kenny Brown (15) after a touchdown against Colorado during the second quarter of the game in Boulder, Colo, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

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Cyrus Gray's 99 yard kickoff return for a TD and 181 total yards on four returns (45.25 yards avg) against Colorado was good enough for conference writers to vote him the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. This is Gray's first award this season, and the first conference award of any kind for an Aggie player this year. Hopefully, this is the first of several awards to come as the Aggies head into the toughest part of the season.

I was surprised to see that the offensive player of the week award went to QB Nick Florence of Baylor, and was not split with texas WR Jordan Shipley. Passing for a school-record 427 yards and 3 TDs on the road as you help break an 11-game conference road losing streak is impressive, but no more impressive than the 11 receptions for 273 yards and 1 TD Shipley had against Central Florida. I know texas was playing at home, and I know it is only Central Florida, but you don't see 200 yard receiving efforts often, much less a 273 yard effort. If Baron Batch deserved to share last week's Offensive PLayer of the Week award with Landry Jones, we should have had co-offensive players of the week this week, too, with both Shipley and Florence being honored.

Gameday Buff Bites - Colorado Buffaloes vs. Texas A&M Aggies

irish1611 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:26:56 -0000

For starters, CU needs to get going early - The Denver Post
I am absolutely disgusted at all of this talk about a lack of energy for the Buffs. I thought the Missouri game was a revenge game. The last two games against Kansas State and Missouri the Buffs had many things to play for but "guys weren't jacked up?"

The slow starts Colorado has had in some games this season make it appear its opponents are sprinting out of the blocks in track shoes while the Buffs give chase in flip-flops. Some ugly numbers: CU has been outscored 64-27 in the first quarter and 130-80 by halftime. In a season-opening 23-17 loss to Colorado State, the Buffs trailed 20-3 at halftime. In a 54-38 loss at Toledo in Week 2, the Buffs were down 30-3 at intermission. In Saturday's 36-17 loss to Missouri, CU had fallen behind 33-3 at the half.

"Especially last week, guys were tight. And a few guys weren't jacked up, for whatever reason," junior wide receiver Scotty McKnight said. "I don't know what you've got to do, but it didn't seem like there was a big energy before the game. "We had it the second half, sure. But you have to play this game with passion and energy. We didn't do that in the first half."

Woelk: Lack of emotion still a puzzle with Buffaloes - Boulder Daily Camera

It`s been hard to figure exactly what -- if anything -- inspires this CU team. One of the major criticisms from fans throughout the season has been what appears to be a lack of emotion on the sidelines. Hawkins is a coach who preaches a steady approach, but all too often, the team`s demeanor has been one that seems almost alien to the passion most people associate with the game of football. Hawkins insists that he and his staff have done their best to inspire that passion. "It does come from us," Hawkins said. "I`ve stood at the pulpit and been pretty demonstrative. But you don`t need to be a screamer. It has to be something inside that compels you to bring your 'A` game."

Being demonstrative at the pulpit, eh? Call me excited...

Henderson: Four straight losing seasons usually turns coach's hot seat into ejection seat - The Denver Post

Since 1980, 82 Division I-A coaches have come to a school and had losing seasons in their first four years. However, those who survived much longer are few and far between. Of the 82, 24 were fired soon after the season, or, in the rare case of Vanderbilt's Gerry DiNardo — who scored a job at LSU — went elsewhere. Of the 58 who survived past Year 4, 34 were fired after their fifth year. Why the attrition? Well, only eight of the 58 survivors posted winning records in their fifth season.

Buffs want to start fast, fix woes - The Longmont Times-Call
Patrick Ridgell of the Longmont Times picks a blow out in favor of Texas A&M. Who can blame him.

When CU has the ball: Something has to give. The Big 12’s worst offense in points and yards gained faces the Big 12’s worst defense in points allowed and yards allowed. While the Aggies have had their struggles, they’ve improved lately, holding Iowa State to 10 points and forcing five turnovers to win at Texas Tech. Miller’s pass rushing will cause CU problems. Advantage: Texas A&M

Prediction: The Aggies historically have struggled in Boulder. They play lots of freshmen and sophomores, and only three weeks ago they lost 62-14 at Kansas State. It’s not like they’re Supermen or something. But the results of the past two weeks for each program make them seem super compared to the Buffs. Texas A&M 41, CU 14

Who has the edge? | AggieSports.com | Bryan/College Station, TX
This is a first. The Colorado offense and special teams has the edge according to Robert Cessna over the the Aggies...really?

CU Buffs set for high-powered Aggies - Boulder Daily Camera
A team really can produce with young players? What a concept.

Speaking of youth, a season-long alibi in Boulder actually hasn`t been a huge problem for today`s opponent. Texas A&M (5-3, 2-2) is playing 18 true freshmen this fall andsome of them have been difference makers. Of the Aggies` 65 plays of 20 yards or more, 54 of them have been made by freshmen or sophomores. The Buffs face an explosive Texas A&M offense today. The Aggies are the only team in the Football Bowl Subdivision to rank in the top 25 teams in the nation in all four major offensive statistical categories: rushing offense, passing offense, scoring offense and total offense. They rank third in total offense, averaging nearly 500 yards a game. Coach Mike Sherman`s team is eighth in the nation in scoring, averaging 36 points. "They`re kind of hitting on all cylinders offensively right now, and are certainly starting to gain some momentum the last couple weeks," Dan Hawkins said. "It will be imperative again for our defense to play real well and for our offense to establish some continuity and get going that way." The Aggies have needed much of that production because the defense has been shaky. They are allowing 30 points a game and are 98th in pass defense and 91st in total defense.

CU, A&M go in opposite directions the last 3 weeks - The Denver Post

CU desperately needs a win, but Hawkins knows the Aggies present a major test. "We're facing a team in Texas A&M that's really electric," Hawkins said. "They have one of the best offenses in the Big 12 — one of the best offenses in the country — and one of the best quarterbacks. They're doing a great job running the football. Cyrus Gray is a very good tailback. They've got some juice at wide receiver." The key, Hawkins said, is for the Buffs to short-circuit Texas A&M's mojo in the early going. "They've certainly started to gain some momentum the last couple of weeks," Hawkins said. "So it will be imperative again for our defense to play real well and for our offense to establish some continuity."

Mile high anxiety: A&M 1 win from being bowl-eligible | AggieSports.com

The thing Colorado could use most to beat A&M, which is a three-point favorite, is a solid game from the offensive line. Colorado had a season-low minus 14 yards rushing on 24 carries against Missouri, which also had eight sacks, the most allowed by the Buffaloes. For the season, CU is averaging only 2.4 yards per carry -- last in the Big 12. The Buffs also have allowed 28 sacks, the league's most.

Big 12 mailbag: How the Big 12 coaches rank - Big 12 - ESPN
Tim Griffin ranks the coaches in the Big 12 from 1 - 12. Here is #12

12. Dan Hawkins, Colorado – Burning Hansen’s redshirt and then taking him out of the game two weeks later was the sign of a desperate coach.

Waiting for the revival at Folsom Field - Travel - ESPN
As a football mecca, Boulder is a bit of a boomtown gone bust, yet hope is resilient here

Texas A&M at Colorado preview - Dallas Morning News

Key matchup Colorado's OL vs. Texas A&M's DL: Texas A&M defensive coordinator Joe Kines rattled off the imposing dimensions, both height and weight, of the Colorado offensive line this week. He left off one key number, probably on purpose: the eight sacks the Buffaloes allowed last week in a 36-17 loss to Missouri. Colorado better regroup against A&M. Junior DE Von Miller, who leads the nation with 13.5 sacks, could boost those numbers and his All-American candidacy today.

Miller's sights set on Aggie sack record | AggieSports.com | Bryan/College Station, TX

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Miller leads the nation with 13 1/2 sacks as the Aggies (5-3, 2-2 Big 12) head into Saturday's game at Colorado (2-6, 1-3). He needs seven more sacks to pass the Texas A&M single-season mark of 20, set by defensive end Jacob Green in 1979.

A&M's Miller a one-man sack attack - Boulder Daily Camera

Who's hot and not around the Big 12 - Big 12 - ESPN

Hot: Texas A&M, who have outscored opponents 87-40 in their last two games. Not: Colorado’s offensive line, which yielded eight sacks and produced minus-14 yards rushing last week against Missouri -- only two yards removed from the lowest production in school history.

Offensive line doesn't want QB, season sacked | CU Independent

Brooks: Cabral's 300th Game Deserves A Picture - CUBuffs.com

Scott's departure could hurt Buffs' future - Dallas Morning News

At first, Hawkins decided to stay silent on the matter. But on his weekly radio show, he said: "I like Darrell and he's a good kid, and any time a kid leaves, I feel bad for a number of reasons. One is I don't think that quitting is always the answer. ... I feel bad when I'm not able to touch a kid or reach a kid and there's those things that happen. "Now again, I'm not perfect and I'm not going to save everybody. But our kids are great. They understand the nature of it and they practiced great and we wish Darrell nothing but the best and he's a good kid and you know I want him to go on and be successful in life and football," Hawkins said.

Los Gatos rallies past Wilcox - San Jose Mercury News

Showing no ill effects from a hairline fracture suffered two weeks ago, Los Gatos quarterback Nick Hirschman was in top form Friday night while leading the host Wildcats to a 26-14 De Anza division victory over Wilcox. After sitting out a league loss at Palo Alto last week, Hirschman returned wearing a plastic molding to protect his left lower leg, where he hurt his fibula in a win against Saratoga. Hirschman picked up where he left off, continuing his torrid season by completing 16 of 24 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. He has 25 scoring passes without an interception on the year.

Q&A with the Texas A&M Aggies Blog, I Am the 12th Man

Jon Woods — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:34:31 -0000

The Ralphie Report recently sat down with I Am the 12th Man to get some Aggie perspective on tomorrow's match up, a game that is extremely important for both teams.

You can see our answers here: Q&A With The Ralphie Report

Up until Dan Hawkins meltdown a few weeks ago, Mike Sherman's seat was the warmest in the conference. At this point in the season how does Aggie Nation feel about the Head Coach? Starting to feel a little more comfortable or still worried that this may not be the man for the job?

I don't agree that he has ever been on the hot seat this year, simply because he has a guaranteed contract for seven years, and we weren't going to fire him after only two seasons. However, the Kansas State game did make everyone step back and say 'what the hell?', because it was the first game we hadn't shown some type of improvement. On the contrary, it looked like we had taken a huge step back, and that really made a lot of people mad. The win over Tech changed all that, because we actually showed massive improvement on the offensive line in that game, a weakness for our team going back to last season. Add in he fact that we hadn't beaten Tech in Lubbock since 1993, and it was a nice surprise to win that game in such dominating fashion after the inexplicable loss to Kansas State.

I think the fanbase is firmly behind Sherman, mainly because right now we are doing what young teams are supposed to do, which is show improvement every game.

Outside of Jerrod Johnson, who needs to step up on offense in order for the Aggies to win? (As an Allen grad, I hope you say Uzoma).

If we can get Uzoma Nwachukwu and Jeff Fuller going in the passing game, and Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray moving the ball on the ground, we should score points and we should win the game. The better we are able to run the ball, the easier things are for Jerrod Johnson, and when things are easy for Jerrod, our offense hums along like a machine.

We have a very "special" kind of love for Von Miller here in Colorado. I heard that he recently mentioned that he will explore entering the draft next year. What are his NFL prospects looking like at this point in time?

I'm not a scout, but I think he is one of those guys who can have a good combine and really move up in the draft. I think he may be looked at as a tweener because of his size, but I can see a 3-4 team taking him as an outside linebacker. I could see him going anywhere from as high as the first round to as low as the fourth round; just depends on his combine workouts.

How many people are expected to attend the game this weekend? I've been to College Station many, many times and I don't think you could find a place more different from Boulder. Are the Aggies fans going to enjoy the culture shock?

have no idea how many will travel to Boulder, I'd guess a few thousand. It isn't the culuture shock that would get most Aggies (y'all have beer, we like beer), it is the fact that we seem to struggle playing in Boulder.. People don't like to travel somewhere and then see their team play poorly..

The Aggies win the game if...? The Buffaloes win the game if...?

Aggies win if we can establish our running game, which means our passing game will move the ball, and our offense will be executing, and we'll score. If we can get a turnover or two on defense, that would be nice.

Colorado wins if they can establish their running game, and keep our offense in check. If it is a close game in the fourth quarter, and y'all have been running the ball all day, int he thin air of Boulder, y'all have a good chance to pull the upset.

Final score prediction?

A&M 28 CU 16

Q & A With The Ralphie Report

Beergut — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:08:44 -0000

This week, our Q&A session with with irish1611 of The Ralphie Report on the upcoming Texas A&M-Colorado football game.

1. With all of the distractions this week with the Darrell Scott transfer, how confident are you that your team can embrace the football field as their one place of peace, and play an inspired game on Saturday? How well do you think they can block out the distractions?

Good question. Who knows what is going on in that locker room today. Calls for the coaching staff to resign, a blue out this weekend, Darrell Scott leaving the program, etc, can't be an easy thing to deal with. But the way I will answer this question is looking at how they have handled adversity in the past. Look no further than their performance on the road the past four years. The Buffs have two wins when they go outside of the state of Colorado compared to eighteen losses, showing that they have difficulty playing in less than optimal situations. After the most recent road loss to Kansas State, many players say they don't have energy on the road and they are intimidated by an unknown environment. That tells you right there that they are tuned in more to their surroundings rather than the game plan or being confident in themselves.

With the students/fan base wearing powder blue shirts to the game in an act of displaying "displeasure," the playing situation won't be optimal this Saturday either. The boo birds will be out early if this game gets off on the wrong foot.

The Buffs haven't responded under Dan Hawkins one time, I don't think Saturday will be any different.

2. If you had to pinpoint one weakness of your team that needs to improve for you to win on Saturday, what would it be?

The Buffs need more than one thing to improve but the glaring issue right now is the offensive line. Preseason picks to be a top unit have made us all look stupid. The Buffs have had a difficult time protecting the quarterback and getting any sort of consistent offense going this year. Last week against Missouri, Tyler Hansen was running for his life the whole game, getting sacked eight times while the Buffs managed to lose 14 yards on the ground in total. You aren't going to win many games turning the ball over and not establishing a push in the trenches. I expect Von Miller to be able to increase his NCAA leading sack total this weekend.

3. With Tyler Hansen firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback (for now), what are the chances of a Cody Hawkins sighting on Saturday?

I don't think you will see Cody Hawkins on Saturday unless Hansen is injured. I don't believe Dan Hawkins will want to be part of a walk out/frenzy that will ensue at Folsom if that were to happen. In fairness, no quarterback will be successful in this offense the way the game plans are being constructed, the poor play of the offensive line and a major lack of playmakers. I think being a quarterback at the University of Colorado, with all the criticism due to the coach's relationship with Cody, no help from your surrounding cast and the pounding you take back there, is the worst position player situation in college football today. I don't even think their is an argument to be had on that one.

4. What offensive player should we watch out for on this Colorado team on Saturday? defensive player?

On the offensive side of the ball, the most productive player has been WR Scotty McKnight, who will lead the team in catches once again for a third straight year. RB Rodney Stewart has had his moments this year but with little running room the past few weeks coupled with the Buffs propensity to get behind early in ball games has limited his consistency. It all starts up front and since that has been a train wreck this year, the offensive has been less than potent.

On defense, I think we are all starting to see CB Jimmy Smith turn into a good one. He has been excellent the past few weeks in coverage, showing good breaks on passes and being the specimen we all thought he could be. If the Buffs want to be successful against A&M this week, they will need LB BJ Beatty to have a big game. Playing mostly as a rush end, when he has been able to get to the quarterback, the defense has done very well. If the Buffs let Jerrod Johnson sit back there, he will have the same big play success most of the other quarterbacks have had on Colorado.

This game of football is really easy. Block up front on offense and pressure the quarterback on defense. The Buffs have been inconsistent at pressuring the quarterback and have done nothing to show that they can protect.

5. Will you be wearing a powder blue shirt to show your dissatisfaction with what is going on with the program?

No, I think it is stupid. This has been a fan base that hasn't sold out a game in a while and the student section is hardly ever full to start the game, if it ever gets full at all. As you know, home games are full of potential recruits. Do you think that any of those players will come to Colorado that visits Boulder this weekend? No way. Why would you want to play for a student section/fan base that wears blue instead of black and gold to cheer the Buffs on. If you don't like what the program is doing, don't go to the game, try to give away your tickets and then don't renew your season tickets next year. Don't make a public showing that will put more of a negative light on the program. Plus, what point does it prove. It doesn't take blue clothes to let everyone know that they are less than pleased about where the program is at. All this does is create more problems and does nothing constructive for our situation. I would rather see those people put five dollars each in a jar and start the pot for a buyout if they want a change.

6. What is your final score prediction for the game?

27 - 17 Texas A&M.

Once again, thanks to irish1611 for answering all of our questions. To see my answers to his questions, go visit them at The Ralphie Report.