In a game that may have set offensive basketball back 50 years, Texas A&M took down Texas Tech, 47-38, in Lubbock last night. The Aggies trailed by 9, 26-17, at halftime, but held Tech to only 12 points in the second half to engineer a comeback and secure the win. The Aggies shot 28% from the field in the first half, 39% from the field in the second half, and 34% from the floor in the game. A&M was missing two out of every three shots they took last night. Tech shot 48% from the field in the first half, but was held to 5-19 shooting (26%) in the second half while A&M made their comeback.

Elston Turner led the Aggies with 16 points, while Khris Middleton scored 9. The big advantage for the Aggies came on the boards, where they outrebounded Tech 41-23, including a 20-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Neither team shot a free throw in the second half, and A&M shot 11 free throws to Tech's 2 in the second half, as the refs let'em play.

Tech's 38 points was the fewest by an A&M opponent in a conference game since we held texas to 29 points in a 73-29 win in G. Rollie White in 1959. The win moves the Aggies to 13-12 on the season, 4-9 in conference play. The win was A&M's fourth consecutive win in Lubbock, and sixth consecutive win over Tech overall. This was the last game against Tech for the forseeable future, as the Aggies begin play in the SEC next season. The Aggies play again on Saturday, when they welcome Missouri to Reed Arena.

The one holdover from Mike Sherman's staff at A&M is now gone, as defensive line coach Terrell Williams fills the defensive line coach position on Dennis Allen's staff with the Oakland Raiders. As frustrating as it is to have to be filling a position on your staff this late in the year, I can't help but be happy for Coach Williams. A job coaching in the NFL is what many coaches strive for, and this is a chance for Williams to chase that dream. A Los Angeles native, this is a chance for Williams to coach a team he grew up watching, and he is working for another Aggie in Dennis Allen, who played at A&M from 1991-94. Coach Williams was a tremendous asset to the A&M staff in his time in Aggieland, doing a very nice job with our defensive line, and was an excellent recruiter for us. He did a terrific job improving our defensive line from where we were when Buddy Wyatt left, and improved their technique and production. I wish him well as he makes the jump to the League.

We now begin our search for a new defensive line coach. I trust Coach Sumlin to make the right choice, and bring in someone who can help us.

The #6 Aggie baseball team opens the 2012 baseball season with a series against the University of Illinois - Chicago Flames this coming Friday at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. UIC was 28-26 last season, and 16-7 in the Horizon League, where they tied with Wright State for the conference championship. UIC is picked to finish second in the Horizon League this season, and returns 19 letterwinners off of last year's team.

UIC returns pitchers Matt Heaslip (85.2 IP, 5.78 ERA), Matt Salemi (72 IP, 3.00 ERA), Joey Begel (4-3, 81.1 IP, 4.98 ERA), Charlie Weinberg (6-5, 54 IP, 5.17 ERA), and Collin Wyer (3-1, 40.2 IP, 3.32 ERA). My guess is we'll see either Weinberg start on Friday, with Begel starting Saturday, and Heaslip. Salemi, or possibly one of the freshmen pitchers on Sunday.

Offensively, the Flames are led by junior outfielder Nick Addison, who hit .272 with 4 HRs and 28 RBIs last season, and Alex De LaRosa, a fourth-year utilityman who hit .268 with 7 doubles and 28 RBIs last season. Junior Ryan Shober led the team in stolen bases last season with 15 on 17 attempts.

UIC was 15-8 at home, 12-14 on the road last season, so they're a solid team that struggles a little on the road. They look like a perfect team to play as we open Olsen Field after the renovations, and begin the 2012 season.

The Aggies gained their second defensive tackle commitment of the 2013 class, as Skyline DT Kerrick Huggins, 6'4 285 lbs, committed to David Beaty and A&M yesterday. Huggins joins Elysian Fields' Isaiah Golden as our two defensive tackle commitments in the 2013 class so far this year.

Huggins has played both DT in even fronts and DE in the 3-4 in Skyline's multiple scheme. He has an excellent first step, is quick off the ball, and uses leverage well. He quickly disposes of blockers and is relentless in pursuit. He stays low off the snap and flexes his hips well, and plays with good technique.He can come in and play at SDE and 3 tech immediately, but he projects as an eventual 1 tech or 0 tech in college.

I had a chance to watch Huggins in person when Southlake Carroll played Skyline in the semifinals last season. He was a big part of a dominant effort inside for Skyline; Soutlake couldn't run the ball inside all game, and the play of Huggins and the other Raider defensive tackles was the reason for that.

Rivals has Huggins rated as a four-star recruit, and 154th nationally, but we all know rankings don't mean anything. After not having a true defensive tackle make it to campus in the 2010 class, and signing only one defensive tackle in the 2012 class, it is nice to have two defensive tackles in the fold already in the 2013 class. We're going to need some interior linemen who come onto campus ready to play in Mark Snyder's multiple defense, and Huggins is one of those types of players.

Watch video of Huggins here.

• The Aggie softball team started the season yesterday, dropping their opening game in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, AZ, 3-2, to BYU. The Aggies started out slow, with an error, a single, and a home run leading to three quick runs for the Cougars in the first inning. The Aggies fought back, scoring runs in the 4th inning off a Sydney Shannon home run, and an unearned run in the fifth inning, but it wasn't enough to overcome their early game jitters, as the Cougars made it stand up for a 3-2 win. In the second game of the day, against the Stanford Cardinal, a 4-run second inning (highlighted by a 3-run homer by Natalie Villareal), and timley scoring of 2 runs in the 4th, a run in the 5th, 2 runs in the 6th, and a run in the 7th helped us win a slugfest, 10-9. Stanford is a solid team and ranked #9 in the nation, so it was a solid win for us. We play #8 Arizona today and San Jose State later tonight, before ending the tournament with an early morning game against Northwestern tomorrow.
  
• The men's basketball team is lost a really ugly one today against Iowa State. The only solace I could take in that loss is that they didn't double our score. When you're at that point, the season is already lost. I'm not sure if our team even wants to play in the postseason at this point, and wonder if a postseason appearance in the NIT would do more harm than good.
• We are only six days away from opening day for Aggie Baseball, with our #6-ranked team set to open the new Blue Bell Park at Olsen Field this coming Friday against Illinois-Chicago. The game will be streaming over the Internet on 12thManTV.
  
• I'm still non-lussed at the stupidity of Dollar Bill to have us open the 2012 football season on the road, but I have my reservations set for Shreveport. Since Independence Stadium has a capacity of 63,000, it will be interesting to see how ticket availability for this game will work. Given that it is the opening game for both teams and an opening game for football season in a city where there are plenty of college football fans, I expect the game to sellout rather quickly.

The A&M softball team will open their season on the road with a game against BYU at noon in their first game in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona. The Aggies will play again at 3 PM, when they face #9 Stanford. Tomorrow, they will face #8 Arizona at 5 PM, then San Jose State at 8 PM. The Aggies close out their Classic with a game against Northwestern on Sunday. Playing the #8 and #9 teams in the nation this weekend will give us a good gauge of how we stack up this early in the season.

The Aggies return eight starters from last season, losing only Rhiannon Kliesing off last year's team. The Aggies are led by junior All-American pitcher Mel Dumezich and All-American catcher Meagan May. With only three seniors and four juniors, the Aggies are a relatively young team, but return 14 letterwinners. Senior second basemen Natalie Villareal, who is a two-time Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, will be counted on to provide leadership.

The Aggies finished last season 44-15, losing in the Tempe Super Regional to eventual national champion Arizona State. The Aggies have made the postseason every year the last ten years, and with the talent and experience we have returning this season, I expect this year to be no different. The Aggies were picked by the coaches to finish fifth in a strong Big 12 Conference this year, but I think we will outperform expectations. Hope springs eternal on opening day.

The two games today can be followed online via livestats or audio on AggieAthletics.com.

A&M athletic director Bill Byrne decided yesterday that instead of letting everyone wonder if he IS truly a fool, he'd go ahead and announce the football schedule changes he has made, and remove all doubt. As we were informed yesterday, the Aggies will no longer be opening their 2012 season with a home game against McNeese State on September 1. Instead Dollar Bill, in a fit of brilliance, decided we should go on the road and open our season at a 'neutral' site in Shreveport, Lousiana against Louisiana Tech. With a new coaching staff implementing a new offense and defense, I don't see any reason why we would want to open our season in the friendly confines of our home stadium in front of a partisan crowd against a D-IAA school where we will have a decided talent advantage. No, it makes much more sense to take our team on the road and open the season on a Thursday night against a team that went to a bowl game last year, won their conference championship, and returns 16 starters. It isn't like a glorified scrimmage against a I-AA program would help our players adjust to a new system on both sides of the ball and get comfortable with the new coaching staff in a live game situation. No, it makes much more sense to make things difficult for ourselves, and open the season on the road, and make sure our home opener is also our SEC opener against Florida.

We're also scheduling South Carolina State on September 22, filling one of the open dates on our schedule. $Bill cites the desire to avoid having two games against I-AA opponents as his rationale for dropping the McNeese game and replacing it with Louisiana Tech while adding the SCSU game. His inexplicable decision to give up a home game for a game at a site that is neutral in name only (Louisiana Tech has played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport 71 times, and considers it their home away from home) is indefensible. We now currently only have four home games on our schedule (Florida, SCSU, LSU, and Missouri). $Bill says we will have a home game against an opponent to be announced on November 17 at Kyle, which will give us five home games. If $Bill somehow avoids screwing up the arrangements with Arkansas (do you really have any faith in him to get this right?), we could end up with only six home games at Kyle Field in 2012, with four of them being conference games. If Byrne does screw it up, as I fear he will, we will have five home games and seven road games in 2012. Why the hell would you want to shell out money for season tickets in that situation?

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I've been waiting all season to see the type of dominant effort on both sides of the court that reflects a championship-caliber team appear on the court for the A&M women's team. Last night, we finally saw that type of an effort, as the Aggies crushed Kansas State, 67-36. The Aggies used a dominant inside game and their trademark defense to tear apart Kansas State in the paint, and break their will on the opposite end of the floor.

Karla Gilbert and Kelsey Bone each scored 14 points as Coach Gary Blair rotated them in the post all night. Bone and Gilbert were a big part of A&M's dominance in the paint, as they outscored KSU 44-6 inside. The Aggies' defense was ferocious, forcing 23 turnovers, which they converted into 29 points. The Aggies held the distaff Wildcats to 19 points in the first half, and really put the clamps on in the second half, only giving up 17 points. They held the Wildcats to 26% shooting from the floor in the first half, then 20% in the second half. Meanwhle, the Aggies were able to execute their offense with precision, shooting at a scorching 52% for the night.

When our defense is playing well, it is like sharks sensing blood in the water, and the feeding frenzy begins. Last night, for the first time all season, the sharks were eating well. The Aggies move to 17-5 on the season, 8-3 in the Big 12, and second place in the conference standings. The Aggies play undefeated Baylor in Waco on Saturday. After their performance last night, it looks like the Ags are beginning to play well at exactly the right time.

As A&M enters the SEC, they return all of their starting offensive linemen from last season, with bookend tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews, guards Jarvis Harrison and Cedric Ogbuehi, and center Patrick Lewis all coming back. Key reserves Rhontae Scales and Shep Klinke also return. We redshirted Joseph Cheek last season, and 2011 signees Ben Compton and Shayvion Hatten were both moved to the defensive line, so we're returning one player from the 2011 class to help us on the OL. We signed three OL in the 2012 class in Germain Ifedi, Mike Matthews, and Kimo Tipoti. I think we'll try to redshirt Ifedi and Tipoti, and Matthews may see time as a backup to Patrick Lewis this season, so he will be ready to take over as starter in 2013. We will return both of our tackles and our guards in 2013, needing to replace only Lewis at center, so we appear to be set early on at offensive line. We will have redshirt freshmen in Tipoti and Ifedi, redshirt sophomore Joseph Cheek, redshirt juniors Garret Gramling and Shep Klinke, and a fifth year senior in Rhontae Scales on our depth chart. I'd like to take four offensive linemen every year to make sure we have plenty of depth to account for attrition, but I'd prefer it if we take five or six linemen in the 2013 class.

Ideally,you have eight available offensive linemen you expect to play every game, your starting offensive linemen, a swing guard, a swing tackle, and a backup center. We need to bring in two tackles to spend a year as redshirt backups in 2012. I expect Cheek to work as a swing tackle this season as a backup to Matthews and Joeckel, and eventually start at one of the tackle spots in 2014. We need to bring in at least two tackles so we have another starter across from Cheek, and a swing backup. I'd like us to take at least three tackle prospects in this class, so we have a prospective starter, and two possible backups for 2014. Germain Ifedi could possibly be that starter in 2014, but I want to make sure we have the numbers for depth behind him and Cheek.

Looking back at the 2009-2011 recruiting classes for Houston, B.J. Anderson signed classes of 5, 4, and 4 offensive linemen. After Hatten and Compton's move to defense, however, we essentially only had one offensive lineman signed in 2010, which will be the backbone of the 2014 offensive line. We need to make up for that shortfall by bringing in five to six offensive linemen in this next recruiting class, and shore up our depth chart. I'd like to see us take three tackles, two guards, and a center prospect in the 2013 recruiting class. I realize this will take Coach Anderson out of his normal rotation, but we need to replenish the depth chart. You can never have too many linemen in the SEC.

I've written extensively here about what I see our offensive scheme being in 2012, our first year in the Southeastern Conference. Going forward, I am looking for a way to see what the future of our offense will be, a predictor of where our scheme is headed. In 2012, I fully expect us to use 10 personnel somewhere around 75-80% of the time our offense is on the field. We have players in Hutson Prioleau, Nehemiah Hicks, and Michael LaMothe that will allow us to utilize 11 personnel, and even line up in 21 and 22 personnel in short yardage and run-the-clock situations, but I expect our wide receivers to get the majority of the work load in 2012. The question is whether we will continue with our focus on the passing game in our offense, or become a less pass-heavy offense and a move to a more balanced attack in the future. One of the predictors of moving to a more balanced, pro-set based attack that primarily uses 21 personnel is recruiting at the tight end and fullback positions. Researching fullback recruiting is problematic for two reasons: 1) Rivals doesn't list fullbacks as a position in their recruiting database, so searching for that specific position is impossible, and 2) Projecting running backs to fullbacks from high school to college is difficult. Often, a high school recruit who projects as a fullback is simply a larger-than-average running back who doesn't have the speed you'd want out of a feature back, but runs with power and shows potential as a blocker. So predicting our offensive future based on fullback recruiting is out. We are then left with looking at tight end recruiting.

For the 2013 class so far, per the Rivals database, A&M has offered three tight end prospects, all of them from Louisiana. As it stands today, Standish Dobard (6'5, 235 lbs), DeSean Smith (6'4, 222 lbs), and Deondre Skinner (6'3, 212 lbs) all have reportedly received offers. Skinner was being recruiting by Jim Turner, and was offered under Sherman's staff, so that information obviously is not up to date. Skinner is supposed to be one of the top tight end prospects in the nation, though, so continued pursuit of him would indicate our future intentions on offense. A&M already has a commitment from possibly the top recruit in the State of Texas in 2013 in WR Derrick Griffin. At 6'6, 215 lbs, Griffin has room to grow, and projects as a very big slot receiver who will move to tight end. Based on our recruiting already at this position, it looks like the plan is to move to a more pro-style offense in the future.

Even if we continue to run an offense that is pass-heavy, and do not attempt to become a 50/50 pass-run team, I like these recruits. Whe you have a player that is 6'4-6'6 and 230-250 pounds split out, it is a coverage nightmare for the defense. That player is too big for defensive backs to cover, and too quick for linebackers to effectively cover. Such players also allow you to exploit the middle of the field, something which we got away from during the 2011 season. I still think our best chance to be immediately competitive in the SEC is to run a pass-heavy offense to stress defenses built to stop the run, but future recruiting looks like we will move to a more balanced offensive approach eventually, similar to what Coach Sumlin ran at Oklahoma as offensive coordinator.

Following their 62-51 win over Kansas on Saturday, the Aggie women's basketball team has now won three games in a row. More importantly, the players seem to have developed the chemistry on the court that has been missing so far this season. The defense has forced a minimum of 20 turnovers their last two games, and at least 18 per game during this win streak. so they are starting to pick up their intensity.

Most exciting for the team is the emergence of Kelsey Bone on offense, who has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, including 26 points in their win over Kansas. With Tyra White, Sydney Carter, and Adaora Elonu on the floor, we have plenty of offensive threats on the floor, but Bone is becoming the offensive force we knew she is capable of being. With Bone being a force in the middle, it opens everything up outside for Carter and White, and allows Elonu room to function in the paint.

Last season, after a loss to Kansas State on March 2, the team realized they had to perform better, came together, and began the run that led to our national championship, suffering only one loss the rest of the season, to Baylor in the conference tournament championship game. I am hopeful we're seeing a similar experience here, where the team is now just beginning to click.

With games coming up against Kansas State on Wednesday and Baylor on Saturday, we're going to find out if we've taken that necessary step to begin turning this season into something special.

In 2010, Von Miller won the Butkus Award, and was named the best linebacker in all of college football. In 2011, after a season in which he tallied 64 tackles, 11 1/2 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles despite missing one game because of an injury, Miller has been named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Miller beat out defensive end Aldon Smith of the San Francisco 49ers, who received 11 votes to Miller's 39 from the 50 media members who did the voting. I believe the competition between Miller and Smith (who played for Missouri in college) for the award this year is the first time former Big 12 players have finished first and second in the voting for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

I have been poring through A&M's media guide for NFL information, and I think Von is the first A&M player to be named Rookie of the Year, so he can add that to his other list of firsts for A&M.

Coach Sumlin completed his staff this week with the hiring of Air Force defensive coordinator/associate head coach Matt Wallerstedt as the new linebacker coach. Wallerstedt replaced Nick Toth, our OLB coach who moved to Fresno State to join Tim DeRuyter's staff as their new defensive coordinator, and Dat Nguyen, our inside linebacker coach last season. Wallerstedt comes to A&M after stints at Air Force, Akron, Kansas State, and Wyoming. Wallerstedt is a veteran, with over 20 years of coaching experience.Wallerstedt continued the 3-4 defense after DeRuyter left Air Force, and has linebakcers leading his defense in tackles the past two seasons. Air Force finished #37 in total defense in 2010, but fell off to #65 last season.

Wallerstedt is an interesting hire, because he is older than most of our staff, and is a departure from Coach Sumlin's approach of hiring younger, up-and-coming assistants. Wallerstedt also doesn't appear to have any direct connections to Texas, although he was the recruiting coordinator for Kansas State in 2006, so he has recruited players from here. Wallerstedt worked in a 4-3 scheme at Kansas State, so he could be able to help with the transition from the 3-4 we've been running to a multiple approach using both the 3-4 and the 4-3 Under scheme. Being able to pluck a defensive coordinator from another D-IA school to be a position coach in your program is always a nice position to be in, and Wallerstedt is a solid hire. He completes Coach Sumlin's staff at nine assistant coaches.

Given our struggle the past two years to land defensive linemen to man the interior, I thought I'd go ahead and take a look at the defensive tackle recruiting in the Southeastern Conference. I went back and looked at the recruiting class just signed by all the SEC schools, and included the signing classes listed on Rivals from the preceding three years, to determine how many defensive tackles schools were taking each year. I realize some players move to different positions, and Rivals isn't the best gauge for where a player projects in college, but this would be a decent resource to use for my purposes. Given that the SEC is a conference dominated by defense, particularly defensive line play, I thought I'd see teams bringing in three to four defensive tackles every year to build depth, and letting attrition take care of the numbers. The results I found surprised me.

Alabama seems to be the only school that is consistently loading up on interior defensive linemen every year. If you had asked me before today which school in the SEC I thought recruiting the most defensive tackles annually, I would have picked LSU, just givent he success they've had producing quality defensive tackles annually.Imagine my shock to see that they took the second-least amount of defensive tackle recruits in the conference, behind Vanderbilt, over the last four classes. Granted, LSU's starting defensive tackles this season were Michael Brockers and Bennie Logan, who both were signed as defensive ends in the 2009 class, so the numbers can be a little misleading. Arkansas didn't sign any defensive tackles in 2012, but did sign seven defensive ends, so some of them will move inside and play tackle. Alabama would actually seem to be the school that could afford to focus on defensive tackles the least, because their base is a 3-4, but I guess Saban believes you can never have too much depth on the lines. You can't argue too much with his results.

The big takeaway from this research? We may have been worrying about our defensive tackle recruiting a little too much, and I include myself in that group. As long as we take four to five defensive linemen every year (we have five DEs and one DT signed in the class of 2012), we should be fine in developing depth on our defensive line. If we bring in the right numbers every year, the S&C staff and coaches should be able to develop enough players for us to have a formidable defensive front on any annual basis. From that perspective, what looks like an area of weakness in our 2012 class (interior defensive linemen) may actually be a strength. We have the players we need there, now we just need to get them on campus and develop them.

After LeMarc Strahan, A&M's only defensive tackle recruit in 2011, was unable to qualify academically, and Logan David, A&M's NG recruit in the 2012 class, was unable to meet SEC standards for core classwork, it looked like the Aggies would be without a true defensive tackle recruit in the 2012 class. Coach Sumlin & Co. delivered, though, flipping Missouri commit Edmund Ray over to the good guys. Ray, a 6'5 290 lb run-stuffer, chose A&M over offer from Missouri, Kansas State, and Illinois.

Ray plays with good leverage, fights off blocks well, and can project as both a one-gap and two-gap player. Ray projects as a G in the 3-4 and a 1-tech NT in the 4-3 Under. Ray does an excellent job filling the A-gap, and is relentless in pursuit. One of the key needs in this class was someone who could come in immediately and play behind Ben Compton and Kirby Ennis at NG/NT, and Ray appears to be just that player.

In a big area of need, Coach Sumlin came through, and landed us a player who should be able to help us for the next four years. After only signing one defensive tackle in the last two classes, though, this will be a huge area of need for A&M in 2013. Right now, though, I'm just happy we managed to bring in another player who can man the middle for us.

Video after the jump.

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I'm going to be at a funeral this morning, so I won't be around to give updates, but I'll be checking in later this afternoon. Per Rivals, the Aggies currently have 20 players committed, so here is to hoping we sign all of them, and maybe add a player or two in late signings.

The big drama of the day will be watching where Bralon Addison signs, and if we manage to retain all of our commitments. The athletic department is featuring signing day live on 12thManTV. Have at it, this is your signing day open thread.

The Aggies officially added another commitment yesterday, as Carthage ATH Edward Pope (6'3, 170, 4.48) switched his commitment from TCU to A&M. Pope can play either wide receiver or defensive back for the Aggies, and projects well at either position. His versatility, size, and speed make him a very big get for Coach Sumlin & Staff.

As a defensive back, Pope is the total package. He breaks on the ball well, he is physical against the running game, and he actually catches the ball in the air and completes the turnover on interceptions, something our defensive backs struggled with this past season. Pope also plays some special teams, and has the ability to block kicks.

As a wide receiver, Pope has nice speed. He uses his size effectively, and has the athleticism to high-point balls. His vertical leap has been measured at 38 inches. He tracks the ball well in the air, and has soft hands. He has a nice wiggle to him when he runs, and is dangerous after the catch. He needs to work some on his route-running, but he can fix that in college. Overall, he is a very nice two-way star, and we can use him on either side of the ball. He is a terrific pick-up at a need position.

Video after the jump.

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Kevin Sumlin & Co. added another defensive line commit to the 2012 recruiting class, as Euless Trinity DE Polo Manukainiu committed to A&M on Sunday night, announcing his choice on Fox News. Manukainiu is 6'6, 256 lbs, and projects as a strongside DE in the 3-4 and in the 4-3, assuming he will add ten pounds. If he continues to grow, he could even move inside to play a 3-tech defensive tackle.

Manukainiu played SDE in Trinity's 3-4 defense, and performed well. He is relentless in pursuit, and plays with great leverage. He uses his hands well to get off blocks, and is active, often able to overpower opposing linemen with a bull rush. If he comes in this Summer, he is someone who can help us by getting into the DL rotation next year. Mankainiu is one of five DE commits in the class of 2012 so far, so we're building quite a bit of depth at that position.

Manukainiu chose A&M over offers from Arkansas, Utah, Miami, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and many others. He is another nice pickup for Coach Sumlin and staff.

Video after the jump.

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Two late free throws by Sydney Carter, her only points in the game, proved to be the difference, as the Aggies hung on to defeat Iowa State, 66-64, earlier today. Carter was 0-4 from the floor today, but hit two free throws with 2.4 seconds left in the game to seal the win.

Adaora Elonu (19), Tyra White (14), and Kelsey Bone (10) led the Aggies in scoring, as they fought off a game Iowa State team. Iowa State shot 46% from the floor, including 45% from beyond the arc, as the Aggies struggled some on defense. This was a game of runs, and the Aggies were fortunate to step it up on defense at the end, and hold Iowa State without a shot on their last possession, as Nikki Moody apparently thought the shot clock was the game clock, and dribbled out the clock, turning the ball over.

The win moves A&M to 14-5 on the season, 5-3 in conference play. The women play their next game against Texas Tech in Lubbock on Wednesday.

The Aggies received a commitment from Elysian Fields Isaiah Golden (6'2 295 lbs, 4.86) as they held their first junior day of the year. Golden played at both DE and FB for Elysian Fields this year, and shows nice athleticism for someone who projects at DE/DT at the next level. He's only a high school junior and has another year to add muscle to his frame. He's lean at 285, so he's going to be a beast when he gets on a college S&C program.

He plays too upright sometimes and is raw overall, but that's okay, because I'm looking at film of him as a sophomore. He does a good job of using his hands to get off blocks, and splits double-teams will when playing inside. He was used in a two-point stance as an anchor end/LB at Elysian Fields similar to how we used Von Miller in 2009, because he has the speed to come off the edge and wreak havoc, but he'll move inside in college. He has the size to play SDE right now, but projects as a 3-tech DT in a 4-3 or a SDE in a 3-4. He is a beast of an athlete, and is a very nice pickup for Coach Sumlin and his staff.

He chose A&M over offers from Oklahoma and TCU. His commitment brings us to five commits in the Class of 2013, and is our first DT commit.

Video after the jump.

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Elston Turner, David Loubeau, and Daniel Alexander all scored in double-digits as the Aggies knocked off Oklahoma State to move to 3-5 in conference play so far this season. Turner led the team with 23 points, 5 assists, Loubeau had 13 points and 5 rebounds, and Alexander contributed 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. With Dash Harris sitting out this game, freshman Jordan Green ran the point, and the Aggies responded with their highest point total in regulation in a conference game this season. Green point up 8 points, had 3 assists, 2 steals, and no turnovers in 31 minutes on the floor. With Harris out, Green's backup was walk-on Zach Kinsley, who had 8 points, 2 rebounda, and 1 steal in 18 minutes of action. The comination of Harris and Tinsely was effective at point, because despite State's attempts to trap and press the ball, the Aggies were able to move the ball around well enough to get several easy baskets, including an alley-oop dunk by Daniel Alexander.

Alexander had himself a nice little game. Even though he only had two blocks, he also caused some altered shots on other attempts. His defense is an underrated part of his game, and he is active on the boards, too. Alexander is doing well off the bench, but is making an argument for a starting spot. Loubeau is smoother on the offensive end, but Alexander is more active on defense.

Today's performance makes the third game in a row in which Elston Turner has scored over 20 points - he had 23 against Oklahoma, 24 against Kansas, and now 23 points against Oklahoma State. Turner is really turning it on now that we're hitting the halfway point of the conference schedule.

The Aggies held Oklahoma State to 38% shooting from the floor, including 4-21 from three-point range. The defense helped fuel our win, as OSU was just jacking up shots from three-point range as they game score got out of hand. Considering the fact that A&M was playing without three starters today, this is a very nice win.

The win moves A&M to 3-5 in conference play and 12-8 on the season. The Aggies host Baylor at Reed Arena next Wednesday night.

• Randy Bullock, Jeff Fuller, and Tony Jerod-Eddie will all be playing in the Senior Bowl at 3 PM tomorrow on the NFL Network. Bullock, Fuller, and TJE will all be on the South team, which will be coached by the Washington Redskins coaching staff. Cyrus Gray and Ryan Tannehill were invited but are not playing in this game due to injury. Hopefully Fuller can impress on the field, because the reports from practices say he has been suffering from some drops, I haven't heard any reports on TJE, so I hope he is performing well. Gray and Tannehill should be available for the Combine and pro day at A&M.
• Congrats to Mike Sherman, who was hired today to be the offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins under new head coach Joe Philbin. Sherman was a candidate for the Tamp Bay Bucs head coaching job which ended up going to Greg Schiano. I actually think we may see Sherman be a head coach in the NFL again soon. In the mean time, I look forward to watching him work with Philbin as they try to rebuild the Dolphins into a winning franchise.
  
• On the recruiting front, Euless Trinity defensive end Polo Manukainiu and current commit Long Beach Poly DE Alonzo Williams are visiting Aggieland this weekend. I am hopeful we'll get a commitment from Polo, because we need to continue building depth on the defensive line. I'm still hopeful we're going to find some juco defensive tackles to bring in, because we need to fill out the roster at that position. Keller Fossil Ridge DT Aaron Curry reportedly does not have an offer from A&M, per Billy Liucci, although Rivals has him listed with an A&M offer. I'll take Liucci's word for it, because Curry seems to have listed every single school who has shown some interest as having offered him, and I think that is a little unrealistic. Regardless, we need to get some interior defensive linemen in this class.
  

The #6 ranked A&M baseball team will have their first team practice of the season tomorrow afternoon at Olsen Field. The Aggies will open the season on February 17 when they host Illinois-Chicago at the newly renovated Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park. The Aggies are led by three returning All-American players in pitchers Ross Stripling and Michael Wacha, and outfielder Tyler Naquin. The Aggies return 16 letterwinners from the team that won the Big 12 Conference (in a tie with texas), the Big 12 Tournament, and advanced to the College World Series. With so much experienced talent returning, the Aggies are expected to do well in 2012.

Stripling led the nation in wins in 2011 after compiling a 14-2 record, and Wacha finished the season 9-4 with a 2.29 ERA in 129.2 innings pitched. Naquin was the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year last season, leading the nation in hits and leading the conference in hitting with a .381 batting average. The Aggies also return Jacob House at 1B, Charlie Curl at 2B, and power-hitter Matt Juengel at 3B. Freshman All-American outfielder Krey Bratsen, who hit .332 with 36 RBIs and 31 stolen bases last year, returns in centerfield, while Naquin should take RF and Brandon Wood should play left.

We lost Kevin Gonzalez at catcher, and freshman catcher/pitcher Daniel Mengden or sophomore Troy Stein are expected to compete for the position. Mengden may also see some time as a relief pitcher. Mikey Reynolds, a junior college transfer, may take over the shortstop position.

I am hoping Ross Hales can work his way into the starting rotation, although Derrick Hadley and Denny Clemente can give us some other options there. Rafael Pineda and freshmen Gandy Stubblefield and Corey Ray should also compete for a spot in the rotation. In the bullpen, Kyle Martin returns as the setup man, and Mengden should get a shot at closer. Estevan Uriegas will also be used in relief.

We have a team to get excited about in 2012 as we take aim at another postseason appearance. It also starts tomorrow, as the Aggies get a chance to practice on the newly renovated Olsen Field for the first time.

There is growing support to change the number of wins needed for bowl eligibility to seven games starting in 2014, when the new BCS cycle begins. While no one wants to watch mediocre football, I'm not sure changing the eligibility standards for bowl games is a positive change. Ostensibly, bowl games are a reward for the players for a good season, and arguably a 6-6 season does not deserve a reward. When coaches are fired for going 6-6 in a season, you start to wonder why exactly the game is considered a reward. However, looking at it from that perspective ignores other opportunities bowl games present. In the case of A&M this past season, the Texas Bowl gave us an opportunity to end the season on a positive note, to send off a strong senior class with players like Cyrus Gray, Jeff, Fuller, and Ryan Tannehill with a win. Bowl games also give the team and coaches an opportunity for extra practice in preparation for the bowl, similar to an another Spring Practice period. In 2009, when A&M went to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport after a 6-6 season with a freshman and sophomore-dominated team, achieving a bowl berth was a season-long goal. The benefits of the extra practice showed on the field during a 2010 season when the Aggies won the Big 12 South Division, and knocked off two Top 10 ranked teams in the process.

If the eligibility standard for bowl games is increased to seven games, you are looking at eliminating some bowl games, because there will not be enough eligible teams to fill out the bowl rosters. While I am sure most college football fans won't miss the Beef O'Brady Bowl, Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, or the Compass Bowl, I don't want some of the traditional bowls to be eliminated. People can say what they want about the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, but it has been around for 35 years. Since the game is only a short three-hour drive from Dallas, the tickets are cheap, and you can hit the casinos before and after the game, it is a perfect day trip destination for a college football junkie. For someone who likes to gamble like me, it is an easy excuse for a long weekend of college football and gaming. I am also a huge fan of the Las Vegas Bowl for the same reasons, although it requires a plane flight from Dallas to get there.

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We have all heard the mantra: You can't run the spread offense in the SEC, the defenses are too good. It is just like the mantra that the spread offense won't work in the NFL, the defenses are too fast for it to work. Somehow, the New England Patriots have ridden the spread offense to their second Super Bowl appearance in the last four years, but that still doesn't dissuade the critics. Likewise, despite the success of several teams running the spread in the Southeastern Conference, the myth that the offense cannot be successful in the SEC, or that you can't win championships running the spread in the SEC continues.

Critics of the spread offense will plug their ears at this news, but the spread offense is being run successfully in the SEC today. The team that led the SEC in total offense in 2011 was Arkansas, which has been running Bobby Petrino's spread offense since he arrived in Fayetteville in 2008. Arkansas finished the 2011 season averaging 445.8 yards per game, better than second-place Alabama by a whole 7.4 ypg average. Arkansas also unsurprisingly finished first in the conference in passing offense in 2011 with an average of 307.8 ypg. This is a whole 65 yards better than the second-place finisher Tennessee, who averaged just 242 ypg passing. The high offensive rankings and superior production in the spread offense isn't anything new for Arkansas; they finished #9 in the nation and #2 in the SEC in total offense in 2010, averaging a solid 482.5 yards per game. The team ahead of them in both the national and conference rankings? Auburn, at 499.2 yards per game, finished #7 in the nation and #1 in the SEC in total offense in 2010 while running a spread offense. Auburn also won the BCS championship game for the 2010 season. In the 2011 season, Auburn finished #100 in the nation in total offense running the same scheme they ran in 2010. The difference between the two Auburn teams? Player experience and personal excellence.

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