If you know the Huddle, you know what Thursday means: Mail cALL!

Q: Hypothetically speaking, could a school have a kid sign an NIL agreement that locks them into that school before signing day? So instead of waiting until December to sign the kid the school has the NIL contract signed in the summer before? He would still have to wait until December to sign officially but he would be locked into the school earlier through his signed NIL agreement. (WhartonBones)

A: Officially? No. Unofficially? There are a lot of NIL deals that are specifically intended to lock a player down. I haven’t seen any in A&M’s case, but I know other schools have had “third parties” go that route. 

Q: Has Terrance Kiel been benched, or is he hurt? (H273)

A: He’s a victim of the numbers game. Chris Hacopian can only DH right now and they want Jake Duer’s bat in the lineup, so that means he moves into left field. Jorian Wilson has an iron grip on right field, so he’s the odd man out. He’s also in a major funk, with his average dropping from over .400 on March 10 to .267 now. 

Q: I know that historically Texas A&M has put quality players along the offensive line into the NFL. Dennis Swilley at Minnesota, Cody Reisen at Cleveland, Richmond Webb at Miami, Jermaine Eluemunor at NYGiants. I believe that Jermaine and Jake Matthews are still on NFL rosters. How do you expect the 4 draft picks will perform over their careers? (Nemojones)

A: That’s hard to say. Luke Joeckel was the second pick overall and an broken ankle destroyed his career. Jake’s on his way to Canton. Cedric Ogbuehi and Germain Ifedi were good but not great. Kenyon Green’s career is not off to an auspicious start. I think Chase Bisontis is the surest thing and is a great fit as a left guard; the other three, I don’t know.

Q: Reading Sark’s rip on Ol’ Piss is funny and terribly sad at the same time. Is there any hope for college football to return to a semblance of student athletes? An unregulated pro league is brutal but that’s what we seem to have… (Camccrindle)

A: That’s what we had before, it just wasn’t obvious.

Q: Are we on the cusp of a couple more 5 stars and a couple of 4 stars?

A: Looks like it.

Will there be commitments over the summer months, and if so, who is most likely?

Personally, I’m hoping for Josh Dobson, Erick McFarland or Kaden Henderson.

Are we continuing to add members to the site? (Tsip despiser)

We are. We’ve surpassed the six month goal, but I want to find a way to pick up momentum.

Q: Did a lack of a scouting report help Blake Binderup and Ben Royo have the weekend they had? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)

A: Royo? Maybe. Binderup, that’s not an excuse. They should have had enough film on him.

Q: Predict the second string OL. (Ricky)

A: LT, Lamont Rogers; LG, Blake Ivy; C, Ashton Funk; RG, Tyler Thomas; RT, Robbie Bourdon

Q: First, Thank You!

It is refreshing to be able to read about Aggie sports, the schedule, results, where players land, what is going on behind the scenes, where the various programs stand (not just football), etc., etc. Not just “we are recruiting so and so and we are in their top 50.”

To my first question, where do you stand with subscriptions and advertising, etc. to keep this going. I think everyone on this website wants to see you succeed, one so we can get the information you provide and two we want to see you do well and take care of your family.

A: My six month goal for subscriptions was 400 subs. We got that in six weeks. I have a number of people ready to advertise, I just need to get all the info put together for them to see. Things have just been going nonstop since April 1.

Second question, baseball related, I know you said Terrance Kiel has not been hitting, but A&M would have won the first game against Ole Miss had he been playing in the outfield. Duer misplayed that hit that I believe Kiel would have made the catch and they would not have scored. Your thoughts as a baseball person on the importance of defense (preventing runs) balanced with hitting (scoring runs).

Again, thanks. (Sy81)

I usually say that pitching and defense win championships, but the Aggies don’t have pitching and have to bash their way to a win. So, in this case, they’ve got to play Duer. 

Q: Could you please answer in essay form:

1. Could the OL and DB recruiting classes be in the top 3 ever. If not 1, then which classes would you put above them. (Assume 1 heavy lean for both if you are confident)

A: In terms of rankings, they would be the best. But rankings and performance sometimes don’t match up. Jake Matthews and Luke Joeckel weren’t 5-stars, but were the best tackles in America in 2012 and 2013. For the DBs, this could be easily the best class if they’re not stupid. Denver Harris and Jacoby Mathews were both 5-stars and we thought they were going to be great, and both were train wrecks.

2. How close is Ray to being able to call the defense?

He seemed to be getting the hang of it at the end of the spring. Here’s hoping that continues.

3. Do you anticipate a heavier turnout at the next CS happy hour? (R23)

A: I sure hope so, but the company was outstanding at the last one.

Q: What exactly was Moss’ injuries that made him retire?

A: The ACL and that ankle injury he suffered last season. I don’t think that last one ever healed right and he decided to hang it up.

Have we heard any news about our recently drafted players or signed free agents?

Not yet. They’ve gone through minicamps and that’s it. KC threw out the first pitch at a Guardians game and pulled the saber at a Cavs playoff game, so he’s already big in Cleveland.

With this talent being infused into our defense, do you believe they can achieve the Wrecking Crew fame? I am not talking about the last 20 years because they were not the wrecking crew but of the 80’s and early 90’s WC.

That’s tough to say. Those defenses had speed and big hitters everywhere; this group may have that. But what they certainly have are enough very good players to fill a two deep.

In your observations, are our wr and TE’s getting better at running more precise and crisp routes? (LufkinAg)

Can’t say right now, because there’s nothing to watch (or nothing we can watch). I’ll be watching for that in the summer.

Q: Did Mace Windu survive the fall from Palpatine’s office? (AggieRider) 

A: Nope.

Q: What was our play calling balance last year Run vs Pass? What was our TOP?

A: It was almost exactly 55% run, 45% pass. They were 14th nationally in time of possession at 32:30 a game.

What do you expect this year under Wiggins? We know Elko likes to win TOP.

I don’t know what to expect. He likes motion, as did Collin Klein; he also wants move a little more quickly. I still expect that they’ll look to run first, but they may pick up the offensive pace.

Seems like the depth, experience and size we have built on the line we want to grind on teams a bit. (BRag)

Without question. The best way to keep opponents from scoring is depriving them of the ability to score. Having a powerful running game allows you to control time of possession.

Q: Does Jason Kelly have the national reputation to attract top pitching talent if the NIL is there? Looks like Earley gets hitters because they want to work with him. 

A: We’re going to find out. But, to be honest, this year’s pitching staff isn’t going to help him. I expect the Aggies will be very active in the portal looking for starting pitching.

Saw our long snapper, Jacob Graham, was invited to the Texans and Cowboys rookie camp.

Looks like those are complete. Does he have a shot at making one of their rosters? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)

Very few guys who go to rookie camps are immediately signed. It’s more of a “get to know you” sort of thing in most cases, so if something happens to one of their veteran long snappers, they know who to call.