It’s Thursday evening, and you know what that means: time for Mail Call!

Q: When or are you going to do “Let me tell you what I really think” again?

I really enjoyed those.

A: It’ll be back next week.

As far as our two deep at O-line, how many of them are legitimate SEC ready? Do we have a legitimate two deep at every offensive line position? What are your thoughts and opinions regarding the O-line (Spar2cus)

We know five of them are — Tyree Adams, Coen Echols, Mark Nabou, Trovon Baugh and Wilkin Formby. That’s the primary reason they’ve been projected as the starters. After that, I think Blake Ivy, Lamont Rogers and Robbie Bourdon are too. But that’s just my opinion.

Q: What was Brady Hart ranked in his class before he reclassified? I’ve heard he looks worlds better than he did last year. What do you see as the difference in having him for 3 semesters vs. him getting one more year of HS playing time and then maybe one spring in college?

A: It doesn’t take much to see the difference. He’s more confident, more accurate, looks stronger and just overall a lot more comfortable. From A&M’s perspective, having him come in last year was an absolute bonus.

Where do you think we rank in the SEC (and who is ahead of us) in terms of overall player caliber (aka star power), balance of talent at all positions (aka average star power across all starters), and depth?

I think A&M has a bunch of guys who could become stars, but right now only Mario Craver fits that bill right now. But guys like Rueben Owens, Ashton Bethel-Roman, Anto Saka, Daymion Sanford, Dalton Brooks and Marcus Ratcliffe could all make that jump. But in terms of overall talent and filling the two-deep? They’re right at the top. I have said several times that this may be the most complete team the Aggies have had in a long time, and I’m sticking with that.

When you watch practice, how do you evaluate? It’s challenging to know how good you are when you’re going against yourself. If offense moves the ball, maybe your defense just sucks, or vice versa…

Oh, it’s pretty obvious when something is going right and it’s not because the other guys stink. You judge the overall competition from the snap to the end of the play, the quality of the play made by either the offensive or defensive player and the level of athleticism shown. Usually it jumps right out to you. When they’re doing individual drills, I rely on what I saw the previous season or semester and judge them that way. 

What’s your take on our new DC. Will Elko change his involvement?

I think Elko will keep the play sheet, but Lyle Hemphill is definitely Elko’s kind of coordinator. He wants to be aggressive, get after the quarterback and create a lot of negative plays. 

Last one: Elko said best secondary he’s had here. How much extra time do you think that equates to on a drop back pass? How exciting is an extra second for a Saka, Jones sandwich? (MaroonMaverick)

A really good secondary may get you an extra half second to a second and a half of tight coverage. And that may be enough for a very tasty sandwich.

Q: Ok, I’m hearing lots of superlatives surrounding Tamarion (T-Wat) Watkins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I selected this player over a year ago as being Magic!!! Eaaaaasy now, he hasn’t done anything. But, it like that feeling you get about Domingo Bryant, Aaron Wallace, Adam Bob, Von Miller. T-Watt is gonna sizzle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your thoughts. (Nemojones)

A: Um…I’m going to wait until I see something on the field before I make a serious judgement, but I’m not going to thrown him into elite status right now. For one thing, he’s still learning the position. For another, he’s a freshman in the SEC. Third, he has some guys in front of him.

Q: Will Holmon be better than Collin in the red zone?

Or, breakdown redzone failures from last year and why we might be better?

A: I think he’ll attack it differently. Klein was really innovative between the 20s, then he kind of tightened up and only used a handful of plays.

Will we use the tight ends strategically in the red zone? (BRag)

I’d be lying to you if I said one way or the other. We’ll have to see what his preferences are, and we don’t know them yet.

Q: In your opinion which transfer player will be the most impactful and what transfer player do we need to be the most impactful for us to be successful this season on offense and defense? (Cgarrett5)

A: Offense, I’ll take Isaiah Horton, but who they need are some or all of those transfers on the O-line to be the most impactful.

Defense, it needs to be Ray Coney, but I don’t think you can overlook Anto Saka.

Q: 1. Any new rumblings in the ’28 recruiting since we’ve got our QB?

A: Yeah, I think they’re going to get rolling here pretty shortly. I’m expecting more commits on the offensive side of the ball this time around.

2. If you’re Elko, how would you approach @LSU this year?

Physically beat them. Go right at them. I think the Aggies have the advantage in the physicality department.

Give Arie our best. It’s next week, correct? (Tsip despiser)

Monday morning.

Q: Have you heard anything about how Brady hart has looked? He seems to be a totally different type of qb than Reed so I’m curious how he’s looked in our system.

A: He’s not the runner Reed is, but he can scramble. He’s definitely stronger this year, and he knows what he’s doing this time around. He’s easily QB2 right now.

Does Sark get fired when he doesn’t take Texas to the playoff this season? How sweet will his tears taste when he’s bitching again at the end of the season about having had to play Ohio state at the beginning of the year?

I have heard rumblings that he might get the gate if they don’t win the natty, much less not get into the CFP. If they aren’t in the playoff, he’s very likely toast. 

Give me a bold CFB /non A&M related prediction for this season. (Soggy Biscuit)

James Franklin gets Virginia Tech back to being competitive in the ACC this year.

Q: Any thoughts on Ian Thomas? (H273)

I think he’s A&M’s top choice at running back for 2028 and right now they have a significant lead for him. It would be an excellent pickup.