Apologies for the late arrival of these thoughts, but it’s been a busy day with Arie’s surgery and recovery. Thanks for your patience and patronage.

404 Preseason Polls

So the preseason AP poll is out and, of course, there is much rage to be had. Texas fans are mad they’re ranked fifth instead of first; defending champion Indiana is screaming disrespect because they’re ranked sixth. Notre Dame fans, many of whom went to other schools, are mad they’re fourth because they’re Notre Dame.

Blah blah blah. Preseason polls are useless on the levels of crystal pepsi and a history-less History Channel. They’re a complete waste of time.

Look at last year’s preseason poll: Penn State was ranked second and ended up firing their coach at midseason. The ended up playing the preseason number four team, Clemson, in a bowl game — the Pinstripe Bowl.

LSU was ranked ninth. Fired their coach, lost to UH in the Texas Bowl. South Carolina was ranked 13th and went 3-9. FSU was 15th and went 5-7.

In the preseason, A&M’s record looked like a death march. Florida, South Carolina, Notre Dame, LSU… Beat all of them — and critics said their schedule was easy.

So what was it? Did the Aggies negotiate a more difficult than average schedule? Yes. Was it as tough as the preseason prognosticators made it out to be? Not a chance. 

I wrote all that to write this: don’t waste your time with this crap. Number one didn’t make the CFP  last year. The national champ started 20th. 

National people do not know what’s going on at the team level. They just don’t. So they base preseason polls on last year’s results and guesses. So don’t be that guy (or gal) who cares.

The fact Texas is fifth to start is meaningless. What I thought was interesting was that they didn’t receive a single first place vote. That means the people in Austin, Dallas and Houston that have voters passed on the burnt orange darlings. Those guys are close enough, and it’s their full time beat, to know that team. And they didn’t prop them up. 

But then you look at A&M and the national guys are mouthing off that they’ll be the disappointment, unranked at season’s end and all that BS. And that’s because they don’t know the team. They just know it’s A&M, they lost players and both coordinators and they’re A&M and…stuff.

Hater: KC Concepcion is gone. The receivers are not as good.

Guy covering team: they got a big wideout in Isaiah Horton, Mario Craver’s still around, Terry Bussey is having a great offseason, Jerome Myles is healthy and Aaron Gregory will likely play week one.

H: they lost four SEC starters on the offensive line.

GCT: they added four SEC starters on the offensive line. 

H: they lost Cashius Howell.

GCT: Marcus Jones looks line he can be a monster this year and Anto Saka is an elite athlete. We’ll see who’s right.

H: Taurean York is gone.

GCT: Ray Coney is here.

H: Albert Regis and Tyler Oneydim are gone.

GCT: Did CJ Mims cease to exist when he transferred? Add in Angelo McCullom and Bradon Davis-Swain and they’re deeper at defensive tackle than they were last year.

H: They lost Will Lee.

GCT: They gained Rickey Gibson and Julio Humphrey is playing very well.

Every point about the roster can be counterpointed. The national guys just don’t realize it because they don’t play close enough attention.

The one area where they could knock A&M and have it be fair is the fact that Mike Elko hired two untested coordinators. But Holmon Wiggins has worked with some of the best offensive minds in the game and Lyle Hemphill is running Elko’s defense anyway (and Elko still has the playsheet). So that’s one where we’ll just have to wait and see.

But, for all these guys talking about how A&M is an 8-4 team just because of their jersey and past history can shove it.

Who’s shown me something and who I’m still waiting on

Before camp begin, I put something together about guys who needed to show me a few things in order for the Aggies to really be successful this year. Here’s some of them and where they stand (in my mind):

WR Terry Bussey: Yeah, he’s proven it. He’s the star of camp to this point.

LT Tyree Adams: The guy protecting your quarterback’s blind side may be the most important non-quarterback on offense. Adams did not give up a sack last year, but his run blocking wasn’t that good. But, he’s done enough so far that I think he’s going to be the starter A&M hoped he’d be.

RB Rueben Owens: Needed to keep his balance. He’s been really good in camp so far, including keeping his balance. Jamarion Morrow and KJ Edwards have pushed him and he’s responded.

DT Angelo McCullom: He needs to be the third tackle. Haven’t heard anything indicating he isn’t, but would like to hear more about the positives.

DEs Marco Jones and Anto Saka: Yeah, they’ve done what they’ve needed to do. I think that duo will be nasty.

CB Rickey Gibson: He’s looked really good so far, and that’s what the Aggies needed — an All-SEC caliber corner at full health.

HabEmus Aggie Papam!

At the end of the spring, A&M basketball Coach Bucky McMillan said he was going to hold off on using his last roster spot until later in the cycle to see what was out there and could fill the team’s needs. That ended up being a pretty smart move, because the court injunction that made 2022 signees eligible again allowed them to pick up former Texas guard Jordan Pope.

It’s always fun when a player defects from Texas to go to A&M. The Longhorns may not have had room for him, but he fits the Aggie squad like a glove. Pope is a guy who has plenty of SEC experience, averaging 11 and 13.1 points per game at Texas in 2024-25 and 2025-26. He’s got a better than 2:1 assist to turnover ratio and has never shot less than 36.4% from 3-point range at either Texas or Oregon State. He’s shot between 37.1% and 37.7% from 3 in his other three seasons, and he’s shot 83.6% or better (topping out at 87.7%) from the line during his career. He’s a consistent shooter and effective scorer.

The Aggies have added a ton of offensive firepower this offseason, with Pope joining PJ Haggerty, Jalen Shelley, Jalen Reece, Lukas Walls and Tyshawn Archie out of the portal. They also have a fully healthy Mackenzie Mgbako, who can score in the post or beyond the arc.

Adding Pope gives the Aggies some cushion in case former NBA G-Leaguer Bryson Warren is ruled ineligible. There’s optimism Warren will get the nod, which would give the Aggies a ridiculous number of scorers on this upcoming season’s roster.

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