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

Q: What’s the story with why the new Nickel from Fl reclassified?

A: He was having eligibility issues, from what I read and heard. He played in West Boca’s first game, so go figure. But that’s the only thing that makes sense. So, since he already had the grades and the credits to get into A&M academically, he made the move.

Now that Bucky’s roster (other than 1 ruling?) is locked in, how do you see them competing in the SEC this coming season?

I think they’re getting overlooked again. I think they’ve got a ton of firepower this year — significantly more than last year. The knock would be the lack of size again, but getting Mackenzie Mgbako healthy and adding Josh Irving (freshman) and Cade Phillips to go with Jamie Vinson gives them more of an ability to compete in the low post compared to last year.

Is there a list somewhere with 2028 recruits we’ve either offered or have real interest in?

I’m working on that. I’ll make sure to link their hudl highlights too.

How’s Arie’s recovery going? You didn’t give her a little bell did you? (Tsip Despiser)

It’s going really well so far. I don’t know if she can tell the changes already, but I can.

Q: What are the reasons/benefits for players to reclassified to a different class?

A: The reasons for reclassification, at least this year, have been related to eligibility. Loia Valade was likely going to have issues all year and John Meredith had already been ruled ineligible, so both just decided to head to college.

What effect do you think the G-league ruling will have on, say, LSU?

It’s not just the G-league, but anyone who had signed professional contracts. I would say that LSU, in particular, is screwed.

Any news on who took the most snaps at center with the 1’s during the scrimmage? (Rick77)

Oh, Mark Nabou did. He’s the first team center.

Q: Ancient history now I know…but still curious. What was the back story on Amari Daniels last year? I always thought he was a great talent who gave us a spark when he’d get in the game. And yet he was, imo, consistently underutilized. Was he hurt? In the doghouse with coaches? I’d get so frustrated watching Owens struggle with Daniels on the bench. What was the deal? Perhaps now the real story can be told? I’ll hang up and listen. (Win77)

A: He got passed up by Jamarion Morrow and, later, EJ Smith. I was a big fan of Daniels, but it was just simple production.

Q: Do you think that a change in offensive coaches, aka a breath of fresh air, could perhaps settle Reed down and get him to be more consistent?

I really liked Klein, but his history was kinda the double TE, bump ‘n grind, old school run it style. A more wide open, 4-WR style, with a moving pocket, just might help Reed do his thing. And we seem to have RBs who would do well in space, as well. I’m hoping that’s what Wiggins and the new QB coach are bringing. Of course, we still have to be able to just line up, play smash mouth, and get ONE DAMN YARD in the red zone when the situation requires it.

Your thoughts? (Froppe)

A: I think that Holmon Wiggins has made it a major point to give Reed more…I guess, optionality. There will probably be more four-wide sets, quick passes and, definitely, moving the pocket. Rolling the pocket will give Reed more of an option to run, and that’s what can set him apart.

Q: It might be a bit technical, but can you talk about the advantages and risks of moving Reed around?

RPO’s. Rollouts. Designed runs.

Misdirection off of rollouts like a jet sweep the other direction?

I assume there are some offensive line adjustments, like pulling a personal protector, that might leave a defender unblocked? (R23)

A: Positives — fewer hands in passing lanes, clearer field of vision, easier to use his legs and scramble.

Negatives — Cuts down the amount of field he can realistically throw to, doesn’t work all that well against zone defenses. 

Depending on how far he moves, linemen will likely slide with him. If he rolls right, Formby, Baugh and Nabou would move at an angle to block defenders from following him. Either a tight end or back will block potential blitzers from back end. That’s how Joe Gibbs did it with Joe Theismann and it hasn’t changed much since for other quarterbacks who moved the pocket.

Q: There is a lot of talk this morning about many players that are on NFL rosters coming back to college football. Do you see anyone that fits this category being pursued by us? (NemoJones)

A: There are some players that could hold appeal, but I think the SEC is going to try to slam that door shut hard. From a personal viewpoint, I think this decision is absolutely moronic and contributes further to the destruction of college athletics.

Q: Trying not to gulp the Kool-Aid on this upcoming season. Am I wrong or are you starting to sound a lot more bullish on this season than you have on past ones? (Thumbs-up)

A: Yeah, I’m afraid I am. I just really like the amount of depth this team has. They’ve got it at every position. If the offensive line is ok, then this team is going to be very competitive at the least.

Q: Who makes your preseason top 7 list of current players most likely to be drafted by the NFL for 2027? (AggieRider)

A: I’m not going to include redshirt juniors (Marcel Reed, Rueben Owens and Dezz Ricks) in this. So here are seven of them:

DJ Hicks

Mario Craver (early departure, but I think this is an obvious one)

Isaiah Horton

Rickey Gibson

Dalton Brooks

Marcus Ratcliffe

Daymion Sanford

We could go a lot deeper than that — CJ Mims, Ray Coney, Mark Nabou, Houston Thomas, T.J. Searcy, Anto Saka and Ryan Henderson, to name some of them. It could be another very big draft haul for Aggie football in the 2027 draft.

Q: I read that Notre Dame has a six-year, $18 million to $20 million per year deal with SoFi to wear their patch on the ND jersey. Do you know if A&M has any such deal in place? (Davidi)

A: Not yet, but there are certainly some options out there. I expect there will be a deal eventually.