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

Q: Why can’t we stop the inside running game of opponents?

Scheme?

Execution?

Lack of size?

Terrible linebacker play?

All the above?

Was just shocked how Kentucky man handled us running the ball up the middle. (Maroon1)

A: Really, it hasn’t been the inside running game that has bothered me, it’s been the outside running game. The only three teams to successfully run up the middle the last couple of years have been Missouri, with their stud backs, Texas and Kentucky. Bluntly, execution, bad linebacker play and a lack of effort stood out to me. They have big enough players. They have fast linemen. But they just got flat whipped at the point of attack Saturday and I expect that other teams will keep trying that until the Aggies stop it.

Q: Is it too early to be able to assess the recruiting damage inflicted by not only last weekend’s sh!t show, but our less-than-stellar play so far this season? Opposing coaches are bound to be all over that on the recruiting trail, and recruits ain’t blind. (Froppe)

A: So far, there hasn’t been any. LSU tried to get future 5-star QB Donald Tabron in this weekend and he isn’t visiting Baton Rouge. I have heard nothing about 2027 commits wavering. Then again, they probably have pretty significant reasons not to, if you know what I mean.

Q: Seems like Elko has a plan for NIL to try and keep a pay scale in line with the team. I get it in that how do you pay say Cam Coleman more than Mario Craver. OTOH, do we need to reevaluate that policy to sign top portal players?

A: Last year, they did go after some of the top players. KC Concepcion was the top wideout in the eyes of a lot of observers, while Craver was the one who was the sneaky pickup. And they did go after some big names this year as well — Isaiah Horton comes to mind immediately. Ray Coney didn’t get a lot of attention because he was at Tulsa, but he was in demand. So was Tawfiq Byard. I think it really comes down to what your numbers are. The Aggies needed a lot of help on both lines, so that cut into what they could pay for Coleman. And it’s not really a matter of Elko’s grand plan, it’s a matter of what you can do with the cash on hand.

Last weekend, looking ahead to LSU? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)

Maybe. It would explain a few things, that’s for sure. But if they needed a reality check, they got slapped in the face with one.

Q: Have we overestimated the team somewhat by discounting the fact that we have a new OC and DC? Saban was a master of switching coordinators every year but Elko hasn’t yet earned Saban-like status. 

A: Maybe. But Elko’s still got the play sheet on defense, so he’s making those calls. And a lot of the issues with the offense aren’t play calls, they’re bad execution. But it was about week four last year when the defense really settled in, while the offense was hit or miss for a few weeks before catching up. It may still be premature to pass any judgments. 

Also, when I watch other teams, the players often look like 30-year-old men. By comparison, our guys look like kids, with a few exceptions. Does it ever seem that way to you? Maybe I should just wear my glasses more. Thank you.(Kneuse)

Not since the Sumlin era. Certainly not now. 

Q: If you were Elko, what would you have said to the team post game last week? 

I did not have you prepared. I’m sorry for that. You did not execute and did not show the effort that is expected in this program, and you should be sorry about that. That is not how this program has operated and it is not how it will operate moving forward. This game is over, it’s dead and buried and LSU will beat you to a pulp if you don’t start concentrating on them about…now.

On a more positive note (obviously not fb related), my wife and I visited St Wolfgang, on Wolfgangsee Lake in Austria, per a comment you made on how beautiful it was earlier this year. It is. We spent a great day in the area, mostly in the town. Question is, any other great places you have been? (GasAg90)

Zermatt, in Switzerland, is gorgeous. It’s at the foot of the Matterhorn, so the views are amazing. Salzburg is a very pretty town. I didn’t get to see much of Vienna. Stateside, I love Flagstaff, Ariz. Most people think of Arizona as all desert, but Flagstaff almost has an Alpine feel to it. And, of course, I love Charleston and Savannah.

Q: Do you know what KJ’s more recent injuries were, specifically? Dating back to his senior year of HS. Is there a pattern? He’s not going to become Randy Simmons redux is he? (H273)

A: No, I don’t know what the recent injuries were. I can only tell you this: First two days of spring ball, he was out there. Then he wasn’t. Then he played in the spring game and came out of that. And got nicked up in the summer and came back from that. And now he’s left two of three games with some kind of injury. That concerns me.

Q: Why has there not been more questions of Hemphill going away from what has made Elko’s defenses so good (exotic blitzing) and is there a chance Elko once again has to take a larger role in defensive play calling? (LonestarAg05)

A: He was asked about it on Monday and said that there had been no changes to the defense and they’re doing the same things, but the number of blitzes called so far has been cut about in half. Elko said that a lot of that had to do with facing RPO offenses, but it was plainly obvious that they were trying to get pressure with four almost exclusively and it didn’t work. I have to think that they’ll change that up this week, but Sam Leavitt can run too.