1. The bye week came at a good time for the Aggies. It came at a better time for me, because I have a pinched nerve in my neck that is causing pain down my left arm. That makes it tough to type, sure, but it also makes facepalming very difficult. Hopefully we can get this sorted out in the next 10 days.

2. One of the biggest disappointments of the season, for me, has been the defensive line. I thought the depth on the interior would allow for the Aggies to be better against the run, and the new arrivals have largely been a bust. Anto Saka was supposed to help the pass rush, and he and Ryan Henderson have made very little impact. T.J. Searcy is the best end on the team right now and it’s not really close. Marco Jones is the only other one who has consistently shown up. It’s a real letdown.

3. All summer we heard about how good the secondary was going to be and, so far, it’s been cataclysmically bad. Let’s not be subtle about it. There are repeated busts, guys running free in the secondary and poor tackling from the safeties. These guys were supposed to be elite. They need to finish strong to be considered average.

4. Who’s the best player on the team right now? Would it be a stretch to say it’s KJ Edwards? I don’t think so. Edwards has shown the ability to make a lot out of a little and he’s always moving forward. The problem is that he’s getting banged up a lot. He got hurt last year at Carthage, was hurt in the spring, got hurt in the summer and has left several games with injuries, including Saturday where he was off to a great start.

5. If I’m Mike Elko (which I’m clearly not), I’d be using this week as an open competition at just about every position — especially quarterback. If you, or your offensive coordinator, has so little faith in your quarterback that you’re running the football down 11 with five minutes to go, you have a major problem.

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6. If A&M goes back and evaluates talent in the portal like they did the first two years of Elko’s tenure, they’re going to be stocked again next year with what they have, what they can afford to bring in and the 2027 signing class. But the biggest challenge Elko may have is rebuilding the psyche of his football team. This kind of collapse can be scarring if you let it, and he’s got his hands full getting this team back to where it believes for the remainder of this year and moving on into next year.

7. My offseason priority list: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive line, corner. I can’t even believe I have to post those position groups. Well, I can with running backs because they were going to be thin anyway, but with the lack of production beyond Edwards, it becomes imperative.

8. One positive over the last few weeks has been the emergence of Kiotti Armstrong. He’s become TE1 and seems to be getting more snaps each week. I’m glad to see that because he’s both big and a good receiver AND because I was beginning to wonder if I had lost my mind banging the drum for him since early in his senior season.

9. There was a lot to like in the Aggie basketball team’s 94-88 exhibition loss to SMU, but there were three things that they need to fix. First, you need to shoot better than 6 for 26 from 3-point range (duh). You can’t commit 33 fouls (again, duh). But you need more than 11 assists on 25 makes. Buckyball thrives on selflessness and getting the ball to the open man. Eleven assists sounds like a lot of freelancing.

10. With the commitment of Dylan Jones yesterday, Bucky McMillan has landed the verbal pledge of three top 100 commits in 18 months. During his six years at A&M, Buzz Williams signed two top 100 commits, both in 2020 — Manny Obaseki and Jaxson Robinson. So he coached another four seasons at A&M and never got another top 100 recruit. But darn if he didn’t have his reading list and culture wall.

Our sponsor

10 Things for Tuesday is sponsored by Brent Campbell, Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 1998. Brent is a Commercial Real Estate Broker, serving all of Central Texas and specializing in sales, leasing & development. He leads a retail acquisition and sales team and was recognized by the Austin Business Journal as a Commercial Real Estate Heavy Hitter in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024 & 2025.

In the last 22 years, he has closed deals with a total transactional value of over $400 million and has leased more than 4.75 million square feet. Brent currently serves as the president of the board of directors for Habitat Homes, Inc. and Pathways Youth and Family Services. He is currently on the Downtown Round Rock Task Force.  He is a former president of the Heart of Round Rock Neighborhood Association and a former member of the Round Rock Zoning Advisory Committee, the Round Rock Business and Retention Committee, and the City of Round Rock Ethics Commission, which has led him to begin developing in Williamson and Travis County.

An Austin native, Brent lives in Round Rock where he and his wife have raised four boys. Brent works for Don Quick and Associates, Inc. in Round Rock and can be reached at brent@donquick.com.