10 Things for Tuesday, sponsored by Ekdahl Nelson Real Estate
1. A just honor, but not enough
It was announced today that the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame will posthumously induct Terry Price in its class of 2023. It’s a deserved honor for the four-year letter winner and former A&M defensive line coach.
No offense to the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame or the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, which oversees it, but it just doesn’t seem like enough. I don’t know what kind of honor you’d give him, but TP deserves all the praise and recognition he could possibly get. He was a genuinely great man who is sorely missed.
2. No question about what his teammates think of Conner Weigman
Conner Weigman really didn’t need any defending after his performance against Miami. He needed defending DURING the game. But in any case, the way he’s been described by the senior leaders of the football team has eliminated any question about whether he can be the guy for this football team.
“He’s a great quarterback and a great leader… He was the most pressured quarterback this week and played pretty well. He cares. He wants to win. He tries to bring everybody along with him,” Ainias Smith said Monday. That’s after Layden Robinson emotionally backed Weigman shortly after he loss Saturday. When guys who are universally respected say things like that, you know you’ve got your quarterback for now and the future.
3. AInias and Moose may be the keys
There’s no doubt Weigman likes him some Evan Stewart — Stewart is fifth in the nation in receiving yards through two games. But teams realize that and are going to start swinging their coverages to Stewart as well as continuing to blitz. The hot read, which is usually Ainias or Moose Muhammad, needs to be something Weigman looks for more often. We know Ainias can make plays; Moose needs that chance as well. 12 snaps last weekend wasn’t enough for him.
4. Vegas likes the Aggies a lot this weekend
When the A&M-ULM line opened, it was put at -31 (in other words, A&M was favored by 31). It quickly jumped up to -37, and now it’s at -36. The over/under is 53.5, which basically means Vegas expects A&M to score a lot and ULM to…well, to do not much.
5. Shemars playing well
The Aggies have struggled with a pass rush so far this year, but two players have been able to get a little pressure: Shemar Turner and Shemar Stewart. Turner leads the team with two sacks — if he gets another, he ties the team high from last year, which is sad -and forced a fumble, while Stewart picked up a sack and applied some legitimate pressure last weekend.
The Aggies aren’t going to solve their defensive problems unless they get more pressure on the quarterback. If they start blitzing and allow for the linemen to get one-on-one matchups, the Shemars could really take off.
6. Much better against the run
After being 123rd in the nation against the run last year, the Aggies are 29th in the country in rush defense after two games. And, if you’ll recall, Appalachian State basically force fed the run down A&M’s throat in week 2, so this is a massive improvement year-over-year. I personally think that, if the rotations get tighter up front, the rush defense will get even better.
7. Terrible against the pass, and two things have to change
After being picked apart by Tyler Van Dyke last weekend, who could have pitched a tent and had a mimosa on most dropbacks, the Aggies are 98th in the nation in pass defense. That’s absolutely unacceptable and has to change immediately. And it can (and should). The first thing that needs to happen is an increase in pressure on the quarterback, something Jimbo Fisher has said repeatedly since I asked him about it Saturday night. It’s obvious, so it’s not like I’m a genius. It was just my turn to ask a question.
But the cornerback play was also atrocious, and A&M would be making a massive mistake if they didn’t explore other options.
8. I have two players in mind
Particularly, I’m thinking about Tony Grimes and Sam McCall. They thought enough of these guys to go out and get them out of the portal, so it’s time to see if they.were worth the effort. Jayvon Thomas is experiencing the normal life of a true freshman and Josh DeBerry and Tyreek Chappell had what can politely be called weak performances last Saturday. So why not see what others can do? ULM seems like a great opportunity for a live-fire proving ground.
9. Use the opportunity presented
The season has started. The time for secrecy is out the window. If you’re going to make changes to your gameplan, specifically on defense, do it now. Do it against ULM. If you’re going to increase the ways to apply pressure, do it Saturday. Don’t mess around and try to catch Auburn napping — get your guys the work they need against a real life opponent. If they don’t, and we see the same old stuff defensively, a lot of people may stroke out.
10. Moss’s absence was bigger than people realize
Le’Veon Moss’s inability to go last weekend due to an injury suffered late last week messed up the Aggie offense in multiple ways. First, it eliminated A&M’s primary short-yardage back, and he was missed on the 4th and 1 play inside the 5 and on the play where Amari Daniels fumbled near midfield. He would have been in for both of those plays. He’s also the power dose among the trio of backs, especially as Rueben Owens figures things out. He’s also a solid pass blocker, something that gets overlooked. He would have really helped last weekend.
