AggieYell Mailbag

And here’s this week’s edition of the AggieYell Mailbag, sponsored by Tipton Auto Group:

Q: 1. Which class of 2026 recruits do you think will be able to make an instant impact next year?

A: Let’s get them on campus first before making any dramatic predictions, but I do like Brandon Arrington, Madden Williams and Aaron Gregory to make some noise. Texas A&M won’t necessarily need a corner or a couple of wideouts, but talent can speak loudly at the skill positions.
2. Anything new on Tristen keys?

Nope. I wouldn’t expect anything for a couple of months and the season’s well underway. Just remember this: A&M knows his (NIL) number. So does everyone else. It’s just a matter of wanting to pay it.
3. Basketball starting 5 prediction? (chickennugget666777)

Tough one, but let’s go with this for now:

F: Federiko Federiko

F: Mackenzie Mgbako

G: Rylan Griffen

G: Pop Isaacs

G: Josh Holloway

My confidence level on this is about a 4 out of 10.

Q: The UGA fans I’ve seen on social media had a collective sigh of relief when Julian Humphrey transferred out. I believe he also lost his starting job mid season. So it’s surprising to hear he is doing well. Could you go in depth on what makes him stand out and in what drills/situations he is shining in? (dP47)

A: It’s not that big a surprise; Humphrey has always been a good cover corner, but his tackling last year was…let’s say not so hot (cue replay of Ryan Williams literally running circles around him). But in the drills we’ve seen, he’s not afraid to get physical, he can turn and run and is really fast. I’ve heard he’s done well in pass coverage overall in 11-on-11 situations and in the scrimmage.

Texas A&M needs corners who can cover. Last year, they had one (Will Lee). Hopefully, with Humphrey around, Tyreek Chappell back and Dezz Ricks with a year of experience, they’ll have four.

Q: What can you tell us about Elko’s role during practice? More with one side of the ball than the other? (GMalone)

A: He’s all over the place. On Tuesday I saw him watching special teams drills, then watching Le’Veon Moss and the running backs, then he was over with the linebackers, then back to watch the quarterbacks throw to the receivers. He’s not a Jimbo, who was just watching the offense, or Ed Orgeron, who just watched the offensive linemen.

Q: Have you every allowed yourself to think about how good Connor could have been last year if he had these receivers? (KamdenJ05)

A: To be perfectly honest, I had not given it a single thought until I saw your question.

Q: A quick refresher of Elko’s base defense , is it a 4-2-5 ?

A: Yes, his base defense is a 4-2-5.

I worry about our run defense , does he have any concept of a 3-4 he uses or what would you expect if we can’t stop the run ? (Anon1751420326)

The 3-4 has essentially vanished from existence in the college game. One FBS team, San Jose State, still uses it as a base look. If Elko gets worried about stopping the run, he’d go to a 4-3 look, likely bringing in Daymion Sanford.

Q: What do you believe the chances are of Miles O’Neill playing a good share of backup QB minutes? Sounds like he is giving Zeno a run for his money… (RacerRod)

A: Right now, I think it’s about a 50/50 chance O’Neill wins the backup job.

Q: I waded thru the coaching staff directory and we have a lot of people working, I assume in Bright, and it appears a lot of duplication. But one name stood out because she is the Director of NIL, has a blog page and hosts podcasts, plus she has 2 YouTubes explaining NIL. Do most schools employ an NIL Director?

A: If they don’t, they’re fools. It’s a necessity in this day and age.

Have you ever met her? (h273)
I have not.

Q: In a perfect world where our RBs are healthy throughout the year, what is your best guess how the carries are distributed amongst them? Think it will fluctuate opponent to opponent based on matchups? (Naytch)

A: I think it will fluctuate opponent to opponent, but based on results. Moss starts, and he’d get probably half the carries if he’s having normal success. Big success? Feed him. Rueben Owens and Amari Daniels would probably get most of the rest. If one of them gets hot, they get the ball.

Q: is A&M doing something similar (to Virginia Tech) with student fees? (geb)

Virginia Tech is using approximately $10 million in increased student fees to help fund its revenue sharing with student athletes. As far as I can tell, A&M is not doing anything similar to this. In June, Athletic Director Trev Alberts met with the media and gave out some slides showing how A&M had been able to come up with $26.3 million in revenue for its allotment, and it came from $8.8 million in cost cutting and $17.5 million in additional revenue from the 12th Man Foundation and its new media rights agreement. A ninth conference game and an adjusted TV contract could bring in even more money.

Q: W/R’s rating out of HS versus NIL value transfering as an upper classman. Is it just me, or do many W/R’s improve after a year or two in college and increase their value and head to the portal? (Richard23)

A: I think you’re right in that wide receiver is probably the position group that sees the most activity in the portal. Players have one or two good seasons and put themselves on the market. That’s why KC Concepcion and Mario Craver are at Texas A&M and Noah Thomas is at Georgia.

Q: I know there are a lot of variables, but from a talent perspective, will the ‘26 roster be better or worse than ‘25 roster?
Same question, but replace talent w/ experience perspective? (Big Smoothie)

A: I don’t know if you can say better or worse yet. You can sure as heck say different, though. Here’s what it could look like, in terms of starters, for Texas A&M in 2026:

QB: Marcel Reed

RB: Rueben Owens

TE: Theo Ohrstrom, Kiotti Armstrong

WR: Jerome Myles, Aaron Gregory

WR: Mario Craver, Madden Williams

WR: Ashton Bethel-Roman, Terry Bussey

LT: Lamont Rogers

LG: Chase Bisontis

C: Mark Nabou

RG: Blake Ivy

RT: Robbie Bourdon

But Reed, Owens, Nabou and Bisontis are draft eligible after this year. I expect Concepcion will go pro if he has the year most think he will.

On defense:

DE: Marco Jones

DT: DJ Hicks

DT: Dealyn Evans

DE: T.J. Searcy

LB: Taurean York

LB: Daymion Sanford

JACK: Rylan Kennedy

NICKEL: Jordan Shaw

CB: Julian Humphrey

S: Marcus Ratcliffe

S: Dalton Brooks

CB: Dezz Ricks

(Humphrey, Brooks, Ratcliffe, York, Sanford, Hicks and Searcy are all draft eligible after this year)

That is very different and significantly less experienced. I like the secondary, love the wideouts and am absolutely terrified by the offensive line. Their running back group should be awesome, but they look potentially thin at defensive end. So there’s some give and take here, as there is with every differing season.

Q: There have been lots of discussions regarding our WR’s, and for good reason. However, based on previous year stats and talent, I think they will be fine and an upgrade from last year.

My question is this. To have a complete functioning offense, WR’s must be able to block and do it fairly well, or at least get in the way….. What are your thoughts with this group? Has there been much to see at practice? On the surface, this might be the weakest part of our offense this year.

Thank you sir, I’ll hangup and listen. (lskeen)

A: We haven’t seen much in terms of the wideouts blocking, but they know what’s required. And, if you go by past history, Concepcion doesn’t mind blocking. He’s the leader of the group, so hopefully the rest will follow suit.

Q: In the current era of college football, please rank these in order of importance in a players’ decisions to pick a University.

NIL
HC
Position Coach/Coordinator
Location
University/Academics
Legacy/Family

Please feel free to include anything I missed. (MexAggie)

A: This one is tough because it varies from player to player. Some put NIL above all else; others want to be close to home. So let’s go with a generic player you might create on CFB ’26:

Position coach

Head coach

NIL

Location

Legacy

Academics

Q: What’s your take on KJ Edwards visiting a couple of other SEC schools during the season?

A: I am definitely not a fan of it. I mean, he’s not the first guy to do it and won’t be the last, and a lot of Aggie commits who did this were Texas A&M Aggies when it was all said and done. But I’m also of the opinion that if you take visits, you’re not sold on where you are and are looking for a better deal.

Which school(s) are the best at using NIL, the portal, the “new” college football landscape? And what are they doing better than others?

I think that right now it’s Texas Tech and everyone else, though I’ll nod at USC. And it’s simple: they’re paying significantly more than anyone else. Someone made the quip that Tech is playing a 30% premium to get players to go to Lubbock, but guess what? They can do that.

What is the general schedule of the football team during the week? Such as, is every day/practice the same, or do they focus on certain areas on certain days. What time is practice? What times do they hit the weights with the new black death. More curious than anything.

Weight training happens at varying times, but a lot of guys are in the gym very early in the morning. I don’t mean 8 a.m., I mean 5:30 or earlier. Elko has varied practice times so far this summer, but normally they take place in the late afternoon or evening.

Give us an update on Arie and your mom. (tsip despiser)

Arie’s struggling. She has to have one surgery in order to prepare for the hip replacement she needs, and that one could happen within a month or we may have to try to find the money for it somehow — it depends on whether insurance will cover it. She’s in a tremendous amount of pain and needs a wheelchair to get around most of the time. Mom is not doing well. She was able to leave the rehab facility she was in after nearly passing away a few weeks ago from blood clots in her lungs and the inability to swallow, but she’s getting weaker and weaker. It really sucks.

But man, it’s mighty kind of you to ask. And I’m not BS-ing when I say that. It’s nice to know people care.

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