cougar14

I know Aggie loves to pound their SEC chest but there's some things you should take into consideration before you do. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia are the ONLY reasons for the SEC being as strong as it is, Aggie has nothing to do with it. Louisiana is probably the most impoverished state in the union and they produce the most NFL players in the country per capita. There's also only one school in Louisiana that plays in a major conference. Georgia is probably a fifth of the size of California and produces more D1 recruits, most of them can't get into Georgia Tech so the kids that stay in state almost always go to Georgia. Florida produces the most high end D1 recruits in the country, and what do you know, they've won 3 of the last 7 national titles. Eventually you'll see recruits looks at losses as just that, losses. James Franklin leaves Vandy and their recruiting class drops into the mid-40's, they're in the SEC and they were winning, what happened? Mizzou just played for the SEC title, something A&M hasn't sniffed. Why is their 2014 class ranked 39th? Oh yeah, it's Mizzou. Keep drinking that SEC kool-aid and you might end up with a stain on your top lip.

So, let me get this straight. Manziel and Evans were both recruited by Sherman while Aggie was in the Big 12. Sherman gets fired with both of those guys on the roster. Sumlin takes over Aggie's first year in the SEC and goes 11-2 with those guys being the best two players on the team. Now, that's not because he can coach, but because those players got better by going to the SEC Right? 19 true freshman from the #14 class in the country in 2012(UT class was #2 by the way), but they lose even more games in the SEC after their first class in conference. So using your logic, the players they recruited in the Big 12 are actually better than the ones they lost more games with in the SEC? Hire Mike Sherman again and see what those classes look like in the SEC, you would be glad to be in the top 20 just like Mizzou is glad when they have one with Gary Pinkel who's a great coach also.

Sumlin got Noel Ellis the year before from the Edna Karr which is the same school Noil went to. I'm sure he was probably one of his hosts and had more influence on him than any other factor, even Sumlin and his offense. Either way Sumlin is the root cause for both of them to be there.

I didn't forget about Tennessee, I named the 7 teams I meant. You're kind of proving my point, the only difference is 247 has Ole Miss and SC a spot or two higher. They also put more classes in the 30's though. Your Tennessee argument is pretty funny, Texas finished 2-6 in the sorry Big 12 in 2010 and had the #3 class in the nation according to 247. A&M's class with Manziel and Evans was 31st that year in case you were wondering. Maybe I'm missing something, but A&M loses the same amount of games in the SEC that they did in the Big 12. I guess Aggie just feels better about losing to Missouri now because they're both in the SEC?

You keep drinking that SEC kool-aid. South Carolina, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Missouri, Miss. State, and Vandy are also in the SEC. None of them had a class ranked higher than 16 last year according to Rivals. So while half the SEC classes were top 10, the other half had classes ranked in the 20's, 30's, and 40's. Sumlin can get these highly recruited guys from urban areas because like McKinney said, "he can relate" to the players. You think Noil is picking A&M over LSU or 'Bama if Sumlin isn't there? Maybe Lanfear's comments threw you off, right after he said "they also play in the SEC", he said " . . . and they have horses right by the stadium". Things will start to tail off once recruits' hosts start to tell them about how they got arrested for what they deemed petty and how they have to go to Bryan to fit in.

True, once they got there all the guys you mentioned developed well. None of those guys that were drafted had offers to go to Texas though. All of them except Matthews and maybe Joeckel would've been a Longhorn if offered. I wasn't really talking draft because other than the last two or three years the players drafted from A&M and Texas aren't really close. Sumlin does have it going now though.

Well that's kind of true but not really. I put the link up so you can go back and check A&M's classes for the last decade before Sumlin got there. The top recruits from the state either went to Texas or out of state like Luck and Stafford did. The kids A&M used to get didn't have offers to Texas, much like JF didn't. Other than Joekel and Michael, I don't think Texas even recruited the level of guys A&M was getting. At that time if Texas wanted 25 players, they gave out about 45 offers. One time I saw they signed 19 from 33 offers. I think the decisions back then were either Texas, OU, or out of state as you can see from A&M never producing a class ranked higher than 15. IMO A&M will only be able to recruit the way they have the last couple of years if Sumlin hangs around. I think the Aggie admins see it too which is why Sumlin gets a raise for winning less games than he did the year before, yet Mark Richt and Les Miles are always on the verge of being run out of town for winning 10 games. [Hidden Content]

Texas has 13 current offers out to defensive tackles and what are considered strong-side defensive ends, which are actually guys that depending on how big they get can move down to the inside. English is by far the lowest rated of all of those guys, 247sports has only given him 2 stars. I don't think Texas recruited him very heavily once Strong took over due to the fact they're getting better guys. I also think English looks pretty decent because he play on a beast of a Desoto team with a bunch of other D1 recruits to take the pressure off of him.

Getting recruits like this is why Shaw's offer was pulled, that and the fact that Strong didn't even extend it in the first place. Let's see here: Bonney(4* w/ about 25 offers), Shorter(3* w/ about 25 offers), Deshon Elliot(4* rated #4 safety), Keivon Ramsey(3*/4* with the best range I've seen this year). Throw in Kirk Johnson who will almost certainly convert to safety, and where does Shaw fit? This is Strong doing work, he beat 'Bama, LSU and Aggie for most of these guys.

They seem to toss that word around a lot up there If that is also true. I believe JF got arrested for defending a teammate who was called the same thing(along with the ID situation), Johnny Jolly also had some interesting stories regarding that, and now the highest rated in-state recruit A&M has ever had? There is a lack of discipline that sometimes comes with recruiting highly touted/entitled players but it seems like there's some animosity to go along with it. Prime example is the Kenny Hill situation. The kid is passed out after a good night and kids start taking pictures and somehow they leave him there long enough to get arrested. In Austin, Columbus, or Tallahassee they might have still taken pics, but he wouldn't have been left there to be arrested(right or wrong). I think Sumlin's classr rankings might start to drop once recruits realize they actually have to live in College Station to attend A&M.

WOW! She's even rocking the #14. At one school they get tattoos to match other men, at the other . . . . Well, you saw the picture.

The Houston metro area. It won't be as nice as the ISD stadiums like Turner, Galena Park and Cy-Fair. Like I said though, it should be on par with Eagle and Maddry stadia. I think there's 9 or 9.5 million alloted for new athletic facilities/renovations.

I believe they're doing the Dayton type renovation where they turn the visitor side to the home side. Finally get the sun out of our eyes early in the season. The seating will probably between 7 and 8k which is on par with the rest of the district. We've already hosted home playoff games though.

When Crosby gets through with the stadium renovations and the new field house it will be one of the nicest facilities around here. It should be pretty close to what BH and Channelview have.

If you think that's high praise then you should have read what they were saying about Garrett Gilbert after the all-america game, was even the Gatorade national player of the year and you see how that turned out. Scouts also weren't very high on three star JF. Scouts miss on a lot of guys, especially west coast qbs which is the reason out of all the highly touted qbs from out that way Carson Palmer is the only one that didn't flame out once the game got faster. Smith and Rodgers weren't highly recruited like Lienhart, Sanchez, Harrington, A. Smith, McNown, Clausen, Barkley, etc. You should trust them more than me but I was the one almost three years ago that said Tony brown would be the first consensus five star from the SETX region, other people on here said I was dumb because there were players better than him in district. If it's archived somdwhere you can also find before this year I said Joe Mixon was the best back in the country, at the time he was probably the 20th rated back in the country but the film was telling me different. People were posting links showing me I was wrong, which I was . . .For about 6 months until they suddenly made him a five star. I don't go off what scouts say, I just put the tape on. ALL the qbs (Kolb, Keenum, Manziel) he's coordinated or hc'd are scramblers, Allen will be a sitting duck. I hope I'm wrong for his sake though.

I said Heard because a decent career with a good combine seems to put you at the top of the draft if you're a qb and he would certainly impress there. To be considered a good qb in the SEC you have to have the big arm or the legs to be able to at least get you out of trouble and Allen has neither IMO.Those west coast guys usually don't become stars in the south because they get exposed by the speed of the game. If they stay out west they often become stars though. Their flaws usually aren't realized until they get to the league but I think LSU, Georgia and 'Bama will expedite the process. That, mixed with the fact that I think he'll transfer before he can earn the job.

Heard throws the ball better than VY ever did. Much like Tebow, VY's passing efficiency numbers were off the charts because of how defenses played him due to the running threat. The only NFL throw I ever saw VY make in college was when he hit Limas Sweed in the corner of the endzone to beat Ohio State, the rest of the time his receivers were wide open. VY dropped the ball down below his head and pushed it off his shoulder, it was ugly and effective in college but didn't work in the league. Heard already has a good motion and if he has a good qb coach his mechanics will improve his accuracy. I think Heard is a better version of Tajh Boyd. They're looking at Blake Bortles as the top pick right now simply because of his physical tools just like they did JP Losman, Brady Quinn and Christian Ponder who are all trash. Heard has the tools so I don't think it's a stretch for him to be at the top of the draft in 3 or 4 years. Now Kyle Allen on the other hand, kid doesn't even need a jersey because he'll never play. That's if Murray comes or not. His film doesn't even look as good as the other top qb from Arizona who never got to play in Texas. Weak arm and no feet, typical west coast qb recruit.

I don't think they will. Heard has a chance to be the best qb to ever wear burnt orange. His film looks very similar to JF's coming out of Tivy, Heard did it against the absolute best competition in the state for the last three years though. He runs better than JF and has a much liver arm, he's just not as accurate right now. Texas will probably go away from the spread and run more pro-style like Louisville did under Strong which will keep Heard well protected. Instead of having to read defenses and make quick decisions like you do in the spread, he'll be able to hand it off and throw single-read play-action passes. If he figures out how to play from the pocket at his size and athleticism he could be in the first overall pick consideration like JF is.

7th and 8th grade boys meet today in Dayton. I'm assuming this meet will have some of the smaller middle schools in Liberty County in attendance with Crosby and Dayton. Should be some good competition tonight. I'll post results or things of interest once I find out.

These are the results from the 7th and 8th grade Nike SPARQ combine held in Houston this past weekend. Who knows if these kids will actually be able to play or not, I just thought it would be interesting to see what some of the better athletes tested like at 12-14 years of age. Nearly all of the kids you see towards the top of the list will play college football if they choose to simply because of how well they test. [Hidden Content]

I have two younger cousins that recently finished playing for Texas and Kansas who were both arrested for possession. TCU and Oregon's "weed scandal" both hit the national media. LSU and Auburn had similar troubles while Ryan Mallet(Patriots/Texas High) was arrested in Arkansas while he played qb for the Hogs. Two OSU's, Oklahoma and Ohio, had prominent players arrested for this also. They're football players, not choir boys. You're right OldTimer, it's part of the game now. Coaches will adjust like they did to the one and done rule in basketball.

You laugh but that would probably handle a good portion of A&M's arrest as well as other team's troubles. Once Sumlin took over and started recruiting the "players it takes to win", Aggie fans realize they have to accept all the issues that come with them. Guys like Claiborne and Noil don't necessarily come from places where morality is put first, they come from places that prioritize a way out of their current economic situation. Another deal is that pot doesn't have the stigma in those places the way it does in rural/conservative Texas so a bunch of kids would rather smoke than drink alcohol which effects your body a lot more. Sumlin's hands are tied on this one because if he comes down hard on his 5-star from NOLA it will be directly reflected in his recruiting class, I believe Sumlin could personally care less about kids smoking weed. Really though, if you're not into horses, what else is there to do in College Station besides "get right"?

Pretty solid performance from the smaller schools at Crosby's boys meet Thursday. I would go in depth but NS and Cunningham pretty much dominated everything placing 1st and 2nd in both grades out of 7 or 8 teams. After watching this past year's football season and seeing him dominate on the track I have to say that Calvin Hill of Gentry is the best young athlete in this area. He was the only kid from the local 5a districts to win a sprint(100m), but also won the long jump AND triple jump. We'll see Thursday how #6 from Dayton stacks up, should be one heck of a district meet though.

I will post the results from today's boys meet in Crosby later tonight or tomorrow for those interested in "pre-camp/combine" test results.

Powerlifting is my favorite individual sport to watch because it correlates pretty well with football. Track is my second because it tests the will, endurance and raw athleticism of the participants. . . And it too has a correlation with the gridiron. That being said, I figured it would be a good thread to start for the non-baseball people interested in middle school track and field particularly on this side of the river. So who/what teams did what where and which events is your school attending?