KL3
08-23-2005, 04:21 PM
This is from ESPN Insider........................
Looking for a dark-horse pick to get to Pasadena? I think I've got one. The pitch here starts with the team's dynamic playmaking QB, but it goes deeper: These guys have a speedy tailback with a lot to prove; a ton of experienced front-line beef; eight ferocious D-linemen to anchor the defense; and some fast veteran linebackers. Sound pretty good? Yeah, I think so, but the Texas bandwagon I'm jumping on actually is parked in College Station, not Austin.
Reason No. 1: Reggie McNeal, the guy who should be drawing the biggest Heisman buzz from this league. I think he's the Dontrelle Willis of college football. (Offbeat explanation: too many people got caught up in the flash and lost sight of the guy's keen sense of the strike zone until his success became so glowing you couldn't overlook it.)
The Dallas Morning News had a feature on McNeal the other day, and it touched on a couple of issues I think are key to why the guy probably means as much to his program as anyone in the country.
"McNeal's electrifying offensive abilities are also changing perceptions of Aggie football. No longer is A&M known only for defense and running backs. If McNeal succeeds in the pros, that would further remake the image. Only three Aggies quarterbacks have been drafted in the last 45 years, none since [Bucky] Richardson in 1992 and none higher than the eighth round."
In truth, this is really a Big 12 issue more than just an A&M one because the league hasn't produced any QBs who are excelling at the next level. But I think McNeal is a guy with the tools that can change that eventually.
"We like the progress he has made," one pro scout says of the 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior. "The guy is one of those who seems to get better every week and is a pretty cool customer. Three years ago, I would've thought we'd be looking at him as a receiver because he's just got so much speed. Not anymore. He's got a live arm, and he can play QB."
In a league with some very mercurial QB talent (most notably Texas' Vince Young, Mizzou's Brad Smith, ISU's Bret Meyer), McNeal is the purest two-way threat. He's a more polished passer than Young, and he's even faster (NFL scouts clocked him at a 4.29 this spring). Coaches I've talked to in the conference say McNeal's the scariest of all the league's QBs. Best of all, though, is the fact that the guy hardly ever makes mistakes. (He set a Big 12 record by going 213 passes without an interception last season, and A&M committed just eight turnovers in 11 games last fall.) And that's really saying something given that he often plays at warp speed.
That presence, Dennis Franchione says, grants him the confidence to call anything at any time. And we all know how Fran loves to call his "specials." I also think McNeal is really going to blossom this fall and put up numbers because of the addition of the young firepower that has emerged there this summer (WR Howard Morrow and uber-TE recruit Martellus Bennett who has been so impressive Fran has him operating in the slot some, too.) Those guys really should come in handy now that A&M lost L'Tydrick Riley, a rugged 238-pound receiver who had been a reliable third-down guy for McNeal, for the season with an ACL injury.
Another boost for A&M is that RB Courtney Lewis has Aggies insiders thinking he will be even better than his freshman form -- he ran for over 1,000 yards in 2003. That should open things up for more big plays.
Lewis is healthy again and stronger and more explosive than ever, going from 190 pounds to 204. These are all dimensions A&M hasn't had in any abundance in a very long time, but it sounds as though the Aggies do now. And, of course, having the right triggerman is paramount. I think McNeal's biggest challenge will be from a leadership standpoint. Knock Young all you want for his TD-INT ratio or his throwing mechanics, but he has a presence to him and his teammates really rally around the guy. Does McNeal have that kind of leadership appeal? To me that's the X-factor in all of this, and we should find out early.
The Aggies' opener is going to be a big test since it's at Clemson and against a QB (Charlie Whitehurst) who also has loads to prove. But I believe they'll make it out of South Carolina with a win and they should roll into November undefeated before a brutal final swing that begins in Lubbock, then takes them to Norman before ending the regular season against UT.
No, I'm not predicting the Aggies will run the table and make it unscathed to Pasadena, but I do think they are a team that should be ranked about 10 places higher than most people have them.
Looking for a dark-horse pick to get to Pasadena? I think I've got one. The pitch here starts with the team's dynamic playmaking QB, but it goes deeper: These guys have a speedy tailback with a lot to prove; a ton of experienced front-line beef; eight ferocious D-linemen to anchor the defense; and some fast veteran linebackers. Sound pretty good? Yeah, I think so, but the Texas bandwagon I'm jumping on actually is parked in College Station, not Austin.
Reason No. 1: Reggie McNeal, the guy who should be drawing the biggest Heisman buzz from this league. I think he's the Dontrelle Willis of college football. (Offbeat explanation: too many people got caught up in the flash and lost sight of the guy's keen sense of the strike zone until his success became so glowing you couldn't overlook it.)
The Dallas Morning News had a feature on McNeal the other day, and it touched on a couple of issues I think are key to why the guy probably means as much to his program as anyone in the country.
"McNeal's electrifying offensive abilities are also changing perceptions of Aggie football. No longer is A&M known only for defense and running backs. If McNeal succeeds in the pros, that would further remake the image. Only three Aggies quarterbacks have been drafted in the last 45 years, none since [Bucky] Richardson in 1992 and none higher than the eighth round."
In truth, this is really a Big 12 issue more than just an A&M one because the league hasn't produced any QBs who are excelling at the next level. But I think McNeal is a guy with the tools that can change that eventually.
"We like the progress he has made," one pro scout says of the 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior. "The guy is one of those who seems to get better every week and is a pretty cool customer. Three years ago, I would've thought we'd be looking at him as a receiver because he's just got so much speed. Not anymore. He's got a live arm, and he can play QB."
In a league with some very mercurial QB talent (most notably Texas' Vince Young, Mizzou's Brad Smith, ISU's Bret Meyer), McNeal is the purest two-way threat. He's a more polished passer than Young, and he's even faster (NFL scouts clocked him at a 4.29 this spring). Coaches I've talked to in the conference say McNeal's the scariest of all the league's QBs. Best of all, though, is the fact that the guy hardly ever makes mistakes. (He set a Big 12 record by going 213 passes without an interception last season, and A&M committed just eight turnovers in 11 games last fall.) And that's really saying something given that he often plays at warp speed.
That presence, Dennis Franchione says, grants him the confidence to call anything at any time. And we all know how Fran loves to call his "specials." I also think McNeal is really going to blossom this fall and put up numbers because of the addition of the young firepower that has emerged there this summer (WR Howard Morrow and uber-TE recruit Martellus Bennett who has been so impressive Fran has him operating in the slot some, too.) Those guys really should come in handy now that A&M lost L'Tydrick Riley, a rugged 238-pound receiver who had been a reliable third-down guy for McNeal, for the season with an ACL injury.
Another boost for A&M is that RB Courtney Lewis has Aggies insiders thinking he will be even better than his freshman form -- he ran for over 1,000 yards in 2003. That should open things up for more big plays.
Lewis is healthy again and stronger and more explosive than ever, going from 190 pounds to 204. These are all dimensions A&M hasn't had in any abundance in a very long time, but it sounds as though the Aggies do now. And, of course, having the right triggerman is paramount. I think McNeal's biggest challenge will be from a leadership standpoint. Knock Young all you want for his TD-INT ratio or his throwing mechanics, but he has a presence to him and his teammates really rally around the guy. Does McNeal have that kind of leadership appeal? To me that's the X-factor in all of this, and we should find out early.
The Aggies' opener is going to be a big test since it's at Clemson and against a QB (Charlie Whitehurst) who also has loads to prove. But I believe they'll make it out of South Carolina with a win and they should roll into November undefeated before a brutal final swing that begins in Lubbock, then takes them to Norman before ending the regular season against UT.
No, I'm not predicting the Aggies will run the table and make it unscathed to Pasadena, but I do think they are a team that should be ranked about 10 places higher than most people have them.