Aggies pick up huge football commitment...

[g$$]

Texas A&M picked up a huge verbal commitment today:

Von Miller
DE / OLB
6'3" 225 lbs.
4.6 40 yd. dash
De Soto HS

**One of state's elite players / Dave Campbell's 2nd team Super Team pick as a DL (for what it's worth)
**Projected as a speed rusher / OLB type
**picked A&M over LSU, Oklahoma, & Florida among others

A&M's class is taking shape, & it is nice to see them address the deficiencies on the defensive side of the ball w/ more speed & athleticism. Winning a few games helps, huh?

Anybody seen him play? I have not except for highlights.

www.rivals.com has more details on all the schools

[bulldogman06]

This is good news, where can you see his highlights?

[AggieJohn]

texags has a video on him

[g$$]

Need a bunch more cut in this same mold to bring back the Wrecking Crew days. Athletes flying to the ball w/ reckless abandon. A&M's defense scares me to death, & not in a good way.

[eagles_victory]

Originally posted by g$$
Need a bunch more cut in this same mold to bring back the Wrecking Crew days. Athletes flying to the ball w/ reckless abandon. A&M's defense scares me to death, & not in a good way. i think the days of the wrecking crew are over for a while. The wrecking crew wont be back as long as Fran is coach.

[CueroDad2006]

With the class the Longhorns have comming in,still going to be a few years before the aggies will have a shot at the top of big 12. Texas will have the best class in 20 years from any D-1 school.

[bulldogman06]

You can only have 11 guys on the field at one time, therefore quality is better than quantity. Of course Texas has quality, but all A&M needs to do is get a few more quality recruits each year to be able to compete with Texas

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
With the class the Longhorns have comming in,still going to be a few years before the aggies will have a shot at the top of big 12. Texas will have the best class in 20 years from any D-1 school.
Check out Mack's recruiting class back in 2002.

[wedo]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
With the class the Longhorns have comming in,still going to be a few years before the aggies will have a shot at the top of big 12. Texas will have the best class in 20 years from any D-1 school.

Thats a good pick up for A&M !

And your right Texas is set to stay in the top 10 or 5 with the classes they have gotten the last couple of years and this next year coming up.

[g$$]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
i think the days of the wrecking crew are over for a while. The wrecking crew wont be back as long as Fran is coach.

I think you're right. Fran is an offensive coach & tends to stack that side of the ball every place he has been. And trying to outscore people every week doesn't work in the long run.

We can only hope as Aggies to just show improvement & get more athletes on defense.

[bulldogman06]

I cant find the highlight video on texags....

[CueroDad2006]

Originally posted by bulldogman06
You can only have 11 guys on the field at one time, therefore quality is better than quantity. Of course Texas has quality, but all A&M needs to do is get a few more quality recruits each year to be able to compete with Texas

DUDE LOOK AT TOP 30 IN TEXAS THIS NEXT YEAR. UT HAS GOT 25 OF THEM........HELLO DONT YOU THINK ITS A LITTLE UNEVEN?

[bulldogman06]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
DUDE LOOK AT TOP 30 IN TEXAS THIS NEXT YEAR. UT HAS GOT 25 OF THEM........HELLO DONT YOU THINK ITS A LITTLE UNEVEN?

Cool, they have 25 people, and all of them on the field at the same time??? all those freshman? you get 7-8 good recruits each year you are gonna be good

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
DUDE LOOK AT TOP 30 IN TEXAS THIS NEXT YEAR. UT HAS GOT 25 OF THEM........HELLO DONT YOU THINK ITS A LITTLE UNEVEN?
Actually, it's 15, but I'll give you a pass on this one. ;) I have fat fingers. I know how close the 2 is to the one.

[CueroDad2006]

Originally posted by bulldogman06
Cool, they have 25 people, and all of them on the field at the same time??? all those freshman? you get 7-8 good recruits each year you are gonna be good


I WILL TAKE CREAM OF CROP FROM TEXAS YEAR AFTER YEAR EVERY YEAR AND KEEP KICKING AND KICKING CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT BUT ITS GOING TO BE AWHILE FOR THE AGS TRUST ME.
OH BY THE WAY WITH THERE LAST THREE GAMES,HOW MANY DO YOU REALLY SEE EM WINNING?
AND IF YOU SAY WHAT I THINK YOU WILL SAY,WE NEED TO PLACE BET AND MEET UP AFTER THOSE THREE TO PAY-UP?
TRUST ME THEY WILL GO 1-2

[HTripleC13]

Actually, it's 15, but I'll give you a pass on this one. I have fat fingers. I know how close the 2 is to the one.
Nice...

[bulldogman06]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
I WILL TAKE CREAM OF CROP FROM TEXAS YEAR AFTER YEAR EVERY YEAR AND KEEP KICKING AND KICKING CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT BUT ITS GOING TO BE AWHILE FOR THE AGS TRUST ME.
OH BY THE WAY WITH THERE LAST THREE GAMES,HOW MANY DO YOU REALLY SEE EM WINNING?
AND IF YOU SAY WHAT I THINK YOU WILL SAY,WE NEED TO PLACE BET AND MEET UP AFTER THOSE THREE TO PAY-UP?
TRUST ME THEY WILL GO 1-2

Why dont you talk to AJ? he has a bet up right now... actually, Ill make that bet with you. check it out and let me know what you think

[Old Tiger]

congrats:clap:

[g$$]

CueroDad:

You can only sign 25 per year, but some do end up counting against last year's class if they enroll early (so the # may end up closer to 30).

Called the 85/25 rule.

Since a couple are from out of state & others are not in the Top 30, your #s are off.

No doubt, Texas is getting great recruits. Let's be realistic though. And recruiting rankings are just that - rankings. Take them with a grain of salt. Not every 4 & 5 star recruit pans out, while other "lesser" known ones often do. Colt McCoy comes to mind.

[Old Tiger]

Originally posted by g$$
CueroDad:

You can only sign 25 per year, but some do end up counting against last year's class if they enroll early (so the # may end up closer to 30).

Called the 85/25 rule.

Since a couple are from out of state & others are not in the Top 30, your #s are off.

No doubt, Texas is getting great recruits. Let's be realistic though. And recruiting rankings are just that - rankings. Take them with a grain of salt. Not every 4 & 5 star recruit pans out, while other "lesser" known ones often do. Colt McCoy comes to mind. Colt was 3-star QB coming out and 15 ranked pro-style QB in the nation :) Just some info not stirring the pot. :thumbsup:

[bulldogman06]

Originally posted by g$$
CueroDad:

You can only sign 25 per year, but some do end up counting against last year's class if they enroll early (so the # may end up closer to 30).

Called the 85/25 rule.

Since a couple are from out of state & others are not in the Top 30, your #s are off.

No doubt, Texas is getting great recruits. Let's be realistic though. And recruiting rankings are just that - rankings. Take them with a grain of salt. Not every 4 & 5 star recruit pans out, while other "lesser" known ones often do. Colt McCoy comes to mind.

So would you agree with what I was sayin g$$?

[Old Tiger]

Originally posted by bulldogman06
You can only have 11 guys on the field at one time, therefore quality is better than quantity. Of course Texas has quality, but all A&M needs to do is get a few more quality recruits each year to be able to compete with Texas Texas has quality and quanity. As much as they rotate it's hard to keep up with who is in because everyone is making plays :)

[bulldogman06]

Originally posted by Tiger WR
Texas has quality and quanity. As much as they rotate it's hard to keep up with who is in because everyone is making plays :)

Oh yea, the ability to rotate in quality players is great, but it isnt a necessity, just a great convenience.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by g$$
No doubt, Texas is getting great recruits. Let's be realistic though. And recruiting rankings are just that - rankings. Take them with a grain of salt. Not every 4 & 5 star recruit pans out, while other "lesser" known ones often do. Colt McCoy comes to mind.
Two underrated prospects that I've been screaming about all year long are that MacDougal kid going to Baylor out of Iola and the Acho kid going to UT. Both are three-star prospects, but both will wind up on the All-Big XII squad by the time they're seniors.

MacDougald (sp?) plays RB and LB for tiny Iola and 'only' runs a 4.8. Thing is, he's 300+ lbs and projects to DT/NG in college. Best pickup for the Bears since Dominique Zeigler.

Acho (sp?) will be a stud at DE for the Horns. As far as top prospects go, he's the most athletic DE I've seen in a while. He's already 250 lbs and still has room to grow. Blows people up and will be a pass-rushing terror on the 40 acres.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by Tiger WR
Colt was 3-star QB coming out and 15 ranked pro-style QB in the nation :) Just some info not stirring the pot. :thumbsup:
Exactly. Snead was a five-star. That kid out of Florida is a five-star. McGee was a four-star, and McCoy may turn out better than all of them.

[g$$]

Originally posted by bulldogman06
So would you agree with what I was sayin g$$?

Yes, but A&M must recruit better overall & get more difference makers. Miller is a good start, as is Stephens, etc.

You make your living off the 3 & 4 star guys with an occasional surprise mixed in. Ask Auburn & others.

Texas comes at you in waves because they have so many athletes. That is the difference right now in A&M & Texas. Goodson, Bennett, McGee, etc. can play for anyone but the drop-off is dramatic while Texas has so much more depth.

Tiger WR:
I know what Colt McCoy was ranked. That was my point. He was not a 4 or 5 star guy out of HS. He has done ok, right?

[Old Tiger]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
Exactly. Snead was a five-star. That kid out of Florida is a five-star. McGee was a four-star, and McCoy may turn out better than all of them. A lot of McCoys success is the talent around him :)

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by Tiger WR
A lot of McCoys success is the talent around him :)
You're right to an extent, but his poise in big games is unreal. I like McGee and think he may wind up being one of the all-time greats for the Aggies, but I still think McCoy has the chance to be a Chris Weinke/Ken Dorsey/Danny Wuerffel all-time great-type of player.

[Old Tiger]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
You're right to an extent, but his poise in big games is unreal. I like McGee and think he may wind up being one of the all-time greats for the Aggies, but I still think McCoy has the chance to be a Chris Weinke/Ken Dorsey/Danny Wuerffel all-time great-type of player. Those are the uncoachable things and the type of thing that doesn't show up in the stat column great pick up BDR

[Old Tiger]

Originally posted by bulldogman06
Oh yea, the ability to rotate in quality players is great, but it isnt a necessity, just a great convenience. It is a necessity in the 4th quarter when other teams are getting tired and your guys are still fresh and you just pound them. That's why they say "late in games is when the talent of the depth chart starts to show." ;)

[g$$]

Tiger WR:
I know what Colt McCoy was ranked. That was my point. He was not a 4 or 5 star guy out of HS. He has done ok, right?

Russ made the same point I was trying to make. Colt has done great, & that was the point concerning recruiting rankings.

When I was at A&M, we recruited a guy named Chris Montgomery out of Euless Trinity. 6'8" 340 lbs. OL who could not run & chew gum. Very unathletic, yet he was All Super Team Dave Campbell's, highly recruited, best OL in state, etc. Big recruit right?

Coaches ran him off & claimed he had a back injury. Medical hardship waiver & see ya later. Nice guy though, a big ol' kid.

Point is take the recruiting rankings with a grain of salt. They are not the be all, end all for success. Bobby Burton & Tom Lemming want you to believe that. Key is getting athletes who can help you on Saturdays. Rankings should only be a cross checking device.

[GreenMachine]

Originally posted by Tiger WR
Texas has quality and quanity. As much as they rotate it's hard to keep up with who is in because everyone is making plays :) The talk is that Texas' secondary is banged up, but if ya'll have that quantity of quality, how come Tech torched ya'll for 500+ yds. passing? :thinking:

[CueroDad2006]

Originally posted by GreenMachine
The talk is that Texas' secondary is banged up, but if ya'll have that quantity of quality, how come Tech torched ya'll for 500+ yds. passing? :thinking:

AND WHY DID THE SAME TECH TEAM BEAT YOU ON YOUR "TUFF" HOME FIELD?

[GreenMachine]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
AND WHY DID THE SAME TECH TEAM BEAT YOU ON YOUR "TUFF" HOME FIELD? Never said anything about "us" getting beat, I know the Aggies defense is bad. I was referring to all the talent ya'll have, and are getting. If ya'll can parade them in and out, and not lose a beat, what happened at Tech should NEVER happen!

[HTripleC13]

The Ags play there best at home. If not for a couple of questionable calls in the Tech game A&M would be looking even prettier than they do right now. With this said, they have the next 2 at home where the 12th Man will surely be in effect. We all know what Kyle Field can do to opposing teams. Atleast it made plenty of longhorn fans almost wet their pants last year...

When you start talking about recruiting, you cant even compare Texas and A&M. Texas just came off a championship, so it goes without saying that they are going to pick up some hefty recruits. The thing that people should be looking at though is the fact that A&M has been succeeding this year with what some people see as "second rate" recruits. Granted McGee, Bennett, and Goodson were all first tier, but there arent any other big names being thrown around other than those.

[AggieJohn]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
DUDE LOOK AT TOP 30 IN TEXAS THIS NEXT YEAR. UT HAS GOT 25 OF THEM........HELLO DONT YOU THINK ITS A LITTLE UNEVEN?

texas' recruiting class scares me

[Old Tiger]

It is scary.

[mrescape43]

Originally posted by AggieJohn
texas' recruiting class scares me

They should! Probably 25% of them are future felons!:D :D

[Old Tiger]

:rolleyes:

[mrescape43]

Originally posted by Tiger WR
:rolleyes:

:D :D

[KL3]

Originally posted by CueroDad2006
With the class the Longhorns have comming in,still going to be a few years before the aggies will have a shot at the top of big 12. Texas will have the best class in 20 years from any D-1 school.

Texas might not even finish with the top class this year. Just b/c a team doesn't sign all 4 and 5 stars doesn't mean it can't be successful and win big games. For example, how many players on West Virginia did Georgia offer? Probably 1 or 2. And then WV beats them in the Sugar Bowl last year. Tech has beat A&M many times over the last 10 years and any given year there are maybe 2 guys in Tech's signing class that A&M offered.

A great website to find videos is texaspreps.net. There is Von Miller video on the front page right now. There is also a link to a database of a ton of players.

[Old Tiger]

Top classes are picked by how many "top recruits" are signed. Meaning 5/4/3 stars are signed. Just letting you know that.

[KL3]

Originally posted by Tiger WR
Top classes are picked by how many "top recruits" are signed. Meaning 5/4/3 stars are signed. Just letting you know that.

TigerWR, I've been following recruiting since 2000, I'm pretty sure I know how the rankings work.

[wedo]

Originally posted by GreenMachine
Never said anything about "us" getting beat, I know the Aggies defense is bad. I was referring to all the talent ya'll have, and are getting. If ya'll can parade them in and out, and not lose a beat, what happened at Tech should NEVER happen!

Young kids were getting playing time such as Deion Beasley. Thats why!! Look at the passing yards and the points that tech had in the second half ! Anyways stats are what they are stats in the end in the 4th quarter the team with the most talent won Texas! The W is all that counts.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by HTripleC13
When you start talking about recruiting, you cant even compare Texas and A&M. Texas just came off a championship, so it goes without saying that they are going to pick up some hefty recruits. The thing that people should be looking at though is the fact that A&M has been succeeding this year with what some people see as "second rate" recruits. Granted McGee, Bennett, and Goodson were all first tier, but there arent any other big names being thrown around other than those.
The Ags have actually signed quite a few high-profile players the past few years. The thing about being the third-best recruiting force in this state (at least since the re-ascension of OU and UT to the top of the CFB food chain) is that you're still the third-best recruiter in the state of TEXAS, a state that produces an average of almost 100 more D-IA prospects than its nearest rival.

If you add A&M's past four recruiting classes together and compare them against other schools, they actually have the ninth-best collection of recruits (over that four-year period) in the nation. Meanwhile, Auburn's classes were rated 15th overall and Notre Dame was rated 19th.

[g$$]

Good stuff Russ.

Like I have been saying, our state produces more D1-A talent than anyone else by far (396 last year, more than Florida & Cali & anyone else). There is plenty of talent to go around. Mix in a few sleepers & look out.

A&M has been getting good kids, now just need more of them & a few more difference makers like Bennett, Goodson, McGee, etc. Texas has just more depth right now. That is the biggest difference between the two schools currently.

And please Fran put some of these athletes on defense!

[big daddy russ]

A&M five-star recruits by year (Scout.com)

2006- RB Michael Goodson

2005- TE Martellus Bennett

2003- OL Jorrie Adams (was kicked off the team... former HS teammate Red Bryant-- a 3-star recruit-- has emerged as the star of this recruiting class)

2002- QB Reggie McNeal


Four-star recruits
2006- LB Misi Tupe
LB Anthony Lewis
CB Jordan Pugh
DE Cody Williams
DT Leslie Ray
TE Jerrod Johnson

2005- CB Alton Dixon
WR Howard Morrow
LB Jodie Richardson
DE Paul Freeney
WR Arkeith Brown
DT Vincent Williams
OL Michael Shumard

2004- LB Terrance Smith
WR DeQawn Mobley
QB Stephen McGee
DT Chris Smith
DT William Morrissey

2003- DE Mike Montgomery
DE Jason Jack
LB Justin Warren

2002- DT Brian Patrick
S Anthony Wright
LB Archie McDaniel
RB Courtney Lewis
LB Nurahda Manning
LB Kevin Flood
DT Brandon Fails
TE Quinlin Germany
TE Taylor Schuster
WR L'Tydrick Riley



A&M hasn't exactly had a shortage of elite players out of HS. These guys together put the recruiting classes at places like Auburn, LSU, Nebraska, West Virginia, Cal, TEXAS TECH and Arizona State to shame. I always say that a team with this much talent coming in still has that talent somewhere on the roster, it's just been lost for one reason or the other.

Sure, there are exceptions like Jorrie Adams and then there's the sad cases like that of Brandon Fails, but all in all there's still tons of talent walking the A&M sidelines. More than enough to where they should be challenging for the conference title every year.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by g$$
Good stuff Russ.

Like I have been saying, our state produces more D1-A talent than anyone else by far (396 last year, more than Florida & Cali & anyone else). There is plenty of talent to go around. Mix in a few sleepers & look out.

A&M has been getting good kids, now just need more of them & a few more difference makers like Bennett, Goodson, McGee, etc. Texas has just more depth right now. That is the biggest difference between the two schools currently.

And please Fran put some of these athletes on defense!
For some reason, all of A&M's high-profile defensive recruits (except for Justin Warren) seem to get 'lost in the mix,' whereas the ones at UT and Auburn always pan out. Funny thing is that it wasn't like that when Slocum was there.









Oh, maybe that's because Slocum also cared about speed.

[g$$]

Slocum = defensive guy
Fran = offensive guy

RC recruited speed over anything else & converted many hs offensive stars to defense. Guys like Johnny Holland & others.

There's the difference in a nutshell. Hopefully Fran will change his thinking to some degree. But I never think the Wrecking Crew days will return. I'll take a top 40 defense & great offense at this point. But special teams at A&M have not been good under Tommerdahl (return games are ok). That will cost you ballgames in a hurry.

Ex. Texas game last year = punt blocked, fumbled punt, shanked punt; game swung in 2nd half after special teams mistakes

Baylor game last week almost did too with FG blocked & PAT missed. Baylor was one play away from winning that game until late A&M score.

[big daddy russ]

I agree completely, which is why I really want Shawnbrey McNeal on this team. I honestly don't think he'll ever start at RB for the Ags, but he would do wonders for that defense. As quick and as fast as he is, he could not only overcome some of the deficiencies of a horrible DC (although it doesn't seem like Darnell is nearly as bad as the last one), he also has the closing speed to help other DBs recover from their mistakes. You get another speedster or two like him back there, it's a completely different look for that defensive backfield.

Now if we could work on the LBs (sans Warren) and the defensive line.

[g$$]

Agree 100%. A&M must get more speed & athleticism on defense if they are going to consistently compete with the big boys again.

Take West Va this year: offense is fantastic, & defense is ok. But they can line up with anyone & give them a game. Factor in stellar special teams & you can play with anybody.

And West Va has not had "great" recruiting classes by anyone's standards.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by g$$
Agree 100%. A&M must get more speed & athleticism on defense if they are going to consistently compete with the big boys again.

Take West Va this year: offense is fantastic, & defense is ok. But they can line up with anyone & give them a game. Factor in stellar special teams & you can play with anybody.

And West Va has not had "great" recruiting classes by anyone's standards.
Yes sir. Rich Rodriguez knows that he doesn't have the program to get high-profile prospects that Florida State, UT, OU, USC, etc do, so he looks for speed in the prospects he does get.

What's sad is that the only two high profile recruits he's had in his program (five-star RB Jason Gwaltney, HS c/o '05, and four-star RB Kay Jay Harris, HS c/o '03) were upstaged by a no-name freshman who just happens to now be a Heisman contender.

[g$$]

You're right. And Steve Slaton is a heck of a good RB who should get more Heisman run if he blows up tonight.

Slaton had 6 TDs after halftime last year against Louisville in 3 OT thriller for the win.

Speed kills - at any level of football. Watch West Va tonight!

[whtfbplaya]

Originally posted by big daddy russ
Two underrated prospects that I've been screaming about all year long are that MacDougal kid going to Baylor out of Iola and the Acho kid going to UT. Both are three-star prospects, but both will wind up on the All-Big XII squad by the time they're seniors.

MacDougald (sp?) plays RB and LB for tiny Iola and 'only' runs a 4.8. Thing is, he's 300+ lbs and projects to DT/NG in college. Best pickup for the Bears since Dominique Zeigler.



Do you think so? I think the MacDougal kid might have broke his leg 2 weeks ago. It was in the 3rd Q and the coach said it was broke, but up to that point I thought he looked soft. You also can not forget this guy is playing with KIDS, put him in any big school and he is just another minnow in a big pond.

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by whtfbplaya
Do you think so? I think the MacDougal kid might have broke his leg 2 weeks ago. It was in the 3rd Q and the coach said it was broke, but up to that point I thought he looked soft. You also can not forget this guy is playing with KIDS, put him in any big school and he is just another minnow in a big pond.
I didn't know about that, but I thought he'd be a stud for the Bears. He's too much of an athlete not to pan out at the college level. Just about every athlete I've ever seen like that (absolutely huge and more athletic than most people half his size) I can't help but think they'll be big. Granted, Jorrie Adams didn't pan out and the jury's still out on Kellen Heard, but MacDougal has more pure athleticism than both of them.

Heck, if he doesn't pan out on defense they can just slide him over to offense He'd make a hell of a quick guard IMO.