Looks like the Same ole Aggies in the first half...

as the Sportscenter crowd would say

WEE!!

 

Alot of teams struggled in their openers. Just taking a look around the Big 12:

CU - lost

NU - Up 10-3 at the half (ASU)

A&M - Up 3-0 at the half (ULL)

UT - 0 pts in the 2nd half (UNT)

OU - Up 3-0 at the half (TU)

---

What are the rules on redshirts? I always thought schools had 3 games to make their decision, but some are saying McNeal can't be redshirted now cause he played. If the latter is true, RC and Dino made a dumb move cause 1) A&M played 4 QB's (did they need McNeal tonight?) and 2) McNeal didn't see much action. I think Farris and McNeal should rotate series against Pitt.

 

Each student is allowed no more than four seasons of competition per sport. If you were not a qualifier, you may have fewer seasons of competition available to you. You should know that NCAA rules indicate that any competition, regardless of time, during a season counts as one of your seasons of competition in that sport. It does not matter how long you were involved in a particular competition (for example, one play in a football game, one point in a volleyball match); you will be charged with one season of competition.

This statement is from the NCAA's website.

 

All A&M needs to do to get around that "rule", is if they claim some bulls#it injury for McNeal... Of course, that would mean that they couldn't play him for the rest of the year. I believe that if McNeal doesn't play in more than 3 games or like 50 plays or something like that, they can ask for, and most likely receive an appeal from the NCAA, allowing McNeal a redshirt year.

With that being said, I don't think it's totally imperative to redshirt McNeal.

More than likely, this is RC's "make or break" year. This means that RC can't really afford to redshirt too many guys for the future, if it means sacrificing something right now. RC is at the point where if he got fired, he wouldn't want to ask himself "What if I had played McNeal...?"

Bear in mind that A&M has a new AD who could be looking to clean house throughout the program, but mainly in football.

The somewhat tight leash that was around RC's neck became tighter with the new AD, and this somewhat close game against ULL.

RC is best off throwing everything and the kitchen sink (true frosh like McNeal) this season to ensure job security.

 

It's kind of funny hearing that OU "got by Tulsa", when they won by 37....

 

If ULL doesn't commit 10 turnovers, it might have been a close game like McNeese or Wyoming last year.

I expect the Pitt game to be close maybe even a loss.

 

I think Reggie McNeal may just have earned himself a starting job real soon - the offense will take off, I think, if he does get it. There's just too much talent there.

 

thoughts from the game:

damn my roomates for making me go an hour before and stay the whole time. I haven't seen kickoff in like 3 years...my feet are sore. Oh, well, got to give props to the student body and fans for the 75 thousand plus that showed up even though school didn't even start yet.

and before getting to the game, it's good to see my boys getting some playing time this year. TT, Jai, DD, Cutt, Brandon, Jason, Q, Randall....I was cheering for y'all

now to the game:

the offense was very stagnant for 2 plus quarters. actually, I don't think there was even a real long drive the entire game. Any real football team would've been up 21-0 on the Ags, but fortunately Univ LA Laf. liked to throw picks and cough up the ball inside the A&M 5.

To the few Farris apologists: yes there were A FEW dropped passes when Faris threw. Overall there were about 5 or 6, but the other dropped passes were when Long threw.

Farris had no consistency. Actually, he was terrible. Of the 30 plus passes he threw, he completed a little over 10. Most of those completions were very short, and one long one that was short and the receiver broke it for long (and he did a good job for
audibleing on that).

But overall, Farris was sooooo off. The fans were getting restless. Passes behind, in front, and no where near wide open receivers. He also has a habit of taking a knee any time he thinks someone is offsides. The man can't escape the rush and has no mobility.

Early in the second quarter:

with about 10 minutes left, Farris was taken out of the game and replaced by Dustin Long. (many people during the game already and throughout were chanting for "Reggie, Reggie" like they do in Indiana). Long was more agile and seemed to handle the blitz better. He was 3 for 12 with two picks, I think. But one of those picks was when TT dropped the ball into the hands of a defensive back. Also many of Long's passes were dropped. Also, Long threw long passes...some were completed, others were dropped. Farris cannot throw anything over 10 yards with acuracy, other than the fade, which is basically a jump ball most of the time.

Oh yeah, people cheered when Long came in.

Farris started the second half. A&M scored 21 points in the 3rd. All because of the defense..one pick returned and the other two touchdowns set up by turnovers.

Reggie McNeal entered the game with the team up 24-0.

The crowd went wild. (Personally, I don't know the guy, and I hope his head won't get too big because these fools around campus are gonna treat him like a God...Again, I don't know him, so I won't make any judgements...just hoping that with the student body jocking him all the time, that it won't get to his head).

He completed two passes and ran twice. He had a nice roll out running completion to the right. He looks confident. He looks like he can easily escape the blitz.

He looks like the Real Deal. Hey I just thought of this: REGGIE "THE REAL DEAL" MCNEAL, eh, but Evander already had that nick.

Anyhow, Jason Carter did okay too. He escaped the blitz and gained a lot of yards.


All in all:

there will be tremendous pressure in the A&M community to at least give McNeal real playing time if not start.

Farris is on his last leg in terms of fan support, and probably in terms of alumni support (that I hear, but no evidence of).

It is in my opinion though, that if Farris does not drastically improve and produce next week, there will be a change.

Contrary to the score (which was 99% defense aided), all 3 backups looked better than Farris. Long looks like he has a better arm and better mobility. Carter looks like he has better legs than Farris and Long. McNeal looks like he has the speed and mobility of Carter, along with the throwing ability at least as good as Long.



Edit:

Just reread my post and I just want to re-emphasize the pandamonia that happened to the crowd when Reggie McNeal entered. I was silent and curious. Everyone else was yelling their lungs off like it was a Title game or something. After every play, people cheered: the 4 Reggie took part in plus the additional handoffs.

It's worse than Jesus Parker.

Look, I think McNeal is good, and has the potential to be even great, possibly even Micheal Vick great.

But the hype is too much in my opinion. I hope it won't hurt his development.

 

GO REGGIE!

Does this make me a terrible Longhorn?

 

It's not like he'll play there 4 years anyway. What's the point of redshirting him? Same thing w/UT and Vince Young. That guy should've played vs. North Texas. Mock was crap. Give Vince Young 2 full years, and he's gone to the NFL. Why redshirt?

 

Redshirting builds depth on the roster. I think all freshmen should be redshirted unless they can help on the field. At A&M, Farris is no better than Carter, so there is no reason to redshirt McNeal. He can make an impact at the QB position. At UT, Simms is the clear cut starter and unless something happens to him, Mock is the number 2 guy for this season. And UT does not need Young to play WR.

Young will come in next spring with 4 years of eligibility (if he chooses) and I'm 70% confident will beat out Mock and Nordgren for the starting job.

Looking back, Brown wishes he had the luxury (depth) to redshirt Simms in 99. Who knows how Simms career would have been different? Simms would have had 2 years to play without Applewhite.

 

It is not clear-cut that Mock is better than Young. If Simms were to get injured, I'd like to have the option of throwing Young out there instead of Mock. Let's get serious here for a minute -- who are the NFL scouts more likely salivating over-- Mock, Nordgren, or Young? Do you really think Young will be a 4-year starter at UT? No way he stays that long.

 

If Simms gets injured, and if Mock struggles, there is no doubt Brown will pull the redshirt off Young. Mock may look like crap but he has been at UT for 3 years (RS, Fr, So).

The option to play Young will be there all year long.

 

So apparently declaring someone a redshirt carries no significance, since you can still play him anyway.

 

But I think now he is not red shirted. You can play a player after theyve been redshirted, but when they do play they are no longer redshirted. In other words, he will have 3 more years after this, not 4.

 

Yes, Young suits up for every game (home and road) with a clipboard, baseball cap, and helmet hung on his wrist so he can hear the plays.

Edit - Good point by TheSummit. If Young plays, then his redshirt is gone and he cannot be redshirted again unless he and UT petition the NCAA.

 

If you want to see what McNeal did Saturday (2 for 2, 2 rushes), go to the following link:

http://www.agtimes.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/005661.html

 

Vincent Young said from Day 1 that he plans on redshirting. There's a good chance that he'll be starting by midseason next year. Chance has been horrible in practice. He can't locate open receivers, holds on to the ball too long, and gets sacked frequently. Remember, Mock and Nordgren were the #1 QB recruits in Texas in consecutive years, and neither has shown it in practice.

I don't agree with RC's decision to take McNeal's shirt off. He's only 18, and he's got a lot to learn. Jason Carter and Dustin Long were both supposed to be the saviors of the Aggie offense, yet RC doesn't give them much of a chance. He already ran off Colby Freeman. I still find it amusing that Farris was benched in favor of a guy that's 10 years younger than him.