Wednesday February 4th, 2009
12:01amOk, This is a Bit Creepy
I like to think that I'm about as redass as we Ags come, and I love College Station, but I saw this and I was kind of wigged out by it.....a licensed Aggie Cemetery.
Jennifer, Mom, Dad....I've officially drawn the line. I bet you didn't think there was one.
National Signing Day
It is here, the day that defines the future of every football team in the nation.
It is National Signing Day.
I'm not going to sit here and go through all of the recruits and break down the signing class. You can get that elsewhere, with a lot better information....'cause that's where I get it and I'd just be regurgitating it to you.
Overall, I'm pleased with the class we're signing. It seems that we will have a very high percentage make it to campus and we really focused on positions of need (read: the positions that I've highlighted over the last few weeks - OL, LB, & DL). We also hit it out of the park at WR and tailback.
Gentlemen who will now be donning the Maroon and White, I can't say it any better than the Whataburger guy...."Welcome to Aggieland. Enjoy your stay."
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I wanted to point you to a page I've been working on for the last several seasons that I've named my Signing Class Contributions page. I've taken each recruiting class we've had for the last 10 seasons and broken them down. It shows each player's contributions based on playing time and All-Conference honors and it explains, with as much detail as I was able to dig up, what the causes were for guys who didn't pan out (transfers, MLB draft, academics, off-field problems, injuries, etc.). I think it's a really interesting compilation. It is amazing how many players we lost to attrition.
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I also want to point you to a couple of really interesting articles that I've read. The first was from last year from the great blog, Sunday Morning QB (RIP), where he put together some research and discovered that national team rankings, while are no certain science, do give good indication of future results. From 2002-2007 five of the top seven winningest programs were in Rivals.com's top seven recruiting averages and all of the top ten recruiting averages were in the top twenty in winning percentage.
Since that article was written Sunday Morning QB moved over to YahooSports and has a column/blog over there called Mr. Saturday (same great stuff but now Matt gets paid more handsomely). This year he wrote another really interesting pair of articles that discussed the impact of the *s.
All three are great reads that just continue to prove that it just comes down to recruiting....which comes down to winning....which comes down to recruiting....which comes down to winning....
Tuesday February 3rd, 2009
12:01amA Look at the Defensive Line
The Wrecking Crew was built not only with top notch linebackers, but with some big time play makers on the defensive line.
Names like Sam Adams, Brandon Mitchell, Ty Warren, Jacob Green, and of course, Ray Childress stand out through time and litter the A&M record books....and wrecked havoc in the NFL when they were done here.
This past season our defensive line got shredded and there was very little semblance to those names listed above. As I did with the offensive line, and the linebackers, I wanted to take a look at how we got to this point with our defensive line.
Player 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Totals 1997 R.Bernard 11/0 13/6 10/8 x 11/8 - - - - - - - - 45/22 R.Edwards 13/0 13/7 11/9 11/11 - - - - - - - - - 48/27 R.Flemons 13/0 12/5 11/9 11/10 - - - - - - - - - 47/24 L.Madison x 12/0 11/1 11/2 x - - - - - - - - 34/3 T.McCauley x 10/0 10/2 11/11 x - - - - - - - - 31/13 T.Nichols x 13/0 11/0 x x - - - - - - - - 24/0 E.Perroni x 8/0 11/0 9/3 9/5 - - - - - - - - 37/8 1998 n/a - x x x x x - - - - - - - 0/0 1999 S.Mitchell - - x x x x x - - - - - - 0/0 T.Warren - - 9/0 11/8 10/7 10/10 - - - - - - - 40/25 B.West - - x x x x x - - - - - - 0/0 2000 E.Brown - - - x x x x x - - - - - 0/0 M.Jasmin - - - x 11/3 12/12 12/7 11/0 - - - - - 46/22 L.Smith - - - 10/0 9/1 12/12 12/12 - - - - - - 43/25 2001 L.Hooper - - - - x x 8/0 4/0 5/0 - - - - 17/0 D.Ross - - - - x 11/2 12/12 12/1 11/1 - - - - 46/16 D.Stringer - - - - x 1/0 1/0 x x - - - - 2/0 2002 D.Ellis - - - - - x x x x x - - - 0/0 B.Fails - - - - - 4/0 x x x x - - - 4/0 J.Jolly - - - - - 12/0 12/12 12/12 11/11 - - - - 47/35 J.Parks - - - - - x 7/0 x x x - - - 7/0 B.Patrick - - - - - 11/0 10/4 x x x - - - 21/4 2003 R.Bryant - - - - - - x 12/12 11/10 9/8 13/12 - - 45/42 C.Harrington - - - - - - x 12/0 11/11 13/13 13/12 - - 49/36 J.Jack - - - - - - x 12/11 9/7 12/10 x - - 33/28 M.Montgomery^ - - - - - - 10/0 12/12 - - - - - 22/12 T.Pittman - - - - - - x x x x x - - 0/0 2004 Mi.Bennett - - - - - - - x 11/4 13/0 12/1 11/11 - 47/16 C.Obiozor - - - - - - - x 11/0 13/3 13/13 12/12 - 49/28 C.Smith - - - - - - - 2/1 6/0 13/0 9/0 - - 30/1 W.Morrisey - - - - - - - x 6/0 x x x - 6/0 2005 M.Featherston- - - - - - - - x13/113/112/12x0/0 P.Freeney - - - - - - - - x 3/0 9/0 8/0 x 20/0 T.Ross - - - - - - - - x x x x x 0/0 H.Smith^ - - - - - - - - 1/0 13/0 13/12 x x 27/12 V.Williams - - - - - - - - x 2/0 3/09/1x2/0 2006 C.Williams - - - - - - - - - x 3/0 7/0 x 10/0 L.Ray - - - - - - - - - x x x x 0/0 2007 B.Bass - - - - - - - - - - x 10/2x 0/0 M.Ebbitt- - - - - - - - - - x xx0/0 B.Joiner - - - - - - - - - - x x x 0/0 V.Miller - - - - - - - - - - 9/0 12/4 x 21/4 D.Tufuga - - - - - - - - - - 5/0 x x 5/0 2008 Bl.Chavis - - - - - - - - - - - x x 0/0 T.Jerod - - - - - - - - - - - 12/7 x 12/7 M.Moss^ - - - - - - - - - - - 11/1 x 11/1 A.Wolridge- - - - - - - - - - - xx0/0 E.Brown - - - - - - - - - - - 12/2 x 12/2 R.Davis - - - - - - - - - - - x x 0/0 A.Dorsey - - - - - - - - - - - x x 0/0
(NOTES: Lucas Patterson moved to DL from OL as did Kellen Heard; Bryce Reed played FB during his RS season in '02 but moved to DL prior to '03; Jorrie Adams was recruited as OL but RSed as a TE before moving to DE prior to '04....was gone after '04 season; Andrew Wolridge moved to LBer before his freshman year; Featherston moved to LBer before his freshman year; Von Miller played Lber for 3/4 of his sophomore year; Ben Bass moved to TE for 2008 but will move back to DL for this spring and the forseeable future; Michael Ebbitt moved to TE in 2008; Vince Williams moved to OL before 2007)We recruited like beasts at defensive line in 1997 before missing on a couple of classes and putting together a solid class for in '00. Unfortunately, those guys were mostly gone by the time Coach Fran took the reigns and we struggled putting 4 Big 12 caliber linemen on the field in his first year. We should keep in mind, however, that we were running a 3-4 defense with RC and moved to a 4-3 when Fran took over so we didn't need as many bodies on the field and it looks as though we recruited for that.
During the Fran years we had a key core group of linemen that were good but, like the offensive line, Fran did not do a very good job filling the depth chart with younger players. He took the 2003 recruiting class and whatever was already on campus and rode it as far as he could. The OL group (2003 recruiting class + already on campus) accounted for 57% of the starts and every All-Big 12 honor during the Fran-era. On the defensive line the numbers were even more staggering. There were 240 defensive line starts during the Fran-era and that group accounted for 190 of those (79%). They also picked up 6 of the 7 All-Big 12 nods given to our DL during the Fran-era.
Looking at 2008 you can clearly see that we didn't restock the DL after that 2003 recruiting class so we had no depth....just like at OL. We had a gun but there was only one or two cartridges in the chambers.
2003
Johnny Jolly was a sophomore, David Ross was a sophomore, Linnis Smith was a senior and Marcus Jasmin was a junior. Lawrence Hooper, Brian Patrick, Bryce Reed (a converted FB), walk-on Marques Thornton, and JUCO transfer Mike Montgomery backed them up.
Johnny Jolly
2003 TFL SK PvExp 2003 =================== =========== J.Jolly...... 12 2 12/0 12/12 D.Ross....... 8 1 11/2 12/12 M.Montgomery. 7 1 0/0 10/0 L.Smith...... 6 1 31/13 12/12 M.Jasmin..... 4 1 23/15 12/7 B.Reed....... 4 2 0/0 12/0 L.Hooper..... 3 1 0/0 8/0 B.Patrick.... 3 0 11/0 10/4 M.Thornton... 2 0 0/0 10/0This was a squad that was pretty bad. We gave up an average of 225.1 yards rushing per game, which ranks second worst all-time in school history. As you can see, we didn't really get to the QB very much either.
Jolly would prove to be the best of the bunch that played in '03 but will most likely be remembered, from this season at least, as one of the guys who celebrated a tackle with about a minute remaining in the 77-0 game.
Fran, as he did with the offensive line, had his best recruiting haul at the position and he redshirted everyone he could (Red Bryant, Chris Harrington, and Jason Jack). I honestly don't know who was responsible for any of these guys signing but in addition to Johnny Jolly, the '03 recruiting class took the lion's share of snaps on the DL during Fran's reign.
David Ross was a guy who took advantage of all those guys redshirting as he started 12 games in '03 but in his junior and senior years he was delegated to backing them up.
2004
The recruiting class of 2003 was ready to step up, and along with Johnny Jolly (now a junior), they anchored the 2004 season. Mike Montgomery was a senior (who transfered in as part of the class of '03) and really became a big threat off the corner.
Money Mike Montgomery
2004 TFL SK PvExp 2004 ======================== =========== M.Montgomery. 12.0 6.0 10/0 12/12 J.Jack....... 6.0 2.0 0/0 12/11 J.Adams...... 4.0 0.5 0/0 12/0 J.Jolly...... 3.5 0.0 24/12 12/12 R.Bryant..... 3.5 1.5 0/0 12/12 C.Harrington. 3.0 2.0 0/0 12/0 M.Jasmin..... 2.0 1.0 35/22 11/0 M.Thornton... 1.0 1.0 10/0 11/0 B.Reed....... 0.5 0.0 12/0 6/0As I mentioned, David Ross lost his starting spot to Jason Jack and Red Bryant took Marcus Jasmin's starting spot. Ross and Jasmin were delegated to backup roles and were joined by true freshman (5* recruit) Jorrie Adams, RS-F Chris Harrington, and the aforementioned trio of Hooper/Reed/Thornton.
As a unit there was a tremendous improvement in our run defense as we jumped up 57 slots from the previous year to 55th in the nation (at 143 ypg).
2005
2005 was another year dominated by the 2003 recruiting class + Jolly as Chris Harrington broke his way into the starting lineup and into our opponent's backfield.
2005 TFL SK PvExp 2005 ======================== =========== J.Jolly....... 11.5 5.0 36/24 11/11 C.Harrington.. 8.0 4.0 10/0 11/11 R.Bryant...... 7.5 3.0 12/12 11/10 Mi.Bennett.... 4.5 3.5 0/0 11/4 B.Reed........ 3.5 1.0 18/0 11/0 J.Jack........ 3.0 1.5 12/11 9/7 W.Morrisey.... 2.0 2.0 0/0 6/0 D.Ross........ 1.5 0.0 35/15 11/1 M.Thornton.... 1.5 0.0 21/0 10/0 C.Obiozor..... 0.5 0.0 0/0 11/0The rush defense improved once again dropping down to 38th in the nation with 139 ypg and we got a lot more pressure on the QB with 4 players having 3 or more sacks.
Michael Bennett also made a splash as a redshirt freshman. Will Morrisey and Cyril Obiozor joined Bennett with backup roles in their RS-F seasons and the trifecta of Reed/Ross/Thornton were back as well as backups.
Jorrie Adams was kicked off the team prior to '05 after finishing 3rd on the team in TFL as a freshman.
2006
The signing class of '03 continues to carry the load for Fran as Harrington, Jason Jack, and Red Bryant are key cogs in the DL.
Chris Harrington
2006 TFL SK PvExp 2006 ======================== =========== C.Harrington.. 11.5 7.5 23/11 13/13 Mi.Bennett.... 6.0 2.0 11/4 13/0 H.Smith....... 4.0 2.0 1/0 13/0 J.Jack........ 3.0 0.0 21/18 12/10 K.Heard....... 2.5 2.5 0/0 12/0 R.Bryant...... 2.5 1.0 23/22 9/8 C.Obiozor..... 2.0 1.0 11/0 13/3 M.Thornton.... 0.5 0.5 31/0 13/8 B.Reed........ 0.5 0.0 29/0 13/10 C.Smith....... 0.5 0.5 8/1 13/0Once again we lowered our rushing average against down to 132.1 yards per game and had more guys with multiple sacks. Red Bryant got hurt midway through the season which no doubt hurt us against the toughest stretch of our schedule (Nebraska, OU, texas, Cal).
Mike Bennett shined as a back up and Henry Smith, Kellen Heard, and Cyril Obiozor helped. Both seniors Marques Thornton and Bryce Reed put in their time and were finally able to start the majority of our games.
2007
Jason Jack left the team following 2006 for personal reasons, which brought down the impact that 2003 signing class had on the 2007 season....but just a little. Seniors Red Bryant and Chris Harrington were both key cogs and were joined by Cyril Obiozor and senior Henry Smith in the starting lineup.
2007 TFL SK PvExp 2007 ======================== =========== C.Obiozor...... 9.5 3.5 24/3 13/13 C.Harrington... 7.0 2.0 36/24 13/12 R.Bryant....... 6.0 1.0 32/30 13/12 Mi.Bennett..... 6.0 1.0 23/4 12/1 H.Smith........ 5.0 1.0 14/0 13/12 K.Heard........ 4.5 1.0 12/0 13/1 V.Miller....... 4.0 2.0 0/0 9/0 L.Patterson.... 2.5 1.5 0/0 13/1 P.Freeney...... 1.5 0.0 3/0 9/0 A.Gbunblee..... 0.5 0.0 12/0 13/0 C.Smith........ 0.5 0.0 21/1 9/0 D.Tufuga....... 0.5 0.0 0/0 5/0Mike Bennett was extremely productive coming off the bench at DE along with freshman Von Miller. Offensive Line transfers, Kellen Heard and Lucas Patterson (both sophomores), also picked up large chunks of playing time as the season went on.
We finished the season ranked 65th in the nation allowing 160.9 ypg.
The problem we started to see here was that this was a senior heavy season. The younger guys got playing time but at the end of the season we were going to have to replace 3/4 of our line for 2008 and only Cyril Obiozor had more than one career start.
2008
As I just mentioned, we are bringing back a starting DL of all juniors and seniors, but they only have a total of 23 career starts under their belt (16 by Obiozor, 5 by Bennett, 1 by Heard, & 1 by Patterson).
2008 TFL SK PvExp 2008 ======================== =========== Mi.Bennett.... 12.0 2.0 35/5 11/11 C.Obiozor..... 6.5 3.0 37/16 12/12 T.Jerod-Eddie. 3.0 1.0 0/0 12/7 M.Moss........ 1.5 0.0 0/0 11/1 L.Patterson... 1.5 0.0 13/1 11/11 E.Brown....... 1.0 0.0 0/0 12/2 P.Freeney..... 1.0 0.0 12/0 8/0 ------------------------ ----------- V.Miller...... 7.5 3.5 9/0 12/4Simply comparing the number of names on the list above with previous years you can see that the depth of our defensive line was flat out not there.
By the end of the season true freshmen Tony Jerod-Eddie and Eddie Brown were both named starters at DT. Kellen Heard was virtually non-existant all year and Lucas Patterson's name didn't get called many times for making big plays and then he broke his leg in the Baylor game.
This was a bad defensive line that gave up 219.3 ypg (114th in the nation), the 3rd worst rushing defense in school history....just a hair better than 2003. We also didn't pressure the QB at all with a total of 6 sacks.
Cyril Obiozor ended his career with a sneaky 28 consecutive starts and finished with more sacks than any other DL over that time period. When you look back at Cyril Obiozor's career there is no way that "2-1/2 year starter" will pop into your mind.
I seperated Von Miller there because played the majority of the season at LBer but in the last 3 or 4 games we saw him transition back to DE....however, he did not make a TFL in any of those games as a DE (and all of his starts were at LB).
The Future
Going into 2009 you're going to see a lot of different faces on the defensive line. Mike Bennett and Cyril Obiozor graduated, Lucas Patterson is going to move back to the offensive line, and Kellen Heard is no longer on the team.We redshirted both Rod Davis and Adren Dorsey, who should both make a MAJOR impact and we bring back two sophomores who got a ton of experience as true freshmen. We're also moving Ben Bass back to his natural position at DL (from TE) and we have three more true freshmen coming in this season....I know it will be a big focus for the coaching staff for the 2010 recruiting class.
We're going to be even younger but the talent should be an upgrade. We'll also get a full season of Von Miller at DE, which I think is a plus, but other than that we won't have any upperclassmen.
I know that I've been waiting for Paul Freeney to make his big breakout but he is now going into his senior season without a career start and only 2.5 career tackles for a loss (and zero sacks).
I mentioned that we're going to lose Kellen Heard, but to be honest, I'm not all that upset about it. The guy has started 3 games for us in his career and has 1 sack over the course of our last 27 games. He'll likely always be remembered for giving Colt McCoy trouble in '06 and '07 but other than those two games he was just a jersey on the field. His motor didn't run all the time and he was passed by a two true freshman on the depth chart by the end of the 2008 season.
As the 2004 season showed, you don't have to have a lot of experience on the DL to improve from where we are, just the right guys. I'm hoping that since 2008 reminded me of 2003 then maybe 2009 will remind me of 2004, which would be a marked improvement. We'll have to see how the youngsters do.
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