Tuesdays with Gorney: Aggies could be on pace for special future
We saw this at Alabama for years. We’re seeing it now play out at Georgia. And Texas A&M could be next.
The construction of a championship roster might be more art than science but don’t be fooled: The teams that get the highest-ranked players and elite talent at important positions will contend for titles. We’re seeing this come together in College Station.
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In three recruiting classes from 2018-20, Georgia finished No. 1 and now the Bulldogs are atop all the rankings. Prior to that, Alabama dominated for more than a decade in recruiting and on the field. The Crimson Tide are still right there competing for titles as Georgia and Alabama have arguably separated themselves from the rest of the pack.
But Texas A&M is clearly coming.
Jimbo Fisher’s first recruiting class in Aggieland was ranked No. 16 nationally but he really didn’t have much say in that group because he was hired so close to signing day. Since then, the Aggies have had three-straight No. 6 finishes in the team rankings and they’re seventh so far this cycle with the expectation of climbing much higher.
Five-star defensive tackle Walter Nolen committed over the weekend. He’s a game-changer along the front, someone who can create havoc the second he steps on campus. Four-star receiver Chris Marshall - long, athletic, fluid - also made his pledge to the Aggies.
The 2022 class could still include five-star receiver Evan Stewart, five-star offensive lineman Kam Dewberry and five-star safety Jacoby Mathews although the last two would be stretches at this point.
No matter. Because the Aggies lead for four-star DE Shemar Stewart and are highly involved with four-star DE Omari Abor as well. The hits just keep on coming for Texas A&M and the committed players are phenomenal as well.
There are so many good ones but I particularly have my eye on high four-star quarterback Conner Weigman, who will be in the discussion as the best dual-threat quarterback in the class. He could be the prize that gets A&M to the College Football Playoff. He’s incredibly skilled, and Fisher should know how to maximize him. Zach Calzada is a fine player and a tough player, but Weigman could be a game-changer.
Across the board, A&M is following a blueprint we’ve seen before. Load up on defense, get the right offensive pieces, have highly-rated recruiting classes and it feels almost inevitable: The Aggies should be among the best of the best on the field soon.
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WHAT COACHING DECISIONS MEAN FOR RECRUITING
... If the three criteria for the Texas Tech job were to be a winner, have deep ties to the state and to recruiting Texas and to unify the fan base, then Joey McGuire is your guy. There is no question wherever he’s coached he’s won. He can recruit the heck out of Texas and the fans in Lubbock should love him.
But there are risks involved with this hire: McGuire has never been a head coach or even a coordinator on the college level and while his success in Texas high school football is respectable, it’s a whole different world trying to win games in the Big 12.
Here’s why I like the hire: McGuire knows every high school and every coach in the state of Texas. But will he be able to convince those players – not even the elite of the elite, but talented players where he can form a winning tradition – to come all the way out to Lubbock when so many other programs will be closer to home?
That will always be the question when it comes to Texas Tech. Can enough talent be corralled to make a significant impact? The Red Raiders haven’t had a winning season since 2015 and haven’t won double-digit games since 2008. Matt Wells got fired with a winning record this season.
McGuire is Texas football through and through. Being a nice guy with lots of friends only lasts so long at this level though. Winning will always come first.
... Florida fired defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy after the Gators’ debacle at South Carolina this past weekend which made the Gamecocks look like the New England Patriots. A lot of people I’ve talked to said it was a long time coming and that it should not impact recruiting at all. We will see as many recruits had relationships with those guys but Dan Mullen is trying to protect his own job and this was the first step to trying to right a ship that now has many holes.
... Nebraska coach Scott Frost fired four assistant coaches on the offensive side of the ball Monday but he will get at least one more season in Lincoln. What will be interesting next is whether Frost gives up calling the offense and hands that over to one of the new hires.
As for recruiting, this puts prospects more in limbo than ever and I’m not necessarily a fan of this move. Either cut ties or double down on Frost because this wait-and-see approach for one year doesn’t give a ton of top players confidence that they’ll have a stable coaching staff for four years if they come to Lincoln.
Complaints cannot come in from Frost’s recruiting as Nebraska has had the third-best and fourth-best class twice in each of his first four classes. But the Huskers are dead last in the conference rankings for 2022 and need to sell top recruits on the idea that Frost’s vision will be carried out, even with an entire arsenal of new offensive coaches coming in.