'12 COLLEGE FOOTBALL OFF-SEASON (NSD, spring practice, summer sessions)

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Loston "we in pads today, I will Bust that *#! Yall Know, yall know wassup"
 
 
Reuben Foster 2011 Highlight tape....top OLB for 2013 cycle committed to Alabama
 
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[h2]Top 10: The spring's most significant QB battles[/h2]
Posted on: February 28, 2012 12:41 pm

Edited on: February 28, 2012 2:45 pm

Last year at this time, one of the more intriguing quarterback battles in college football was seeing which QB at Alabama would take over for the departing Greg McElroy. Turns out, the guy who won the job, A.J. McCarron, would help his team to the BCS title. It's probably a stretch to think that another first-year starting, scrapping to win some QB derby this spring will be able to lead his team to a national title, but you never know. This week's Top 10: the most significant QB battles of the spring in college football.

1-Oregon - Bryan Bennett vs. Marcus Mariota: Darron Thomas' surprising decision to jump to the NFL left a lot of folks scratching their heads. Some speculated that Thomas' move was prompted because he feared he might get overtaken in the spring by Bennett, who was impressive in his time playing while the Ducks starter was sidelined by injury. Thomas dismissed those rumors when I spoke to him a few days ago in Indy, saying there was no truth to them, and that he left because he was ready for competition at the next level. Thomas leaves behind an explosive offense with a dynamic group of backs and receivers, led by Kenjon Barner and budding star De'Anthony Thomas. Thomas praised both young QBs for their arms and their feet, saying both are good fits in Chip Kelly's system. Both are faster than Thomas and sources around the Duck program say both are more accurate than Thomas too. However, it's the experience and decision-making in this warp-speed attack that is hard to get a read on. Bennett, who completed 54 percent of his passes with a 6-0 TD-INT ratio and ran for 200 yards in a few games at midseason, is the favorite, but don't write off the 6-4 Mariota, a late-bloomer as a recruit, who has generated a lot of buzz among his teammates. He's seen as a guy who'll look to throw more than Bennett, we're told. This should be a legit BCS title contender if Bennett and/or Mariota are as advertised.

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2-Boise State - Joe Southwick vs. Grant Hedrick vs. Nick Patti vs. Jimmy Laughrea: All Kellen Moore did was win more than any starting QB in college football history. But this program has proven to be bigger than one coach or one assistant or any player, but no doubt the four-year starter will be really missed. The guy was an all-time great. Southwick, a junior, who is about the same size as Moore, has been tabbed as the frontrunner by new OC Robert Prince. Hedrick is coming off knee surgery and also has been in the program for a while. The wildcard in this race is Patti, a shorter kid from Orlando with a very good arm and outstanding feet. Lots of coaches were impressed by his skills but just were turned off by his 5-11ish frame. He enrolled early and will be a factor here.

3-Notre Dame - Tommy Rees vs. Andrew Hendrix vs. Everett Golson vs. Gunner Kiel: The Irish should have their best front seven in years but how much more efficient can their offense be, especially without go-to receiver Mike Floyd? Rees has the most experience, but has struggled quite a bit and looks like he'll get overtaken this year. Hendrix saw some action last year as more of a change up because of his running ability. He also has a much stronger arm than Rees. As I've said a few times this off-season, Brian Kelly is sky high on Golson, a shorter QB from South Carolina, who redshirted in 2011. The 5-11 Golson, a dual-threat QB, could bring that much-needed spark to the ND offense. Kiel, an early enrollee, comes to South Bend with the biggest recruiting hype of the bunch, but several QB coaches who worked with the Indiana native last summer came away skeptical about how competitive he is and whether he has the moxie to be an elite QB.

4-Stanford - Brett Nottingham vs. Josh Nunes vs. Robbie Picazo vs. Kevin Hogan vs. Evan Crower:Andrew Luck arrived at Stanford while the program was among the worst in major college football. In his last two seasons, the Cardinal won 23 games. He was special. It'll be impossible to replace him. Stanford has a long list of guys vying for the job. Nottingham, a redshirt soph, is the frontrunner. I'm told he has the best arm of the bunch. He played in six games in 2011, although only threw eight passes. Nunes and Picazo are juniors while Hogan and Crower are freshmen. Coach David Shaw said at his pre-spring press conference he will try and divide reps in the first part of Stanford's spring session equally.

5-Wisconsin - Jon Budmyer vs. Joe Brennan vs. Curt Phillips vs. Joel Stave: Russell Wilson transferred in from NC State and had a terrific season for the Badgers. Whoever wins this job will have the luxury of a superb running game, led by Montee Ball. There will also be a new OC running the show with Matt Canada coming back to the Big Ten from NIU to replace Paul Chryst. Budmyer sat out last season with an elbow injury. If he's healthy, he'll have a good shot to win this job. Many figured he'd have been the starter had Wilson not transferred in and if Budmyer stayed healthy. Phillips, a former blue-chip recruit, has been plagued by knee injuries, offers good size and mobility despite two ACL injuries. There are two other names to remember for this vacancy come the fall: Bart Houston, a touted prospect from California who arrives in the summer and Maryland transfer Danny O'Brien, who is considering Wisconsin among several schools.

6-Oklahoma State - Clint Chelf vs. Wes Lunt vs. J.W. Walsh: Brandon Weeden leaves after the Cowboys had a fantastic season, just missing out on a shot to play for the national title. In two seasons, he went 23-3. Mike Gundy has said this thing is "wide open." The 6-1 Chelf is the only option that has played, throwing 69 passes in two seasons as Weeden's understudy. Walsh, a former blue-chip recruit, has been compared to ex-OSU standout Zac Robinson for his agility and dual-threat ability. But don't underestimate Walsh's arm. It's good too. Lunt, a lanky 6-5 early enrollee from Illinois, comes in with a strong rep as a passer. The staff wants him to bulk up, but he will get a shot to win this job.

7-Texas - David Ash vs. Case McCoy: The Horns should continue to improve after two disappointing seasons. They've had all sorts of problems trying to replace Colt McCoy since the UT great left Austin two years ago. It looks like it's Ash's job to lose. Last year, he was primarily a running threat. He was very raw as a passer, throwing four TDs and eight INTs. But he was pretty solid in UT's bowl win over Cal and that should give him some confidence to build on. Junior Case McCoy, Colt's younger brother, started five games in 2011 and will keep pushing Ash.

8-Florida - Jacoby Brissett vs. Jeff Driskel: The Gators have fallen fast since Tim Tebow left for the NFL. Charlie Weis spent one year in Gainesville trying to change UF from Urban Meyer's spread-option system. The results were not good as the Gator offense struggled mightily as an injury to upperclassman John Brantley forced the two true freshmen into action. Now new OC Brent Pease comes from Boise and inherits two big, athletic young QBs who have some game experience. Both have a lot of physical ability, but each needs quite a bit of polish and would be helped by improvement from what was a shaky O-line and inconsistent group of receivers. 

9-Auburn - Clint Moseley vs. Kiehl Frazier vs. Zeke Pike: Guz Malzahn left for the Arkansas State job and Scot Loeffler is taking over an offense that was 100th in total O in 2011. There were some rumors a while back that Frazier, who has known Malzahn since the 7th grade might be thinking of returning to his home state, but the dual-threat QB has dismissed that speculation. The sophomore is very talented. Moseley has the edge in experience and having started games at LSU and the Iron Bowl can't be overstated. This one will be curious to see how things develop under Loeffler. 
10-Texas A&M - Jameill Showers vs. Johnny Manziel vs. Matt Joeckel vs. Matt Davis: There is a lot of change going on in College Station as the Aggies make the jump into the SEC. With Kevin Sumlin bringing OC/QB coach Kliff Kingsbury, my hunch is that quarterback production is going to pick up over the next few years at A&M. What's really intriguing here is that three of these QBs are legit dual-threat talents with only Joeckel really more of a pocket guy. Showers, Ryan Tannehill's back-up, has a lot of talent. Keep an eye on Manziel though. He's only about 6-0 but something of a Texas prep legend. Manziel is a spectacular athlete who has a very live arm and is so athletic he can do 360 dunks.
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[h2]Tuesday Top 10: Most intriguing early enrollees[/h2]
Spring football is about to kick off for many more programs this week. That means we'll start to learn a lot more about which newcomers are ready to make an impact this fall. Here are the 10 most intriguing early enrollees to keep an eye on. (Note: I'm not included guys who were high school seniors in 2010 on this Top 10 list.)
 
1-Zach Kline, Cal, QB: It's been a loooooooong time since Jeff Tedford's team has had a really good QB. That last guy Aaron Rodgers left Cal after the 2004 season and it's been a bunch of misfires since. A lot of those quarterbacks who have had a shot at taking over, came to Berkeley with sizable credentials, but none of the other QBs Tedford has had since arrived more polished than the 6-2, 205-pound Kline. The Danville, CA native who has worked with former Cal coach Roger Theder for years, has good footwork, a quick release and is very accurate. Kline also seems to respond very well to competition. Zach Maynard, who had an up-and-down 2011, is the guy he'd have to overtake. Maynard, Tedford pointed out, did play better late in the season, but Kline is worth watching closely.

The Bears coach, whose teams have not finished in the AP Top 25 five years running now, has tried to temper some of the hype around Kline, by saying Maynard is still the program's starting QB. "I absolutely have concern about that," Tedford told reporters Monday about the lofty expectations on his young quarterback. "There's such a thing of putting too much on a kid early. I want him to come in here and be able concentrate on what he's doing and learn the offense and do his best without all the expectations."

2-Keith Marshall, Georgia, RB: Heading into the 2011 season, with the Bulldogs depth chart at running back depleted, the expectations on former blue-chip recruit Isaiah Crowell sky-rocketed. Crowell had some outstanding moments, but also was plagued by some issues of immaturity. If Crowell doesn't stay focused, he'll have a hard time keeping Marshall, a guy many recruiting analysts tabbed as the nation's top RB prospect in the 2012 class, off the field. Marshall is an explosive back with soft hands and great character (he had a 4.3 GPA in high school.) You just don't hear about many players these days whose GPA and 40-yard dash times are nearly identical.

3-Travis Blanks, Clemson DB: The last time we saw the Tigers defense it was getting shredded by West Virginia in the Orange Bowl. Going into the 2011 season, Clemson needed to replace three standout DBs who had moved on, especially All-American DeAndre McDaniel. The program really struggled in that capacity, finishing the season No. 81 in scoring defense and No. 74 in pass efficiency defense but help has arrived in new DC Brent Venables and this 6-1, 195-pound DB, who CBS Sports ranked as the country's No. 25 overall recruit and No. 2 defensive back.

4-D.J. Humphries, Florida, OT: One of two highly touted line recruits (Jessemen Dunker is the other) who has a legit shot to win a starting job this year on a Gator O-line that that was really, really shaky in 2011 and also has a new position coach. Humphries was a gem Will Muschamp's staff landed in North Carolina. He has long 6-foot-6 frame and nimble feet, making him a prototype left tackle as he continues to fill out. Humphries told Gatorzone's Scott Carter after Signing Day that he had already packed on 12 pounds since arriving in Gainesville.

5-Mario Pender, FSU, RB: Last year at about this time another early enrollee RB at FSU, Devonta Freeman was turning some heads. Freeman had a good season in 2011, but watch out for Pender. The guy is a blur, who is both quick and fast. In fact, sources at FSU say he's the fastest back the Noles have. In high school, he averaged 12 yards per carry.  

6-Tee Shepherd, Notre Dame, CB: Even though QB Gunner Kiel is the ND newcomer who has grabbed most of the headlines, my hunch is the 6-1, 186-pound Shepherd will make more of an impact for the Irish in 2012. He is a terrific athlete on a secondary that not only has to replace both corners but was sorely lacking in the play-making department. Shepard made 10 career INTs in high school despite sitting out his senior year due to transfer rules.

7-Amari Cooper, Bama, WR: Coming off a national title season, the Tide has a bunch of starters to replace and there are a handful of eye-catching newcomers already on campus. T.J. Yeldon, a tailback and Chris Black, a wideout are two guys who came to Tuscaloosa with a lot of buzz, but it's Cooper and OLB Ryan Anderson who probably have the best shot to make an instant impact. Cooper has great ball skills and figures to be an immediate upgrade for a receiving corps that needs a spark.

8-Arik Armstead, Oregon, DL: Many projected the Californian as a top offensive tackle prospect, but he signed on with the Ducks, where he's seen Nick Alliotti's D have a lot of success with its' towering D-linemen. The 6-7, 282-pound Armstead, also a terrific basketball player, has a chance to boost a defensive end rotation that needs to replace Terrell Turner.

9-Raphael Kirby, Miami LB: One of eight early enrollees in Coral Gables, Kirby arrived with a very impressive pedigree. A product of Ga. prep powerhouse Stephenson High that cranks out D1 players, the 208-pound Kirby is undersized especially as Al Golden tries to turn the Canes into a more physical team. But the Canes are short on proven linebackers and Kirby is fast, smart and instinctive--traits that figure to remind folks around Miami of former standout Sean Spence, who just moved on to the NFL. Another newcomer generating some buzz inside the program is agile OT Ereck Flowers.

10 (tie)-Bri'onte Dunn, Ohio State, RB: Tim Tebow provided Urban Meyer's offense at Florida a physical inside rushing presence, and the new OSU coach will be looking for a back to deliver that for the Buckeyes to take some of the pressure off young QB Braxton Miller. The 220-pound Dunn is a load. He also made many OSU fans take a big deep breath when he eventually picked the Buckeyes over Michigan.

10-(tie) Matt Davis, Texas A&M, QB: New OC Kliff Kingsbury has four options to be the Aggies new quarterback in the new A&M offense. The 6-1, 205-pound Davis is a gifted dual-threat QB, like two of the other three guys he'll be competing with when spring ball gets going at the end of the month. 
 
If he's breathing he should beat out Maynard.

I take that back.

If he has an SSN , he should beat out Maynard.
 
DJ Humphries has boat loads of talent, but he is rail thin for a OT in the SEC.... He needs to get to 280lbs before I would let him sniff the field this year.
 
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[/td][td] [/td][/tr][tr][td]New coach Kevin Sumlin wants to give Texas A&M a total makeover. (Getty Images)[/td][td] [/td][/tr][/table]

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Pads are popping all over Texas. It's 1:23 p.m. on a balmy late February day and several college football programs in the Lone Star State have already kicked off spring football -- even if spring technically doesn't start for another month. At Texas A&M, where the Aggies won't get on the practice field for another five weeks, the real action is in the staff room of the massive Bright Football Complex.

Kevin Sumlin, A&M's new hope to resurrect a proud football program that, truth be told, stopped being a powerhouse before the old Southwest Conference went belly up some two decades ago, sits tipped back in front of a long, rectangular board table in a room littered with maroon leather swivel chairs. To Sumlin's left are staffers Justin Moore, an associate AD for football who came with the head coach from his previous job at Houston, and Matt Watson, A&M's long-time equipment man. Across the table are two men in sport coats. One looks to be in his late 30s. The other in his mid 60s.

"The reason you guys are here is we gotta do something about the feel of this building," Sumlin says, as he glances around the room and pauses for a few heartbeats. "This feels old and stiff and cold -- everything is dark. I'm always going around flipping on lights. This has to reflect that we have a younger staff. This building should be a tool for teaching and recruiting."

Both men across the table smile, nodding their heads with a look of understanding.

"Oh, we get it," says the older man, who heads a Tulsa-based architecture firm that has done branding work for major college programs. "That's all what the West End Zone project [at Oklahoma State] was all about -- getting good coaches and players, and keepin' 'em."

Sumlin and Moore have hosted a few similar meetings with companies looking for A&M's business over the previous few weeks. Other firms the new Aggies have brought in have done renovation jobs for the Dallas Mavericks and Colorado Rockies.

The lights dim. The younger man across the table, armed with his laser pointer, begins a presentation on the screen in the front of the room. The show begins with a few slides of Oklahoma State's football complex. "This is what 50 years of neglect gets you," the younger man says looking at the Before photo.

He clicks through to a second image, showing the fruits of Oklahoma State mega booster Boone Pickens' funds. "AndTHIS! is what vision, leadership and money will get you."

Now the nodding heads are on Sumlin's side of the table.

The guys who did the Oklahoma State renovation are here because Sumlin and his staff at Houston had heard plenty of their recruits gush about Oklahoma State's facilities when they would come to visit Houston. The coaches had also toured the Cowboys' place and came away similarly awed.

They understand that it's not a coincidence that Oklahoma State's rise occurred about the same time as the program started to look big-time too. But unlike where Oklahoma State was a few years ago, Texas A&M does not require a massive, structural overhaul. The Aggies football stadium, Kyle Field, stacks up well against any other venue in sports in magnitude and in atmosphere. Kyle Field is big-time. The football complex? Well, if you've been to a few of their SEC rivals, you can tell right away, A&M's set-up is sorely lacking in wattage. It feels outdated. The Bright Complex has plenty of high-end furniture, but the place just feels stuffy, stale. The building has more of a vibe of an oversized law office than somewhere you'd expect to run a powerhouse college program or woo blue-chip recruits.

What Sumlin is really looking for, as the program makes the big leap into the rugged SEC, is more along the lines of branding and graphics overhaul. In short, the A&M football complex needs a makeover.

Sumlin's comments to the design guys over the next hour of their presentation range from detailed questions -- "Are those chairs and tables anchored down? No arm rests on those chairs, huh?" -- to observations -- "I like how you added that 'Cowboys' on the ceiling of that hall. That made the whole deal. It could've been kinda boring."

"We don't do boring," says the 60-something year-old.

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On the field, the Aggies sure could use a makeover as well. Since 1996, they have finished in the top 15 just one time (1998). Sumlin's predecessor Mike Sherman went 15-18 in Big 12 play before getting fired. The coach before him, Dennis Franchione, had a 19-21 league record and didn't lead A&M to a top-25 finish once in five seasons before getting canned. Enter Sumlin, who takes over as the Aggies are moving into a tougher conference that has won six straight national titles. They'll make the jump into the most brutal division (the SEC West) in college football while breaking in a new starting quarterback (Ryan Tannehill is projected to be a first-round draft pick in April); a new starting running back (Cyrus Gray is also NFL bound after consecutive 1000-yard seasons); and having to replace most of their defensive line and secondary.

The program does have some intriguing potential, though. Sumlin has a firm grasp of that, having spent a few seasons in College Station as an assistant under R.C. Slocum, the last Aggies football coach to have significant success at A&M. There is big booster support to rival any in the SEC. There is a lot of tradition, from the 12th Man to the Corps of Cadets. "This is not a wine-and-cheese crowd," he says. "This is the home of the 12th Man. They know what noise can do."

A&M also is sitting in the middle of some of the most fertile recruiting soil in the country.

Sumlin inherited an excellent group of offensive linemen, too. All five starters return, including the junior tackle tandem of Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews who have already turned NFL scouts' heads. That's a nice foundation to build the offense around. There are also three former five-star tailbacks on the 2012 roster and a go-to receiver in Ryan Swope. There are four promising quarterbacks ready to battle for the starting job. Three of the four QBs are dynamic dual-threat guys, which would be an intriguing change in the system that Sumlin and his 32-year-old offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, a budding star in the coaching business, are bringing over from Houston, where they had the nation's No. 1 offense in two of the past three seasons.

"I'm excited to see what we have," says Kingsbury, sitting front of a board covered with dozens of plays scrawled in sharpie. "We wanted all four of those quarterbacks at Houston but they came here."

The Aggies defense is also undergoing big change, shifting from a 3-4 to a 4-3. "People are going to try to run it down our throats," Sumlin says matter-of-factly. "We have to line up and be able to stop the run right now."

Given their inexperience up front, that doesn't sound promising. "We've gotta get better fundamentally, no doubt about that," says Mark Snyder, the new defensive coordinator. "We gotta become more vertical up front, get up the field. I keep telling the kids, it's the old Miami mentality -- get vertical!"

The other challenge is to become more physical, says Snyder, a former Ohio State defensive coordinator who is excited to work with former Boise State defensive backs coach Marcel Yates. "There'll be no finesse corners here. (Yates') DBs at Boise were very physical, and that's good, because it's not touch football in this league. To me, it's the Big Ten with more athletic players."

The players seem to be buying in. Sumlin is pleased about the commitment his new team has shown in the offseason conditioning program under strength coach Larry Jackson, another staffer he brought with him from Houston. Better still, A&M hasn't had one player quit or leave amid the transition. That is a rarity these days when coaching turnover tends to lead to substantial attrition under the proverbial "culture" changes.

"We're not out of the woods yet, but the attitude has been great," Sumlin says. "I told 'em, 'A lot of you guys didn't sign up for me. I know that, but we know what we're doing. Trust us.'"

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Texas A&M's arrival in the SEC has been met with a collective eye roll by the league's sizable fan base. That is as much a reflection of the conference's dominance as it is the Aggies mediocrity over the past decade. The 47-year-old Sumlin, a former Purdue linebacker, returns to College Station with a sterling rep among his peers. In four seasons at Houston, he went 35-17 while leading the program to its first bowl victory since 1980. In 2009, he was a finalist for the Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year when he led the Cougars to a Conference USA West Division crown and a final record of 10-4. In 2011, he led Houston to a 12-1 mark before leaving for College Station.

"He has such charisma with the players," says Kingsbury, a one-time New England Patriots QB, when asked what makes Sumlin such a good head coach. "He's very real to them. They know he's accessible. He treats them like grown-ups and they want to play hard for him."

The staff Sumlin assembled is impressive. In addition to a sharp pair of coordinators, Sumlin also snagged, among others, Stanford's special teams coordinator Brian Polian, Yates from Boise State and Clarence McKinney, his ace recruiter from Houston.

Turning around a program that has been in a tailspin for a long time isn't easy. It's become too cliche to talk about "changing the culture." But what needs to happen often starts with overhauling the mindset, and how that takes places can be in a variety of ways. Some subtle. Some not so subtle. It's also easier to do with younger players than older ones because their habits aren't so defined, or in some cases, calcified.

"We've got some pretty clean canvases right now," Sumlin says.

What exactly has been A&M's problem of late? Ask 10 people around College Station and you'll probably get 10 different answers. No program in the country has struggled more in crunch time, though. In the past three seasons, the Aggies were 5-10 in games decided by 10 points or less. In 2011, they lost five games in which they had leads in the second half.

Asked how much conditioning was part of the problem, Sumlin scratches his chin. The easiest thing for any new coach is to point fingers at the previous staff, but the program's dreadful record in close games is unavoidable. "Well, to rule out conditioning, you gotta be crazy," he says.

Sumlin moved the start of spring football back to March 31. Some college teams are already done by then. His reasoning was three-fold:

[size=+1]•[/size] To give his new coaching staff a chance to come together;
[size=+1]•[/size] Get a good start on recruiting;
[size=+1]•[/size] Give [A&M strength coach] Larry Jackson a chance to affect conditioning.

All three factors are on track, he says. The biggest attention-grabber so far for the Aggies fan base has been the buzz the new staff has created among recruits. They already have a dozen commitments, and most are from highly-touted prospects. The best of the bunch could be Isaiah Golden, a prized 300-pound defensive tackle, who could help solve some of the concerns with the D-line.

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At Houston, Sumlin's first priority on the makeover there before the 2008 season was remodeling his office, the meeting rooms and lobbies of the reception area. The reason, he explains to the Oklahoma designers as they tour other parts of the A&M football building: the lobbies are the first things recruits and players see when they enter a football program. They set the tone. They make an impression. They impact energy. Sumlin's office is the place where he tries to reel in a prospect and convince the kid's family that his school, his program, is best for the recruit. It's also where he meets with the players he inherited from the former regime and he wants them comfortable with him and his personality.

A hounds-tooth hat Sumlin was given when he was voted as a finalist for the Bear Bryant Award is one of the few personal items in his office that looks more apt for a law partner than head ball coach. "My first thought when I walk in here is I'm either going to take a deposition or give one," Sumlin says. The space itself is good, but the walls, save for a bank of four TVs, are barren. There is much sprucing up that needs to be done.

Some of A&M's renovation, such as a new 19,000-square foot, football-only weight room, are already in the works. (Sumlin says it'll be ready by August 1.)

In addition, Sumlin and his right-hand man, Moore, a former A&M pitcher, explain to the designers the entryways inside the complex on the ground floor are too cramped. It's never a good thing if you're hosting a bunch of recruits on a Junior Day and they all get bottle-necked as soon as they enter Texas A&M Football.

The first floor of the A&M football complex, where the offensive and defensive units of the team also meet, are beyond spartan. They're just bland. Maybe the previous coaching staff wanted to minimize any possible distractions in their position rooms. Whatever the reason, the look needs to be changed. "Maybe it's not a big deal, but it is to me," Sumlin says. "This is your learning environment."

The crew that did the Oklahoma State overhaul had a theme. The lower level, which was branded to be more lively and vibrant, was geared for the 17 and 18-year-old players. The upstairs level, where the coaches' offices are, was catered more to grown-ups with black granite and stainless steel. Lighting and signage are a must. The Aggies' football tradition rivals just about any program in the nation. Only you don't get a great sense of it walking around the building. You just know that the school's color is maroon.

After another hour or so, while Sumlin led his guests all over the Bright Football Complex to A&M's impressive indoor track stadium -- complete with one of the country's few hydraulically banked tracks -- and into Kyle Field, the tour wraps up back where the meeting started, inside the Aggies' staff room.

"O.K., so when are you hoping to get something back to you?" the older man asks.

"As soon as possible ... " Moore says.

"Tomorrow," interjects Sumlin with a chuckle. "I got recruits coming in."
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Mackensie Alexander De-committed from tennessee

Says Terry Joseph taking Job at nebraska is the reason.

He's visiting FSU in 2 weeks
 
Sumlin snags another DFW stud today in Laquvionte Gonzalez. Burner.
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Clemson's got CJ Spiller's old lake house ready for the #1 recruit, his girlfriend and his homeboy. They can be one big happy family. I bet Bama's got that plus a Denali with rims and UGA has suitcases full of 100s though.
 
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Hell no @Gunna. Mackenro isn't getting an offer

Robert N. is def basing his decision on his gf and whether she gets in or likes it too
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Bye bye Corey Miller. Looks like he is done @ UT
 
why u say that about Co? because he isnt participating at work outs?

Heard he's not eligible and has ALOT of work to do in order to be for the fall.

Not real sure of details tho

My boy Rubio got Fired LOL
 
Stud TE Adam Breneman to Penn St... Hope that football program crumbles but Bill has locked up some pretty good players in the last couple weeks.
 
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