Over at SB Nation I’ve got a preview up of the season opener between Texas A&M and UCLA.
My sense of the 2017 Texas situation is that it’s not good. At all.
They still have talent, plenty of it, but they’ve had tons of talent for much of this decade and typically managed to piss it away unless Johnny was at the helm. Having a QB that can fit all of their offensive talent together is a major question mark and one that I dive into in that article.
Another issue is that they are not in fantastic shape at linebacker unless Chavis can finally get some of his athletic but positionally challenged charges up to speed. The belief amongst many Aggie fans that star freshman Anthony Hines would be a solution to this issue has initially proven inaccurate as he’s behind some older veterans right now on the depth chart and listed as a utility inside-backer. Let that be a lesson to OU fans that think Kenneth Murray is going to be a good year one mike-backer under Tim Kish. It’s not impossible, but it’s just not at all likely.
Murray might be a better athlete than Hines, although that’s questionable, but Hines captured the attention of recruitniks this last cycle because his tape actually featured him at inside-backer rather than facing a position change from safety or OLB like many other modern linebackers…or Kenneth Murray.
Anyways, I’m guessing that A&M struggles to fit their talent together into a strong team identity that can keep pace in the always murderous SEC West. What would follow after all of the investment into the program and several mid-level seasons is almost certainly the firing of Kevin Sumlin.
We can talk about his replacements if it becomes relevant but obviously keep an eye out for whether A&M alum Chad Morris can achieve a breakthrough season at SMU.
The Murray Experiment is just that, an experiment. It is a primary source of anxiety for the OU defense. I do not know of thinking OU fans who feel otherwise.
An experiment? I got the sense it was just where things are right now due to depth.
OK, the Murray Situation.
Regardless, the point is no one is jazzed about starting a true freshman at MLB. You and I’ve had recent conversations about how this is likely to be exploited.