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In defense of A&M, an argument for why their 2022 class wasn't "bought"
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:46 pm
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:46 pm
Warning - Long read, stick with it, if you can
I see a lot of people here saying their 2022 class is obvious proof of cheating, I disagree with that when looking at all of the facts.
First off, everyone cheats, and I don't really believe that A&M does more or less than anyone else.
When you look at the 2022 class, it was an extremely good year for Texas talent (which is usually overrated by recruiting services) and the Houston area in particular.
Second, take into account that A&M's main competition for talent in that area, Texas and LSU, were both down. Oklahoma was also going through a coaching change, as was LSU, and Texas' guy was in his first year.
Third, A&M was coming off of a year with a lot of hype, they've become a team that the media loves to rank highly in the preseason. They've dumped a lot of money into facilities and such and they're now seen as one of "cool" places to be, Notre Dame with Marcus Freeman has become another.
Sure, they had the 8-4 year but Jimbo is as good at controlling the narrative around his program as any coach in the country, the quarterback injury pretty much got all of the blame for their final record.
They have great facilities, media hype, and Jimbo is generally seen as a good coach, that's why recruits are going there, it isn't because of the "allure of the Aggie alumni network" or "the value of an Aggie education," 99 out of 100 highly ranked high school recruits don't give a shite about any of that.
Jimbo has always been an elite recruiter and when all of these factors combined, you got the 2022 class.
A lot is made about it being the "most highly ranked class of all time," that's simply because they had 30 signees. If you look at average recruit ranking, they'd have come in 2nd in 2022 and 3rd in 2021.
If they come in on top of the rankings in 2023 with another similar class, there may be some cause to look into things a little deeper. Currently, they're sitting at #14 with 6 commits, that's generally where I'd expect them to be at this time of year.
TL;DR - A&M didn't "buy" their class but don't expect them to pull in another crazy class in 2023
I see a lot of people here saying their 2022 class is obvious proof of cheating, I disagree with that when looking at all of the facts.
First off, everyone cheats, and I don't really believe that A&M does more or less than anyone else.
When you look at the 2022 class, it was an extremely good year for Texas talent (which is usually overrated by recruiting services) and the Houston area in particular.
Second, take into account that A&M's main competition for talent in that area, Texas and LSU, were both down. Oklahoma was also going through a coaching change, as was LSU, and Texas' guy was in his first year.
Third, A&M was coming off of a year with a lot of hype, they've become a team that the media loves to rank highly in the preseason. They've dumped a lot of money into facilities and such and they're now seen as one of "cool" places to be, Notre Dame with Marcus Freeman has become another.
Sure, they had the 8-4 year but Jimbo is as good at controlling the narrative around his program as any coach in the country, the quarterback injury pretty much got all of the blame for their final record.
They have great facilities, media hype, and Jimbo is generally seen as a good coach, that's why recruits are going there, it isn't because of the "allure of the Aggie alumni network" or "the value of an Aggie education," 99 out of 100 highly ranked high school recruits don't give a shite about any of that.
Jimbo has always been an elite recruiter and when all of these factors combined, you got the 2022 class.
A lot is made about it being the "most highly ranked class of all time," that's simply because they had 30 signees. If you look at average recruit ranking, they'd have come in 2nd in 2022 and 3rd in 2021.
If they come in on top of the rankings in 2023 with another similar class, there may be some cause to look into things a little deeper. Currently, they're sitting at #14 with 6 commits, that's generally where I'd expect them to be at this time of year.
TL;DR - A&M didn't "buy" their class but don't expect them to pull in another crazy class in 2023
This post was edited on 5/21/22 at 5:53 pm
22
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:48 pm to SidewalkTiger
Wow
You make excellent points. I would add that once a class starts forming other top players are attracted as well and it tends to take on a life of its own. Are the players happy AF to be going to a place where they will no doubt be compensated? Of course
You make excellent points. I would add that once a class starts forming other top players are attracted as well and it tends to take on a life of its own. Are the players happy AF to be going to a place where they will no doubt be compensated? Of course
This post was edited on 5/21/22 at 4:56 pm
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:51 pm to SidewalkTiger
THANK YOU! Finally, someone who gets it.
A&M fans have been saying this all along. NIL 100% played a major factor in this class and players are definitely making large sums of money, but two regional recruiting rivals having a coaching change and texas going 5-7 and losing to Kansas at home with a mediocre coach also played a huge factor.
Houston also had a ridiculous amount of talent this year and A&M and LSU normally clean up in that area. With LSU being down and having uncertainty about who would be the coach, it was ripe for the picking. It was a perfect storm and very likely will never happen again.
To everyone downvoting this, eat my shite.
A&M fans have been saying this all along. NIL 100% played a major factor in this class and players are definitely making large sums of money, but two regional recruiting rivals having a coaching change and texas going 5-7 and losing to Kansas at home with a mediocre coach also played a huge factor.
Houston also had a ridiculous amount of talent this year and A&M and LSU normally clean up in that area. With LSU being down and having uncertainty about who would be the coach, it was ripe for the picking. It was a perfect storm and very likely will never happen again.
To everyone downvoting this, eat my shite.
This post was edited on 5/21/22 at 4:54 pm
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:53 pm to SidewalkTiger
quote:
SidewalkTiger
You feeling okay?
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:53 pm to McKinney Ag69
They've added nothing to the conference, but drama.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:54 pm to SidewalkTiger
They cheated
Posted on 5/21/22 at 4:56 pm to KwoodTiger
quote:
They cheated
Everyone cheats.
Southern Miss players were getting paid when I was there.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:00 pm to SidewalkTiger
They used the system they thought was useable. The collective made up of boosters. Did not break Texas state law. But did break NCAA rules. You can try and use different words but that is it.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:02 pm to SidewalkTiger
I have always said Sidewalk is the voice of reason. 
Saying NIL had nothing to do with it is foolish, but saying it was only because of NIL is equally as ignorant. It was a perfect storm in many ways which you listed.
Fwiw, the rankings for 2023 don’t mean much right now. I am always skeptical of a recruit who commits this early. Way too much time between now and signing day. We are also in the running for several Top 100 guys that haven’t committed yet and some are visiting that are committed elsewhere. The recruiting landscape will look a lot differently come February ‘23.
Saying NIL had nothing to do with it is foolish, but saying it was only because of NIL is equally as ignorant. It was a perfect storm in many ways which you listed.
Fwiw, the rankings for 2023 don’t mean much right now. I am always skeptical of a recruit who commits this early. Way too much time between now and signing day. We are also in the running for several Top 100 guys that haven’t committed yet and some are visiting that are committed elsewhere. The recruiting landscape will look a lot differently come February ‘23.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:06 pm to SidewalkTiger
quote:
TL;DR - A&M didn't "buy" their class but don't expect them to pull in another crazy class in 2023
Yes they did & yes they will. I don't give a shite about NIL deals, A&M paying kids still in high school is the problem.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:10 pm to TexasForever
How much are you paying your Mississippi Mudflap QB who’s never played a down of football?
This post was edited on 5/21/22 at 5:11 pm
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:16 pm to SidewalkTiger
I can’t say I disagree with anything you said. I also don’t think Jimbo needed to respond the way he did calling attention to himself and possibly setting himself up for bigger expectations than already existed
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:17 pm to siliconvalleytiger
quote:
I can’t say I disagree with anything you said. I also don’t think Jimbo needed to respond the way he did calling attention to himself and possibly setting himself up for bigger expectations than already existed
I agree
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:21 pm to siliconvalleytiger
I'm guessing most people didn't even hear what Saban said. Just heard a highlight and thought he must have said more about A&M. Jimbo went on a 9 min rant about kids family the past god walking on water and a list of other things in response to one sentence by Saban about A&M.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:25 pm to Colonel Ingus
quote:
who’s never played a down
You mean this one?
God damn you are dumb.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:32 pm to graves1
Yeah but he called out A&M in the same sentence as “buying players”. It probably wasn’t meant to land that way but it did
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:37 pm to SidewalkTiger
Who are you, and what have you done with the real sidewalk tiger?
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:40 pm to siliconvalleytiger
quote:
Yeah but he called out A&M in the same sentence as “buying players”. It probably wasn’t meant to land that way but it did
I'm sure it was meant that way. Because they bought that class. Most were bragging about it until the NCAA statement 2 weeks ago about booster involvement still being against rules. Then suddenly it was all about Jimbo working his arse off recruiting.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:47 pm to SidewalkTiger
Dude. When you aren’t obviously and IMO habitually trolling A&M, you are a damn good poster.
Posted on 5/21/22 at 5:48 pm to Texas Gentleman
quote:
Who are you, and what have you done with the real sidewalk tiger?
yeah, he needs to tell his mom to knock it off, then put a lock on that basement door.
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