Is the portal kid from Idaho fast enough to play Free, or is he more of a Strong? At his size, he seems to be a guy that can match a TE up the seam. We play with multiple Safeties on the field, a kid with his measurables strikes me as that TE-match player.

We'll have 4-5 candidates at Tight End ourselves, led by what might be the best in FCS with Williams. He needs to stay healthy.

The "big back" would have already been snatched from the portal by now, that ain't happening I don't think.

Another QB? What, you're not comfortable with a redshirt freshman :rofl: I don't think another one of those is coming either.

Speaking of young players, the new LB is going to be a sophomore, Seivers is a sophomore, and what else is there behind them? #44 and #13 I think were numbers I recall rotating through last season.

Kicker...

36 yarder at Cal Poly: https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/46508061

No doubt. They are several steps ahead of us, which is a good thing :grin:

And there you go..

I'm looking forward to the QB competition. We're going 6'2"-6"4" and 215+ with the so-called top three contenders. None will move like Pinnick, but he moved a lot out of necessity (vision). These are pro style QBs. Make good decisions and be sure that every drive ends with a kick. Competition is healthy, may the best man win.

Pinnick's on-the-run 40-yard dime to the back corner of the end zone is one of the prettiest, most impressive throws that I have ever seen at any level of football.

There is no end to the signing of players from the Portal. The best guys are gone and signed by now, but that's not to say there aren't grad transfers and leftovers that might help. Personally, I like the recruiting philosophy of younger Portal guys and developing HS players. We'll know on the February signing day what Juco transfers will be added, maybe a few HS kids, but that will likely be the group we're riding with heading into spring ball.

DL size is always a premium. Elite teams have it and you need depth at each position to rotate the big cats through the game. Inside Linebacker seems to be a position where we must be looking Juco and a couple incoming HS signees from the early period. #15 is back, maybe (fingers crossed) Porter, and I think #44 played some this season and has another year. We'll see. Also interested in the kicking job, what's coming up and what are we looking for.

It also looks like Corey the Rocket Dog is going to hang on to her job for another season, I have seen any adoptions from the Pound.

The RB Sylvester signed as well according to Aggie FB X account. From Weber

Certainly going to be an entertaining QB battle. This thing won't be decided until Portland State week; I'd be shocked if there's a starter coming out of spring ball. When will the new guy arrive, summer?

Big TE is fun to watch, go check out his hudl. He is playing at a small level but is clearly the best guy on the field. He likes to mix it up

The Safety has a nice frame, looks like an Idaho transfer?

They were one of the worst teams of my lifetime (early 1970s). Even Temple and UMass had some decent years, but rarely IU. The Bobby Knight teams of my childhood were easy to get on board with, but all I imagine when I remember the football stadium there was that it had an odd shape and nobody was there!

Cignetti had a very solid blueprint, one which it looks like Chesney at UCLA is following. Find a tough, G4 coach with a boatload of 3- and 4-star talent. Poach the best players with the most to prove from that program and have them follow the coach. Spend your money on areas of critical need (for IU, it was the Offensive Line, RBs, and one WR) and take mostly guys with more than a year remaining. Mendoza was a trash heap guy by Portal standards. Develop them, play together in year one, then the magic occurs in year two. Really happy for the Hoosiers, especially the fan base! You have hurt long enough :grin:

Purgatory... Portal is closed, current Aggies probably in winter conditioning and weights, college football season officially over, still two weeks out from Signing Day, NFL final four and draft on the horizon, coaches still getting fired and hired.

Any thoughts on the expanded College Football Playoff? I like the concept, but really don't, now that I've seen it. Season is too long. Championship game played one week into the second semester at both Miami and IU. Most of the other bowl games were unwatchable. I saw one school play with their 5th and 6th string Inside Linebackers, respectively. Both walk-ons. Why are non-playoff bowl games even allowed? Should there be a Group of 5 playoff separate from the Power 4? Shorten down, then run playoffs at every level, no bowl games?

Need to ban commentators from saying where players have transferred from. I know it happened, just don't mention it, okay?

Verbal commits

Sounds a lot like the CIF with the high school transfers. Lawering-up = eligibility

At some point, these young men need to realize that your college football career comes to an end. 5/5 would be a massive upgrade from 5-to-play-4, but is also a lot less than the Covid kids got. In no way do I support players getting six seasons to play college football. Get in, get your degree, play, and move on with your life. Unfortunately, there is too much money to be made in college football by players, agents, coaches, universities, etc.

So, here is what I will call the Pacifico Plan:

A Student-Athlete has five years to play five seasons at any level of college football, including JC

Players will be allowed ONE medical waiver for their career; this allows the student-athlete ONE medical redshirt season IF there is a documented, season-ending injury that occurs in the first 50% of that season's scheduled games. Once the season hits the halfway point, no more medical redshirts accepted. If a student-athlete has already used his approved medical waiver and sustains another injury, tough sh*t. You get one. Take your hopefully multiple degrees and beat it.

If a player takes one snap in one game, that counts as one of his five seasons. If he takes no snaps in a season, it still counts as one of his five seasons. A season is a season is a season. NO REDSHIRTS (except the above medical).

Make the Portal window December 9-December 23. 99% of college football has finished the season. The ones that haven't, they typically have a front office to sort it out. Gives most everyone the opportunity to make post season evaluations and hold their exit meetings, gives kids a chance to enroll at the new school and attend spring ball, and then forces the kids in the Portal who don't get the money, to figure out if they really want to play college football. If they want to play, find a D2/D3/NAIA home. Makes those levels of football better. Any player that remains in the Portal for 365 days is no longer eligible for FBS/FCS. Again, figure out if you really want to play, and if you do, lower division football is a great option.

What am I missing?

I don't get the coach's vote. Why not just adopt the 5 years to play 5 seasons, period. No more appeals or lawsuits. 9 games is more than the current 4+playoffs, but 12 is the regular season so just give them 5 years to play 5 seasons. I guess, however, that the question still arises: what happens to injured players in the 5-for-5 format? Back to square one, or just say no appeals and it is 5-for-5? Pulling for those kids, the whole thing is heartbreaking.

Let's go! Don't underestimate your value

Man, you have the scoop on staff moves. Same source?

Here's a great off-season topic: Aggie legend and the gutsiest play caller in the history of modern college football (see 2007 Fiesta Bowl if you're too young to remember. Arguably the best two minutes of playcalling in my lifetime) Chris Petersen named to the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame class! Way to go Coach Pete!

https://themw.com/news/2026/01/14/chris-petersen-selected-for-college-football-hall-of-fame/

Let's see... $500-750k and a house, or even a nice condo, in the Pullman area with incentives based on my performance. And maybe a truck with 4WD. With a gunrack.

I don't know how you quantitate the value of the UC Davis degree. All your points are very valid.

I am with you 100% on having an in-house guy over a portal transfer. Especially on the Offensive Line and at that position. The staff must feel confident with our homegrown Tackles if they aren't offering portal/grad transfers. Good sign!

Transfer Portal period ends January 16. We may get word at that time.
JC Transfers and late high school Signing Day is February 4th. We will definitely have this thing pieced together by February 5th.

I think the Psyche replacement and the Left Tackle replacement are the key pieces that warrant immediate, grad transfer/portal types. TE and RB have one proven guy each with young depth behind them, but it says something to the state of readiness of those back-ups if we have portal offers at those positions. Nickel/Safety the same thing. Look at what offers are out there and that will tell you what the coaches are thinking of the young guys coming up.

Since we're in off-season opining mode, let's discuss the merits of smallish RBs vs. the "big back". A big back is typically seen as slower, but more powerful, with a greater ability to run through arm tackles in short yardage situations. In my opinion, that is a nice luxury to have. "Big backs" that jumped out to me were Victor Dawson (#5, 5'11" 220) from Illinois State and Davis from Montana State (#32, 5'10" 210). A program needs to be in the portal to find those guys, and you have to be willing to pay. Dawson was from Cincinnati while Davis came from Wisconsin. They come with a price tag. And, in retrospect, was either one of them any more valuable than the small backs from UC Davis? Different offensive roles, certainly. Fisher gets most of his carries on 1st down and run down situations. 14 carries per game is his average, 2 catches per game. 16 touches. Dawson was a volume rusher who got stronger as the game progressed and dictated. Good zone runner. Davis was more of a change-up guy to compliment the QB run threat. While a 3rd and 4th down situational back would be a luxury, for what the Aggies offense asks of its tailback, I would argue (not sure who I'm arguing with) that the team is better served spending money elsewhere. Like Defensive End and Left Tackle. This is no knock on Fish; in fact, he is the perfect RB for Plough's offense in my opinion. Great in space in the screen/passing game, outstanding on the outside runs and gap schemes, willing pass blocker (sometimes gets run over, but he ain't scared). I love his game. Dynamic, home run hitter who can take it to the house on any carry. I hold my breath when he has the ball. When I watched Dawson and Davis, that was not the case. What I'm getting at is that a big back is not necessarily the best fit for the Aggie offense. As we learned, there aren't enough carries to go around and keep guys happy. An "RB by committee" or an elite RB with capable back-ups is just fine.

Finally, something happened today... According to his X post (@BoogieSylvester), the Aggies have offered Weber State RS FR Running Back Chauncey Sylvester. Hails from St. John Bosco in SoCal. 305 yards on 60 carries and 4 TD last season. I like the sound of a Tailback called "Boogie"

Spot on. Everything you posted there is true.

Stars do not equate to "want to". Everyone that ever played on a football team has seen a seemingly athletic or talented teammate quit the team early for a myriad of reasons (they got exposed as being over-hyped, they realized they weren't good enough, they were burned out, they were homesick, they missed their girlfriend, etc.). And plenty of them are asked to not return after the season (hence the reason for 10,000+ in the portal before it opens every year). It is an awful business these days and it is not for everyone.