Drake almost had the Bison today... Another 15 minutes and they surely would have turned it around.

In all seriousness though it is frustrating that the Pioneer gets an auto bid when they are so clearly not at a competitive level with the rest of the playoff teams.

We recruited WR to a much larger extent last year when compared to this year so hopefully we get some guys from that group that pan out as contributors going forward.

3 star OLB Kyle Hill has committed to UC Davis! That's our 3rd 3 star LB commit! GO AGS!

New offer on ATH CJ Millican from right on our doorstep Davis, CA! GO AGS!

With the season over I hope the coaching staff is starting to get out on the recruiting trail once again especially since the early signing period (which has become the main signing period) starts in just about a month!

Your point is valid though. I'm very glad he's not a freshman!

Bennett was a junior this season. Conklin was their true freshman QB that played in the 1st half.

That's why I mentioned in my first response that I think the passing game as a whole needs to be looked at and reassessed; coaches to scheme to players... It's not just on Miles, but when you're the QB the offense runs through you.

Everything you said is fair and I've tried my best to make it clear that my gripes this season aren't meant to be a personal attack on anyone. At the end of the day these are kids and they are doing the best that they can.

We kinda did that already with Lan running the wildcat down the stretch of the season. It worked because Lan is a stud, but I would rather just have a QB who has a more complete skill set AND have Lan on the field.

With Trent Tompkins switching from QB to general athlete and Mitchell Dixon from QB to TE our QB options are actually fairly limited for the time being.

On roster:
- David Rasor
- Michael Ingrassia
- Miles Hastings
- Grant Harper

Committed, but not signed yet:
- Damon Wrighster

What I find interesting is that Dan and company put out an offer on another QB Caden Pinnick after Wrighster had already committed. Wonder if we're going to get a multiple QB recruiting class. I guess it's also possible we could look at the JUCO route if the staff really wants multiple QBs coming in.

Now I don't have statistics on pressure rates or anything like that, but in terms of the OL Davis was actually tied for allowing the least sacks in the conference.

It's pretty notable that Miles was statistically worse across the board in 2023, but the question remains of how much of it is on Miles vs on the OC, QB coaching, and the receivers. If we had that 2022 stat line in 2023 I would say we win 1 potentially 2 more games.

Like I said, all I know is what I heard. Who knows if even that is true, but it was heard from individuals pretty connected to the program so I don't really have reason to not believe it.

Well If that is the case that is a huge loss. Buchanan has been the definition of consistent in the middle of the field.

But does he had another year of eligibility? Could he join a grad program is what I'm saying? COVID made things weird with eligibility.

I couldn't tell you that though I'm sure it's a combination of multiple things including play calling/scheme, lack of receivers getting open, and how Miles was reading the field post snap.

Stopping Larison was a tall order for defenses this season, but I agree with your sentiment that we needed a true #1 receiver to compliment the run game. Gbatu had some flashes, but we haven't had a true #1 receiver performance since Khris Vaughn in 2019 when he had 756 yards and 9 TDs. Very limited receiver identity since.

I'm assuming that Hawkins took over some of the play calling, but I'm not 100% sure on that. All I can say is what I heard and that was that the OC lost some of his privileges after the NAU game I believe it was.

I wouldn't argue with Dan on if Miles has high football IQ or not. He'd clearly know better than me. But the reality of the situation is that Miles lacks mobility and struggles to get the ball downfield. Defenses just don't have to work as hard when they know they're facing a QB who is limited to short and intermediate routes with a pretty low chance of taking off on a run. I found it interesting that down the stretch of the season we were more comfortable on offense just running the wildcat than playing traditional offense.

- It's tough to know what departures we'll have as we're still dealing with the fallout from covid eligibility, but looking at our seniors and graduate students we'll definitely miss Nick Eaton, Jake Parks, Jordan Ford, and Evan Tattersall. Parks and Ford have been mainstays on the offensive line for a long time and Eaton and Tattersall had productive seasons.

- The obvious and most critical returnee is Larison, but getting Chubba and Rex Connors back on the field for the defense will be big. Teddye Buchanan is another leader on the field who I expect will have another big season.

- Areas of needed improvement are with our passing offense from top to bottom (coordination, coaching, QB play, receiver talent) and special teams play.

- With Larison pounding the rock I would hope that our run game would continue to excel, but we are losing some guys on the offensive line who have been critical in opening up running lanes so I could see there being some drop off next season.

- I think Hawkins is doing... okay. The program is clearly healthier than during the Gould years and we've made the playoffs a couple of times, but we haven't been able to make the jump to being a consistent top level team (which is very difficult to do!). I do, however, think that Hawkins needs to do a better job with filling out the coaching staff. He likes to do the easy hire and promote from within (quality control --> assistant coach --> coordinator). It worked for awhile, but the offense did suffer this season from having a bland scheme and inability to get the ball downfield. I head through the grapevine that offensive play calling rights were taken away from the OC towards the end of the season (not sure for all plays or just situational). Overall I think the program is still headed in the right direction, but we're starting to plateau and some changes may need to be made.

- More talent will lead to more consistent playoff berths. Easier said than done. There are only a handful of teams that consistently make the playoffs.

- Next season the Aggies will have an absolutely brutal gauntlet to end the season with @ Montana, vs Montana State, and @ Sac State. Not to mention we're back to playing Idaho and are @ EWU (even on a down season they still have our number).

That and we we're tied at 78th in the country for turnovers lost. Can't turn the ball over that much and expect to be in the playoffs.

Although one of the teams we were tied with is Idaho... so maybe you can.

I was having this conversation this morning with a family member. I'm not saying that the Aggies do deserve to be in this year, but I think there are certain programs that get preferential treatment based on name alone.