Texas A&M s depth chart for Notre Dame, GameDay guest picker, and more!

Allin Sports Network we love sports hello everybody and welcome into Allin Aggies I am your host Ben peek we are so excited to be with you uh not just today but as you see every day throughout the year and throughout the throughout the season throughout the upcoming academic athletic calendar um if you don't know my background I am the Sports Anchor at kcen and KAG TV uh the NBC affiliate and Brian College Station been here for a little more than two years now before we get going on today's topics I have laid out I did just want to uh kind of mention my vision for this show and how excited I am to be here with the Allin Sports Network Rogue media Network um a and really discuss anything and everything related to Texas A&M Athletics you know if you know my background obviously uh I've been in television for a long time I've spent about three and a half years in lck uh covering Cliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders with this uh this guy Patrick Mahomes I'm trying to remind him that we're good family friends you know we go way back but after he signed that big you know $450 million contract haven't been able to get in touch with him but uh did that was in West Texas for a little bit at uh Midland Odessa covering Midland Lee Midland Legacy Odessa peran the Friday Night Lights out there then came to Aggy land February 202 to so that was a real interesting time if you remember that was right after uh the signing class the fabled signing class kind of of that year came into the fold for Texas A&M a lot of Buzz just coming off the eight and four season but you know felt like a lot of things were heading in the right direction my point is there was a lot of Buzz and a lot of attention surrounding Texas A&M and I've been able to feel that encapsulate it you know I grew up outside of Houston went to high school in that area shout out gavson County Friendswood uh if you know you know but um so I've been in Texas for a little while but really was freshly introduced to the whole Agy land spirit I briefly dated a girl who uh or who briefly was in agie land at the vet school in like 2017 I think so I'm not like totally unfamiliar with College Station when I came in but uh it has really even since then it's fascinating to see how much it has grown and I've loved my time here I've loved it I've enjoyed it I want to keep it going and uh want to keep this going and give you guys like I said all the best in Texas ANM Athletics every single day and really focus on everything so I want to give you a vision for my show and what I hope we can do with this uh before as I said before we get going I want this show to be the most all and let me start that over I'm gonna try to clip this later I want this show to be the most allinclusive show regarding Texas A&M Athletics that you see on any digital platform on a daily basis every single day that means covering every sport on campus that means covering not only the teams on campus but the athletes and the coaches as they get to Agy land and as they leave Agy land you know we do a lot of that with television you know if there's a a kid in Madisonville golfing Named Sam Bennett and he might turn out to be a big deal or he's just a local kid see how he does that might be interesting to explore if there's a ktie baseball player ktie Tomkins Jay slav ylette and he's supposed to come to Texas A&M if we can go check him out and and get in touch with him and kind of get a peek behind the curtain love to do that high school football same thing probably not that's probably not going to happen this year but down the road in in future season so um yeah that's that's what I want to do with the show want to cover the athletes that are on campus let you know what they're doing at their professional ranks let you know about the incoming Aggies and then of course Focus all on the teams that are here on campus doing great things every single day I really think we are entering a golden age of Athletics for Texas A&M the way things are shaping up with you know all the different rules that are coming out I think you know quite frankly a lot of these rules help the rich get richer and as you know Texas A&M is right up there with uh some of the best and the thing I love about covering Texas A&M is there's really not a program on campus like every single program on campus is and should be nationally relevant I've always said if you get the top for pretty much every sport aside from maybe men's basketball if you can just recruit you know a handful of the top athletes from the state of Texas in your given sport you should be able to build a national title Contender because of how good most of the high school sports are are here in Texas and you know and that's just the Baseline obviously you can go beyond that so you know I think we've seen it with that magical spring semester you know I've got my women's tennis National Championship shirt on today we saw it with them we've seen it with women's golf Adel cusk an individual national champion and I want to bring you guys along for the ride to say if anything big like that is happening on campus at A&M you're going to know about it here and you're going to be in the loop you're going to be aware of it you're going to be you know you're not gonna be taken by surprise that this guy Sam Bennett is almost leading the Masters in Augusta okay because you're gonna say oh they've been talking about them all this time I know all about Sam Bennett you know we go to golf mat tournaments and I I get video and highlights from them by the way that is also something I want to do I want this to be a podcast where it's going to be a podcast but um you know I'm going to try to implement some video elements as best I can similar to what we would do with a traditional television show obviously it's not quite as buttoned up as that would be but um a little more casual but I do want it to feel uh like a professional product and something that you know if you listen to it that's great but we want you to go back and watch it too because we're going to have highlights from across campus interviews with guests and athletes and and stories about all the different people so you know make sure you get to that and uh just like I said so excited to be here and do this and pick this up add it to my little portfolio my resume and um you know it's not about my resume though this is our show this is your show if you want feedback let me know what you guys want to talk about topics you're interested in and we can definitely touch on those I want this to feel like you know like a community I want this to have a communal feel because the show doesn't work without you guys and without you watching liking comment subscribing telling your friends telling your your your parents your neighbors your agie fans uh your non Agy fans who are maybe just interested in some of the athletes on campus um so really happy to have you here happy to be here and with all that being said let's get to it all right first thing we're gon to talk about today we're gonna break down I've got this beautiful depth chart from Texas A&M for week one against Notre Dame going to spend some time to kind of go through that and break down uh some of the interesting tidbits I found here as we get ready for week one no surprise quarterback one and by the way uh follow me on my socials at the benek uh I tweeted out this depth chart if you want to take a look for yourself but start a quarterback no surprise Conor wigman qb1 I mean I think that was obviously understood for a while I do think it's interesting and we're not going to go through every single backup battle but it is the backup quarterback I always argue that backup quarterbacks like your 12th starter because as a Bears fan in the NFL trust me if you don't have a backup you're in trouble big time I've lived it way too much so uh and I mean Texas DM has experienced that as well so backup spot for qb1 uh or qb2 I guess Jaylen Henderson or Marcel Reed I would be I would be leaning toward Jaylen Henderson being the guy right now although I think going into next year if because I believe yes Jaylen Henderson can come back next year if Conor wigman were to depart for the NFL you know if the Aggies didn't go out and get a bigname quarterback in the transfer portal and you had Jaylen Henderson Marcel Reed battling it out I could see Marcel Reed coming out on top and winning that starting job his third year on campus at that point um so for now I think it's probably Jaylen Henderson but I like both those options with Henderson and Reed backing up Conor wigman uh Levan Moss getting the starting running back spot nod I believe it it was Amari Daniels who was the ACT actually the leading rusher for texum last year but he's in there with EJ Smith backing him up obviously just so upsetting and disappointing to see Ruben Owens go down um you know he's a special special talent I think he has all the tools to be uh everything he was built to be in high school as one of the top running backs in the country um you know on one hand it is like it's nice that the running back room is in a spot where especially if you're going with a running back by committee you still do have I think three very good options so Silver Lining hopefully it wouldn't just absolutely the Aggies to the point where you know there's nothing left in the cupboard you know I I fully confident Levon Moss Amari Daniels EJ Smith I think they give you a nice little punch uh in situational spots as well but I I would be surprised if we see Amari Daniels and Levon Moss kind of as more of a onea 1B there at the running back the wide receiver spots we've got Noah Thomas at the X Jay Walker at the Z and Cyrus Allen in the slot moose Muhammad behind Jay Walker a little surprised we didn't see moose uh crack the starting lineup somewhere I although not necessarily surprised that you know if you were to tell me the top three is gon to be Noah Thomas Cyrus Allen and Jay Walker like none of those guys individually surprised me that they cracked into the starting rotation uh I mean I think Cyrus Allen has a lot of potential I mean from what I get to see really exciting uh just his skill set to see it up close coming in from Louisiana Tech uh Jay Walker I really made a lot of strides toward the end last year and I think he does so much too for that that locker room and that unit uh whether he's on the field whether he's just a cheerleader or or doing whatever he does I mean he you know and ni Smith shared a story with him last year about how like how much of a work ethic a dog he was uh kind of in summer workouts just getting in extra balls and and really going all out as at that time a newcomer to the team coming in from I believe division two too so I think Jay Walker's invaluable not just on the field but in the clubhouse as well Noah Thomas I mean listen stay healthy if he could stay healthy he he can really make things exciting with the you know 66 frame um he's I think he's got decent speed once he gets going to just almost like Conor wigman just need to see him healthy keep it going for a whole year and really start to break through a and we've seen those performances where you know I think it was New Mexico three touchdowns uh he had a game last year with three touchdowns I think it was New Mexico um and so look I think fully capable of continuing to do that and if we can see that on a bigger basis you know he's one of those guys where because of his frame and his skill set there aren't a lot of people who can do what he does um you know with that 66 frame it's almost like having a 7 Foot Center like I don't care how well you know a 69 guys playing big and being playing strong at some point you're seven foot or you're seven foot or you're not so at some point you're a 66 wide receiver you're not that opens up options for Texas A&M and I'm really excited to see what he can do if he stays healthy I think moose will still be a big factor um you know I think moose you can you can move arounds um I think M AAS list on here's back up to the slot he's another uh enticing guy that I'm excited to see how they move around together um Isaiah Williams as well as well as Jacob bosk so that's kind of your look at wide receivers at tight end I thought this was one of the bigger surprises Trey Watson is listed as your starter and behind him uh three-way ti so to speak the ORS on the death chart if you know uh between Shane Calhoun Donovan Green and uh Theo uh from our big swed at tight end you know Donovan Green obviously coming off the injury had that fantastic freshman year was curious to see where he was going to be you know still working back through everything you know he looks good when I see him out there uh big physical can block uh can obviously make catches and make plays there um shout out Dickenson Texas uh you know Trey Watson uh from what I've seen you know solid solid year at Fresno State last year uh you know I'll be interested to see just schematically how Colin Klein tries to use these tight ends how much of a on the balance of you know blocking and being a ball catcher they try to be uh I think both I think Don and greens like I said pretty solid at both uh but it'll be interesting to see how that plays out I think that could be another one kind of like with Amari Daniels where you know it kind of turns into a 1 a1b situation but Trey not Trey Watson starts out getting the nod there all right offensive line we'll go left tackle over to right tackle you've got zoon basantis and then at Center you still have a battle going on between uh Fu and Mark nabou at Center Right Guard you've got arage Reed Adams transfer from Kansas uh right tackle Demetrius crownover or Reuben FY so this this is interesting because of course this is probably the one unit that like the X Factor for the season like how they do if they're a good solid I mean I think you could probably say how the offensive line does is going to be representative of how the team does if they're good solid I think this is going to be a good solid Tex J&M team if they're pretty good really good I think the same can be said for the team maybe you can uh you know have other defensive line of course comes the note carry you a little bit more but uh my my bigger point is if this unit struggles I don't care how nice your receivers running backs quarterback situation is it's gonna potentially be kind of a tough year to sit through for Aggie fans um Trey zun I mean no doubter at left tackle there Chase vantes I was the only thing I was interested with that is moving him over to the left you know I know in my mind I wouldn't think it'd be that big of a deal I know that it is is an adjustment for some guys so see him move over to left guard uh fou the Utah transfer and Mark Nebo at Center in a battle there I would be surprised if it's not Nebo it's not from like any inside information I have but just that seems where it's been trending you know got some time last year I thought played pretty well so uh All Things Considered so I would lean in that direction in terms of my expectations but always good to have options um arered Adams a perfect kind of guy you want to bring in uh to bolster the offensive line as a transfer you know proven played well at Kansas uh has shown you what he can do well they got him listed here 65330 you've got TJ Shanahan backing him up I think Shanahan you know he's pretty ferocious if you remember him from high school and uh fortunately had a senior season cut short a little bit but you know I think Reed Adams kind of slides in brings that experience factor and then right tackle this is where it gets interesting another you know Demetrius crownover kind of reminds me of Mark nabou in terms of really a guy who always was talked about like hey you know keep an eye on this guy like he's he's another intimidating frame that you can't teach I think he's yeah 67 330 and that that being said Ruben FY 68 320 you know FY of course coming off the injury he was I think a big understated loss for the agies last year um I like that those guys are battling that tells me you know both those guys are I think that probably says there's a better chance that they're both doing well and impressing rather than they're both kind of struggling and you're trying to pick the best of those options that that's kind kind of my mindset on that is that a battle in that situation just like the center position is probably good because I I think it's more likely that both guys have raised their games than the opposite uh scenario all right now let's flip over to defense going down the defensive line you've got Nick scorton the pride of Brian high school again another guy that when we when we do the show like when we really take it off we're g to talk about him playing at Brian all the time granted I know he came in as a transfer so uh that was an extenuating circumstances but my point is I want to highlight these local athletes so that you know about them as they're coming in uh Shamar Turner on the defensive line as well as DJ Hicks or Albert reges at that defensive tackle position at that second D Tackle Spot I I would imagine my my guess would be DJ hick because he just he just pops every time I see him he's he's making some kind of play where you say wow that guy I mean you could see all the tools 65 300 but moves really well for that frame Regis you know I think he's he's a very good player in the rotation I kind of picture him rotating in it's more situational stuff give you know either of those guys a breather between Shamar Turner and DJ h picks um behind those guys you have uh Gabriel Bron lendi uh Rus Johnson and Samu Tom Tom manop Pepe I can never get it but I try uh at the other end spot you've got Shamar Stewart of course the other Samar Malik Sila there is the backup Malik Sila another one of these intriguing guys with an intriguing frame uh you really want to see kind of how he can pop off and see what he can do but I think Mar Stewart's in for a breakout year uh you know not the most bold prediction in the world uh but he's a guy who does a lot of good things he's kind of had that steady trajectory in terms of improvement year-over-year that's always encouraging for me to see you know I get a little worried about a guy I almost feel better about a guy who you know does a little something as a freshman does a little bit more as a sophomore has the talent and is building up rather than a guy who just comes in from day one has an amazing freshman year or like really overperforms and the sophomore Year's a little uh we'll see how it goes and then you wonder okay was the freshman year a blip can he or can he bring it back we've seen it before that's the optimistic way of looking at it I I like the trajectory of Shamar Stewart um cashes Howell at the Jack position uh followed by Ryland Kennedy Ryland Kennedy another guy you know listen big track guy wasn't really big track guy until I came here but Ryland Kennedy obviously he did a little bit of that stuff in high school uh I think some field events so I always love an intriguing frame and skill set in that regard I think he'll be fun to watch in the future and Cash's how I think I mean coming in from Bowling Green 64 245 from what I've seen and from what I've you know I kind of heard this and then I went out and observed it to try to see it for myself just a guy that kind of a little firecracker as far far as uh what he can give you on the defensive line you know comes in in a flurry with with a lot of energy I think he'll be a very nice way to spell you know a Nick scorton a a Shamar Stewart you know rushing off the edge uh and I think can cause a lot of Havoc for the aies uh hopefully in their opponent's backfield this year all right Corners you've got uh three Corner spots between well I should say nickel you've got Tyreek Chappelle uh if and when that comes into play or Jaden Hill the Florida transfer and then the the other two starting spots you've got Chappelle you got a listed as Chappelle or BJ Mae or Jayvon Thomas and then on the other side you've got will Lee or Dez Ricks followed by Donovan Sanders as the backup to that unit bravon Rogers also backing up at the nickel spot listen secondary this I think this is kind of your the same thing is the offensive line is for the offense I think the secondary is going to be for your defense if the secondary is okay then you know what you can lean on the defensive line and and those linebacking core we skipped over the linebackers I'll get to that but uh you know you can really lean on those units but if that secondary is leaky and we saw it last at times last year it's going to be a little tricky so I think that unit has to step up now good news bad news you have a lot of options um not necessarily bad news but like I really want to see someone some people just take ownership and lay claim big time to some of these spots and leave no doubt I think will Lee I like his experience and what he brings uh from Kansas State Big Frame 63 Des Ricks obviously the five-star at Alabama had a lot of Promise didn't play a lot last year but that's because he was a freshman at Alabama and if you know Alabama they had a few options last year so I think Dez Ricks is is especially for the future of the program is really tantalizing Tyreek Chappelle another guy like Chase bantes I don't think I touched on this earlier I meant to huge to be able to break bring him back from the transfer portal and see what he can do uh linebackers I'm running a little behind here so I'll go through this linebackers toring York no doubt after that you got Solomon the shields NE man San uh Sanford and then Scooby Williams to Florida transfer look I think that linebacker spot aside from toryan York you know probably three man rotation there York has been a stud um the interesting thing for me not listed uh at cornerback but listed as the number two kick returner and the punt returner Terri busy the five star from timson I think you want to get him acclimated but you know you don't want to put too much on his plate all at once make him feel overwhelmed so I think that's probably the right mindset you know I I think probably as a corner especially you really uh you know you don't want to just throw the guy out there to the wolves and have him have his confidence battered if you know he he's not ready to make plays at a consistent level not saying that Terry busy isn't but I I do think you know you have quite a talent there you you do want to be mindful of how you're managing his talent all right let's get to this list that came in the uh the old inbox this morning this is courtesy of I don't even know if you can actually put action on these this is ver via bet Tennessee they were talking about the bet tennessee.com we don't condone it but if you're just tickled by uh these different scenarios and you want to have some fun with it um so the week one college game day guest picker odds are out and the odds on favorite is I don't understand this Shane Gillis comedian Notre Dame fan I understand he's a Notre Dame fan I I hand up have not been watching college game day as religiously as I used to given that is a massive work day for me now but not aware if they bring in opposing teams guest Pickers as sort of the standard uh operating procedure for college game day that kind of surprised me I'm just going to focus on the only other two A&M related people after that you've got Johnny Manzel plus 500 5 to1 and then Tyler Tony plus 1200 uh 12 to one odds the Dude Perfect uh Tyler Tony of Dude Perfect Fame I think that's probably a pretty good value given the collaboration they had with ESPN the documentary and everything else uh if I were to go with the Dark Horse I think the field the field between okay so you got Shane Gillis Johnny Menzel Tyler Tony and then the other Notre Dame people they threw in there were Jerome Bettis Vince vaugh and Joe Montana the field is plus 350 so I guess let to say none of the guys overwhelming favorites I would throw in as Dark Horse Parker McCullum you know I know he just came to Kyle Field in the summer and I think that would bring the house down that would be my pick for college game day guest picker let me know who you want to see uh picking for Texas A&M uh on Saturday as Notre Dame comes to town maybe it'll be out by the time this video comes out but that's kind of what we're looking at there all right now did want to just briefly touch on um like I said we talk about all the sports here on campus and that's going to be something that I really drive home you know that's what I do with television uh I pride myself on being as knowledgeable if we were do like the director's cup where every sport counts the same and you just did all-encompassing knowledge for the athletic department I'd like to think I strive to be on the Mount Rushmore of that beat like being plugged into all these different teams on campus um new rankings coming out for women's tennis top 100 players of course the aies national champions last year and tex ADM brings back five players in the top 100 Mary Stana the number one player in the country by the way an interesting wrinkle they're moving the NCAA individual championships to the fall and it's going to be in wakeo at Baylor this year as well so those are going to be moved up to the fall instead of in the spring after the teen Championship so my point is these ladies are gon to be going for their individual national titles very soon and then as we turn the calendar over to the spring we focus just on the team Mary Stana definitely has to be you know a factor in that in CAA Championship race Nicole Kieran is the number nine player she is the NCAA Championship Clincher for Texas A&M last year against Georgia again if you watch this show as we get it going like I want her to be a household name like you know Nicole Kieran oh won a national championship at Texas A&M Mia copris Junior ranked in number 20 uh Aggie's the only team in the nation with three players in the top 20 Mia coopis I've been such a big fan of Mia Cooper since she came on campus she is just she's got a ton of skill a ton of power versatility if you're not watching these ladies you need to uh I think they're going to do big things not just attex stum but beyond Luciana Perez sophomore number 68 Janette mellis senior at number 88 respectively so excited to see what those ladies do also want to give a shout out as we do little news and notes here at the end Arthur render knesh text A&M men's tennis pro advancing to the second round of the US Open had a thrilling thre set final set tiebreaking win over Chris Eubanks last night uh the Frenchman render Kesh I believe ranked just inside the top 60 so you know he's always been very solid to a point and been waiting to break through I believe he plays Andre uh rubv the Russian in the next round so that will be a challenge but we are going to be locked into that and and seeing what Mr render knesh can do up at Arthur Ash Stadium or at the complex up there I guess not necessarily the main court but uh yeah exciting times we in agilan opening day just around the corner for texum football again I'm Ben peek here all in Aggies so excited to do the show and really expound on some topics that we don't necessarily get to do uh in in a you know two minute sports segment on television so um let me know your your thoughts on especially the depth chart is what we really covered today I had other topics that we didn't even get around to because I I just got so immersed in the upcoming opener for Texas A&M but we will see you on Thursday until then have a good one Allin Sports Network we love sports