Recruit #24: Ernest Crownover, RB, 6-1, 220, Kilgore JC
This is definitely not a good sign for our offense next season
Against top teams, next season we are going to be hurting again at the RB position just like we were this season against top teams (AU, AL, LSU) and even OSU.
If we can't sign RB Zachary Evans, our offense is going to be limited again against these top teams.

Our Possible RB Squad for the 2020 Season:
Numbers in brackets (in order) are: the rankings of the three main recruiting services
247Sports, ESPN Top 300, Rivals Top 250

247C. Recruit . . . . . . . . . . Pos, Ht/Wt . . . .[247,ESPN,Rivals]
152. Isaiah Spiller . . . . . . .RB, 6-1, 220 -------[232,123,153] . . .[TAMU-Enrolled]
Offers: AL, Mich, OU, PnSt, Rice

215. Devone Achane . . . . .RB, 5-9, 170 ------[95, 262, nr] ------ [TAMU-Signed]
Offers: AL, AU, GA, LSU, SC, Tulane
Very small for a SEC RB but is extremely fast

845. Deondre Jackson . . .RB, 5-10.5, 211 ---[ 830, nr, nr] . . [TAMU-Signed]
Offers: AL, AU, FL

nr. Ernest Crownover . . . RB, 6-1, 220 -------[nr, nr, nr] . . . [TAMU-Signed]
Offers: Oregon, UTSA, Houston Baptist, UCONN

POSSIBLE : HOPEFUL : PLEASE
14. Zachary Evans . . . . . . . . RB, 5-11/200 ----[17, 7, 29] . . . . [TAMU-27%, Miss/FL-0%]
offer from AL, AU, GA, LSU, Mich, OU, OhSt

We're just gonna go spread offense next year.

Word is he will be blueshirting so technically he would be recruit #1 for 2021 or (possibly #2 if we have a silent gray shirt from Sheppard?????)

Shepherd's academics are ****ed. He's gonna JUCO, have to graduate and likely end up elsewhere.

We will have 3 talented RBs on the roster. We will run the ball if the OL improves and keep the RBs healthy.

ETA: Agree that it is not a good sign. Wanted to see us get another highly rated RB.

We still have two spots left this cycle one will be for Jackson the other for a RB

lil_frog8 said:

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We still have two spots left this cycle one will be for Jackson the other for a RB

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I hope it's Jackson. Bama has made a very big push. He officialed there and they hired the ole miss DL coach that had been recruiting him for years.

They'll process Damien George. If all else fails, maybe we land George. Who knows.

Fortunately, RB is one of the easier positions to transition from high school to college.

I think our offense is going to be worlds better than this years.

What do you base your opinion on?
If I break down the offense into positions such as quarterback, running back, receivers, and offensive line, I do not see any of these positions being world's better next year than this year's. Not a single position.

MidTnAg said:

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What do you base your opinion on?
If I break down the offense into positions such as quarterback, running back, receivers, and offensive line, I do not see any of these positions being world's better next year than this year's. Not a single position.

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The leading rusher from last year has a year under his belt now.

Rogers should be easy to replace.

It can't get much worse than Prater at center.

You never know who could emerge. I think it stands to reason that because the guys that emerged last season were freshman that the offense as a whole could be better.

MidTnAg said:

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What do you base your opinion on?
If I break down the offense into positions such as quarterback, running back, receivers, and offensive line, I do not see any of these positions being world's better next year than this year's. Not a single position.

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You honestly don't see TE being better?

All of them being a little better adds up to a ton. You'd be surprised what even just marginal OL improvement and any one of Kellen, Isaiah, Jalen, or WRs getting better can do. Let alone if each shows marginal improvement. You don't need one position to take a huge jump, just slight improvement across the board to see a completely different offense.

That said, TE could be worlds better. Jalen with a year under his belt and getting Cupp back. Not to mention Blake Smith is an exceptional blocker. Jimbo being able to get more 2 TE sets in can chance the whole offense and even make the OL look better with regards to blocking.

For all the concern over RB depth this year, last year we had 3 to begin the year with average speed in the backfield. It was reduced to 2 by game 3. This year, we look to have up to 6 guys capable of playing RB(even if only 4 are full time RBs) with more ability to put speed in the backfield. We could see more 2 back type sets with Spiller/Crownover or Spiller/Smith or Smith/Achane, etc.

I expect Kellen to improve a little. Not a ton. But a little. He has each year thus far. Add in what looks to me many more options on offense next year and he too can look a lot better even with just marginal improvement.

And Speed, speed, speed. It's coming. We lacked it big time last year.

And who knows, we might still suck offensively with zero improvement for all I know. But it isn't hard to see ways/reasons why we can be much better with as much as we have returning.

The posters that don't think we will just think Kellen sucks and we are maxed out with him no matter what. I find that to be incredibly inaccurate.

cevans_40 said:

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MidTnAg said:

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What do you base your opinion on?
If I break down the offense into positions such as quarterback, running back, receivers, and offensive line, I do not see any of these positions being world's better next year than this year's. Not a single position.

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You honestly don't see TE being better?

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I definitely see out TE position being better but not "World's Better".

The only person I see on the entire side of the offense who could be "world's better" this season compared to last season is OG Kenyon Green. This is it.

Barring an injury, every area should be better from a little better (QB, & OL), and even up to possibly a good bit better (WR/TE, RB). Every area should be better.

But the biggest problem that will limit the success of these areas is the same as the last two years and will be for the next two years the OFFENSIVE LINE. We have no true tackles playing tackle, absolutely no depth, absolutely no development of underclassmen to take over the place of our maxed out senior starters.

Very poor evaluation / recruiting / development / unfortunate injuries / etc. has had a huge negative impact on the performance of the OL.

This season we will have essentially the same OL as last season that was essentially the same as the season before that. You would think that coaches would want to development depth. Playing Texas State, Lamar, Arkansas, Mississippi, Mississippi State, UTSA, and South Carolina should have offered A LOT of opportunity to develop players for this season. Unfortunately, we all know that was not done.

Backups at QB and OL rarely played. An injury in those places this season will be replaced by a person who has only limited experience.

If the coaching staff continues to not allow backups at QB and in the OL to get game time experience this season, sadly we will have a big drop off in the 2021 season in the overall performance of our team.

"But the biggest problem that will limit the success of these areas is the same as the last two years and will be for the next two years the OFFENSIVE LINE. We have no true tackles playing tackle, absolutely no depth, absolutely no development of underclassmen to take over the place of our maxed out senior starters."


I cannot recall a year when the starting OL did not essentially play the entire games except for a few final minutes in a blow out.

Quote:

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If the coaching staff continues to not allow backups at QB and in the OL to get game time experience this season, sadly we will have a big drop off in the 2021 season in the overall performance of our team.

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Eh, that's bogus. Too many first year QBs are having great success. If they are good, they are good. King, whether he hands the ball off three times and attempts 2 passes against North Dakota State Correctional University Southern doesn't make a lick of difference. Winston hadn't played a snap before his championship season with Jimbo. Lawrence was a true fish taking over midway through the year. A RFR Haynes King with minimal snaps won't matter if King is the right guy.

And again, I believe you are way too focused on worrying about whether one position can make a world of difference. You'd be very, very surprised how 3-4 units getting even just marginally better can make you tons better on the whole. If QB, OL, and TE improve by even just the slightest clip, the offense will be significantly better. If any one position takes a big step like TE or RB, then that can make it all the more better. But the goal isn't to have one unit get worlds better. It's to have multiple units improve, even if ever so slightly, to combine to make a much better offense on the whole.

Foxo said:

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"But the biggest problem that will limit the success of these areas is the same as the last two years and will be for the next two years the OFFENSIVE LINE. We have no true tackles playing tackle, absolutely no depth, absolutely no development of underclassmen to take over the place of our maxed out senior starters."


I cannot recall a year when the starting OL did not essentially play the entire games except for a few final minutes in a blow out.

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Agreed.

90+% of development happens over the offseason. A true fish or RFR OL not playing more or not overtaking a JR/SR during the year isn't that concerning. If none of them can make a push this offseason, that's concerning. We need at least a couple of the younger OL to begin to emerge this offseason. Hoping someone like Luke Matthews, Layden Robinson, or Maybe Blake Trainor begins to make some noise. You also get Chris Morris and Josh Bankhead in early, so lets see what we may hear about them by fall camp. I don't expect either to start, but you can get an idea if it's someone who can develop into a player, or someone you might have missed on and/or will take longer to get where you want then expected.

If we move K. Green to LT and if he plays at the level of an average SEC LT next season our OL should be quite a bit better. We were undersized/not physical enough at center this season, so that may be another spot where we can improve the OL.

I still believe in Spiller.

Plus, Ainais and Achane look like they're going to be BEASTS.

Pessimism runs rampant on texags