absolutely not, and i don't intend to break my streak now.
caveat: i have never been more disconnected from collegiate football than i am currently, so things like my stellar predictions of last year may not be as accurate.
those that remember, and quote me on it from time to time, might recall my trumpeting of steve addazio as the key to last year's team. well, in many ways i was correct as offensive line play was the canary in a coal mine that exploded inside denver harris' vape pen as he tokyo drifted through the wreckage that was the a&m 2022 season. spoiler: the ol will play a large role again, and i have no idea what the fuck to expect.
tldr: a lot of really talented football players plus jimbo fisher, steve addazio, bobby petrino and dj durkin. lol. lmao.
offense: it will be better, because it can't be worse, and bobby petrino is actually a really gifted playcaller. will jimbo let him take over? i actually think he might, and my hope is petrino's ego remains large enough that he 1. tells jimbo to shut the fuck up when he interferes, and 2. that he wants one last head coaching gig and is hell bent on proving he knows what he's doing.
qb: weigman was a 5-star recruit with an average arm, great hs playmaking ability that was absolutely squashed by jimbo last year, and appeared decent in his few starts. will he be good enough to win a game or two on his own? feels a year away, but maybe. max johnson is as solid a backup as you can hope for in the transfer era, and marcel reed might actually have a little something.
rb: amari daniels is better than people give him credit for, but laveon moss and rueben owens are just at another level athletically. curious how much run david bailey gets as the guy has been productive at this level and bobby likes him some larger backs. this should be a solid B+ room.
te: sucks to lose green as he was primed for a really good year, but max wright will play some ceremonial snaps before giving way to jake johnson and a swede. if johnson stays healthy he has a chance to be good, swede might or might not be a real football player. jaden platt is going to be damn good at some point.
ol: the fulcrum built out of torn acls, various knee surgeries, duct tape and prayer, this will play the biggest role in the season. on the plus side: year 2 of this blocking scheme, supposedly trey zuhn is healthy and looked good during the fall, kam dewberry looked great during the fall, bryce foster can really move people and both layden robinson and ruben fatheree are potentially playing for nfl dollars after looking great in 2021. on the other hand, zuhn was awful last year, supposedly dewberry is dinged and in and out of the doghouse, bryce foster might not actually be on the roster, layden robinson played on one leg last year and ruben fatheree regressed more than any other player i've ever seen in my life. also steve's son louie seems to be the one coaching the line and handing out offers, probably not anything to be worried about. a couple of guards that are capable backups, supposedly bisontis is the real deal, also there are no other tackles.
wr: this should actually be a really productive room, even if it is coached by dameyune craig. evan stewart is a next level athlete and actually appears to have his head on straight, noah thomas is going to be a tough matchup across from him, moose muhammad is set to have a great year and even if he's overrated because he's stuck around so long, anias smith is a strong 4th wideout. supposedly the transfer jahdae walker has something, i'll believe it when i see it.
defense: can we stop the run? do we have enough corners? what if you devoted all of your nil to one position group, would that be bad?
de: should be some guys that can turn the corner for the first time in a while. most pass rushers take time to mature, and between malick sylla, enai white and fadil diggs there should be a weakside guy capable of getting home. if we play them. the other de is whatever 5 star you want between shemar turner, shemar stewart, lt overton or dj hicks. will be disappointing if this group doesn't take a massive step forward and main question is who gets the snaps and where.
dt: mckinley jackson is apparently healthy and playing for a 2nd day pick if he gets his shit together. walter nolan lost a shit-ton of weight (why?) but should still provide a great change of pace at 3-tech, sde. isaiah raikes and albert regis are both quietly more productive so far than the higher ranked guys and will both play a lot. like d-end, should be a huge step forward in production and if elijah robinson can't get this group rolling i don't know what the fuck we're doing.
lb: edgerrin cooper is overrated, but solid. true freshman taurean york has apparently passed everyone else and will start next to him. (shoutout dave aranda evaluations). probably says something about both york and the rest of the room. chris russell looks great and doesn't make plays, martrell harris is a year away and the rest are jags. really needed another transfer and can't get hurt here.
cb: along with ol, probably the biggest delta in terms of potential outcomes - tyreek chappel is solid, but certainly not a shut down guy, and tony grimes, josh deberry and sam mccall are average at best right now. greatest hope for a pure cover guy is jayvon thomas, who may be forced into action early and needs to be good quick. schedule doens't appear to be a murderers row of qb's / scheme here so may get lucky. (take tennessee and the points)
s: should be really good, demani richardson doesn't need to be left deep but is great in the box, jardin gilbert looks set to have a great year, bryce anderson is going to be a stud and very quickly, jacoby matthews and jared kerr are quality depth and hopefully some stellar safety play helps the cbs.
st: sure.
don't ask me how, but i somehow think we end up 9-3 - there's enough high-end talent scattered throughout the roster that the floor should be higher, and the majority of the issues that plagued last year's roster (jimbo's playcalling, the amount of true freshmen playing, chris marshall's presence, etc.) have changed. i don't think we win less than 7 or more than 10, and i've literally never been wrong. let's fucking go.