'14 AZ QB Kyle Allen (Houston Transfer)

[STLDomer]

I'm still sitting over here wondering what his four or five things that were important to him were?

Offense that highlights the Passing game? Definitely will give that to A&M

What else?

Close to home? No
Academics? No
Depth Chart? No

Coaching staff? Maybe

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I'm still sitting over here wondering what his four or five things that were important to him were?

Strikes me as fluff for the reporters. There certainly aren't 5 major categories in which aTm excels but ND, UCLA, and OSU are lacking.

Sumlin's system is a Heisman machine. It may have been nothing more than "You can be the next Manziel"; and I can't really blame Allen for buying it.

What bothers me is the suddenness of it all. Sumlin somehow convinced Allen that not only should aTm be his #1, but that he should commit immediately, and cancel his imminent visits to ND and OSU. That's pretty extreme; would love to know what was said/ promised/ threatened to make that happen.

 

[BGIF]

Strikes me as fluff for the reporters. There certainly aren't 5 major categories in which aTm excels but ND, UCLA, and OSU are lacking.

Sumlin's system is a Heisman machine. It may have been nothing more than "You can be the next Manziel"; and I can't really blame Allen for buying it.

What bothers me is the suddenness of it all. Sumlin somehow convinced Allen that not only should aTm be his #1, but that he should commit immediately, and cancel his imminent visits to ND and OSU. That's pretty extreme; would love to know what was said/ promised/ threatened to make that happen.

"Commit today and you'll get the pick of the herd!"

 

[Whiskeyjack]

"Commit today and you'll get the pick of the herd!"

"50 head of Angus."

"What are recruiting violations in East Texas?"

 

[STLDomer]

I heard they promised to name the field after him and that got him to commit....

 

[NDWorld247]

From TexAgs

“Allen – one of the nation’s top five signal-callers and A&M’s No. 1 target throughout the process – addresses a dire need at the position and gives the Aggie offense an elite-level passer, leader and all-around field general under center. He’s the quarterback that Spavital and the Aggies pegged as a dream catch from day one, the gunslinger who has blown up on this year’s summer camp circuit and also the 2014 senior who will serve as one of the true centerpieces of this year’s A&M class.”

This supports both of my points from earlier (depth chart and Spavital), even if the number of QBs on scholarship paints a different picture. I talked to a few hardcore Aggie fans I know and they were obviously excited about Allen's commitment. I asked about their depth chart and they thought Allen would be the guy once Manziel leaves.

I think this just came down to relationships. A&M has been on him A LOT longer than we have. He built a great relationship with Spavital and didn't need to see campus to know he liked Spavital better than Martin. I'm not trying to bash Martin by mentioning him again, but clearly relationship with coaching staff/position coach/OC was VERY important to Allen and A&M had been working on this for a long time.

 

[Riddickulous]

"Dire need"? Didn't TAMU land like two QBs last year?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

This supports both of my points from earlier (depth chart and Spavital), even if the number of QBs on scholarship paints a different picture.

Still not buying it. They'll have at least 4 QBs on their roster when Allen hits campus, including (1) Johnny Football; (2) Kohl Stewart (4, 0.9267); and (3) Kenny Hill (4, 0.9090). That's the least inviting depth chart among programs that Allen was considering.

I talked to a few hardcore Aggie fans I know and they were obviously excited about Allen's commitment. I asked about their depth chart and they thought Allen would be the guy once Manziel leaves.

Of course. We reacted the same way to Kiel's commitment. But it's not like he was a huge need when he flipped to ND.

I think this just came down to relationships. A&M has been on him A LOT longer than we have. He built a great relationship with Spavital and didn't need to see campus to know he liked Spavital better than Martin. I'm not trying to bash Martin by mentioning him again, but clearly relationship with coaching staff/position coach/OC was VERY important to Allen and A&M had been working on this for a long time.

No offense, but you're giving off a real "I knew about this for 2 months" vibe (which I'm dubbing the GDBoner). Literally none of the recruitniks saw this coming, and you never mentioned this Spavital > Martin thing until after the fact.

Edit: MLB notwithstanding, they can also bring back one of their two upperclassmen for a 5Y.

 

[NDWorld247]

"Dire need"? Didn't TAMU land like two QBs last year?

One of those QBs isn't going to make it to campus (top MLB draft prospect). Their depth has been discussed in this thread. However, I'm going to believe the author on this one because a.) he's considered a "foremost expert on Texas A&M sports" and b.) it supports my arguement for A&M's depth being more attractive.

 

[STLDomer]

Who the **** is this Spavital? I'm going to assume he was a coach at WVU last year since Allen said the coaches compared him to Geno Smith. Never heard of him as some great coach or recruiter, certainly nowhere near enough to say Spavital > Martin

 

[NDWorld247]

No offense, but you're giving off a real "I knew about this for 2 months" vibe (which I'm dubbing the GDBoner). Literally none of the recruitniks saw this coming, and you never mentioned this Spavital > Martin thing until after the fact.

I knew absolutely NOTHING about Allen's interest in A&M until today. I was as surprised as anyone when he commited so I went searching for answers. I had read about this prodigy Spavital before, but really didn't know much about him either. But when you try to figure this thing out, his relationship with Spavital is about the only thing that makes sense. I've met Martin before and he rubbed me the wrong way. It's not hard for me to imagine Allen didn't click with him (speculation).

Good point re: Kiel. I'm just relaying what I heard from some people that know about A&M's program a lot better than us.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I knew absolutely NOTHING about Allen's interest in A&M until today. I was as surprised as anyone when he commited so I went searching for answers. I had read about this prodigy Spavital before, but really didn't know much about him either. But when you try to figure this thing out, his relationship with Spavital is about the only thing that makes sense. I've met Martin before and he rubbed me the wrong way. It's not hard for me to imagine Allen didn't click with him (speculation).

That's fair. Still doesn't add up for me, though.

 

[pkt77242]

Maybe he got a girl pregnant there on his visit and he chose aTm to be closer to his baby.

 

[BGIF]

Who the **** is this Spavital? I'm going to assume he was a coach at WVU last year since Allen said the coaches compared him to Geno Smith. Never heard of him as some great coach or recruiter, certainly nowhere near enough to say Spavital > Martin

One of college football's top young offensive minds, Jake Spavital is in his first season as Texas A&M co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after two seasons at West Virginia under Dana Holgorsen.

In five seasons on collegiate coaching staffs, Spavital has served under Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin, Holgorsen, Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury and Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. He has worked with a series of record-setting quarterbacks in Case Keenum at the University of Houston, Brandon Weeden at Oklahoma State and Geno Smith at West Virginia.

That is impressive.

Jake Spavital Bio - Texas A&M Official Athletic Site - AggieAthletics.com

 

[GATTACA!]

"Dire need"? Didn't TAMU land like two QBs last year?

It seemed like A&M took two of everything last cycle.

 

[vmgsf]

$omething $uddenly, $eriously, my$teriou$ly, $tinks. $EC.

 

[IrishLax]

Really tough to get a read here. I thought Ohio State would be the team to beat based on early comments but it seems like UCLA has a decided edge in things right now. Visit will obviously need to leave a big impression on him as he's looking to make a decision in by mid/late June. Probably would feel better about our chances if Chuck Martin wasn't his recruiter.

It's weird that I'd rather he go to Ohio State than UCLA. Not a UCLA fan right now.

In hindsight, maybe I was onto something.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

In hindsight, maybe I was onto something.

If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.
Sun Tzu

 

[bigedefense]

Id have to agree on that one.


LSU and Bama are both excellent teams im just saying besides those two theyll glide through that schedule with no problem. Never know though, Sam Houston State can be dangerous

I have to disagree with the 'no problem' part. Granted, 3 of the 4 non-conference games should be easy (SMU is playing much better football), but the conference schedule is, IMO, a "not so fast my friend" schedule. Arkansas is going to be competitive, as is Ole Miss, & Missouri (I know Mizz looked weak last year, but they do have a soph receiver that all Irish fans wish were wearing a gold helmet DGB). That's three tough road games, not to mention LSU on the road as well. At home, I do t see it being a to better for them. Starting off SEC play with Alabama at home. You have Auburn comin to town in your next SEC home game & I know Auburn has been down since Cam Newton left, but they have had time to pull some more money together & buy another great player. The next week theyhaveVandy coming to town. I do think any coach would circle Vandy as a for sure win. Coach Franklin has brought in some blue chip talent to Nashville. Remember the little speedster from Memphis that Coach Kelly wanted at ND is going to be a soph at Vandy this season (can't remember for sure, but I think his name is Kimbrew???). Oh yeah, the next home game is a cake walk MS State comes to town after an open week. Does anyone remember this time last year? There were people on this site that were saying that ND is about even with Dan Mullen & his Bulldogs. If I'm not mistaken, someone posted that they hoped ND would have as good of a record as MSU. Dan Mullen is a very good coach & he has stocked his cupboard with some pretty good talent.

Now I think A&M will have a good season this year, but I do not think they will be 10-2. I say they go anywhere from 6-6 to, at best, 9-3. IMO, at least one of those cake games will blow up on Sumlin. Also, I don't thin it's too far fetched to think that Ms. Heisman Manzel pulls one like the QB off the movie "TheProgram". He misses a coue of "cake" games to go to rehab & that cake could turn bitter in a hurry. Just my opinions on it

 

[Luckylucci]

Quarterback Recruiting Dominoes Begin To Fall In 2014

Wiltfong put this together, it gives color to the national picture of QB dominos that could be falling very soon, good read.

 

[TennesseeVol]

Hi folks. Great board....just dropped in. Here's what Allen said as to why he chose Texas A&M:

"It was a combination of a bunch of things," Allen said for why Texas A&M stood out in the end. "So many things were so great there. So many things made me feel comfortable."

One of those things was the fact that the Aggies play in the SEC.

"That played a big part," Allen said. "If you want to be the best, you have to compete against the best. A lot of quarterbacks come out of the Pac-12 and Big 12, where they throw the ball around, but they don't play against as good of defenses. A&M does the same thing those programs do on offense but they do it against the best defenses in the country. My dream is to someday become an NFL quarterback, and I want the best training and the best preparation for that. That's in the SEC."

 

[Rack Em]

That sounds like the SEC company line that Sumlin sold to Allen.

 

[Luckylucci]

SEC definitely has the best overall defenses but A&M runs a spread. Some of the main knocks from NFL scouts, is QB's that work out of the spread primarily. Also, outside of Manziel (which the jury is still out on) look at Sumlin's other QB's, big stats in college but definitely not prepared for the NFL. Ex. Case Keenum

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Sumlin's system made a big splash in year 1. Let's see how successful it is after 'Bama and LSU have a year or two to adjust.

And you don't have to play in the SEC to face a challenging schedule. ND's 2012 SoS (10th) was ranked higher than any of the remotely competitive SEC teams.

 

[ACamp1900]

That sounds like the SEC company line that Sumlin sold to Allen.

Even if there's turth to it... it sure does sound that way...

 

[Luckylucci]

Reference Will Redmond's thread, this is what Kyle really wanted to say "The stippers they had waiting for me in my room were by far the hottest of all the visits I took!"

 

[WestCoast]

.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Not completely up-to-date:

ACC
Matt Ryan- BC
Philip Rivers- NC State
Russell Wilson- NC State
Matt Schaub- UVA
Michael Vick- VT
Christian Ponder- FSU

BIG-10
Drew Brees - Purdue
Tom Brady - Michigan
[Russell Wilson- Wisconsin]

BIG 12
Sam Bradford- Oklahoma
Ryan Tannehill- Texas A&M
Brandon Weeden- OK State
Josh Freeman- KSU
Blaine Gabbert- Missouri
Robert Griffin III- Baylor
Andy Dalton- TCU

PAC-10
Aaron Rodgers – Cal
Andrew Luck- Stanford
Carson Palmer- USC
Mark Sanchez- USC
Jake Locker- Washington

SEC
Peyton Manning- Tennessee
Eli Manning- Ole Miss
Cam Newton- Auburn
Matt Stafford- UGA
Jay Cutler- Vanderbilt
Matt Flynn- LSU

OTHER
Ben Roethlisberger- Miami, Ohio
Joe Flacco- Delaware
Colin Kaepernick- Nevada
Tony Romo- Eastern Illinois
Alex Smith- Utah
Colin Kappernik- Nevada
Kevin Kolb – Houston
Brian Hoyer- Harvard

 

[Irishnuke]

Not completely up-to-date:

ACC
Philip Rivers- NC State
Russell Wilson- NC State
Matt Schaub- UVA
Michael Vick- VT
Christian Ponder- FSU

BIG-10
Drew Brees - Purdue
Tom Brady - Michigan
[Russell Wilson- Wisconsin]

BIG 12
Sam Bradford- Oklahoma
Ryan Tannehill- Texas A&M
Brandon Weeden- OK State
Josh Freeman- KSU
Blaine Gabbert- Missouri

PAC-10
Aaron Rodgers – Cal
Andrew Luck- Stanford
Carson Palmer- USC
Mark Sanchez- USC
Jake Locker- Washington

SEC
Peyton Manning- Tennessee
Eli Manning- Ole Miss
Matt Ryan- UGA
Cam Newton- Auburn
Stafford- UGA
Jay Cutler- Vanderbilt
Matt Flynn- LSU

OTHER
Ben Roethlisberger- Miami, Ohio
Joe Flacco- Delaware
Colin Kaepernick- Nevada
Tony Romo- Eastern Illinois
Robert Griffin III- Baylor
Alex Smith- BYU
Colin Kappernik- Nevada
Andy Dalton- TCU
Kevin Kolb – Houston
Brian Hoyer- Harvard

Not to nitpick but Baylor isn't an "other," and Alex Smith didn't play for BYU.

 

[IHateMarkMay]

Not completely up-to-date:

ACC
Philip Rivers- NC State
Russell Wilson- NC State
Matt Schaub- UVA
Michael Vick- VT
Christian Ponder- FSU

BIG-10
Drew Brees - Purdue
Tom Brady - Michigan
[Russell Wilson- Wisconsin]

BIG 12
Sam Bradford- Oklahoma
Ryan Tannehill- Texas A&M
Brandon Weeden- OK State
Josh Freeman- KSU
Blaine Gabbert- Missouri

PAC-10
Aaron Rodgers – Cal
Andrew Luck- Stanford
Carson Palmer- USC
Mark Sanchez- USC
Jake Locker- Washington

SEC
Peyton Manning- Tennessee
Eli Manning- Ole Miss
Matt Ryan- UGA
Cam Newton- Auburn
Stafford- UGA
Jay Cutler- Vanderbilt
Matt Flynn- LSU

OTHER
Ben Roethlisberger- Miami, Ohio
Joe Flacco- Delaware
Colin Kaepernick- Nevada
Tony Romo- Eastern Illinois
Robert Griffin III- Baylor
Alex Smith- BYU
Colin Kappernik- Nevada
Andy Dalton- TCU
Kevin Kolb – Houston
Brian Hoyer- Harvard

I think if Wilson didn't go to Wisconsin, he'd still be riding the bench. I think that last year helped him so much in terms of getting himself ready and playing on a bigger stage than NCState.