Tag: D.J. Durkin

Texas A&M Secondary coach Bryant Gross-Armiento ranked as a Top 5 recruiter in the country

According to 247Sports, Texas A&M secondary coach Bryant Gross-Armiento has been named as a Top 5 recruiter in the country.

In the world of college football recruiting, “credit where credit is due” is not only an underused form of acknowledgment but an indication that relatively unknown members of every coaching staff are finally receiving the praise they deserve when it comes to adding talent to every recruiting cycle.

Texas A&M’s 9th-ranked 2024 recruiting class, who in less than a month have added 11 prospects, including five-star wide receiver Cameron Coleman on July 4, isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Leading the way, Head Coach Jimbo Fisher’s steadfast leadership deserves recognition.

However, with many other cooks in the kitchen, newly minted secondary coach Bryant Gross-Armiento, who has been with the program since 2021, is solely responsible for securing commitments from four high-priority prospects, including four-star wide receiver Drelon Miller, four-star safety Jordan Pride, and Myles Davis, and four-star offensive tackle, Weston Davis. due to his tremendous success this summer, Gross-Armiento has been named the fifth-best recruiter in the country and the fourth-best in the SEC, according to 247Sports.

Bryant Gross-Armiento’s recruiting acumen is no surprise. His keen ability to build relationships with both offensive and defensive prospects while selling what Texas A&M offers as a football program is clearly something Jimbo Fisher saw early on the outside of his obvious coaching ability. four-star safety Myles Davis committed to the program on Wednesday night, Davis’s quote during his conversation with On3’s Hayes Fawcett regarding his constant contact with Gross-Armiento throughout the recruiting process.

“Coach BGA and Matty Ice, their recruiting guy, I talk to them every day. Coach Rushing and Durk about 3x a week so they’re all checking up on me and they see me coming in and being an instant leader. With the depth there losing in the secondary,I can come in and make an impact given I do the things like compete and get the starting job and just keep working. The potential they see for me is like no other school. Coach Jimbo was telling me how he sees some Derwin James in me and that I can be like him in my own way for his team. That’s my favorite safety so It definitely hit hard and coach BGA has a legit list of DBs he’s helped put in the league.”

After spending two seasons as a defensive analyst, Fisher promoted Gross-Armiento to second coach in February after spending three seasons at Wake Forest (2017-2019) and Georgia (2020).

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2025 4-star LB Elijah Barnes set to visit Texas A&M later this month

Early this week, it was reported that 2025 4-star linebacker Elijah Barnes will visit Texas A&M towards the end of July.

The July recruiting push for Texas A&M amid the dead period is off to a fast start, as Jimbo Fisher and his staff secured two more high-priority 2024 prospects in the form of four-star wide receiver Jaylan Hornsby on Saturday, July 1, and five-star wide receiver Cameron Coleman, who excitingly announced his commitment on Tuesday, July 4, officially launching the Aggies into the Top 10 2024 team rankings in nearly every recruiting outlet.

With the recruiting dead period set to end on July 25, The Aggie’s list for their annual recruiting pool party/barbeque continues to grow; with the festivities set for the last weekend of July, a host of priority 2024 and 2025 prospects will eat, swim, and relax while bonds are made, and commitment decisions are potentially altered.

Earlier this week, 247Sports’ Texas A&M insider Andrew Hattersley reported that 2025 four-star linebacker Elijah Barnes will visit the Aggies later this month, likely attending the pool party. According to 247Sports, Barnes is currently positioned as the 91st-ranked player in the 2024 cycle, the 14th-ranked linebacker, and the 10th-ranked player in Texas.

Entering his junior season at Skyline High School in Dallas, Texas, Barnes’ 6-3 210-pound frame, coupled with his speed and vision from his time as a running back, provided added versatility at the Mike and outside linebacker positions. Texas A&M offered Barnes in April of last year, and while no team currently leads his recruiting battle, the Aggies have a shot at solidifying their place with Barnes as soon as he sets foot in College Station.

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How will transfer LB Jurriente Davis fit in with the Aggies defense?

Texas A&M landed the No.1 linebacker in the transfer portal on Thursday, but just how will he fit in with the Aggie’s defense next season?

Texas A&M was in linebacker limbo entering last week, and even though the Maroon and White Spring Game exhibited the potential for freshman linebacker, Taurean York, the 2023 roster had only three players ahead of him, including starters Edgerrin Cooper and Chris Russel, but after that, more youth and inexperience.

After the transfer portal reopened on Apr. 15, Linebacker, combined with cornerback, wide receiver, and offensive line rounded out the A&M’s core needs, and the No.1 ranked transfer portal LB Jurriente Davis of Jackson State took a visit to College Station, leading to his commitment to the Maroon and White on Apr. 20.

On the surface, adding a versatile option like Davis helps fill out the position immediately from a depth perspective, but due to his unique skillset, how will Aggie’s defensive coordinator and linebacker coach D.J. Durkin utilize his talents in 2023?

In a summarization from GigEm247’s Jeff Tarpley, Davis’s tape shows a player that thrives as an off-the-ball linebacker, primarily at the Will postion in the Aggies’ 4-2-5 defensive scheme. Within his scouting report for Davis, Tarpley states,

“He’s 225 pounds and needs people playing in front of him to play to his strengths. Davis wants to be able to read the play, find a gap, and shoot through it or run down a play from the backside. He’s not made to take on blockers, shed them, and get to the ball. Davis better working versus backs where he can us his upper body strength to shed them.”

Simply put, Davis is equipped to tackle what’s in front of him and provide adequate pass rush when warranted due to his speed and downhill quickness. paired with Cooper and Russell, Davis’s experience is extremely valuable, yet his jump from the FCS to the FBS level is something to definitely keep an eye on early in the season.

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Jackson State LB Jurriente Davis reflects on visit to Texas A&M, came away ‘impressed’ by D.J. Durkin and Jimbo Fisher

Top linebacker transfer target Jurriente Davis officially visited Texas A&M over the weekend, and he summed up his experience in one word: ‘phenomenal.’

Texas A&M’s Maroon and White game saw a number of individuals descend upon College Station for Saturday’s exhibition, including one of the top linebackers in the transfer portal.

Jackson State LB transfer Jurriente Davis officially visited Texas A&M over the weekend and if there was one word that he could use to describe the experience, it would be ‘phenomenal.’

According to 247Sports, Davis met with both defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and head coach Jimbo Fisher and came away impressed after speaking with both. Davis shed light on how he expects he could be used on defense, particularly as a MIKE linebacker, and he also spoke on the value he got from chatting with Fisher:

“I was very impressed with Coach Durkin…His attention to detail as a coordinator and his attention to detail about how he’d use me as far as me playing MIKE linebacker and the scheme of the defense. With that d-line, the outstanding d-line, it’d be great for me to roam and flow with those guys in front of me. I’m a sideline-to-sideline linebacker, and with a d-line like it’s like that it’s heaven.”

“Honestly, Coach Fisher is very humble and his knowledge of the game is outstanding…That’s what made him stand out for me. We had some great conversations.”

The former Jackson State ended the 2022 season with 58 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and a career-best 75.3 PFF grade. His previous stops also include Middle Tennessee and Hutchinson C.C.

Davis’ talent speaks for itself after having already been offered by the likes of UCF, Louisville, and Oklahoma. He’s already made an official visit to Kentucky and will reportedly make official visits to UCF and Colorado next week.

Best of luck to him throughout the remainder of the transfer process, and here’s to hoping his next home will be College Station!

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Aggies set a start date for spring football practice

According to a source, Texas A&M Football will begin spring football practices on March 20th

With many wondering just when Head coach Jimbo Fisher and the 2023 Texas A&M Football team would begin preparations for their April 15 Spring Football Game, we finally have an answer! According to GigEm 247, the Aggies are set to begin spring practice on Monday, March 20th, which will directly follow Texas A&M’s spring break vacation will run from March 13th to the 17th.

Per NCCA rules and regulations, the Aggies are granted 15 practices before the Maroon and White Spring Game, which equals four practices per week before the game, which will also include two scrimmages.

Texas A&M will be under the spotlight, especially on offense as newly minted offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino takes over the play-calling duties this season, hoping to lead a huge resurgence after their disappointing 2022 5-7 campaign can be squarely blamed on an inept offense that couldn’t find an ounce of consistency.

With the return of quarterback Conner Weigman in his first full season as the starting signal caller, the sophomore will be playing in front of a veteran offensive line as all five starters will return this season, including center Bryce Foster, right guard Layden Robinson, and Right tackle Reuben Fatheree. The starting wide receiver unit will be headlined by the return of senior program stalworth Ainias Smith, while Evan Stewart, Moose Muhammad III, and Noah Thomas finish out the presumed starting unit.

While replacing former star running back Devon Achane won’t be an easy task, this season’s running back stable made up of Amari Daniels, LeVeon Moss, and 5-Star freshman Reuben Owens will surely kickstart the offense to finally provide a multitude of explosive options in the running game instead of sole reliance of Achanes’s rare abilities.

Aggies Defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin will have plenty to work with this season, starting with the undeniable strength of the unit, the defensive line. As defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson returns for his senior season, former 5-Star nose tackle Walter Nolen and defensive tackle Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy finish out what should be a stout run defense with immense pass-rushing potential.

The defensive backroom isn’t too shabby either, led by senior safety Demani Richardson, sophomore safety Bryce Anderson will look to replace slot corner Antonio Johnson who departed for the NFL draft, while North Carolina transfer corner Tony Grimes will most likely replace longtime boundary corner Jaylon Jones, who also left for the NFL.

Aggies Wire will continue to provide any updates relating to Texas A&M spring practices this month, so stay tuned!

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Oklahoma’s Jeff Lebby among highest paid assistants in college football

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is among highest paid coordinators from 2022.

For the most part, the Oklahoma Sooners offense had a really good season. Jeff Lebby’s first season as offensive coordinator wasn’t perfect, but the offense was productive, had moments of explosiveness, and produced a 1,000-yard wide receiver, Marvin Mims, and a 1,000-yard rusher, Eric Gray.

The Sooners ranked 35th in the country in points per game, 32.9. Take away the 49-0 shutout, and the Sooners averaged 35.89 points per game, which would have moved them into the top 20 in the nation.

The Sooners were 18th in yards per game, ninth in plays per game and 24th in first downs per game.

Sure, there were moments the offense didn’t rise to the occasion. Specifically, third and fourth down were a struggle for the Sooners. Oklahoma converted on third down just 39.9% of the time and was worse on fourth down.

Heading into the offseason, the Sooners have to figure out their money-down offense. Their inability to convert on third and fourth down crushed this team, especially late in the season.

Because the offense had a lot of good moments, the Sooners could have won a few more games had the defense held up its end. Perhaps the biggest issue was not having a reasonable plan at quarterback when Dillon Gabriel went down.

Lebby didn’t trust Davis Beville to throw the ball and didn’t give him the chance in the second half of the TCU game or much in the Texas game. When it was clear Beville wasn’t the answer, they could have given Nick Evers some snaps to see if his athleticism could have provided a spark. Instead, Evers didn’t come in the game until the final few minutes and ran one series.

The Sooners have to find a better option at backup quarterback this offseason unless they believe that Jackson Arnold is the answer should something happen to Dillon Gabriel.

Lebby was among the highest-paid coordinators from the 2022 season, according to USA TODAY Sports. Here are the top 10.

Texas A&M’s Mid-season report card: Defense

Texas A&M’s Mid-season report card: Defense

Texas A&M is in the midst of a much-needed break as the team has played six games so far this season, sitting at a disappointing 3-3 with another six games left to show that the program is indeed progressing, just at a gradual speed.

So, as we are officially at the mid-point of the 2022 season for the maroon and white, Aggies Wire is here to hand out a couple of mid-season grades, focusing on the offense and defense so far as the team will prepare to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 22nd next weekend.

Defense: B+ 

Texas A&M has been well known for its historic defenses going back to the 1990s in the “wrecking crew” heyday but in the last couple of decades, they’ve been somewhat stagnant due to a lack of talent in recruiting and coaching, although the last three seasons under Mike Elko and the current regime led by D.J Durkin have fans feeling like the wrecking crew days are finally making their way back.

So far this season, Durkin has led one of the youngest defenses in the country to the 60th ranking nationally, and an impressive 16th-ranked pass defense ranking so far this season. Led by senior safety Demani Richardson, junior Nose tackle McKinnley Jackson, junior defensive back Antonio Johnson, and now the ascending sophomore safety Jardin Gilbert, the defensive unit has taken on a “bend but don’t break” mentality through the first six games, while having their best collective game so far in their recent 24-20 loss to Alabama, accounting for 4 takeaways while holding the Crimson Tide to 111 yards passing.

The headliner for the defense so far has been contributions from the true freshmen defenders, and members of the historic 2022 recruiting class. In nearly every game this season, win or lose, at least one freshman has made a singular impact, whether it was safety Bryce Anderson against Miami (8 tackles, 5 solo tackles), Shemar Stewart against Arkansas (4 tackles, 2 solo tackles, 1 sack), or the multitude of freshmen who completely showed out against Alabama, these young men will continue to receive valuable reps for the rest of the season, and continue to grow and produce at a high rate going into the 2023 season.

Texas A&M’s offense will continue to be fairly scrutinized until improvements are seen in the next six games, but overall, the defense has been solid, showing immense potential in pass rush and even run defense, an area that has struggled the most with this season. Again, this is a young defense, but man oh man, they’re going to be very good very soon.

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