2013 Texas Aggie Football Scholarship Chart

Every season, mid-season, recruiting season, off-season, and camp season Aggie Football fans want to know, How many players are on scholarship?, How many scholarships do we have left to give out for [this] class? I do my best to illustrate the answers to those questions below, based on knowledge I presently have at my fingertips.

The chart below shows the "pipeline" of players behind the starters and upperclassmen and the level of talent being brought in to replace outgoing players.

First, a short explanation of the chart:

1. The maroon columns at the top show the class name, the number of scholarships devoted to that class, and what year they will be seniors.
2. The left hand row headers (in dark gray) show how many players are at each position and how many players at each position one should expect to see start (refer to the Projected Depth Chart for 2013)
3. The #* next to each player denotes the star-rating for that player based on the Rivals.com ratings (Rivals was chosen because that is the website I have traditionally used and is the most recognized for nationwide recruiting rankings)

The chart below can also be seen as an image by clicking this link: 2013 Aggie Football Class PNG File

"Where did those numbers at the bottom come from?" Well there are (as far as I know) 79 players on scholarship of the available 85 man limit. This leaves 6 scholarships for 2013 that are not being used - these could go to outstanding walk-ons for 1-2 semesters until the 2014 recruits arrive, so I more or less just leave them open since the term is year-to-year for those players.

"Okay, but if there are only 10 departing seniors and six (6) open, how did you get to 19 available for 2014?" That essentially comes from experience. We know that we can take 16 currently, and on average there about 3-4 scholarship players that don't come back from year-to-year, whether it's from grades, injury, transfers for more playing time or a "fresh start," personal issues, trouble with the law, a desire to write poetry, or even (sadly, as we've all just experienced) death. My point is that we should not come close to reaching the 25-man yearly limit, and we probably won't have space to add players to other classes either with the 85-man limit thanks to the abnormally large class from 2013. So, yes, it's a bit of a tacit-knowledge hunch, but it's also a conservative hunch. These numbers are constantly in flux, and will change with each update. (Honestly, I think we take 20-21 in this class)

"So if we have 19 available, and 14 commits, how do we only have 4 more spots to give?" JJ Gustafson is taking a gray-shirt this year. So, although he is a 2013 recruit, he is not with the team, so we have to reserve a spot for him in whichever class he winds up being assigned to (I presume the class of 2014). Remember that 3 scholarships can apply towards the limit of the class before or the class after depending on circumstances and when the player arrives on campus. JJ will sit out this fall, join the team in January, and be available for 5 years starting in 2014.

I did not yet take into account possible non-seniors leaving - QB Johnny Manziel, OT Cedric Ogbuehi, CB Deshazor Everrett, etc.

On to the analysis!

To be honest there just aren't that many holes in the ingoing-outgoing tradeoff from the experience breakdown. Every senior that is leaving has a replacement coming in except Shep Klinke at OG, Derel Walker at WR, and Steven Jenkins at WLB. However, I believe that one of "Tank" Davis or Zach Ledwik will wind up at OG, so that is covered - likewise, I think Koda Martin will wind up as a quick OT, though he's listed by one recruiting site as a TE. I also think Hoza Scott could play WLB or MLB, so that is covered.

If I had to take a stab at where I think we need to finish out the Class of 2014 I would go with something like this:

• 2 Skill (WR/RB/TE) - RB Kevin Shorter, RB Joe Mixon, WR KD Cannon, WR Speedy Noil, TE/IR Mark Andrews
• 1 D-Line (DT/SDE) - DE Miles Garrett, DE Solomon Thomas
• 1 Hybrid (LB/DE) - DE Qualen Cunningham, LB Edwin Freeman

If Johnny Manziel leaves early, we have 4 capable QBs to replace him, one senior-to-be who knows our system, and three (3) young, talented (all 4-star) proteges. Matt Davis is good, and will push to be the backup QB this year over JR Matt Joeckel. Kenny Hill is new to the team (true freshman) and with fall camp starting in a few days, we'll have a much better idea of how good he is at the College level.

I think our OL recruiting has dipped a little bit since the departure of Sherman. I know most OL don't get that highly-regarded 4th star, and many of the "big uglies" just don't get hype coming out of HS, so a 3-star OL is still a good pickup. I think the 2015 class may need to focus on bringing in some talenton the OL.

What's in store for 2014? I know we will most likely see the departure of Manziel after this season, but I actually think we may have a better shot at going undefeated in 2014. Look at what comes back for next year: 3 junior RBs (2 five-stars), 1 (possibly 2 depending on how things shake out) wide out, both slot receievers, 4 of 5 starting OL, 3 of 4 starting DL, 2 of 3 starting LB, all 4 DBs, and our kicker and punter. The worst case scenario is that we'll lose some underclassmen to the NFL, resulting in returning only 5 offensive players and 8 defensive players. The best case, assuming no underclassmen leave early, is that we'll have 9 returning starters on offense and 9 returning starters on defense - not to mention the 3 headed monster of Williams, Williams, and Carson at RB, 4 x 4-star wide outs returning (all could see playing time this fall), 3 x 4-star DTs to replace Ennis all of whom should see playing time this fall, Steven Jenkins has two guys behind him (Mastro and Wade) this year and AJ Hilliard (transfer from TCU) will be available in 2014.

The future is bright, indeed.