So far, so bad

When it rains, it pours for the Texas A&M Aggies

When it rains, it pours for the Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies play Auburn this week.Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images.
Aggies look to keep rolling against Arkansas after bounce-back performance versus Miami

Things are not going too well in College Station these days. The Aggies dropped their fifth straight game with a 41-24 loss to Florida at home. That ties the longest losing streak for the Aggies since 1980. Who saw this coming? Definitely not Jimbo Fisher, not the A&M fan base and hell not even most of the national media. Texas A&M was the preseason #6 team in the country. Yet here we are, A&M needing to win out to become bowl eligible in Fisher’s fifth season.

The issues with this team are too many to count at this point, and to make things worse this past Saturday a flu outbreak ravaged the team. When it rains, it pours. To make matters worse, five-star freshman quarterback Connor Weigman was one of the players affected and did not play. The week after Coach Fisher finds his stud QB, he can’t play and back to Haynes King we go. When it rains, it pours…you get the point.

It’s pretty predictable when a team already very thin due to injury, loses about 10-15 players due to an illness, that they are going to struggle. For the first half of the ballgame, it was pretty close as the limited Aggies got into a little track meet with the Gators, going into halftime with the lead. Coming out of the intermission, the Aggies' offense sputtered while the Gators continued to take advantage of the depleted Aggies' defense. The Ags’ ended up getting shut out in the second half in route to the Maroon and White’s fifth-straight loss. Talking about these losses gets tiring, and I can only imagine what it’s like for that squad inside the Bright Complex as they turn their attention to a road trip to Auburn.

Coming into the season, the Ags road trip to the plains was an easy chalk-up as a win. However, I think it is going to be very difficult for Jimbo Fisher and the Ags to take this one on the road. Auburn does a good job of running the ball and what does A&M struggle with defensively? Stopping the run… Jimbo is going to have his work cut out for him to keep a bowl game in play. I see the Aggies struggling yet again and losing the battle of 3-6 teams. Auburn wins 24-17 and A&M falls to 3-7.

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CJ Stroud was back in action on Tuesday! Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images.

CJ Stroud put a lot of Texans fans at ease when he showed up to mandatory minicamp on Tuesday and participated in throwing drills. Many were concerned that Stroud might have received surgery in the offseason, and that was keeping him from throwing at voluntary OTAs last week. But Stroud put that narrative to bed, denying any offseason surgery.

Stroud told the media that he's been working on getting his body right this offseason, focusing on, among other things, lowering his body fat, improving his hip flexibility, and gaining speed.

CJ implied that the extra training this offseason might have been a factor in the soreness that kept him from throwing last week, but that should be expected. Pushing your body can sometimes lead to soreness, but it's not anything to be worried about.

He also said he had been throwing prior to minicamp on Tuesday, but this is the first time the media has been around to witness it.

Thoughts on the new system

CJ had positive things to say about the Texans' new OC Nick Caley. He pointed out that he cares more about the "person" than the system. He likes the energy from his new OC, even saying Caley calls him frequently, but doesn't always answer because Caley is “always yelling.”

Stroud also confirmed that the new offense allows him to have more control at the line of scrimmage, something we heard he was wanting last season.

Caley and CJ have watched old videos from 2003 and 2004 of Tom Brady working with Josh McDaniels. They believe this will help Stroud learn how to take “ownership” of the protections.

You can watch the full interview in the video below.

So what else happened at mandatory minicamp?

Newly signed running back Nick Chubb participated in drills. Head coach DeMeco Ryans credited GM Nick Caserio with signing the four-time Pro Bowler.

How did the receivers look?

The big play of the day came from 2nd round receiver Jayden Higgins, who caught this pass from Stroud against Kamari Lassister. This looks like a connection the Texans will count on for years to come.

3rd rounder Jaylin Noel was in attendance but didn't participate.

Nico Collins and Stroud appear to be in midseason form.

Anything new with the offensive line?

Not really. The Texans lineup up from left to right with Cam Robinson, Laken Tomlinson, Jake Andrews, Tytus Howard, and Blake Fisher. Later on, rookie Aireontae Ersery got some work in at left tackle.

The Texans will wrap up minicamp Wednesday, and we'll keep you in the loop with any further developments.

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