CHARLIE PALLILO

On Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Alex Bregman's emergence

On Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M and Alex Bregman's emergence
Alex Bregman has become a star in short order. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

NFL preseason games are done. Mercifully. If Deshaun Watson stays healthy and the Texans don’t win at least nine games, Bill O’Brien’s contract extension looks ridiculous.

The college football season is underway (yay!) with everyone chasing Alabama. It appears that again this year no Texas schools are top tier national factors, though TCU could change that if it beats Ohio State in a couple of weeks.

Major Applewhite begins his second as head coach at UH, after disappointing results in his first season on the job. Tom Herman begins his second season as head coach at UT, after disappointing results in his first season on the job.

So how will the results be scored for Jimbo Fisher’s first season on the job at Texas A&M? The Aggies paid through several noses to buy hope, in guaranteeing Jimbo a jumbo 75 million dollars over 10 years. Fisher had an outstanding run at Florida State including a national championship, but over the last three years Clemson’s program vaulted clearly past FSU’s. That Fisher inevitably restores the Ags to consistent national prominence? Nope. It’s like the Raiders paying absurd money to Jon Gruden. Maybe it works.

Nick Saban’s latest raise and extension at Alabama takes him through the 2025 season. That covers eight years of Fisher’s deal. LSU probably needs a better head coach than Ed Orgeron, but that’s an SEC West program with as many fundamentals going for it as A&M has.

It was a pressure-free debut for Fisher with a 59-7 glorified scrimmage win over Northwestern State. Next week it’s Clemson at Kyle Field, then two weeks later the Aggies are at Alabama. An Ag win in either of those and some may want to already order the Jimbo statue. It’s more likely that Fisher’s first Aggie squad produces the Kevin Sumlin special (five losses) than it flirts with a top 10 finish. 8-5, even 9-4 probably ends the Jimbo-Aggieland honeymoon. The marriage will last a while and should have ample “happily” if not “ever after.” It’s a crazy-high bar, but given the contract terms Fisher must take the Aggies to the playoff within his first five years or he won’t have been worth the money.

Bregman emerges

There is no question at this point that a season after Jose Altuve was the American League Most Valuable Player, Alex Bregman is the Most Valuable Astro of 2018.  A little over two years ago Alex Bregman began his major league career by going 0 for his first 17 at bats, and two for his first 38. Now, just those two years and change later Alex Bregman is an MVP candidate. Not a top tier candidate to win it, but a guy who should turn up on every American League ballot. The MVP ballot includes 10 spots. The only AL guys definitely better this season have been Mookie Betts, Mike Trout, and Jose Ramirez. Bregman is in the next group with Francisco Lindor, Matt Chapman, and J.D. Martinez. Bregman is younger than all those other guys.

Bregman is on pace to finish this season scoring more than 100 runs and driving in more than 100 runs. Only six different Astros have done 100/100.  Name them? Five of the six? Four? Answer below as Buzzer Beater number one. Bregman could parlay 50-plus doubles with 30 home runs. Lance Berkman is the only Astro to amass 50/30 in the same season.

Defensively, once settled in after committing too many early season errors, Bregman to the eye plays a Gold Glove level third base. The analytics suggest he has been average at best. That seems ridiculous. Maybe it isn’t, but maybe it’s proof that defensive analysis has come a long way but still has a way to go.

And the whole post-homer camera stare thing is tremendous.

Remember, the only reason the Astros have Bregman is because they clumsily failed to sign high school pitcher Brady Aiken after taking Aiken with the first overall pick in the 2014 draft. The Astros got spooked by the medical check, low balled Aiken with their offer, then just before the signing deadline jacked back up their offer to Aiken. He told the Astros to take a hike. Aiken turned down five million dollars. As compensation for not signing the first pick in the draft, the Astros were given the second pick in the 2015 draft. Hello Alex Bregman.

Aiken went 17th in 2015 to Cleveland, signing for just over two and a half mil. His minor league record is  7-18 with a 5.05 earned run average. Coming off of Tommy John surgery, Aiken hasn’t pitched at all this year.

Buzzer Beaters

1. Wynn, Bagwell, Alou, Bell, Berkman, Hidalgo.  2. Man is Carlos Correa messed up at the plate right now.  3. Best college football head coaches in Texas: Bronze-Tom Herman  Silver-Jimbo Fisher Gold-Gary Patterson.

 

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Welcome to Houston, Nick! Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.

Nick Chubb didn’t expect to be a Houston Texan. At least, not until he got the call on a quiet Saturday at home and was on a flight the next day. It happened fast — too fast, even, for the four-time Pro Bowler to fully process what it all meant. But now that he’s here, it’s clear this wasn’t a random landing spot. This was a calculated leap, one Chubb had been quietly considering from afar.

The reasons he chose Houston speak volumes not only about where Chubb is in his own career, but where the Texans are as a franchise.

For one, Chubb saw what the rest of the league saw the last two seasons: a young team turning the corner. He admired the Texans from a distance — the culture shift under head coach DeMeco Ryans, the explosive rise of C.J. Stroud, and the physical tone set by players like Joe Mixon. That identity clicked with Chubb. He’d been a fan of Ryans for years, and once he got in the building, everything aligned.

“I came here and saw a bunch of guys who like to work and not talk,” Chubb said. “And I realized I'm a perfect fit.”

As for his health, Chubb isn’t running from the injuries that cost him parts of the past two seasons, he’s owning them. But now, he says, they’re behind him. After a full offseason of training the way he always has — hitting his speed and strength benchmarks — Chubb says he’s feeling the best he has in years. He’s quick to remind people that bouncing back from major injuries, especially the one he suffered in 2023, is rarely a one-year journey. It takes time. He’s given it time.

Then there’s his fit with Mixon. The two aren’t just stylistic complements, they go way back. Same recruiting class, same reputation for running hard, same respect for each other’s games. Chubb remembers dreading matchups against the Bengals in Cleveland, worrying Mixon would take over the game. Now, he sees the opportunity in pairing up. “It’ll be us kinda doing that back-to-back against other defenses,” he said.

He’s also well aware of what C.J. Stroud brings to the table. Chubb watched Stroud nearly dismantle Georgia in the College Football Playoff. Then he saw it again, up close, when Stroud lit up the Browns in the postseason. “He torched us again,” Chubb said. Now, he gets to run alongside him, not against him.

Stroud made a point to welcome Chubb, exchanging numbers and offering support. It may seem like a small thing, but it’s the kind of leadership that helped sell Chubb on the Texans as more than just a good football fit — it’s a good locker room fit, too.

It appears the decision to come to Houston wasn’t part of some master plan. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense. Chubb is a player with a no-nonsense work ethic, recovering from adversity, looking to write the next chapter of a career that’s far from over. And the Texans? They’re a team on the rise, built around guys who want to do the same.

You can watch the full interview in the video below.

And for those wondering how Joe Mixon feels about Nick Chubb, check out this video from last season. Let's just say he's a fan.


*ChatGPT assisted.

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