For those interested, I talked with a friend last night that is very connected with an Aggie BMD. When I say connected, I'm talking blood.
Before I even start, you all know that I'm not one who typically provides inside info. Largely because my connections with the Texas program aren't that high up. However, this person is someone that I trust and they just so happen to have a 2nd row ticket to everything that happens in CS. I'm not guaranteeing that anything I share will happen. You take from this what you want but I trust this person.
Now.
Kyler Murray - The consensus behind the scenes is that the marriage between A&M and Kyler is salvageable. We're all familiar with the meeting that took place yesterday. Kyler isn't particularly happy about leaving A&M which is why we're still sitting here waiting for an Official Transfer to happen. My guy says he's about 70% on Kyler transferring but that the brass is working this one hard. Kyler doesn't believe in the program's future and thinks he was sold a "pile of coal disguised as gold." With the news breaking yesterday, there is concern from all parties about whether it would be healthy for Kyler or the program for him to be around next year.
Kevin Murray - There were some allegations made against Kevin as it pertains to yesterday's meeting. Kevin did not demand a position on the A&M staff nor did he demand playing time for Kyler. With that said, he was present to back up Kyler in their concerns about the trajectory of the program. They believe that Sumlin was far more concerned with winning the recruiting battles last year than he was with the state of the program.
Offensive Coordinator - He wouldn't give me a name but he said they had a huge name lined up for the job a few weeks ago but that said name has cooled off entirely over the past two weeks due to the uncertainty around the program. They're currently not sure where exactly they'll go for their new OC. It hinges on a lot of the below.
Kevin Sumlin - This was the one area that my source more or less guaranteed. Now again, take this for what it's worth to you. But he's completely convinced that Sumlin will still be the coach in 2016. There is a fight behind the scenes between those who are concerned with "marketing" and those concerned with "competing". I'll go more into detail on that in a second. He says the claims that Sumlin is an alcoholic are overblown but there is a level of concern about where he is personally right now. He wouldn't go any further on that and I didn't push him. He thinks there is enough support for Sumlin to last another year but that support hinges on the recruitment of one player.
Tate Martell - Tate reaffirmed his commitment to A&M yesterday when he told Hamm that he would like to forego his senior year of high school to attend A&M next year. Martell is a huge piece to the A&M puzzle. I'll start with saying that he's more or less the end all/be all of Sumlins tenure in CS. Sumlin and many of the donors look at Martell like he's the golden ticket to renewed relevancy. In their minds, he's the cleaner and more polished second coming of Johnny Football. This is where the "marketing" side of the BMDs come in. A&M put a lot of money (Kyle Field) into making A&M a destination school. These guys aren't blind and know that having a star player helps sell the idea of success. They're hoping to bring A&M back into the limelight by pushing a marketing scheme around their next big QB commit. There seems to be some desperation in this attempt as they tried to do the same thing with Kyler but the Murrays weren't on board with Kyler being a billboard for the school. Martell fits the bill of what they're trying to push.
Recruiting - This is where the contingency between the administration, staff and donors lies. You have those who are concerned that firing Sumlin would spark more transfers and decommitments from those who committed to Sumlin. And then you have some that are willing to suffer a rebuild to get A&M back on top. If Kyler does transfer, they'll be paying close attention to how the 2016 class reacts. If they don't see many players decommit or lose interest, they'll ride it out with Sumlin until Martell is on campus. If they do see some movement in recruiting, they'll consider letting Sumlin go and finding an offensive minded coach who can quickly get on the phone and reassure Martells commitment.
Future Transfers - The only player outside of Murray that he gave me was Speedy. Apparently that hasn't been a good relationship to this point. As we know, he's suspended for the Bowl Game. Both parties are considering a separation at this point. He also said we could see a defensive transfer but that it wouldn't be a notable player.
The biggest nugget he gave me was that there are some puppet masters who are far more concerned with the perception of success than actual success. They're completely on board with pumping the Conference Reputation as a reason for only scoring 9 win seasons. So long as A&M participates in an above average bowl game each year and has a player to hang their logo on, they'll be happy. But currently, they perceive the situations around Murray and Sumlin to be lose/lose.
