Texas A&M Football: Post-Miami edition of Tired vs. Wired

Take: Freshmen suspensions are evidence of culture problem

Word trickled out last Saturday morning that four freshmen, three of whom were former composite five-stars and all of whom were expected to contribute against Miami, were suspended following a curfew violation. If you happened to be in any sort of Aggie-related space or on any forum at this moment, you might’ve thought the world was ending. Cries of culture rot and Jimbo having lost the locker room resounded not only from within the Aggie camp but without as well; rival fans were quick to seize on this piece of news as evidence that the offseason villain A&M was quickly getting their deserved comeuppance.

Of course, things are never as neat as the narratives we try to craft. The Aggies ended up triumphing over Miami by a score of 17-9, clearly badly missing wide receivers Evan Stewart and Chris Marshall. However, all four suspended players were, despite not playing, highly engaged during the game, hyping up their teammates following good plays and being active in the huddles and on the sideline.

These suspensions are not evidence of a culture problem. Culture problems come from NOT handing out a deserved punishment when rules get broken. It would have been really easy for Jimbo to let these guys play in a game where they were sorely needed— a game, mind you, that was as big for his future here as any he’s coached at A&M so far— but he didn’t choose that path.  He stuck to the principles that had already been laid out. This is evidence of a culture, not the lack of it. Of course, you’d rather not players break the rules in the first place, but if it happens, this is how a team with a strong culture responds. That is why I’ll have to rate this one as TIRED.

So what do you think? What’s your hot take? Let me know with a comment down below!