Ah, defense. It is something of Grecian mythology to Aggie fans.

It is a notion rooted in folklore and fables. I’m a relatively young Aggie. I’m told we used to field a defense in College Station. The elder Ags find it therapeutic to speak of A&M defenses of yesteryear over rounds of Pearl Lights. They speak of Richard Copeland Slocum. They toast a gritty Asian linebacker. They belch grunts of a militant group once known as the “Wrecking Crew”. Poor old coots. They’d forfeit the forward pass and Luby’s for life if it meant having a sideline to sideline linebacker with beheading aspirations.

My years as an Aggie have been smeared by a defense looser than a roofied Texas State sorority girl on Bourbon Street. I’ve been Torbushed. I’ve been Darnelled. Joe Kines told me about serving in the French and Indian War just before shitting his Depends.

I’ve witnessed Jaxson EFFING Appel be deemed a good football player. The best linebacker corps I’ve been party to was made up of a Mormon Samoan named Missy Misi and a counterterrorist named Dodge.

I was there when we made Larry Fitzgerald cool. I was in attendance when we turned a cracker named Blythe from Iowa into Jerry goddamn Rice. B.J. Symons is allowed to drive drunk from Post to Lubbock because of the 500 yards he hung on A&M. The mere mention of the number 77 sends me into an epileptic seizure.

Defense? Defense died in College Station when the Internet was birthed. Defense is buried next to the dogs outside of Kyle. To Ags, Defense is now a mediocre commentator on ESPN by name of Davie.

Where are we now? Well, we have solicited the services of a man with chAir Force pedigree. Now it’s time to RECROOT! Let’s take a gander at the fresh blood coming to play “defense”. I’m including the Athlete position in this post just to keep things interesting.

DE

Look! We’re going to be a 3-4 defense again!

Nehemiah Hicks | 6’4” 235 | Hutto, Texas

I believe Barry Switzer once said, “You can never have enough Hutto Hippos on your roster.” I couldn’t agree more. Hicks isn’t going to overpower any Big 12 tackles, but he might bring enough speed and athleticism to make some plays in the backfield. Hicks received offers from eight schools in the conference including all the South programs sans Texas. From what I gather, he needs to grow into his body and hit the weights. On any semi-decent depth chart he probably wouldn’t be expected to contribute for a couple years, but we’re us and he’ll probably get tossed into the flames Old Testament style.

Damontre Moore | 6’6” 227 | Rowlett, Texas
We got Moore’s verbal last April which seems more and more fortunate as time passes. Moore had a big summer at various camps followed by a commendable senior season. Like Hicks, he has to commit himself in the weight room. I imagine the 3-4 scheme to suit his body type well. Hopefully he brings a little piss and vinegar in his attitude to a defense that is meeker than Joel Osteen on Klonopin.

Gavin Stansbury | 6’3” 235 | Franklin, Louisiana

You’d think someone named Gavin Stansbury would be a Highland Park kid with a little coke problem and Ole Miss bound. Probably good chums with Clipper Cooper. Not this Gavin Stansbury. Sherman took another kid off the LSU scrap heap. I find the inroads being made to Louisiana to be interesting and underreported. Admittedly, I know very little about this kid other than his offer sheet is highlighted by Arky and Ole Miss. Like any Bayou child I’m sure he had dreams of playing in front of the toothless alcoholics in Death Valley, but LSU passed on him, so enter us. His fundamentals look good on film. He is strong on contact and wraps up well. If you have more info on this kid, please comment accordingly.

DT

Fran took a two year sabbatical from recruiting trench players. The O-line was the most glaring gaffe, but DL wasn’t far behind. While the crop at DE for us likely won’t conjure parallels to Ty Warren, we might have landed some gamers at tackle.

Brandon Jackson | 6’4” 252 | Shreveport, Louisiana

Unlike Stansbury, this is a Cajun that has been offered by Les Miles. As I pen this, he is still an Ag commit, but he is teetering. He took his official to Baton Rouge this past weekend, and that is obviously of concern. He is coveted by several of the big boys in the SEC, so I’ll count that as a positive. Props to our staff for having the confidence to pry a kid out of the land of filthy recruiting. If he ends up in maroon, he’ll be counted on to contribute early.

Jonathan Mathis | 6’3” 292 | Brenham, Texas
A JUCO get from our Blinn farm system. He could easily start on Day 1. Mathis is a big, strong sumbitch that will give us the requisite size in the middle to run the 3-4. Oh, look! K-State offered him too. Suck it, Snyder. We take non-qualifiers too!

Ivan Robinson | 6’4” 260 | Longville, Louisiana

Excellent get and another steal out of Louisiana. Robinson has great tools and can still pack on some manageable weight to his frame. He has a quick, powerful first step that I’m particularly fond of. Our OL Coach, Jim Turner, has been the primary recruiter for us in East Texas and Louisiana the past year or two and he is doing strong work. He took his official on Thanksgiving, so he got to see us win morally, which is nice. Robinson is one of the highlights of our 2010 class.

LB

After a good 2009 haul at linebacker, we added some quality this year.

Corey Nelson | 6’ 210 | Dallas, Texas

Friday was a little stressful. The journalistic stalwarts at OU Insider (ESPN affiliate) broke the news that Nelson decommitted from A&M for OU after his official visit to Norman. Couple this news with quasi-decent recruiting day that was taking place in Austin, and I was getting close to hitting the sauce at the office. Nelson reconfirmed through credible sources that his A&M commitment is firm. That said, I’m not going to be relieved until he Herbie Hancocks his LOI to play in Aggieland. What else can we say about Nelson? The kid is a stud. He flies sideline to sideline and wrecks shit in the backfield. He got offers from everyone and even got the press from Muschamp. USC is rumored to still be in the mix and Lane Kiffin can get sodomized in West Hollywood for all I care.

Domonique Patterson | 6’ 210 | Dallas, Texas

We were the first to offer Patterson (Nelson’s teammate at Skyline). Sherm made an in-home visit a week ago to discuss the new defense. Nelson is getting all the ink, but don’t sleep on Patterson. I think he’ll fit nicely into the 3-4 and should start 3+ years. Good pick-up.

DB

Toney Hurd, Jr. | 5’9” 184 | Missouri City, Texas

We only signed one DB in this year’s class, and that is a little annoying considering the ineptitude we’ve seen the past decade. Anyway, Hurd was a Notre Dame commit until the Weis dismissal. A big fan of jolly, plump coaches, he looked for the similarly shaped Coach Sherman. Hurd brings playmaking skills that we needed yesterday. He is a solid ballhawk who can matchup with tall receivers despite standing a generous 5’9”. Coach Malone has been bullish on Hurd for quite some time and he was rewarded with Hurd verbally committing at the Under Armor game.

ATH

Jarrett Fobbs | 5’11” 180 | Shreveport, Louisiana

Gamer. His recruitment is still very much in play from what I gather. Miles made an in-home visit last week and is throwing out all the stops. Fobbs runs, catches, and plays some D. I’m concerned we are going to lose him. Slick bastards at LSU. The opportunities to utilize Fobbs are vast and amusing.

Malcome Kennedy | 6’ 200 | Cayuga, Texas
Good kid. His offer list is not outstanding, but he seems to be a good program guy. He was a dual-threat QB for a state championship program in Cayuga. I’m not sure where Cayuga is, so it could have been flag football. Not much to report here.

LeKendrick Williams | 5’9” 175 | Houston, Texas
Williams doesn’t come to Aggieland with much fanfare, but the staff seems to think he can make an early impact on our laughable special teams. LeKendrick is a quick kid that will get some looks in the return game. He played on both sides of the ball in high school. Obviously, we need more help on defense so perhaps there is an opportunity to develop him into a serviceable DB?

Conclusion

As we did on offense, we did a decent job addressing needs save maybe a DB or two. The DL needed bodies and playmakers in a big way, and there is some promise with several of the newcomers. Nelson is an elite talent that we haven’t seen at linebacker in quite some time. I like Patterson as the sleeper of the group. Fobbs would be a huge get.

Whoop.

Here is a link to my thoughts on our 2010 recruits on offense.