A nightmare of a week for Aggie football took yet another unpredictable turn on Wednesday. The departure of Kyle Allen was enough, but now it is being reported that freshman five-star quarterback Kyler Murray is thinking about transferring.
Reactions have ranged all over social media from ‘good riddance’ to a chaotic meltdown. A handful of Texas A&M students weighed in on the situation.
Chris Riggins, a geographic information systems technology sophomore, said the problem revolves around the coaching rather than a specific player.
“I think it is all on the coaching staff,” Riggins said. “With Kyle Allen leaving, and then the rumors about Murray, I think a change needs to be made on the coaching staff. Everyone wants to blame [Spavital] but I think some of that blame goes to [Sumlin] as well.”
A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital have been targets for the ineptitude on the Aggies offense. Situations like this will only further the blame and seat heating.
For some students, the news about the situation did not spread until later in the day, especially with the last day of finals taking place. That was the case with Scott Meeks, an industrial distribution senior, who said the athletes have to follow their own instincts.
“Honestly, I just found out, so I am going to learn more later on,” Meeks said. “If he has the opportunity to play somewhere better, that’s fine, but I do not know what his reasons could be.”
While Riggins did not pinpoint the blame on a specific coach, Aaron Rambo, an engineering major, said Sumlin is the root of the problems. He said Sumlin was overrated before coming to A&M.
“I think it shows the kind of coach that [Sumlin] is,” Rambo said. “I think he was way overhyped and came into a system that was already built for him…the [Allen] transfer I definitely understand. He was not a great fit for the system Sumlin has going…[Murray] is one that the players do not like from what I understand…I think he saw the attention Allen was getting and wanted the same.”
For Matt Jamison, a sport management major, he said Murray and Allen should do what is right, but believes Kyler would be better off staying at A&M.
“For [Allen], I was sad to see him go…but I think it is the best decision for him,” Jamison said. “Another system might fit his skills better, and they just did not do a good job handling his situation…for [Murray] I am kind of conflicted because I feel he can have a bit of an attitude sometimes, but I also think he belongs here. I think he should stay, but I could see him weighing his options.”
Only time will tell what happens within the Aggie program. However, one thing is certain as the offseason approaches, the program once again faces some big questions going into 2016.
