Running back Randell Bell will not be with the Aggies this upcoming season as he did not qualify academically. Bell had to nail down an 820 SAT and a 2.5 GPA and failed to hit the 2.5. The coaching staff was very excited about Bell going into the year but now will be without him. Hal Mumme confirmed the report.
No one will really know how the loss effects NMSU because no one saw Bell play. The team still figures to have decent depth at running back, especially if Justine Buries comes back strong. If not, we’ll see. Tonny Glenn had a nice spring and figures to get a look no matter what.
Mumme also said that A.J. Harris will remain suspended until his legal issues are squared away meaning that he could be out of practice until his trial passes. Harris is scheduled to appear in court on August 15. After that the team will determine what his punishment will be. My guess is a suspension Week 1 versus SE Louisiana and then get him back on the field when the team goes to Albuquerque to take on the Lobos. We’ll see.
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9 comments:
This is dissapointing. How hard is it to get a 2.5 in high/ prep school?
Get your act together in class, son.
Speaking of eligibility. I heard Chris Woods, Vince Butler (both DB's) and EJ Canon were walking the academic tight rope.
Any word if they will be on the field?
That's too bad to hear that about Bell. I wonder if he is going to take the Junior College route and end up back at NMSU. He sounded like a fantastic athlete with a lot of potential.
Give credit to Mumme for not fudging the numbers and getting this Bell kid into school. Without a doubt, UT is one of the top schools academically in the nation, and it goes without saying that good ole Mack does what he needs to do to get Vince Young on the field, or otherwise turns his head as others do what they need to do to get Vince Young on the field.
The handling of the AJ situation also appears to be accurate. I think integrity for a program goes a long way. Hopefully, the Aggies can move past the ugly situation with the players who sued for religious discrimination. Whether or not those allegations were true, I hope we don't have to see that again.
can't the aggies go one off-season with these types of "incidents"? i'm losing faith in mumme's ability to get his players off-field problems dealt with.
These type offseason incicents happen every year in every school in america, not that it is excuseable. when sams was here every month there was a player in jail. Trust me on this the dicipline is well better off with such a hardliner as Mumme than with a player's coach like we had before.
The coaching staff knew in the Spring that Bell was a long shot to qualify academically. We will have solid depth at RB with J. Williams, J. Buries, and T. Glenn. Glenn had a good Spring receiving the ball out the backfield but he has not shown that can rush the ball between the tackles like J. Buries and J. Williams. Williams and Buries will probably emerge as the "guy" at the RB position and our running game will improve significantly without the likes of a unproven Randell Bell.
Bell's failure to qualify isn't Mumme's fault--it is Bell's. Besides, who knows if Bell was better than any of our current RB's. With our Spread offense, our depth at RB is fine. It is my understanding that Bell wasn't the best RB on his team at Hargrave, so maybe we are better off without him.
This stuff does happen often...And Bell did have a checkered past academically speaking. But it would have been nice to have him. If Buries returns close to 100 percent, no one will care. If he slips it will bring the team’s depth into question.
Chris Woods’ future is certainly up in the air and his grades have been a concern in the past. They need him and Vince Butler badly, more so than Bell in my opinion. I understand they’re both talented and would give the team flexibility in the secondary. Without them it could be torch city. Even with them it could be torch city.
I asked Mumme about kicker Kyle Hughes as I heard he was in question academically. Mumme said that he could not discuss any grades or players’ futures until Aug. 15. That’s a concern in and of itself. If he was clear, wouldn’t he just say it? Maybe, maybe not.
If they get Hughes, Woods and Butler going, the loss of Bell would seem minor.
Speaking of depth at RB, anyone know the status of Julius Flemming? I heard that he was moved to WR and that he recently injured his knee. Who are the other RB's besides Buries and Williams?
I hope these kids get their grades up in the next two week.
We can do w/o Bell for right now but, we need those DB's playing.
It can be a looong season if the secondary is noth fixed!
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