One of North Texas’ newest residents, Canyon Cooper Smith, has been here for just about three weeks. But the 13 lb. newborn already has a lot of nicknames.

“We call him our squishy a lot. Big boy. Somebody called him the Grand Canyon. Supa Kupa. Chunkmeister,” said Arlington mom Markie Smith. “Yeah he’s hefty, he’s solid.”

His size was just a bit of a shock to Mom when he was born.  

“We were expecting him to be about 10 lbs. When he came out, and they said 12, I did not believe them,” said Smith, “and they were like, ‘He’s huge,’ and he was screaming. They were holding him up like this, and it was just rolls. That’s all I could see. Just bright red mad and rolls.”

Joshua photographer Kim Fain has been taking newborn photos for more than a decade.  

“This is the biggest baby I’ve ever had. Chunk,” said Fain. 

You probably didn’t know, but just a few pounds can make a big difference when photographing a baby.

“Yeah, my wrists will hurt tomorrow, said Fain. “You can definitely tell the difference between a six-pound baby and a 10-pound baby. Add three or four more pounds; he’s over 13 pounds now.” 

However, there is no confusion; Canyon is a fan favorite around here.

“From the moment he’s arrived, he’s just changed… I mean, look at all this hoopla over him,” said Smith. 

Canyon is a big baby who’s going to get a whole lot of love. And possibly, a scholarship.

“I’ve been jokingly shouting out ‘Jerry Jones’ because, you know,” said Smith.

Texas A&M has been hard at work attempting to rebuild the trenches on both sides of the ball thus far through the transfer portal window.

That journey has gone smoothly as well, with the Aggies landing offensive tackles Tyree Adams (LSU) and Wilkin Formby (Alabama) as well as interior linemen Coen Echols (LSU) and Trovon Baugh (South Carolina) on one side of the ball, and edge rushers Ryan Henderson (San Diego State) and Anto Saka (Northwestern) and defensive tackle Brandon Davis-Swain (Colorado) on the other.

Now, they have added another name to that mix on the defensive side of the ball, and have done so from another power conference talent.

According to multiple reports, the Aggies have gained a commitment from Illinois defensive tackle Angelo McCullom. He made his decision final following a recent visit to Aggieland.

Who is Angelo McCullom?

The sophomore defensive lineman has spent his first two seasons with Illinois and will have two years of college eligibility remaining.

The six-foot-two, 300-pound defensive lineman saw the field in all 12 games for Illinois this season and earned two starts. In his appearances, McCullom recorded 19 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups this season.

The sophomore was also on the field plenty throughout 2025 as he played 295 snaps, the most among Illinois interior defensive linemen, where he earned a 66.9 grade by Pro Football Focus.

McCullom saw the field quickly as a true freshman in the 2024 season, where he played in seven games and tallied two tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks.

The product out of Pickerington North High School in Lewis Center, OH, was a three-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. McCullom ranked as the No. 139 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 46 prospect in Ohio, per 247Sports, and committed to Illinois over the likes of Indiana and Pittsburgh.

McCullom now joins Davis-Swain on the interior, who committed to Texas A&M earlier this week on Jan. 5. The six-foot-four, 290-pound defensive lineman recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and one pass defended for the Buffaloes this season.

And his addition now brings in an experienced player in a physical conference like the Big Ten, with the size and frame that can hold up and be productive in the SEC.

The two additions doesn’t mean the Aggies are done on the interior defensively.

Rather, far from it. And far from being done in the portal overall.

Alabama basketball had every chance to beat Texas on Saturday. Time and time again, UA pulled it close, only to blow the opportunity to win.

Instead, the Crimson Tide fell 92-88, dropping to 1-2 to begin SEC play, and taking its second straight defeat. Afterward, Nate Oats went off on his team.

“We got guys that don’t care enough to lock in and follow a game plan,” Oats said during his postgame press conference. “Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take ‘till it bothers them, but it’s bothering me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change.”

On the defensive end, Alabama couldn’t get enough stops when it needed to. Texas’ Jordan Pope led all scorers with 28 points, tying his career high.

Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark had 18 each for the Longhorns. UT averaged 1.314 points per possession.

Alabama’s defensive efficiency dropped to 79th in the nation following the loss according to KenPom.

“All of it starts with effort,” Oats said of the defensive issues. “Want to. Competitive edge. Guys who just don’t want to lose, they’re gonna give you everything they got. Guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now because they’re not giving us everything they got on that end of the floor. SO I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose, to start with.

“From there it goes to guys in the moment having some personal pride on stopping their man. Too many blow-bys.Too many isolation plays were just beat one-on-one. Guys not locked in on the help side.”

Another issue for Alabama late in the game was poor free-throw shooting. UA hit 11-of-12 attempts in the first half, but went just 8-for-15 from the line in the second, which became crucial as the referees made their presence known late.

Oats was asked what went wrong from the charity stripe.

“When you’re worried about the wrong stuff,” Oats said. “When you’re locked in, you’re locked in. When you’re locked into defense, all you care about is winning the game. And when you’re locked in on the defensive end, then you go to the line and you’re locked in and you’re just focused on winning the game, you’re gonna step up and you’re gonna make your free throws.

“And when you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction and you’re worried about stats and some other stuff and you’re not locked in, that’s when you get to the line and you miss. Especially when you’re a good shooter. Guys that should be making free throws at a high level.”