Connect with us

Texas

Why Rueben Owens II and E.J. Smith are crucial to Texas A&M’s championship goals

Published

on

Why Rueben Owens II and E.J. Smith are crucial to Texas A&M’s championship goals


The double-edged sword of upper-crust contention includes a prohibition of regression or setbacks. The best teams — the ones that hope to play in college football’s most meaningful bowl games in December and January — must be equipped to quickly and seamlessly fill the holes that open along the path toward it.

Texas A&M, now down a workhorse weapon for the foreseeable future, is now among that group.

Running back Le’Veon Moss will miss a “significant amount of time,” head coach Mike Elko said after A&M’s win vs. Florida last week, but is expected to return this season. The Aggies — ranked third in the AP Top 25 poll and undefeated at 7-0 for the first time since the 1994 season — are in an enviable position as it pertains to the College Football Playoff and don’t have time to lag while Moss heals.

The Aggies’ rushing offense ranks within the middle of the pack nationwide and among the bottom third of all SEC teams, per Pro Football Focus, and sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed runs the ball fewer times per game on average this year compared to last year. The ground game could be an area that the Aggies could exploit this Saturday against LSU’s defense, which allowed 239 rushing yards in its loss to Vanderbilt last weekend.

Advertisement

Sports Roundup

Get the latest D-FW sports news, analysis and opinion delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, Kevin Sherrington’s A La Carte.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

A duo of A&M backs with prodigious backgrounds will now try to recreate Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. — and potentially for the rest of the season.

Sophomore Rueben Owens II, a once-prized recruit, has rushed for three touchdowns in two starts since Moss was sidelined. Senior E.J. Smith — the son of Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith — has been elevated from a depth position to a backup role and carried the ball seven times in Texas A&M’s win vs. Arkansas Saturday night.

Advertisement

Owens scored two second-half touchdowns vs. the Razorbacks to fortify a wild 45-42 win. Smith converted a critical 4th and 1 rush to sustain a fourth-quarter drive that ended in a 12-yard touchdown run from Owens.

“We answered the call every time we needed to, “Elko said. ”I thought it was really great the way we went out in the second half and just continued to make plays to find a way to win the game.”

Owens and Smith were among those to thank. Owens, a five-star recruit from El Campo, was the second-ranked running back nationally and the second-best signee in former head coach Jimbo Fisher’s last full recruiting class. He earned All-SEC honors as a freshman when he split time as a back and returner, but missed the entirety of last season with a lower-body injury.

The 5-11 back now leads the Aggies in yardage after just one-and-a-half games as the team’s de facto starter. He rushed for a career-high 142 yards vs. Mississippi State earlier this month, when Moss was still healthy, and totaled 120 yards and three scores against Florida and Arkansas in two games after that.

“I think he’s one of the kids who gets a lot better every week that he goes out there because those reps are so valuable for him,” Elko said. “He’s getting more and more comfortable with what we’re asking him to do in the run game with the run lines and the run angles … I just think he continues to develop every week and to be more of a complete back. Obviously we need him to continue to do that.”

Advertisement

Smith, a four-star recruit at Jesuit, chose Stanford over offers from A&M, Florida, Georgia, Ohio State and others nearly six years ago. He, like Owens, saw what could’ve been a breakout campaign end prematurely. Smith rushed for 206 yards and three touchdowns in the first two games of the 2022 season but missed the remainder of it with a knee injury.

He was a third-stringer one year later and transferred to A&M prior to the 2024 season. The first-year result mirrored his final season at Stanford when he was no higher than third on the running back depth chart. His sixth and final season of collegiate eligibility began the same this year, too, with both Moss and Owens ahead of him.

“When you think about it, E.J. Smith’s not having all of the limelight he dreamed of having going into his senior year, I’m sure,” Elko said. “I’m sure he wishes he was the feature back carrying the ball 20 times a game.”

But.

“But,” Elko continued, “here it is, fourth and one at Arkansas, in our own territory, and he’s got to convert, and that’s a championship play. That play and that player will have as much to do with our success as anyone, right?”

Advertisement

The Aggies will hope so.

Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.



Source link

Texas

Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

Published

on

Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider


fatmata janneh lady vols basketball
Photo via Texas A&M Athletics

Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.

With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.

Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.

Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.

More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball

Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.

Advertisement

The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.

So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.

Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Texas

Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says

Published

on

Texas needs at least 4 billion to avoid water crisis, state says


AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.

The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said. 

The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.

In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.

Advertisement

“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”

The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.

The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.

The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.

The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.

Advertisement

“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”

Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.

“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.

Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.

“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“

Advertisement

The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.

“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”

Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.

“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”

Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.

Advertisement

Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Texas

Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say

Published

on

Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say



A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.

The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department. 

Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.

Advertisement

Car found at Arlington motel 

Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work. 

Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.

  Gregory D. Lewis, 34

Tarrant County Jail

Advertisement


Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side 

King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said. 

According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car. 

Medical examiner review pending 

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death. 

CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.

Advertisement



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending