Larry Brown Sports

Former Texas A&M wide receiver Ryan Swope ran the 40-yard dash in 4.34 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine on Sunday, making him one of the three fastest players who took place in the Combine this year. But could he be flying under the radar even with that blazing speed?

In an interview with “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday, Swope was asked about being a white guy with those kinds of wheels. He said the fact that a white guy ran as fast as he did probably caught some people off guard.

“I think a lot of people were pretty shocked,” Swope said. “You don’t see that every day, a white guy running a 4.3. I just wanted to go out and let people know how important this is to me. This is a big deal. I’m trying to make it in the NFL and I want to go out and do it the right way.”

As Pro Football Talk pointed out, Swope’s NFL.com scouting report says that his straight-line speed and acceleration are “average.” Either that information is inaccurate, or something is wrong with the clocks at the Combine.

Naturally, the former Aggie is used to being compared to successful white wide receivers who currently play in the NFL. One such player is Wes Welker, who Swope is not complaining about being compared to.

“I’ve been compared to Welker,” he said. “I think that’s a huge compliment because Welker’s a great football player. … But I think people decide to make a white and white comparison.”

While Swope’s skin color may work against him if he is stereotyped leading up to the NFL Draft, there are a number of current NFL players who feel that it can work in a player’s favor at the professional level. Several Miami Dolphins players feel that Brian Hartline is underrated because he’s white. Jordy Nelson feels he does not get the respect he deserves from opposing defenses for the same reason. Flying under the radar has its pros and cons.

The future of Texas A&M football looks incredibly bright at the moment. In their first season as members of the SEC, the Aggies compiled a 10-2 record and capped off their season with a blowout win over Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Thanks in large part to the emergence of freshman Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel, the team should be a national championship contender next season.

Rumor has it things could be getting even better for the SEC’s newest member in the near future. According to The Battalion, Texas A&M has reached an agreement with College Station community leaders on a $420 million renovation of Kyle Field, which would assure that the Aggies continue playing football games in College Station rather than moving to Houston.

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Texas A&M shocked the college football world on Saturday when it came way with a road victory against No. 1-ranked Alabama that included a goal-line stand to seal the game. The photo you see above was posted on Reddit over the weekend, and according to an Outkick the Coverage reader the rump actually belongs to an Aggies fan.

If you’d like to see a more hairy and disturbing photo of the tattoo, click here. The victim of the lost bet is named Calvin N., and it turns out Calvin is the victim of a lost bet. At first we thought this had to be a Crimson Tide fan since Texas A&M won the game, but apparently Calvin is one of those pessimistic fans that likes to bet you his own team has no chance of winning just so he’s not disappointed. His roommates said they would pay him $100 if he turned out to be right and Bama won but that he would have to get an ass tattoo of the final score if Texas A&M won. The rest is history.

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A billboard supporting Texas A&M football went up in Gainesville on Tuesday as some sort of smack talk before the Aggies play their first SEC game on Saturday. The billboard, located at 13th Street and 53rd Avenue according to Gator Nation, said:

Howdy Gainesville,
You’ve been annexed by Aggie Nation
The Best Academics & Cleanest Program in the SEC. WHOOP!
Real Football. Real Tradition.

Texas A&M said the billboard was not put up by the school, and they were actually investigating it for possible copyright violation. There investigation must have worked, because the billboard came down a few hours later.

According to USA Today’s Rachel George, the billboard was purchased by a Houston-based agency representing a group called Aggie Nation. The trademark concern was over the phrase “Whoop!” George reports.

Here’s what the billboard looked like after the A&M ad was taken down:

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Now we’re talking. About a month ago, Texas A&M created a video that welcomed itself to the SEC in extremely corny fashion. Students from Texas A&M were recorded as they cheered for the other schools in the SEC and recited their slogans and battle cries. We get what the school was trying to do, but it certainly wasn’t what we have come to expect from the fiercest athletic conference in college football.

It still may be too early for Texas A&M fans to hang banners like this one over the freeway, but the billboard you see above that SBNation passed along is certainly a start. The message is currently on display in Austin, Texas. While it is not insulting toward the other schools in the SEC, it certainly throws an obvious jab at the University of Texas, which is a Big 12 school. Take that, Longhorns. Aggie fans will be poisoning trees before you know it.

H/T Dr. Saturday

Someone needs to tell Texas A&M that the only way to make it through your first week of imprisonment alive is to find the biggest dude in the joint and smash him over the head with a tray from the mess hall. Killing people with kindness rarely every works. Now that they are officially a part of the SEC, Texas A&M chose to create the incredibly cheesy video you see above as a way of saying “pleased to meet you” to the rest of the schools in their conference.

Nice gesture I suppose, but it had better stop there. This isn’t some pickup basketball game at the local community center where everyone is welcome. The Aggies are entering a ruthless world of competition where students and fans are more likely to poison a rival school’s landscaping or hang signs like this from the freeway than they are to wish you good luck. Welcome aboard — now get your heads in the game.

H/T The Big Lead

Take a look at the above shirt, which marks Texas A&M’s move to the SEC. Anything look off to you?

For those of you who realize North Carolina doesn’t currently have a team in the SEC, we extend our congratulations. The imaginary gift card to Denny’s is in the mail. (You could also say the shirt is also missing Missouri, which will also be joining the conference next season. More on that in a bit.)

But before we jump all over a fine institution like Texas A&M for letting this unfortunate geographical error slip by, it’s important to note that this isn’t an official piece of Aggies merchandise, nor is it being sold through the school. The shirt’s actual vendor, Aggieland Outfitters, released this statement:

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