Tag: Jimbo Fisher

Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, left, and Alabama head coach Nick Saban meet at midfield after their game in College Station, Texas, in 2019. Xxx Img Bama667 1 1 45v20bgg Jpg

Jimbo Fisher: Just 1 early signee at Texas A&M has NIL deal

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher continued to deny that his program’s incoming players were “bought” via name, image and likeness deals.

Fisher said in an interview with a San Antonio TV station that most of the Aggies’ 11 early enrollees do not have an NIL deal in place, pushing back on the notion initially espoused by Alabama coach Nick Saban that Fisher “bought every player” on his team.

“I just researched this,” Fisher said in the KSAT interview, which was recorded last Friday and aired Sunday night. “Of the 11 guys we have in place that came early? One guy has an NIL deal. So all these stories you’re hearing are complete lies.”

Saban set off a firestorm when he told business leaders at an event in Birmingham, Ala., that without regulations for NIL, coaches at competing programs would be able to “buy” any player, likening it to free agency without a salary cap.

“A&M bought every player on their team — made a deal for name, image, likeness. We didn’t buy one player, all right?” Saban said. He later apologized for singling out Texas A&M and other programs.

Fisher responded last Thursday, defending his program and calling Saban a “narcissist.”

“Some people think they’re God,” Fisher said. “Go dig into how God did his deal, you may find out about a lot of things that you don’t want to know. We build (Saban) up to be the czar of college football. Go dig into his past.

“I just know that what we did was nothing wrong. Not done the wrong way. Nothing was promised. Nothing was a deal. And we didn’t buy any players,” Fisher added. “You can call me anything you want to call me, you don’t call me a cheat. I don’t cheat. I don’t lie.”

Fisher also told KSAT that he did not plan to talk with Saban about his remarks, which he initially made clear at his press conference Thursday.

–Field Level Media

Oct 16, 2021; Columbia, Missouri, USA; A detailed view of Texas A&M Aggies helmets during the second half against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Texas A&M signs 5-star Shemar Stewart, seals historic class

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Five-star defensive lineman Shemar Stewart signed with Texas A&M Wednesday on National Signing Day, giving the Aggies the highest-ranked recruiting class ever, per the 247Sports composite.

He is the seventh five-star signee for Texas A&M in this recruiting cycle for coach Jimbo Fisher. Four of them are from Texas.

Stewart, from Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami, was ranked as the No. 10 overall prospect in the country and the No. 3 defensive lineman in the Class of 2022, per the composite.

The 6-foot-6, 272-pound Stewart chose Texas A&M over Georgia and Miami.

“The bond that we built over the recruiting process,” Stewart told ESPN about why he picked the Aggies. “The foundation we built and the relationships that I’ve made with the coaches is what put them over the top.”

The ranking of recruiting classes is based on points, and Stewart’s inclusion gives the Aggies’ class the most points ever, besting Alabama’s 2021 class. The Crimson Tide overtook Florida’s 2010 class a year ago.

In all, Texas A&M has 28 signees, including 18 ranked as four-star recruits by the 247Sports composite.

The other five-stars in the group are wide receivers Evan Stewart (Frisco, Texas) and Chris Marshall (Missouri City, Texas); defensive linemen Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy (Lakeland, Fla.) and Walter Nolen (Powell, Tenn.); quarterback Conner Weigman (Cypress, Texas); and cornerback Denver Harris (Houston).

–Field Level Media

Jul 21, 2021; Hoover, Alabama, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher speaks to the media during SEC Media Days at Hyatt Regency Birmingham. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

Reports: Texas A&M gives Jimbo Fisher raise, extension

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Ahead of his fourth season as head coach at Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher received a raise and a contract extension Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle and ESPN reported.

Not yet halfway into the 10-year, $75 million contract he landed in December 2017 while leaving Florida State for Texas A&M, Fisher reportedly had another three years added to his pact. His salary reportedly jumps to around $9 million annually, and he will be under contract through 2030.

Fisher, 55, owns a 26-10 record with the Aggies, who won bowl games in each of his three seasons.

The Aggies, ranked sixth in the AP preseason poll, are coming off a 9-1 season capped by a 41-27 win over North Carolina in the Orange Bowl. Texas A&M finished with a No. 4 rating last year, though they didn’t make the College Football Playoff.

Even before the new raise and extension, Fisher was ranked fifth last November in USA Today’s annual listing of the top-paid college football coaches at $7.5 million per year. He trailed only Alabama’s Nick Saban ($9.3 million), LSU’s Ed Orgeron ($8.9 million), Clemson’s Dabo Swinney ($8.3 million) and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh ($8 million).

Texas A&M opens the season Saturday against visiting Kent State.

–Field Level Media