Fisher the latest to ditch depth charts
COLLEGE STATION — The aggravations arrive in waves this time of year for college football coaches, so Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher happily elected to eliminate one rearing its convoluted head once a week.
Fisher, to the vexation of both ink-stained wretches and detail-minded millennials, has cut the weekly depth chart from his two-deep of tasks. Just as some of his peers have done in figuring they have plenty of headaches — depth charts don’t need to be one.
“I always took those very seriously, that’s the truth,” Fisher said this week in a colorful explanation of why he nixed a preseason and weekly depth chart. “I always thought if I’m a player and I’m not on that and I’m really on it, that’s kind of disrespectful to me as a player.”
It became an added annoyance to accurately present a weekly depth chart, he said, primarily because things are no longer as they were in the sport, when redshirting as a freshman was a regular part of the process and biding time as an underclassman was mostly understood.
“Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker, Marcus Dupree were freaks because they played as freshmen,” Fisher said of the star trio from 1980s college football. “How many freshmen ever played (back then)? You didn’t really play until your third year, and it was regimented. Now you’re playing week to week.”
Last Saturday 19 true freshmen from the Aggies’ topranked recruiting class played in No. 6 A&M’s 31-0 victory over Sam Houston, along with nine redshirt freshmen. More youngsters are expected to earn playing time at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday when the Aggies (1-0) host Appalachian State (0-1).
“We’ve had a couple of guys jump into our rotation at different positions that a week ago were second or third team,” Fisher said. “All the sudden guys slipped up and didn’t practice well … and freshmen are getting indoctrinated into what you’re (doing), it changes so much.”
And then you’ve got snooping sportswriters scrutinizing the depth chart for discrepancies in terms of playing time — or no playing time — which Fisher would just as soon do without.
“I give (the depth chart) to you, and you say, ‘Well so-andso didn’t play so what’s the matter with him, is he hurt?’ ” Fisher said.
Fisher then played out the rest of the fanciful exchange: “No.”
“Then what’s the matter with him?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why isn’t he playing?” Fisher added with a slight smile, “I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘Someone beat him out.’ Those things change weekly, (including) who gets nicked up. (Tight end) Max Wright would have been on the depth chart, and all the sudden Max wasn’t there, and I was planning on Max being there … I didn’t know until game day.”
Wright missed the opener with an undisclosed injury. What Fisher didn’t say or address but appears evident to programs across the country, too, is athletes now benefiting from their names, images and likenesses (NIL) perhaps could sway deals and cause issues based on depth charts — one more reason to get rid of them.
“It’s not that (depth charts) are useless or worthless, but they’re not as important as they once were,” Fisher continued. “Even to us, because they
change daily based off what happens in practice and things that go on. It’s a different world than we’ve ever lived in.”
His peers concur. Alabama coach Nick Saban said last Saturday media questions about the depth chart, particularly what’s shaking on the Crimson Tide offensive line, might lead to “the last time you ever get one.”
“I know y’all think I’m crazy,” Saban told reporters in threatening to eradicate depth charts. “That doesn’t bother me at all — doesn’t bother me one bit.”
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, too, held off on releasing a depth chart last week to keep his players “competitive” throughout the practices leading to the opener.
Robert Cessna of the BryanCollege Station Eagle said this is the first time in 48 years covering the Aggies he’s never
surveyed an official depth chart before an A&M game. Fisher offered a few more reasons why, based on how much the game has changed since 1975 (or even 2005).
“Who is first team, you know that,” Fisher said. “Who is second team? Well, some days it’s him and on certain plays it’s him and certain plays it’s him, and then you write, ‘OR, OR, OR, OR, OR, OR” on the depth chart, so you’ve got (maybe) nine guys based off what you may be doing. It’s ever-changing so much it’s hard for us to even (write) them down, seriously. You never had this diversity of packages.
“(Back then) you were an I-pro team or a split-pro team and occasionally you put three wideouts in the game. Or there was a nickel package (on defense). Now there’s nickel, dime, dime rabbits, a rush package, a dime package with a rush package … there are so many groupings of players now.”
Fisher kidded that he’d send a reporter 30 pages of conceivable situations, since that’s what a true depth chart in 2022 would entail.
“It would be like a jigsaw (puzzle) … in that package he’s second team, in that package he’s first team and in that package he’s not playing,” Fisher said, motioning his arms for emphasis. “It’s become such a specialist game … and it’s so different than it’s ever been. (Depth charts) just aren’t as relevant anymore, as crazy as that sounds.”