Every week, college football insider Shehan Jeyarajah will come to you with a roundup of everything he thinks – and things he thinks he thinks right now – about college football in Texas this week. 

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3 things I know

1. Kobe’s death reminds us why we love sports

NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his 13-year old daughter Gianna and seven others died on Sunday after a tragic helicopter accident. He was 41 and just shy of four years retired from the NBA. Bryant was just months away from being inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

I, like many, was rendered speechless when a friend texted and told me the news. Kobe was a larger than life figure who you assume would never, ever die somehow. I’ve never been impacted like this by a celebrity death; the fact that it was so sudden and unexpected only made it worse. Logging onto social media – and seeing Twitter crash – was a comforting reminder that much of the world was as shocked as I was. 

For his entire career, Kobe Bryant made us feel things. For much of my life, it was sports hatred. Then, it was a grudging appreciation. In the wake of his passing, it’s unspeakable sadness for his family and for basketball. The ability to elicit such a wide range of emotions is what makes sports incredible. Few things in life are quite like it. 

And really, that flip of emotion is what we love about college football too. We love our teams winning, hate our teams losing and are inspired by stories of perseverance and strength. Watching Sam Ehlinger lead the Longhorns to a Sugar Bowl win, feeling the pain of TCU’s College Football Playoff snub, watching UTEP’s Luke Laufenberg fight to play while dealing with leukemia – there’s nothing like it. 

In the wake of this unspeakable tragedy, let’s try and keep that perspective. We only have a short few years on this earth. In memory of Kobe Bryant, remember to appreciate everything and everyone in life that makes us feel something – and let them know it before it's too late.

2. Sonny Dykes knows how to find young coaching talent

Looking at SMU’s coaching staff under Sonny Dykes is a trip. Almost every major coach on staff is under the age of 40. His most recent hire, offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, only continues that trend. 

Some head coaches struggle to delegate responsibility to their subordinates or don’t respect younger coaches when they’re brought on staff. However, Dykes has shown full trust in his hires, which is why he’s gotten the most out of very young coaches like Kevin Kane, Rhett Lashlee and Jake Spavital, even when results weren’t immediate. 

Perhaps the biggest credit to Dykes is that he rarely oversteps. Dykes let Lashlee run the offense a season ago. The results were so good that Lashlee got a big opportunity at Miami. Dykes’ confidence, trust in his staff and eye for talent are a big part of why he’s led a historic turnaround at SMU. 

3. Dave Aranda’s hires are elite

Baylor coach Dave Aranda has made eight reported hires at this point. Out of that group, two are former college head coaches, two are former FBS coordinators, one is a former NFL defensive coordinator, two were highly-regarded Texas high school coaches and one was LSU’s top defensive line recruiter. 

Aranda has never been a head coach at the college level. There’s no guarantee that he’ll be a success. But still, Aranda’s staff finds the perfect balance of recruiting ability, big-time experience and schematic know-how. 

There will be plenty of work to mix all of these diverse personalities together on one staff, which will be compounded by Aranda being a quieter presence. But still, Baylor’s staff right now is better than perhaps anyone could have imagined when Matt Rhule left for the NFL. 

3 things I think I know

1. Texas A&M’s 2020 hinges at running back.

A few weeks ago, it felt like Zach Evans was trending towards Texas A&M. Now, the momentum seems to be moving back away. 

The Aggies only have one returning running back contributor on the roster – Isaiah Spiller. He should be in line for a big year two, but the depth is still in a precarious spot on the roster. The Aggies are signing three running backs (including JUCO runner Earnest Crownover). Someone has to become an immediate contributor. 

Jimbo Fisher’s offense is built around controlling the ball with the run and forcing his will on the opponent. That’s part of why he was able to get players like Cam Akers and Devonta Freeman to Florida State, and why the offense was so much better with Trayveon Williams in the lineup in 2018. Now, Fisher needs to find his next in line, and soon. 

2. In-state skill talents will have a great NFL Draft

The Senior Bowl was over the weekend and multiple players from the state had tremendous showings. 

TCU running back Darius Anderson led all players in yards from scrimmage thanks to a big touchdown catch. Texas A&M wide receiver Quartney Davis also added four catches for 54 yards. However, the performances won’t stop there. 

Denzel Mims and James Proche quickly became impressive options during practices. Mims especially moved up significantly on Pro Football Focus’ draft board. Of course, you also can’t count out Devin Duvernay, who has quickly risen up draft boards. 

This is a great wide receiver class and Texas college players are going to be right in the middle of things. 

3. UTEP’s offseason is troubling

ESPN’s Bill Connelly does a fantastic job of putting together lists of adjusted returning production every offseason. Earlier this week, Connelly released his initial ranking of the most and least returning production. 

Among the bottom 10 teams in returning production? UTEP, a team that ranked bottom three in America per his SP+ analytic system. Perhaps most shocking, this is the second year in a row that the Miners have found themselves in the bottom 10, despite putting forth very limited results on the field. 

Returning production isn’t a perfect stat, but it’s an indicator that UTEP was somehow both bad and old at the same time. Development won’t save the Miners. Help isn’t really coming through the recruiting class either – the Miners have the worst recruiting class in Conference-USA and just lost its well-regarded recruiting director to UTSA. 

Having Deion Hankins and Gavin Hardison in the lineup full time will help a little bit. Still though, something fundamental has to change before we can have any faith in UTEP heading forward.