Texas A&M Football: 5 reasons Kevin Sumlin should be on the hot seat

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Sep 17, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin looks on prior to the game against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Recruiting questions

Texas was down in 2015, while Baylor staggered to the finish line. Sumlin should have killed it on the recruiting trail with the class of 2016. He finished behind both. To be fair, the Baylor scandal broke almost immediately after signing day.

Also, it should be pointed out Sumlin signed a top-10 recruiting class this season, easily taking advantage of the Baylor scandal and Texas’ turmoil pre-Tom Herman. However, the point is: Sumlin has to take advantage this season to keep the recruits rolling in to College Station. If Herman can turn the ship quickly in Austin, he could really pounce on the best recruits in the state and leave Sumlin reeling.

The pressure is especially high for Mazzone because the program has recruited highly touted quarterbacks in the past to less than stellar results.

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Continuing to recruit a strong class will be enough of a challenge with Sumlin sitting on the hot seat. Often, recruits are reluctant to commit to a school with a coach on the hot seat. If Sumlin gets off to a hot start that should help, although we’ve seen how that’s played out in previous seasons.