McGee emphasizes the importance of athletes getting their degree

Former Texas A&M quarterback Stephen McGee joined Thursday's edition of TexAgs Radio to discuss the impact of the transfer portal on college football. Our QB1 also spoke about the importance of student-athletes continuing to get their college degree.

Key notes from Stephen McGee interview

• Prior to the transfer portal haul, I thought success in 2024 could be 7-5 because I thought the team that was going to start vs. Notre Dame was out on the field vs. Oklahoma State. I wasn’t too optimistic. With that transfer portal haul, my expectations are a little higher. It has changed the college football landscape. In the past, it was difficult to rebuild the program with your DNA and your identity. It doesn’t happen on day one, and the transition period can be slow. With the transfer portal, I believe a new staff can come to a program and have a contender in year two. We know that the schedule next year is not that tough from an SEC standpoint, so I would not be surprised to see Texas A&M go 8-4 next year. It’s way too early to make any real predictions, but to me, going 9-3 or anything higher would be exceeding expectations.
   
• Great football teams start in the trenches, and that has been true for many decades now. We lost two key players on the defensive line, so it will be interesting to see if some of these young guys can step in. There are positions of need. What’s going to happen at linebacker? It has been a revolving situation at corner. I’m excited to see some of these guys. The coaching effect is also real, so it can’t be said enough about having guys that your plays believe in. It seems like Mike Elko is that guy. Additionally, the scheme does matter. I’ve felt like scheme and coaching have held us back time and time again, and I’ve felt that it has been a common theme at the assistant coaching level.
   
• I had this conversation many times over with people in the NIL space. The transfer portal works out for some people. Baker Mayfield is the perfect example. For the vast majority of guys, it does not work out well. Even if transferring works, they’ll have an average NFL career, which is three years. You’re not setting yourself up to retire because you won’t have enough money. You have to fall back on the education. For kids to not be loyal to Texas A&M or the degree that Texas A&M gives you is a shame. I am living proof of what A&M can do for you because I had a three-year and three-week NFL career. You have to have the education to fall back on because the vast majority of these kids are not going to make a ton of money in the NFL.
   
• Buy, Sell, Lease: I remember very little, if any, of all of these halftime shows. I’ll buy the Dr. Dre one in Los Angeles, lease Usher and sell Rihanna, but I’ve got to hear Olin Buchanan’s opinion on this one.
   
• As a kid, Janet Jackson’s scarred me. In a good way, I guess. I’m not into the concert culture. It doesn’t jive with me. If it was George Strait or Chris Stapleton, I’d be like, “Yeah, this hits. This is a banger.” I typically don’t watch the Super Bowl halftime show.
   
• Patrick Mahomes is so good. He’s going to be the GOAT if he stays on this trajectory. There is nobody really like him. He has the competitive greatness when it always matters. He reminds me of Tiger Woods on Sundays back in the day. Even when it looked like they weren’t going to have a great team this year, you knew they had Mahomes. He’s going to change the game and the position. More and more guys are going to start playing like Mahomes.