Derion Gullette

Football season is in full force as district championships are being won and playoff tickets are being punched. Though that doesn’t mean things will slow down on the recruiting trails. It is time to take a look at the latest news and notes from the recruiting front.

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Radio this morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail after Bravion Rogers recommitted to Texas A&M.

As I stated in the stickied article and on Twitter, it was important to get Bravion Rogers back into the class, regardless of how it all went down. This is still a national 100 prospect and a kid that possesses the requisite skill set to be an early impact player at the collegiate level. He was a kid that felt like a must-get at the start of this recruiting calendar, and the Aggies needed to land him. Shortly after his abrupt exit from the class back in early August, I spoke with multiple sources in the area who were confident that the LSU overtures would be short lived and that he'd be back with the Maroon & White rather soon. They were right. Kudos should go to TJ Rushing and Jimbo Fisher. Much like the Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy pursuit last year, the A&M coaches didn't overreact or burn any bridges when Bravion backed away from his verbal pledge. They stayed consistent with their communication and messaging. This staff is full of really talented recruiters who understand the importance of 1) establishing connections and building relationships and 2) playing the long game. It's why you don't panic in the recruitments like this one, or Johnny Bowens, or even David Hicks in the face of OU's momentum. September could wind up being the most impactful month of the calendar for A&M's recruiting efforts. It started with today's recommitment, but there is so much more on the table. Now holding 10 verbal commitments, it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the Aggies add to that number by nearly a handful by the end of the month. It goes without saying that the Miami weekend is big. We anticipate that it's going to rival last year's Alabama weekend in terms of both quality and quantity in the visitor's list. What kind of impact could an electric atmosphere for a night game at Kyle have on a specific kid or two?Standout WR Hykeem Williams is expected make a decision later this month, and we still maintain Austin Westlake OL TJ Shanahan's recruitment could come to an end in short order even though he's not set a specific day/time for an announcement. I know y'all hate hearing it, but there's still very much a chance this 2023 recruiting class, while being smaller in number, can still deliver a similar impact to last year's historic group. Now, I'm not saying A&M will finish number one overall, but I am saying they could close on a class that continues their ascent up the elite talent ranks in college football. Just look at the list of players that the Aggies are still in contention for. They won't land all these, but you get the idea. QB Malachi Nelson RB Roderick Robinson RB Jeremiyah Love RB Rueben Owens RB Cedric Baxter Jr. WR Zachariah Branch WR Hykeem Williams WR Andy Jean WR Anthony Evans WR Micah TeaseWR Jalen HaleOL TJ Shanahan OL Caden Jones DL David Hicks DL Johnny Bowens LB Derion Gullette LB Tausili Akana DB Peyton Bowen DB Javien Toviano DB Tony Mitchell Finally, as we've stated numerous times, we are hearing enough to make us believe a couple of key 2024s could be ready to come off the board in relative short order.