Around Texas: A round-up of recruiting news in the Lone Star State
As the 2017 recruiting cycle comes to a close, big names across Texas are choosing their college destinations. Jason Howell has all the latest developments from around the state in this week's edition of Around Texas.
Around Texas: A round-up of recruiting news in the Lone Star State
Texas' head-coaching landscape in the college ranks has undergone some significant shifts in the last few weeks, and it's having a large impact on recruiting. Jason Howell has all of the biggest developments inside.
Around DFW: Texas A&M's plans & priority targets in the Metroplex
A hotbed of talent as always, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and surrounding areas are of particular interest to Texas A&M this recruiting cycle. From the nationally known names to the emerging ones, who are the Aggies targeting — and who is receptive?
Notes & Quotes from potential offers at The Opening - Houston
We'll continue to have full articles on those with spoke to with offers throughout the rest of the week, but I wanted to do an update on the guys we spoke with that have visited and still sit squarely on the A&M radar. Houston Bellaire DT Jayden Peevy - Peevy is an impressive physical specimen. He's every bit of 6-6 and 290 pounds, and he's only played football for a year (basketball). He committed to Baylor on Monday, but the Ags are far from being out of the race. He told me he continues to hear from A&M and the Aggies will continue to evaluate him this spring and summer. When I asked what would happen if the Aggies do offer, he told me, "They would be my top school." Look for Peevy to get back to campus in the next couple weeks. Plano West LB Mohamed Sanogo - Brice wrote about the 6-2.5, 235 pound backer in his report so I'll just leave you with some quotes. Mohamed told me, "A&M and Texas are the two schools that really stand out to me even though they haven't offered. Friday Night Lights was cool. It impressed me more than I thought it would, especially from a facilities standpoint...they were the best I've seen." Sanogo said the A&M staff will be in Plano to see him workout twice this spring, with the second trip being made by John Chavis to see him workout. He told me Chavis is "a cool guy. I like how he's straight forward. I talked to Claude (George) and Otaro (Alaka) a lot about Chief. They love him." Beaumont Ozen RB Calvin Tyler - Tyler checked in a little smaller than expected, but the Golden Triangle back can really move. Brice saw him in 1-v-1's and came away with his speed and elusiveness. He recently released a new highlight tape on YouTube for those of you interested in his game. Calvin told me he continues to stay in touch with Clarence McKinney. He says their relationship is solid and that McKinney talks to him about a lot of stuff outside of football. He's continued to hear the Aggies only plan on signing one running back though. Tyler is hearing a lot from Michigan St, Oklahoma St, and Cal. He's doing his best to get back to A&M for the Spring Game this weekend. College Station CB Timarcus Davis - "I don't know how this just happened. I had no idea I was even close." That was Davis' line to me after finishing the camp with the highest SPARQ score. Of course, it helps when you jump 45+ inches (highest so far in the country) in the vertical. Timarcus is a shade under 6 foot and still a bit skinny, but he can play football. He competes bigger than his size because of his elite athleticism. He'll continue to be evaluated by the A&M staff this spring and summer, but his offer list is well into double digits already. I expect that to grow as camp reports start coming out. College Station QB Ty Brock - Ty attended Friday Night Lights and continues to build on his relationship with Noel and Taylor Mazzone. Coming off the broken leg that took away his junior season, Ty has impressed at every camp he's been to. On Sunday, he was one of the final 5 QB's selected to perform in the "best of" drills. I asked former Aggie QB Jerrod Johnson (who works as a QB coach for these camps) about Ty, and he said, "I love him. He's going to be really good. You can just tell he's missing the game reps. The ball came out of his hand today as good as anybody." It's still unclear whether the Ags will be taking another QB, but I'd bet Ty will be a heavy eval down the road. 2018 Crosby RB Craig Williams - They call him "Sqwirl" (yes, spelled like that) for a reason. He can really, really run. Williams ran a 4.38 on Sunday. His biggest issue is going to be his size. He's just a small framed, short kid. He'll grow some I'm sure, and that elite speed will undoubtedly keep him on the radar for an offer, but he doesn't fit the mold of your typical SEC back. Williams has visited campus a couple times and talks with Clarence McKinney. He told me he feels like A&M "could definitely be a place for me. I can see myself there." With teammate and friend Mannie Netherly already committed, it'll be interesting to see where the Aggies go with the young scat back. 2018 Allen RB Brock Sturges - Sturges' move from Seven Lakes to Allen is just starting to make the rounds and so is his game. He scored in the top 10 of the SPARQ ratings in Houston and measured in at an impressive 5-10, 192 pounds. He's sturdy and has an excellent feel for the game. He impressed catching balls out of the backfield. His biggest issue right now seems to be breakaway speed. His 10-20 splits are solid, but he doesn't have the speed to pull away from defenders yet. He's also coming off some ligament issues in his ankle that hampered him in his sophomore season. He was chosen as a RB finalist on Sunday. Word is that Arkansas has begun sniffing around, but Sturges remains on the Aggies big board as well. 2018 CyCreek WR Miles Battle - Outside of Brennan Eagles (who said he hasn't heard much yet from A&M), I thought Battle was the best looking 2018 receiving prospect in Houston Sunday. He's got long arms and legs but is a smooth route runner. He sort of reminds me of Josh Reynolds. Battle was at FNL and said, "I loved the atmosphere and the way the receivers were working...and the locker room, man it was nice." He also mentioned to me how he liked A&M's academic set up and counselor system. He's been talking with Jeff Banks who he called "a real cool guy." Perhaps the biggest revelation was the guy that brought him to A&M originally, teammate and 2017 stud OL Grayson Reed.
The Opening/FNL thoughts
2017 Episcopal DT Marvin Wilson - He was as dominant as you would expect the top player in the country to be Sunday at the Opening Regional. He was also in Aggieland for Friday Night Lights, and he told me he enjoyed getting to talk with new defensive tackles Coach David Turner. A&M still has a long ways to go with Wilson, but getting him back on campus this spring was big for the Aggies. I've been told Marv would like to stay closer to home, but the Aggies need to win a lot of games this fall to make that happen.2017 Episcopal OL Walker Little - I've been calling him the best lineman in the State since I watched him last fall, and he lived up to that this Sunday. Little hasn't showed much interest in the Aggies yet, but he is set to visit in a few weeks. He likes Jim Turner a lot, but again the Ags will need to win some games this fall to be able to land Little. He has a brother and sister at Ole Miss, and is likely leaning that way at this point.2017 Cy Creek OL Grayson Reed - I was a bit surprised that Reed didn't earn an Opening invite on Sunday, as I thought he dominated for much of the day. Reed was in town for Friday Night Lights, and will make a return trip for the spring game this weekend. I still think it's just a matter of time before he adds his name to the Aggie commitment list.North Shore DE K'Lavon Chaisson - While he didn't earn an Opening invite this weekend, Chaisson did show elite speed off the edge. He has a great frame with room still to grow into a top of the line edge rusher. He showed up Sunday decked out in Baylor gear, but LSU will also be a major player. He will trip to Aggieland this weekend for the spring game.Langham Creek RB Toneil Carter - As we noted earlier this week, Carter made his fifth return trip to Aggieland last weekend, and he told me actually came close to committing. Quartney Davis and Kemah Siverand were on him hard this weekend, but he held off and plans to make his decision on his birthday October 3rd. The other schools under consideration are Georgia and LSU, but the Aggies are the favorites to land him.Westlake OL Stephan Zabie - Watching him you wouldn't know he's only played football for one year. He's raw as hell, but is put together as well as any lineman in the state. He may end up being the best of the bunch when you look back after their college careers. OU and A&M top his list right now, and his relationship with Jim Turner should put the Aggies over the top when the time comes when he makes a commitment.Crosby WR Mannie Netherly - The Aggie commit showed up wearing some LSU gloves, and while he's recruiting for the Aggies, he will take visits and play the game throughout the process. The Aggies will have to continue to recruit him as though he's not recruited. LSU is the main threat, but Texas and others will make a run at him as well.Dickinson DB Chris Wilson - He picked up an offer shortly after attending FNL with teammate, and 2018 A&M commit Montel Parker, and showed why he received that offer on Sunday. Wilson has the length that Chavis is looking for in a corner, and displayed great footwork and fluid hips in drills on Sunday. Don't be surprised to see him add his name to the commitment list in the near future.Oklahoma City DE Nick Robinson - The Oklahoma defender attending FNL, but defense may not be the position the Aggies have in mind. Robinson tells me that Jeff Banks has been talking to him about playing TE for the Aggies. As for the visit, Robinson told me he had an amazing time and loved everything about it.Cy Fair OL Austin Deculus - While he plays a little stiff at time, Deculus is a strong as they come. When he gets his hands on you it's over. The Aggies were late to the party on this one, but it wouldn't have matter either way. He's been all LSU for some time, and doesn't have any interest in A&M.Destrehan WR Michael Young - The Louisiana resident that took in FNL, Young had a great time on his visit and spent a lot of time talking with Terry Joseph and Aaron Moorehead. He loved the facilities and the atmosphere on Friday, and also was a big fan of how the Aggies use their slot receivers. Young is still taking things slow at this point, but the Aggies will be contenders for the long haul.2018 Alief Taylor WR Brennan Eagles - Despite not having the fan fair of some of the other wide receivers in attendance, Eagles took home WR MVP honors on Sunday. At 6-3, 205-pounds, he was one of the most impressive receivers physically at the event. Look for his stock to take off in the near future.Waco La Vega TE Kedrick James - The Baylor commit made his second trip to Aggieland this spring, and spent most of Friday night hanging with A&M commits Tate Martell and Roshauud Paul. While he's yet to open things up, I would expect that to happen in the future. The Aggies have made quite the impression on James, and will be the odds on favorite to flip him in the long run.Plano West LB Mohamed Sanogo - This is the second straight Opening Regional the Sanogo has really impressed me. He's a true Mike that has great instincts and a great football mind. He could be a guy after a spring evaluation that the Aggies make a move on. I'm surprised at this point that he doesn't have more offers already.FB Elkins LB Kenneth Murray - Murray was a guy we mentioned last fall while checking out 2018 Elkins commit Luke Matthews, and he impressed again this weekend. He was really good in coverage during one-on-ones and even better in cat-and-mouse drills with the running backs. I would expect his offer list to grow during the spring evaluation period.Pearland DT Jordan Crawford - While he's probably around 5-10 or 5-11, he was one of the quicker defensive tackles in attendance on Sunday. He won most of his one-on-ones, and was fighting for as many reps as he could. He picked up his first offer from Iowa State last week and that list should continue to grow.Plano East LB Anthony Hines - Any time you can get one of the top linebackers in the State for a visit you have to be happy about it. With every visit Hines warms up more to the Aggies and that has a lot to do with John Chavis. Hines is wide open at this point, and the Aggies need to continue to chip away at his recruitment.Temple DE Taquon Graham - One of the top pass rushers in the state, Graham made his first visit to Aggieland on Friday night. While Graham enjoyed the visit the Aggies still trail in his recruitment. I could see him come off of the board soon to the Longhorns. They've been his leader for a while and that hasn't changed.
