Around Texas: A round-up of recruiting news in the Lone Star State
Dominoes continue to fall in the state of Texas as the 2018 recruiting cycle enters May. Baylor took a strong step forward over the last two weeks, and many targets are narrowing lists before summer break. Jason Howell has all the latest developments inside.
Wednesday morning recruiting notes
-Bryan High OL Ylijaah Hall committed to Baylor last night. The 6-6, 290 pounder had been gaining a lot of momentum in terms of attention and offers recently, and I had been told the Aggies have been planning a trip to see him in person. We'll see if that actually takes place now that he's committed, and there are seemingly guys higher are their board. Good get for the Bears, though. Hall's tape is pretty solid, and he's started to fill out that long frame.-Speaking of Baylor, the Bears are also apparently making big in roads with another local product in Franklin OL Casey Phillips. Both Jason and I have heard in the 24-48 hours that Phillips is currently leaning heavily in the way of Baylor. Phillips has visited A&M multiple times and is an Aggie legacy (his dad played tennis here). I've always felt that Phillips would be headed to College Station should the Ags choose to offer. When I spoke to him most recently, he told me he'd love to get down to see a practice. Phillips has really turned the corner in terms of becoming a complete OL in the last 4-6 months. He's a great looking prospect. He's also not the type of kid to waffle back and forth, however, should he commit somewhere, I believe the only school that could convince him to come off of that commitment would be Texas A&M. -Hearing more and more that 2019 PNG QB Roschon Johnson is leaning Texas' way. He grew up a fan of the Longhorns and was a proponent of the way Tom Herman used Greg Ward at UH. -Be on the lookout for TexAgs Top 25 2019 prospects in Texas. It should be coming out soon. -In looking at the Aggies potential 2018 DB haul, it'll be interesting to see which of Jalen Green, Trevon Moehrig-Woodard, and even Anthony Cook (though I feel like the Ags are behind there) make it to campus this spring. All three guys are pretty similar and fit the John Chavis mold. Right now, many feel good about A&M landing Verone McKinley III, but there will be another spot (maybe even two) still left in the defensive backfield. -Hearing from a second hand source that Keondre Coburn is potentially more up in the air currently than I previously thought. I had him pegged for Aggieland, especially after the last time I had spoken to him. I certainly still believe Texas A&M is in a great spot, but it sounds like Texas and even UH (Ed Oliver being there) have made good runs lately. -Lastly, keep an eye on Houston Lamar DT Joshua Landry. He's had an excellent run of camps and is squarely on the A&M radar.
Around Texas: a round-up of recruiting news in the Lone Star state
Each week of the college season brings a new list of visits, commitments, and developing storylines among the top talent in the state. Even as the Aggies head out of state, there is plenty of news to follow.
TexAgs 2018 Top 100 w/ quick A&M overview
Just wanted to let everyone know that we have updated and released our Top 100 2018 players in Texas. Putting these lists togetheris one of the more arduous task we do, and we take pride in doing the best we can by watching film and doing our homework. This list is compiled by our staff only.Here's a link to our rankings:http://texags.com/football-recruiting/top/2018I'm going to let Jason chime in about the DFW prospects, but I'll say that the Aggies are off to a great start with the top end talent in this class. Our number one player is Angleton stud Billy 'BJ' Foster. The kid is an animal on both sides of the ball and is every bit the prospect at safety as both Jeff Okudah and Brandon Jones (the top safeties in the previous classes). His combination of size, speed, and physicality made him an easy number one for us. The Aggies are in his early group of leaders, and he'll surely be at an upcoming home game.At number two is Manvel WR and kick returner Jalen Preston. A teammate of A&M commit Derrick Tucker, Preston possesses big play potential because of his raw athleticism, ball skills, and strength. He also excels in the return game for the Mavericks, but he's mostly sought after for his game breaking ability on the outside. Preston is off to a nice start to his junior campaign. He told me at the 7on7 tourney this summer that he had a "great feeling" about Texas A&M. Though the late summer momentum trended towards the Maroon and White, I'll be interested in hearing how things have progressed for him since then. Manvel takes on Pearland tomorrow night, and I'll be in attendance. The Top 10 in our list is littered with guys in the greater Houston area that the Ags currently have a great shot at landing.#3 Mustapha Muhammad has already developed an influential relationship with Kevin Sumlin. #4 Jalen Green was all in during his visit last weekend and felt bad for missing the last recruiting BBQ of the summer. #5 Keondre Coburn will go on and on about Terry Price and David Turner and has been outspoken about his affection for the Aggies on social media. #7 Max Wright is very comfortable with A&M, as is his family. Folks near his recruitment really think the Ags have taken a clear step forward. #8 Montel Parker is an A&M commit.#9 Colten Blanton openly said he nearly committed to A&M this summer basically because of Jim Turner. That's a lot of guys for the Aggie staff to feel good about heading into their junior seasons. The other A&M commit, OL Luke Matthews comes in at #12. Lastly, the Brazos Valley continues to put out solid prospects as Kolby Peel, Quandree White, Xavier Williams, and Marquise Conchola all made our list. And, you want a name that didn't make the cut but most certainly could very soon...take a look at Manvel QB Kason Martin, son of Head Coach Kirk Martin and younger brother of A&M OL Koda Martin. *******************Jason's take on a few Dallas guysTop 10 guys Arlington Lamar DL Tre Brown may just be the best athlete on the defensive line. He could play DE or DT on the college level and he plays a very disciplined brand of football. I'll be honest, my criticism, I'd like to see him go attack a little more after he makes his reads. On the recruiting front, A&M is in very good standing and after this weekend things got a little better. A&M is definitely in the running.QB Spencer Sanders was A&M's in-state QB offer and I love what he brings to the table. He's a heady player with a big arm and a lot of confidence. With Fortin in the fold I think the Aggies are looking elsewhere, but Sanders is still a big time player.Just outside the top 10 is Lucas Lovejoy tackling machine Bumper Pool. He is a heat seeking missile in the middle of the defense and was at the USC/Alabama game this past weekend. He will be at the TCU/Arkansas this weekend and then has plans to get to Michigan and then Alabama for the A&M game. He is trying to make it out to LSU, USC, and Texas A&M after that. A&M offered and he is taking a good long look. He has ties to Arkansas and it looks like Alabama has his attention as well, but the Aggies are in the mix.OL Darrell Simpson was in town over the weekend and continues to give the Aggies a look. LB Alston Orji mentioned before the season he plans to visit A&M this weekend. He couldn't make last week with Rockwall playing on Saturday. CB Verone McKinley III has been a priority target for coach Joseph from the beginning and the Aggies are in great shape. He was in town last weekend. One guy I'm a huge fan of is Waco La Vega OL Michael Fletcher. He does not have a lot of tape, but he's big at 6-6, 290 and he is moves very well. He was a move-in from Waco and had to sit out last year. He's really starting to pick up attention as his early stuff is getting out. I've heard that A&M has already started to show some interest.Rockdale's Jaquayln Crawford and Cameron Yoe's Iverson Westbrook are a couple of more playmakers from Central Texas. And out west keep an eye on Reese Moore and Javorian Miller. Moore is a TE who could end up developing into an OT and Miller is a multi-talented athlete with great size. If I had to pick on myself I'd say Jarell Cherry may be a little too low, with his speed off the edge, and I really think we'll see Sarodorick Thompson will be pretty high on this list before it is all said and done. There's a lot to like in this class, tons of talent, and I'm sure we overlooked a few guys.