Recruiting Country: The latest recruiting news surrounding the Maroon & White

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 as high school athletes return to school and the gridiron this month.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• I've been on the road a little bit. I went to Atascocita. I went to a camp. I'll go to a scrimmage this week, and then next week, the season begins. I'll be going to a game at the Berry Center, which is a great place to see a game.
   
• I'm going to La Grange next Friday to check back in on Bravion Rogers‍. He was in College Station over the week to see some friends that go to Texas A&M. There are a lot of La Grange connections at Texas A&M, and that certainly doesn't hurt the Aggies. I still think he will sign at A&M. I feel the same way about Johnny Bowens‍ as well.
   
• Next Saturday, I'm going to a triple header at the Alamodome. It's going to be five games over the course of three days. Jason Howell will be traveling to Central Texas. I know he's going to see Denton Ryan in New Braunfels before seeing TJ Shanahan‍ and Westlake on Friday next week.
   
• We'll be getting back into our Texas High School Football Show as well, so we're pretty pumped up about that. Camps are great, but there is nothing like having boots on the ground at high school football games. That's where I really enjoy the job, and this is the most exciting time of the year for me.
   
• I would agree with Jason that A&M is trending in the right direction. The negative nancies like to use the phrase "There is still a pathway to a top-five class" as a joke, but the reality is that there is a path.
   
• I think there is a long way to go with Malachi Nelson‍, but the Aggies have positioned themselves nicely to land him if he backs away from his USC commitment. That's a kid that doesn't do a lot of media or interviews, so it's hard to get anything concrete.
   
• You have Anthony Hill‍ in the class, and there are still a lot of five-stars out there like David Hicks‍, TJ Shanahan and players like that. If it's not a top-five class, it will still be a very good class, building off of what you just did in the last cycle.
   
• Remember that it's not about what you have in July and August. It's about what you sign in December. Let's wait until then to start calling out "misses" because there is so much that can happen, and we know the type of effect Saturdays in College Station and Kyle Field has on kids. What if somebody that isn't on the radar gets that experience and can't pass it up?
   
• The numbers regarding NIL out there are completely fabricated and not even close to being real. “I don't like how the recruitment of a 17-year-old is going, so I'm going to make something up as a grown man to diminish it.” Whatever, man. It takes away from the hard work being done by coaches and staffers. This is a new world of recruiting, and we don't know how to navigate it yet. NIL is a prevalent part of college football, and people are trying to find innovative ways. Still, some of those numbers are a complete joke. I was talking to a Florida guy, and those rumors are happening there too. People will make up false NIL numbers to justify why their program is losing a recruit.
   
• Something with Bravion Rogers' decommitment was strange. I think LSU got in his ear about the A&M depth chart and how many DBs A&M signed in 2022. That loses its luster when LSU just committed their sixth DB in their 2023 class. It's new for us watching LSU because we don't know how Brian Kelly is going to do things. There wasn't a lot of crossover with A&M when he was at Notre Dame. When Ed Orgeron was there, he had no problem cutting bait with kids late. I wish Texas HS football coaches would hold programs and coaches accountable when they do that to kids. Will Kelly cut some kids late? We don’t know. They're still recruiting Rogers hard, and they're recruiting Javien Toviano‍ hard. But they already have six DBs in their 2023 class.
   
• Until we hear otherwise, A&M's plan is to take a high school quarterback in this class. We'll know by November, but as of now, that's their plan.
   
• I still think A&M needs offensive linemen and more high-end receivers to go along with what you go last year in Evan Stewart, Chris Marshall and Noah Thomas. If you back that position up with another good class, it could be a national-championship room. You have to get a pure tackle like Caden Jones‍ in New Orleans. I still feel great about Shanahan. I'd like them to have a good haul at running back. They feel good about Le'Veon Moss, but with this potentially being Devon Achane's last year, you'd like to see them stack talent. They're doing well with Jeremiyah Love‍ and Roderick Robinson‍. It wouldn't surprise me to see Rueben Owens‍ on campus at some point this fall.
   
• The top 100 is going to change about two or three more times before signing day. Last year, the Aggies signed like 17 or 18 top-100 kids. In this class, they could probably get close to 10. What is Daymion Sanford‍’s ranking‍ going to do? If he puts up a monster senior year like I expect him to do with those varied times, how is he not a top-100 kid? Dalton Brooks‍ and Anthony Hill‍ are top-100 kids. You're in on Zachariah Branch‍, and if you land Malachi Nelson, that could become a real thing as well. You're in on a number of top-100 prospects. Peyton Bowen‍ has just been bumped up to a consensus five-star, and he's another one you're in on.
   
• Nothing has changed that makes me think we need to redefine the expectations of this recruiting class or where it may go. With the amount of targets still out there and the type of guys they're in on with the coaching staff, the recruiting staff and what A&M has to sell on game days, that's an ace-in-the-hole for the Aggies. Those experiences in the fall in College Station could really rally the Aggies' chances down the stretch.
   
• Anthony Evans‍ wants to make a preseason decision, and he has a great relationship with James Coley. He came to A&M in the spring, so if he made a preseason decision, I would lean toward Oklahoma or Georgia. However, if he delays and comes to an A&M game, that would help the Aggies' chances.
   
• It would not surprise me if Rogers jumped back in, but I think he'll take a little bit of time and maybe a visit to LSU. Johnny Bowens‍ told me that he decommitted because he felt bad if he took visits as a committed player. Rogers may think the same way. I still expect Shanahan to make a preseason decision. A lot of what A&M will do in this recruiting class will happen in September, October and November.