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 through the midway point of the 2022 season.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• W‍Ith TJ Shanahan‍, it’s the injury you dont want to see because it's a non-contact injury. He was getting out of a screen and ran past the defender and planted with his left leg to go back and get him. The turf at Dripping Springs is nice, but we see more and more of these injuries on turf. These knees give out on turf. During the game, they tried to diagnose him, but he was told his leg was too big to get a proper diagnosis there. On Sunday, I believe they went to get an MRI. I’ve sent a text. I have not heard anything back. I know that once they brought him into the medical tent on Friday night, they put him on crutches and ice on the knee. Typically, that’s not the best sign. Talking to TJ after the game, he was certainly optimistic that it was minor. That is probably hopeful positivity there. If there is an update, I will put it out on the site.
   
• Earlier in the year, TJ got leg whipped in the top of his shin. It scared him more than anything. It was a contact injury. Those are typically better than the non-contact ones. He was able to shake that off and get back in there and play. This one, again, I’m no doctor, but I imagine he will be out for a little bit.
   
• I love covering Austin Novosad‍. He’s such a great kid and family. They have ties to College Station and this area. He really kept Dripping Springs in the game, and Austin Westlake started to pull away late. Novasad had to take some chances with the ball and ended up turning it over a couple of times. Westlake’s defense is incredibly good. A lot of college coaches were there.
   
• A&M is still recruiting Novasad extremely hard. He’s obviously committed to Baylor. A&M has to find a quarterback in this class, and they told Austin that they weren’t going to go away. He’s A&M’s guy, and they want to make sure he understands he is a priority for them. Eli Holstein‍ has not had any communication with A&M on that front. They moved on. Austin is still talking to A&M. I think A&M has to show some kind of relevancy on offense going forward, with not only quarterbacks, but skill positions. 
   
• They had two running back that were key targets go completely off the board. You’re still in on Rueben Owens‍,‍ but he’s committed to Louisville. What happens if that doesn’t change? You need a running back. There are questions at receiver. Anthony Evans‍ is committed to Oklahoma. Micah Tease‍ is committed to Arkansas. Hykeem Williams‍ is committed to Florida State. Andy Jean‍ is committed to Florida. All your top targets have seemingly gone elsewhere. Zachariah Branch‍ is committed to USC. He never came off of that. The proof has to be in the pudding now.
   
• I don’t think you talk about what next year could look like. You can next year in terms of what you got on campus. If you are an offensive skill guy, nothing works unless you have some guys blocking for you. Looking at quarterback this year, the offensive line has struggled, but there’s a chance the entirety of them are coming back. You can show recruits you have young playmakers on the outside. You can sell the young talent, but every kid is going to say that’s good. How are you going to get us the ball?
   
• With Javien Toviano‍, you would not have to flip. LSU is at the forefront of that one. A&M is fighting Texas there in the mix.  Johnny Bowens‍ would be a non-flip. A lot of the kids they are after are going to be flips. A name we haven’t talked about is Hayden Moore‍, who is a linebacker out of Colorado and is committed to Nebraska. Go put his tape on. It’s really good. Everybody in the country is starting to catch wind of this kid. Tyler Santucci went and saw him last week. Cayden Jones‍ has not committed anywhere. He’s an offensive lineman out of New Orleans. All the other guys they are recruiting are committed elsewhere. 
   
• I don’t know that the overall record, unless it's awful, will determine how many recruits you can flip. You need to flip a running back. Roderick Robinson‍, Jeremiyah Love‍ and Rueben Owens‍ are all committed elsewhere. I don’t know if you find an uncommitted one that is SEC elite caliber that you will be able to get in on this late. You need to flip a couple of receivers. You may have to flip a DB in Peyton Bowen‍. There’s a bunch of them. This is going to take a lot of work, and it’s not going to be easy. It’s weird that we are in the middle of a football season and recruiting is at a snail’s pace. One reason for that is because you have had 42 days between home games. What a ridiculous schedule.