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

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Radio on Wednesday morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting and transfer portal trail surrounding Texas A&M.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• It’s a good time for me to walk in here with the commitment of Jacob Bostick.
   
• It is not a slow offseason, and that's because of a combination between the extended transfer portal window and Mike Elko being here in his first season. They do not want to give away any ground. 
   
• Bostick is a wide receiver from Iowa. This is interesting because the ebbs and flows of the portal have changed what college football recruiting is now.
   
• He has three years of eligibility. I don't know much about Iowa football, but I do know Iowa offensive football has been one of the worst in the country for the past two or three years.
   
• In his career, he had a redshirt year. That’s not out of the ordinary. He appeared in five games as a redshirt freshman. He didn't log any catches on an offense that really, really struggled. How do you interpret that? Is it, “There is not anybody catching passes in the Iowa offense,” or “Can this kid not get on the field and not catch passes at Iowa?” There are two ways to look at it.
   
• They have people over there who dig up every ounce of information and make projections. When he went into the portal and A&M offers, I trust the operation Mike Elko is running. They see something here. I started calling and digging around.
   
• My first reaction was that this is something to cover their bases if Ja'Varrius Johnson from Auburn decides not to visit or if they feel he is trending elsewhere. Bostick being on campus means there is something a little bit more than meets the eye in terms of what they see him like in the future.
   
• The Iowa WR coach, Jon Budmayr, was telling people they were super high on him. They thought he would go into next season as one of their premier offensive players. Yes, it’s Iowa, but that's still Big Ten football, and they won a lot of games.
   
• People have raved about the type of kid Bostick is in the locker room and off the field. That is something this coaching staff is putting a lot of value in. 
   
• On top of that, he has three years of eligibility. When you combine all of that, there is some intrigue. Does he make an immediate impact on next year’s roster? I don't know that. They obviously think he has the skillset set to do it, and they can develop that. He will also not be a problem if he has to wait. 
   
• It makes sense to take Bostick when they need help at receiver now and help in the future.
   
• It doesn't appear that his commitment will have any impact on the recruitment of Ja'Varrius Johnson. He would be a graduate transfer and more of a slot guy. They need help there with Jabre Barber being out for what appears to be an extended period of time.
   
• I think Ja'Varrius Johnson is the lone remaining target. It is hard to make one definitive statement in recruiting. Once he makes his decision, I think we will know what this fall roster looks like completed. That closes one door on the upcoming football season.
   
• The coaching staff will be relieved because they can focus on the high school class. They are on the verge of creating real momentum in high school ranks, specifically in the state of Texas.
   
• Johnson has been productive in the SEC. A&M can sell him on the following: “We have a need at this position. You are remaining at the best conference in America. We have a quarterback who distributes the ball at a really high level to a lot of different targets.”
   
• They were looking at Eli Green. If Johnson wants to go somewhere else, maybe they up the heat on one of these other guys.
   
• The Joshua Celiscar commitment happened out of nowhere. Solomon DeShields, too. It can change within 24 hours. I think they are on the verge of being done with the fall roster.
   
• The calendar has changed. For college coaches, this is a little bit of downtime, and they will go on the road. Once spring ball is over, they have a lull from when they start these recruiting visits. These on-campus camps have become a massive deal here. 
   
• This time, in late May and early April, most coaching staffs take a couple of weeks off. A&M has taken that opportunity and turned it into an advantage.
   
• Since the spring game, they got Solomon DeShields, Shane Calhoun and Jamar Beal-Goines‍. That’s two from the portal and one from high school. They have created a lot of momentum for in-state targets. 
   
• They have done a nice job with guys like Jonah Williams‍, Cobey Sellers‍, Nicholas Townsend‍, Michael Fasusi‍ and Ty Haywood‍. These are top targets in the state of Texas. Adonyss Currie‍, out of California, is someone whom they have done a great job with.
   
• Sellers has an upcoming decision on May 11. Texas and Oklahoma are fighting tooth and nail to try to undo A&M's momentum.
   
• If they get two or three of these guys, this class could push into the top 5. 
   
• Olin Bucanhan’s article about Landon Rink was outstanding. That is noteworthy and something A&M fans need to read. Not only is Rink’s dad a player parent, but a prominent high school coach in greater Houston.
   
• In the past, how many times did football utilize the baseball atmosphere? I would guess there have been 10 to 20 football recruits taken to the games at Blue Bell Park this year. The 12th Man is such a big part of the sales pitch. “Let’s go show you what not even a 10th of what Kyle Field is like across the street.” They see it with their own eyes. They did it with basketball, too.
   
• With Jonah Williams, A&M has made up enormous ground. That was conceded to Oklahoma, and now that is very much not the case. Huge credit to Mike Elko and his staff.
   
• His brother, Nick Williams, was signed with Texas A&M baseball and then got picked in the second round of the MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers. There is some affinity for the family at Texas A&M. The idea of playing football for A&M has grown on Jonah. I like where they are at.