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

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Jason Howell joined TexAgs Live on Wednesday morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail surrounding Texas A&M.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• Sunday was a little crazy. The Under Armour All-American regional camps came through Melissa, Texas. There is a lot of top talent on hand, as expected. A lot of recruiting news. I tried my best to get as much out of it as possible, but oh my goodness, there was a lot going on. A&M is doing some work on the recruiting trail. Mike Elko & Co. are beating the streets and competing for a lot of top guys. A lot of guys had a lot to say about the recruiting efforts and getting out for visits, so good time.
   
• Jermaine Kinsler‍, a 2026 defensive lineman, committed to Texas A&M last week. Big 6-foot-6, 265-pound, multisport, multifaceted weapon for one of the top programs in the Northeast and the country for that matter. At Bergen Catholic, they have had an All-American for, I think, the last 10 years. They're a perennial contender for the state championship at New Jersey.
   
• Kinslet brings some big-body presence to the defensive front. He's real athletic and a high-upside prospect. There's a lot of raw athleticism, and he's really just scratching the surface on the football front. They utilize him, especially on the defensive line. His length is just such a problem. He comes off the ball low and strong and is a guy that is a real disruptive force. Whether it's on the inside as an interior pass rusher or on the outside where he's holding the edge... I'm not saying he's going to be Shemar Stewart, but he has that ability on the outside where you see him holding that edge and opening things up even for others to make plays. He brings a real versatile skillset to the front.
   
• Boobie Feaster‍, a wide receiver with a lot of talent, reclassified from 2027 to 2026. He's 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds. The first time that we saw him, he went to an A&M camp, he may have been a seventh grader. He went and competed against a high school group and didn't just compete and look good for a seventh or eighth-grader, he was a standout regardless of age. He was a little small, but you could see the potential there.
   
• Feater is a really sharp route-runner, and he's been competing up for years. He saw his first offer before he even reached high school. Texas A&M was one of those first offers. He's planning to make a decision before his senior season or early into the fall. He doesn't have a definite date, but Holmon Wiggins has the Aggies right there.
   
• When I asked him what Feaster thought about A&M, he said, "Look at Coach Wiggins' resume. That's all you need to see." Plus Deondrae Riden‍ is a close personal friend he's in communication with. A&M is going to be up there. They are going to get an official visit. He didn't have the date set, but look for those to happen in June. He's looking at taking four, and he's already gotten USC and LSU scheduled with A&M in there somewhere, and he mentioned Texas as well. He did say he could not graduate early, so he wouldn't be a December guy, but this is a top-five prospect regardless of what class he's in.
   
• Let me tell you, Boobie Feaster is ready. He's a rare talent. You've seen these guys like Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Williams come in and make an instant impact. Boobie Feaster has that kind of ability. You're talking about a high four-star, five-star prospect that, in the right situation, could really flourish right away. 
   
• Brandon Arrington‍ scheduled his official visit for June 5. He has been on campus multiple times already and visited three times during the fall. This is where that A&M schedule really helped out with some big home matchups, and the Aggies did a great job of getting top prospects in for those matchups. He came in for Notre Dame, LSU, and Texas. The atmosphere alone left a strong impression. Plus, he has great relationships with coach Jordan Peterson. He's being pursued at both cornerback and receiver, and he can play a number of positions, that's why he's listed as an athlete.
   
• Arrington has great size and has legit track times. One of the fastest prospects you'll find in the country. He's also visiting Oregon and USC right now, so we'll look and see, but A&M has been a top program for him throughout his recruitment since that first visit for the Notre Dame game. I look for A&M to be a legitimate contender to land his services and be right there in the mix, if not at the top of his list, as he's making his decision.
   
• Right now, we're in a dead period, and that ends on March 2. You'll see on March 3, the quiet period comes up, and that goes from March 3 to April 14. That means prospects can take visits to college campuses. They can go to spring practices. They can visit with the coaches and all that stuff on campus. After that, the contact period starts April 15 through May 24, and that means it's open season. The coaches can go out and make evaluations. They can visit the high schools. They can talk to the prospects and vice versa. 
   
• Then, it sets up for another quiet period from May 29 to June 22, which is when you're going to see camps, and a large portion of those official visits happen before another dead period to close out June and all of July. That's when the coaches are going to find a few days and find a golf course or a beach somewhere and try to relax a little bit. That March 3 to May 24 time, you're going to see a lot of top prospects in Aggieland. We're already seeing it.
   
• May 29 to June 22, those four weekends are filling up fast, and that seems to be the target, not only for A&M, but for every college in the country to try and get their top priority prospects on campus so they can have final visit before a lot of these guys make decisions over the summer. A large number of these guys are looking at taking unofficials in the spring and then returning in the summertime for an official visit. It's going to be a lot of fun, and this is where you're going to see a lot of decisions being made and the stage being set for the fall.
   
• The camp I just went to had a lot of top offensive linemen. Several of the top prospects on the offensive front in both 2026 and 2027 were in attendance. Felix Ojo‍ continues to impress. He was phenomenal. He was a standout. He's a potential five-star, high four-star offensive tackle. One of the top tackles you will find in the state this year. Zaden Krempin‍, Drew Evers‍, Noah Best‍, Peyton Miller‍ and Brian Swanson‍ were a few guys that really caught my attention throughout the day.
   
• Drew Evers worked at tackle, but he prides himself on being a versatile prospect and playing multiple positions. He's intelligent. That's what makes him a top priority. He went head to head with KJ Ford‍, the top defensive end in attendance there, and they had four straight reps where they went head to head. They pushed each other really well, and I thought they both got better and showed a lot in those reps.
   
• Peyton Miller‍ ended up winning offensive lineman MVP. He's a 2027, and coach Adam Cushing is all over the kid. A&M has been high on his list throughout and look for him to be back this summer. There were a ton of standouts in that group and a lot of guys that are A&M targets.
   
• The offensive line was my favorite group of the day, but receivers were really up there as well. Boobie Feaster had a phenomenal day. He does a great job and makes great adjustments to the ball, especially in 1-on-1 situations and when he has to make a contested grab. 
   
• Zion Robinson‍ showed the speed and quickness he brings to the table as well. A track athlete, and he's firmly on A&M's radar.
   
• A couple of guys that haven't been talked about as much by A&M fans is Aljour Miles‍, a big-body receiver. A&M just offered James Scott‍ out of Conroe as a tight end, and I thought Miles could potentially be a similar type of prospect. Jabarie Thornton‍ really caught my attention. He's on the shorter side, around 5-foot-10, but he has a real nice stocky build. He's a guy that gets after it. He's quick and runs precise routes. He's a borderline top-100 prospect, but I think that's selling him short. He's a next-level athlete and the MVP a couple of weeks ago. He has an offer list that includes Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Baylor. I wouldn't be surprised to see him emerge on some bigger radars with how he's built and the speed he brings to the table.
   
• Jay Bateman is doing some work out there with the linebackers. I've done a lot of interviews and heard excitement about a program before. Braylon Williams‍... He's almost out of breath talking about how excited he is about A&M and Jay Bateman and the impression that Mike Elko and Texas A&M have made on him. He's a top linebacker in that class, and I think we have him underrated. He is all over the field. A true interior backer with coverage ability and a great nose for the ball. He really processes well. A&M is all over him, and he loves what he's seeing right now. He said that A&M is No. 1 on his list. 
   
• Another guy, Cooper Witten‍, not a linebacker right now, but he measures in at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. A&M offered him in August after he visited for the A&M vs. Notre Dame game, and he has been phenomenal as a safety. He is a two-time all-state and two-time state champion. He's the son of Jason Witten, so Tennessee is going to be in the mix there, but he's planning to get back to A&M and loves what he's heard from Jay Bateman.
   
• Peyton Houston‍ is one of the top 2027 quarterbacks in the country. He lit it up last year. I want to say he set multiple national and state records at Evangel Christian last year. The ball just pops off his hand. He's super and refined in his skillset. In these settings, he's primed to leap off the page. His size is going to be the knock on him. He's right there. He was my favorite claimed quarterback MVP going into the camp. He did not disappoint. Just throws a great ball. Throws with touch. He does a great job of where it needs to be for his receivers and it showed time and time again. Whatever they were doing, he shined through why he's been seeing college attention before he got to the high school level. 
   
• A&M has been all over Houston since, I want to say, in January. A&M really has done a phenomenal job. Mason Smith is a guy he's mentioned multiple times. He’s getting to know Collin Klein. Helaman Casuga‍ at camp last year in front of coach Klein. He's super close friends with Boobie Feaster. He's originally from the Shreveport area, and those two families know each other really well. It is a nice connection with those guys. I think A&M being a real player for Feaster and also having some strong connections makes him a real player for Peyton. He plans to be out in the spring, and he mentioned Georgia, Texas, Miami, Oklahoma and LSU that really have his attention. Michigan is coming on strong as well. I look for A&M to be one of the top contenders and be in the real conversation when it's all said and done. 
   
• That 27 quarterback group is really stout. Kavian Bryant‍ was another prospect in attendance at the Under Armour camp. He’s a heck of an athlete. He brings some tremendous tools. He led a powerful Westwood offense last fall and is also a high major basketball prospect. Collin Klein went out there and saw him.
   
• You have Trae Taylor‍ in the 2027 class, who was a recent visitor in January. He picked up his A&M offer in January. I know coach Klein's been on him pretty hard, but they made their first trip to Aggieland at the end of January. He just dropped his top five. Texas A&M makes the cut along with Nebraska, Michigan, Illinois and LSU. He's already got a commitment date of June 6. Look for him to visit again in the spring. A&M made a really strong impression. 
   
• You picked up Jermaine Kinsler last week on the offensive line. You got Trashawn Ruffin‍, who is a solid interior stout presence. He brings a real physical nature inside. He brings some athleticism to the table there, and you got Jordan Carter‍ out of Georgia, who is a twitchy edge presence. You've got guys in all the areas that you're looking for, and now it's about securing more of those top talents.
   
• I could see the defensive line being one of the real strengths, and you're looking at another interior guy at Jaimeon Winfield‍ as a top target. Lamar Brown‍ and Dylan Berymon‍, who were recently interviewed are coming in on official visits. You've got KJ Ford, a defensive end. Jamarion Carlton‍ is in state at defensive end that are guys to watch as true defensive end types. Tank Jones‍ , out of Mobile, Alabama, is a guy to watch. He's an edge guy where you got Samu Moala‍ already committed.
   
• They are off to a fast start on the defensive line. Another guy that we just talked about last night, JaReylan McCoy‍, out of Tupelo, Mississippi, has been a multi-year starter. He started as a freshman for a Tupelo team that's always in contention for state championships. He has a lot of length. He committed to LSU at the Under Armour All-American game. He re-opened his process since then, and A&M has made sure to let him know they want him. He's got an official visit planned for June 13. Tristan Jernigan, one of his former teammates, has been in his ear, letting him know all about A&M and working with him as well. The Aggies have some ties there. I know he's excited to get to College Station this spring and return for his official visit.