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 presented by American Momentum Bank, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail surrounding Texas A&M.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• Trashawn Ruffin‍ decommitted from Texas A&M and has committed to North Carolina.
   
• There are a lot of people who only see the negative, but there is definitely some positive movement on the recruiting front. You've had four decommitments in the last couple of months, but none were incredibly unforeseen. Ryan Gilbert‍ was one I'd been saying was a mutual parting of ways. He was getting recruited a lot harder by some of the other programs out there. Bill Belichick is coming in at North Carolina and generating some momentum there. They made Ruffin a really big priority. In the end, that visit definitely helped put North Carolina over the top. We'll see down the line. It's still very early. It wouldn't surprise me to see A&M stay in the mix for Ruffin or even double back on Xavier Tiller‍ down the line.
   
• These aren't the craziest twists and turns we've seen in the recruiting process, and there is still some time to see how things play out.
   
• Running back Jonathan Hatton Jr‍ set his decision date for Saturday, March 22. He didn't give a specific time, but Texas A&M has been very high on his list ever since he decommitted from Oklahoma. The Aggies, Mike Elko, Trooper Taylor, all of those guys have really put in a lot of effort building that relationship and getting him on campus.
   
• Hatton is 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds. This is an every-down back. He jumped 33-and-a-half feet in the vertical before his sophomore season. He has a lot of athleticism and a lot of production, with 1,200 yards and 20 touchdowns each of the last two years. Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Tennessee continue to keep after him. He's one of the top ten prospects in the state by us at TexAgs and a major priority for Taylor.
   
• It is going to be a big visit weekend. You have several commits on the schedule for this weekend. Aaron Gregory‍, Madden Williams‍, Caleb Tafua‍ and Jordan Carter‍. You have Jase Mathews‍, a receiver. Drew Evers‍ is an offensive lineman. Lamar Brown‍ is a defensive tackle. There are a lot of top targets in the 2026 and 2027 class as well as those commits. We're already seeing the list grow for next weekend and into April, with some pretty big names already confirmed for the spring game. It's looking like it's going to be a busy spring for A&M.
   
• This is where you're going to see that momentum continue to build. You may not see decisions made right off the bat after some of these visits because a lot of these guys have other trips planned. Still, it lays a great foundation. Last year, it was around April that things really started to roll, and you started to see a lot of action. Look for April to be when the commitments start.
   
• Boobie Feaster‍ and Peyton Houston‍ grew up in northwest Louisiana area as top prospects. Feaster has reclassified and is now a 2026. Both of them have had offers from across the country since they were freshman in high school, and A&M has been on both of them for a number of years. LSU is definitely going to be a major factor for both of those, so getting them on campus this weekend after they were able to take a visit to LSU last weekend is a big deal. Getting them on campus together and getting them around the coaches, A&M is going to be a big player for both of these. If I had to guess, I would say A&M and LSU are probably the two I feel most comfortable saying will be big deals in these recruitments. It's good to get that momentum swinging back in A&M's direction.
   
• Jaimeon Winfield‍ committed to USC, and he is somebody who could absolutely still be on A&M's radar. He's a top defensive tackle in Texas. He checks all the boxes there. The Trojans have done a great job with that relationship. Eric Henderson at USC did a good job of reeling him in early. They're going to have the same problem that A&M is dealing with with some of these out-of-state commitments where you will have to fight to keep those guys.
   
• With the way things are shaping up in the state of Texas for those top defensive line prospects, there are just not a lot of them, and Winfield is at the top of the list. A&M is going to continue to stay after him. I know Texas, Ole Miss and some of those other programs out that way will continue to stay on him as well. We'll see how things work out. A&M has a really good relationship established there, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him come back around and take another serious look at the Aggies.
   
• Madden Williams‍ got the Wide Receiver MVP at the Los Angeles Regional Elite 11. Rivals have their camps, and he took home Wide Receiver MVP out there as well. He's an All-Trinity League wide receiver and is one of the best in California. It's always good to see these guys show up at a top camp and show out and take home these honors. He was all over the field and showed tremendous hands.
   
• Williams is 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds. He has some nice size to him. It was a big commitment when he chose the Aggies in January. It gives A&M another big presence. He'll be back in College Station this weekend as well, so that's big. It's always a huge plus to get him back on campus and around the coaching staff. I know Holmon Wiggins and the staff will be excited to see him out there. He's also planning to be back for the spring game, so we'll see how that plays out.
   
• I was at O27s in Dallas this weekend, and you had Tristen Keys‍, Ryan Mosley‍ and Gregory out there.
   
• Helaman Casuga‍ is not going to be in town this weekend, but he'll be at the O27 in Dallas at the end of March and the Elite 11 All-22 camp in Austin.
   
• There's a lot of worry because of the lack of in-state commitments. There are a lot of people saying A&M is having trouble getting traction in-state, and I disagree with that. A&M is in a really good spot for Hatton as he gears up to make a decision. A&M is also very high on KJ Edwards‍' list. You have Evers coming in.
   
• Out of state, you do have to worry because those are all very highly regarded prospects. This is the first time A&M has had so many out-of-state commitments that are high level. These aren't guys that other teams haven't offered. A&M beat other teams to get these guys. You're going to have to fight off teams for Gregory. You'll have to fight off teams for Carter, Casuga and Williams. They are very highly regarded, and they've established themselves as top recruits. A&M knew that when they got their commitments.
   
• A&M is recruiting at a national level. This weekend, they have Jireh Edwards‍ coming to town. He’s a safety out of Baltimore who's one of the top prospects in the country. Dorian Barney‍ from Carrollton, Georgia, is coming back, and he’s a guy who has visited four times. You have Nick Abrams II‍, a top priority at linebacker, coming in next weekend from Maryland. You have a lot of guys that A&M is very much in on.
   
• Brandon Arrington‍ is one of the fastest prospects in all of recruiting this year. He's had A&M high on his list.
   
• A&M is positioned very well for a number of prospects. You have to get them in the boat and get them on campus before things really happen, but they are one of the top two or three schools for a lot of these kids. That's nothing to dismiss. They're doing some really big things, and it all starts this weekend with a lot of these guys on campus.