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

• Mike Brown‍, a wide receiver from Legacy, is the most recent Texas A&M commit. What a great story. He's a guy that has been on A&M's radar for a long time. He's 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds. He has that tie to the university. Everybody knows the Reggie Brown story. Great linebacker for Texas A&M.
   
• What they're doing out there at Legacy in spring. It's a phenomenal deal. Brown brings a tremendous skill set. He has a crazy long list of offers and has been on college radars forever. A guy with a really high football IQ. He runs excellent routes, does a great job in spacing and has a tremendous catch radius. He competes on the track. He brings a lot to the table. Importantly, he's an in-state recruit. There has been a lot of talk about A&M not having enough traction in the state. Whether you agree with that or not, getting an in-state commitment and one with ties to the university definitely helps calm some of those fears. Getting two big in-state commits only makes it better.
   
• Brown has offers from a lot of programs, but he's literally an hour away from campus. These types of targets are important. They bring so much to the locker room on and off the field. They definitely have to have the talent, and that's one thing Brown has. If they have the talent, and they have those ties to the university, that's a guy that's going to stick around your program. He's going to be a culture guy. He knows the stories, and he understands the importance of the traditions. It's not just that he likes them or has seen the game day environment. Definitely brings a lot to the table off the fields, in the locker room, and to the fan base.
   
• I think you have to like where A&M is at. You have Brown, Aaron Gregory‍ and Madden Williams‍. All three of those guys were on campus this weekend. Gregory is a borderline five-star out of Georgia that everybody is still continuing to recruit, and I know that's something on the minds of fans, but A&M, Trooper Taylor and Holmon Wiggins are doing a phenomenal job with this whole group. Not just Gregory and Brown. Wiggins deserves a lot of credit for this group starting to come together.
   
• I saw Williams at the Overtime 7-on-7 in Dallas this week. I saw one game where he had three touchdowns, including the first and the game-winner. He had like 12 or something in three or four games this weekend. He's a big physical player. Gregory is a dynamic playmaker. Then you bring in Brown, and I don't think they're done yet. They have Boobie Feaster‍ on campus this weekend, who is planning to come back. He's another one who is an extremely elite national talent at DeSoto, Texas. A&M is in a dogfight with LSU, Texas and Oregon. They're all on him. It's one of those situations where getting him on campus was a big, big thing.
   
• You'll see A&M in the mix for a few more top guys to fill out the receiver room. I think they can realistically bring on a couple more. They're in prime position for quite a few guys. Jase Mathews‍ out of Mississippi was in town. You have Ryan Mosley‍, who is coming to town this weekend.
   
• Receiver recruiting is burning pretty hot for A&M right now. Feaster told me that people are talking about A&M, and there is the narrative that they don't throw the ball, and this, that and the other, but talking to friends on the team and seeing practice himself, he felt pretty comfortable with the direction the passing game was moving.
   
• Jonathan Hatton Jr‍ announced on Saturday that he committed to A&M. It's been busy. Big back. Six-foot-1 and 216 pounds, this is an every-down, SEC-type back. 10.65 100-meter with 1,200 yards and 20 touchdowns each of the last two years. He comes from a hard-nosed program at Cibolo Steele. He's a guy who brings a dynamic skill set to the table to go along with that size.
   
• Jonathan is a guy that Taylor and Mike Elko sought out from the very beginning and made a priority, even before he decommitted from Oklahoma. There had been some momentum there, and A&M got a recruiting win over Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee. He's a top 10 in the state of Texas guy, and one of the top backs in the country. I think fans are really going to love watching him grow and develop. He has the tools to get to campus and make his presence felt from the beginning.
   
• That running back room, you have to love what you have in Hatton to go along with what they've got building on campus. I know they're still after another big in-state target. KJ Edwards‍ out of Carthage, Texas. He's another one to keep an eye on. Texas, Baylor and a few other schools in the mix for him. He brings a thunder and lightning aspect similar to Hatton's power, downhill style. Edwards is a very electric and versatile threat in his own right and brings another dynamic to the table on the offensive side.
   
• In terms of in-state recruiting, you have to feel good about what you're seeing in the last two additions. Last week, you had Feaster. He's actually coming back this weekend. He didn't come with his parents last time, he came with a coach. This time, his parents are coming. Seeing the academic side has been something very high on their list as well. Getting him on campus two weekends in a row says a lot.
   
• You have Drew Evers‍, Pupungatoa Katoa‍ and a couple more DFW guys on the offensive line that were in town. A&M continues to make headway there. Evers has a ton of A&M connections. He really had some great things to say about Adam Cushing. I talked with a number of offensive linemen this weekend, and they were all wowed by his communication, the way he teaches, the way he can efficiently deliver his message and the way he interacts with his players in meetings.
   
• They have a ton of momentum with a lot of guys. Calvin Thomas‍, DaQuives Beck‍, Kennedy Brown‍, Jalen Brewster‍ and then there are guys who weren't in town. Edwards, John Turntine‍ and Zaden Krempin‍, who will be in town this weekend and Jamarion Carlton‍ and KJ Ford‍. There are a lot of in-state guys that A&M is very much in the middle of and has some strong connections with that can help them fill out the class with a solid group of Texans. This allows people to see a little bit more of the brighter side.
   
• A&M is very much in the mix for Edwards. I think him and Hatton have known for a while that the plan was to take two backs, and both of them are priority-type prospects for A&M. Don't ever underestimate Trooper Taylor on the recruiting trail. It feels like he's been recruiting guys across the country for about 30 years, and he's been recruiting the state of Texas for most of that time. Texas A&M has a lot to offer, and he's doing a bang-up job already.
   
• In early March, at the Under Armour camp in Dallas, Edwards was like, "The relationship I have with A&M is second to none." He's extremely high on the Aggies, and I expect A&M to be in the middle of that recruitment for a long time. We'll see how it works out.

• The list is coming together. They got some nice in-state guys. They got some nice out-of-state presence as well. Helaman Casuga‍ is trying to make it back to campus this weekend. He is in Dallas again, and they are going to swing on down at some point.

• Krempin, one of the top offensive linemen in the state. He'll be in town for the weekend. Havon Finney Jr.‍ is a big-time cornerback out of California. He's got A&M high on his list and reclassified from 2027. He's planning to be in town this weekend. Trae Taylor‍‍ from Illinois is a 2027 quarterback. Illinois has had a few 2027 quarterbacks on campus. Trey Taylor is right up there. He's expected to be in town. I think he's got a June commitment date set so he's looking at his options.

• In the 2027 class, you also have a couple of big time in-state defenders. Braylon Williams‍ from Arlington Lamar and JayQuan Snell‍ that are both planning to be in town over the next few days so those are a few guys we already have down, and I'm sure we are going to get a few more confirmations and get that list out there pretty soon. Those are some of the big guys to keep an eye on as we get ready for the weekend. I don't know if it will be quite as productive as last weekend, but you are going to have some guys really looking hard at A&M. These spring practices are a great chance to lay out that foundation and who knows. Maybe nudge a few guys across the finish line.

• Lamar Brown‍ had a phenomenal visit this weekend. A&M, if they are not at the top, they are right there and I know LSU is too. I think Florida State and Miami are also right there in the mix. He wants to play defensive line and A&M has been recruiting him as a defensive linemen for a long time. Mason Smith, I know has been fostering that relationship as well. There's a lot of things going on there. He was just in town and he's planning to be back I believe April 4. A&M looks like they are going to continue to keep those positive vibes. That good momentum going there with him as he looks to figure out his next home. I like where the Aggies are standing from a relationship standpoint and from what you see, he's visited a few times, so he's definitely interested. He's telling you by those actions.

• Donte Wright‍ was able to make his first trip to A&M this weekend. He was with Team TOA from California with a big group that featured Texas A&M commit Caleb Tafua‍ and another 2027 safety Isala Aisa Wily-Ava‍ from St. John Bosco who was a big stud in the 2027 class. Wright already has a 10.8 under his belt this spring on the track. He runs for one of the fastest relay teams in the country at Long Beach Poly, and the Aggies offered in January. He's been keeping in touch. Wiggins has been recruiting in that area, and I know Jordan Peterson really liked what he saw with Will Lee III when he was at practice so some good positive momentum there with a top-notch 2027 prospect.