Texas A&M Football: Why this freshman could have the quickest breakout

The Texas A&M football team’s 2022 class is, literally speaking, the greatest class of incoming freshmen that the college football world has ever seen. Jimbo Fisher outdid himself in this recruiting cycle, notching a 330.51 rating on his 2022 class. The best part? The cycle isn’t even over, technically speaking.

So if you’re looking for a freshman to break out, there is a long list of players to do that. You can look at a plethora of five-star freshmen including Evan Stewart, Walter Nolen, Shemar Stewart, and others.

But one player might have a better opportunity than everybody else.

Incoming Texas A&M football freshman Jake Johnson could be on track to have a breakout season with the Aggies

The signing of Jake Johnson to the Aggies’ 2022 class went under the radar, as a four-star prospect among a flurry of five-star prospects can seem relatively unexciting. That said, Johnson is no ordinary four-star prospect.

In fact, the Aggie commit isn’t just a top-100 player, he’s the top tight end in his class.

He has earned it too. As a 6’5″, 225-pound tight end, Johnson has the prototypical frame for an incoming freshman at his position. Johnson is a great pass-catcher and shows a willingness to block that isn’t common for a player of his caliber.

That said, none of that matters right now. The factors that make Jake Johnson a potential breakout freshman for the Aggies have less to do with his talent (which is there) and more to do with his background.

Johnson isn’t just a random recruit — he’s the brother of incoming transfer quarterback Max Johnson, who could potentially fill into the starting QB spot in 2022. If he does, you can guarantee that he’d gel well with his younger brother, potentially forming one of the most dangerous duos in college football.

Pair this with the fact that the Johnson family, in general, has strong ties to football, and the young tight end should know what it takes to step into a starting role at the college level. Don’t expect him to have a tough learning curve.

Jimbo Fisher has shown that he’s willing to play young tight ends, as was evident by the early playing time that Jalen Wydermyer received as a freshman. Johnson could be next in what could be a long line of elite tight ends out of Texas A&M University.

This isn’t entirely predicated on Max Johnson earning the starting role, but Jake could benefit from his brother being the primary passer for this team.