Texas A&M Football vs. Auburn Could Be Key for 5-Star Commit

Texas A&M Football vs. Auburn Arrives With Key Recruiting Battle as Background

One of the highest-ranked recruits in the current Texas A&M football recruiting class is a guy who will likely be keeping a very close eye on how this weekend shakes out for the Aggies. WR Cameron Coleman—who was recently ranked as the #5 overall player in the nation by On3 Sports—is a player who shocked many Tiger fans with his commitment to Texas A&M out of the blue this past summer.

https://twitter.com/CamColeman12/status/1676364339840794639?s=20

Coleman plays at Central High School in Phenix City, Alabama—less than an hour’s drive from Auburn’s campus. Due to his proximity and reported interest in the Auburn program, as well as new Tiger coach Hugh Freeze’s oft-discussed recruiting acumen, there was no shortage of Tiger fans that were convinced that Coleman would end up on the plains. It wasn’t just your everyday Joe that was taken aback by this development on the Auburn side, either; their recruiting insiders were completely blindsided. There was even an Auburn-affiliated reporter who decided to ask Jimbo specifically about Coleman at SEC Media Days—which he, obviously, cannot answer due to NCAA rules—with heavy implication of NIL inducement in the phrasing of his question. One can only conclude that he was getting the same information as the recruiting insiders for Auburn—of course, the source of said recruiting insiders’ information must always be considered. Is it the coaches? The family? The recruit himself? Their own gut feel? Understanding where a given insider gets his or her information from can be very instructive when it comes to this kind of thing.

In any case, even though Coleman did commit to Texas A&M football and has been solid by all accounts, this weekend could still be pretty big when it comes to this recruitment. I’m not saying that losing to Auburn is what will decide that Coleman ends up with the Tigers instead of the Aggies; rather, looking at the big picture, if Texas A&M football ends up losing this game, the ability to achieve the kinds of goals you had for this season becomes greatly diminished. If the Aggies underachieve and Auburn overachieves, the voices in Coleman’s ear might get louder. Such a battle adds yet another dimension to this pivotal SEC matchup.