Is it Time to Panic about Texas A&M Football Recruiting?

Is Recruiting for Texas A&M Football Headed for a Tailspin?

With the recent decommitment of Drelon Miller, one of the top players in the class for Texas A&M football, many Aggie fans are feeling a sense of dread regarding the rest of the class. Miller hails from Southeast Texas, an area where several other of the top 2024 prospects for the Ags call home—Weston Davis and Tyanthony Smith being two notable names there. Davis and Smith are also friends with Miller, and many Texas A&M football fans have been quick to construct scenarios wherein the one departure leads to multiple dominos falling in that regard.

I do not personally believe, however, that those scenarios are likely. It seems clear to me that it is the on-field results that are the biggest factor for Miller (he himself mentioned as much in an interview), and the lack of offensive production over the past two weeks has to be a factor as well. Considering that his other two finalists were USC and LSU, both of whom are having great seasons on the offensive side (yet, of course, extremely poor defensive seasons), you have to imagine that each school is hammering their own success and the lack of production for Texas A&M football. The difference between Weigman and Johnson is clear (and I will be examining that difference in an article later on this week), but the dearth of aerial production by the Aggies since #14 took the reins has now proven deleterious both on and off the field.

That said, this is, for my money, the best recruiting staff in the country. We’ve seen even as recently as last year a recruit (Bravion Rogers) back off his pledge to the Aggies following intense pursuit by LSU, only to eventually sign with Texas A&M football. This staff knows how to play the long game. I do think, though, that they’ll have to get something going offensively in the back half of the season to reenter the Miller sweepstakes.

What ripple effects might Miller’s decision have? Well, it’s worth keeping an eye on every guy in the class when something like this happens. QB commit AJ Maddox, for one, seems to still be extremely locked in, as he tweeted this the same night that Miller backed off his pledge:

There’s a lot of hand-wringing going on over 5-stars like Cam Coleman and Terry Bussey among the Aggie faithful at the moment, but there’s no real solid reporting out there that there’s anything to worry about with those guys. 5-star DL Dominick McKinley seems to still be solid as well—of course, why would he not be with how productive and dominant the Aggie defensive line has been? With any of these highly-rated prospects, you’ll have teams continuing to pursue them right up until signing day, but there’s nothing concrete at the moment in terms of reporting that there’s something to worry about if you’re a Texas A&M football fan.

So no, it’s not time to panic. As grim as things seem, try not to be a prisoner of the moment. Take a long-term view. It’s a long way until signing day.