Gig Em Gazette
Fansided

Texas A&M Football Recruiting: Defensive Line Pledge Decommits

By Graham Harmon

Nov 25, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies interim head coach Elijah Robinson talks to defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes (34) on a time out against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies interim head coach Elijah Robinson talks to defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes (34) on a time out against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Texas A&M football
Nov 25, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies interim head coach Elijah Robinson talks to defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes (34) on a time out against the LSU Tigers during the second half at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

Texas A&M Football Loses Second Pledge since Fisher’s Departure; First Since Robinson’s

In the wake of the news that Elijah Robinson was leaving Texas A&M football to take the defensive coordinator job at Syracuse, the Aggies have suffered their first decommitment. Defensive lineman Gabriel Reliford announced on Twitter that he would be backing off his pledge to the Aggies just hours after the Robinson announcement came down.

Reliford is a composite four-star player out of Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the lowest-rated of the Aggies defensive lineman commitments, but showed massive upside and was generally regarded as a sleeper prospect. He visited LSU this weekend, which insiders were saying was something that needed to be navigated by the staff even before Robinson’s departure. With this recent development, I’d place my bet on the Tigers to land this in-state prospect.

You had to know this kind of thing was coming. Robinson was one of the top recruiters and relationship-builders on the Aggie staff, and was well-beloved by the commits and the guys on campus. Dealyn Evans and Dominick McKinley, the other two defensive line commits in the current class, will likely also have their phones ringing off the hook from now until signing day following this development.

It does seem, however, that the Aggies are well on their way to finding a replacement for Robinson. Billy Liucci has hinted as much on Twitter, and outright said on the most recent episode of the Loochador podcast that he knew that a backup plan was ready if Robinson chose to cut bait and head to the northeast. Hopefully this materializes sooner rather than later, as you have Florida pressing hard for Evans and Texas, LSU, and Alabama hot on the trail of McKinley.