Texas A&M football just signed quite the impressive class for Mike Elko's first year at the helm. Though things didn't end up going the way that Aggie fans wanted down the stretch of the year, the talent that is coming in via the high school ranks is considerable, with plenty of instant impact players to go around.
Late in the game, the Aggies added two five-stars at premium positions: highly-regarded wideout Jerome Myles and elite tackle prospect Lamont Rogers. Those are two players who will no doubt make a huge impact on this roster going forward.
The strength of this class, though, is in the trenches. That's where you win games in the SEC, as we've seen for years now, and so it's imperative to bring in top prospects at those positions. Mike Elko did so—at the expense of an in-state rival.
Texas A&M football helped shut out the Texas Longhorns on elite line prospects in-state
The most obvious evidence of this is from the three elite offensive tackle prospects from DFW. Ty Haywood, Michael Fasusi, and Lamont Rogers are all five-star tackles; the Aggies got Rogers, while Fasusi—despite a huge push from the Longhorns—ended up with OU. Haywood still has yet to sign, but is down to Alabama or Michigan.
Then, you have what happened with the defensive tackle talent in state. DJ Sanders, out of Bellville, was a guy that Longhorn insiders believed they were getting right up until his commitment, and then they believed once more that they were flipping him right up until he signed.
Of course, neither of these things materialized, and he inked with the Aggies. A similar story happened with another of the Ags' top DT prospects in Chace Sims, who Texas kept trying to get on campus during the fall. The Aggies weathered the storm there as well.
And we can't forget about Landon Rink. The uber-productive DT out of Houston is a Longhorn legacy, coached by his father Shane Rink—but he will wear the Maroon and White in college.
Now, Texas didn't go o-fer. They brought in DE Lance Jackson, who the Aggies never pursued, but is highly-rated by at least one service.
The Longhorns brought in plenty of talent at DB and WR, that's true. But we saw in the Tom Herman era how overloading classes at those spots will end up for your program. You need to have the proper amount of talent on the lines of scrimmage—and in that respect, the Longhorns should be worried.