Texas A&M was one of the best teams in the transfer portal this past cycle considering the talent they retained as well as the talent they added, suffering minimal losses and addressing lots of needs. Now that the portal is over and done with for this year, however, fans want to know who, among the 18 commits the Aggies received, will make the biggest impact.
ESPN recently went through their preseason top 25, where the Aggies rank 10th, and listed the most important transfer portal addition for each squad. And while the player they chose for the Aggies makes a lot of sense and has a really legitimate case, I'm not sure that he's the correct selection.
The Worldwide Leader denoted former Alabama receiver Isaiah Horton as the Aggies' most important pickup via the portal— which, on the face of things, is pretty logical. He will doubtless catch a lot of touchdowns in an Aggie uniform and be a key part of making this offense in 2026 be even deadlier— but I think there's a slightly less flashy pick.
ESPN calls Isaiah Horton the Aggies' most important transfer, but there's a case to be made otherwise
Texas A&M's addition of former Tennessee corner Rickey Gibson is something that I have already called an under-the-radar move, as not nearly enough people are discussing it. Gibson was slated to be one of the best corners in the conference before being sidelined for the season in game one for a pectoral injury.
Coming to A&M fully healthy, Gibson will be competing for a starting corner job opposite another Alabama transfer in Dezz Ricks, and I believe he's got the goods to win that job. If he does, the Aggies will be all but guaranteed another lockdown secondary, just like they had this past season.
The impact of a unit like that on opposing passing attacks is hard to overstate. You need two elite corners to get to that point, as well as some great safety play, but keeping the lid on an offense through the air will all but completely neutralize most college teams.
While Horton will certainly be highly impactful on the Aggie passing game, I think the value of a lockdown secondary— something the Aggies have a chance to have thanks to the addition of Gibson— is just a bit higher. So, with no disrespect to Horton in the slightest, I'd have to give the edge to Gibson.
In reality, both will be highly impactful players for the Aggies, so this is a bit of hair-splitting. Texas A&M's defense next year has had their outlook go straight through the roof after Elko's portal additions in many ways, and Gibson may be the best— but Horton is probably the most impactful on the offensive side.