Texas A&M fans have been dreading the possibility of this lackluster start beginning to affect their top-rated recruiting class for the 2027 cycle— and there's good reason why. Mike Elko and his staff have gotten some of the most highly-sought-after names in the country in the boat: the kind of class that wins you championships, but also the kind of class that other recruiting heavyweights can't wait to poach.
The top name in that class is the nation's no. 1 offensive lineman, Mark Matthews, out of the Miami area. The Hurricanes were none too pleased that the Aggies landed his commitment over Mario Cristobal, and they've been working overtime to try to flip him— and they may have just taken the first big step towards that.
247Sports put out an article this morning about Matthews' visit plans for this weekend, and while it is behind a paywall, this very important nugget is public: "'I might go to the Miami FSU game,' Matthews told 247Sports Thursday evening." That has to put the Aggies on red alert, without a doubt: they cannot, under any circumstances, have Matthews make it to campus for the Hurricanes.
Texas A&M fans on high alert with Mark Matthews possibly visiting Miami this weekend
There has been a lot of conflicting information floating around about where Matthews will be on Saturday, but given the fact that he is only about 30 minutes away from Miami's campus, a visit is logistically not very difficult. Add in that the struggling Aggies have the Citadel this weekend while the Hurricanes have a big in-state rival, and it's not hard to see why A&M fans worry about this coming to pass.
Even so, there have not been a lot of indications up until this point that Matthews is wavering. Cristobal, whose specialty is offensive lineman, has been working hard to get him in the boat, but the Aggies have stayed well out in front by all accounts.
With the way this season has gone, though, fans are expecting those tides to change. Whether that's trademark Aggie pessimism or a realistic fear is something that has yet to be seen; the fact is right now, though, that Matthews clearly is considering at least showing up in Coral Gables.
If he does, Cristobal's recruiting machine will do absolutely everything they can to put a full-court press on him, hoping to get him backed off of his commitment to the Aggies. Matthews is one of the key players in this 2027 group for A&M, too, so if that comes to pass, it could be a pretty worrying bellwether for what's to come.
While there's no need to borrow trouble, the Aggie faithful need to be aware that this is a distinct possibility. We'll have to see how this weekend plays out, of course, but at this point, it seems like it would be a huge win for Mike Elko and company to simply have Matthews stick at home instead of heading over to Hard Rock Stadium this Saturday.
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