Texas A&M has a chance to do something really special in this recruiting cycle, even if their chances to do so now are significantly reduced compared to earlier this summer. The Aggies are one of a few schools throughout the nation with a chance to bag the top overall class for this year, but there's still yet a tough road ahead for the Aggies.
I wrote about this same thing earlier this month, but we've had a couple of updates since that point— most notably, three commitments for the Aggies. Texas A&M has picked up pledges from Tamarion Watkins, Tylan Wilson, and Evan Jacobson since I last wrote about their chances for the top class.
These three were players that I considered pretty squarely in the "must get" territory if A&M was going to snag that top spot— it's simply too much of a layup for the Aggies to whiff. In that vein, it's good news that the Aggies got all three, but now the real battles start. The other big thing, of course, was a recent recruiting rankings update that saw some A&M commits make sizeable moves.
Texas A&M can still angle for top overall class after recruiting rankings update
The big blow to the Aggies' class was Lamar Brown committing to LSU, but all is not lost for A&M. The recent update in the recruiting rankings saw a couple of pledges plunge, but all in all, there was some good news for the Aggies.
One notable jump was Victor Singleton, who recently shut down his recruitment. The lockdown cornerback went from a guy in the mid-80s of the rankings to right outside five-star range at 46th, joining Brandon Arrington, KJ Edwards and Bryce Perry-Wright as Aggie commits in the top 50.
Each of those other three saw some small dings to their rankings, but the big jumps by Singleton, Sam Roseborough, and Evan Jacobson all made up for that deficit. Roseborough moved up 36 spots and Jacobson went up 42.
Now, with their current commits moving in a positive direction overall, the Aggies have two key players they must lock in if they hope to be top overall: Tristen Keys and Tank Jones.
Jones reportedly has a decision coming soon with insiders feeling good about the Aggies' chances. Meanwhile, Keys is committed to LSU, but only in name at this point, and A&M has been a real threat for some time, dating back to hosting him the weekend after he committed to the Tigers.
If the Aggies land both the edge rusher and receiver, they will be almost out of reach for USC and Georgia, the only two schools currently ranked ahead of them in overall class quality. That's a tall order, but the Aggies have maneuvered themselves into position to pull it off.