Texas A&M has lost one of their longest-running and most important recruiting battles in the class of 2026, at least for now. The Aggies were neck and neck with the LSU Tigers for the last few weeks, but it looks like LSU pulled ahead earlier this week to snag the initial verbal commitment of Lamar Brown.
The operative word there is "initial," as we've seen Mike Elko and company play the long game and win out for five-star recruits before this. Given everything, that will be significantly tougher in this recruitment than in other cases— Lamar is a Baton Rouge native, after all— but things are not completely decided yet.
This one will be a race to signing day, especially if the Aggies have a solid season on the field. While the coaches may take a step back here initially, they'll save their best swing for right before a National Letter of Intent is signed. If nothing else, though, this highlights the need to set the table for that signing day with a win in Baton Rouge.
Texas A&M's loss of Lamar Brown shows importance of winning in Death Valley against LSU
Texas A&M's game against the Tigers is possibly their toughest on the schedule. LSU may not be a top-5 team in the country or anything, but winning on the road in Death Valley is something that has eluded the Aggies since they joined the conference, and it comes in between two other road games for the Ags.
A&M has a great shot, if they win in South Bend, to enter that contest undefeated, which would likely make them a top-10 team in the country. LSU has a tough opener at Clemson, and winning on the road at Ole Miss will be no cakewalk. South Carolina will have revenge on their mind after how things happened in that game last year, too, but I wouldn't be surprised to see LSU enter their game against the Aggies with 2 or fewer losses.
Point being, there will be a lot of attention on this matchup in all likelihood, and LSU themselves will be looking for some retribution after what happened in Kyle Field last October. It's well-documented that winning on both halves of a back to back road slate in the SEC is something that only championship-level teams tend to do, so the Aggies have their work cut out for them big time.
If they can pull out a win, though, it could turn out to be massive in this recruitment. This is a way they can snag momentum in a major fashion— but it may be the toughest task they have ahead of them the entire season.