Texas A&M's momentum with Mark Matthews, the no. 3 player in the country and top-rated offensive tackle, has been a point of discussion in recruiting circles so far this week. The Fort Lauderdale native is looking to make a decision soon, and the Aggies have seized the lead in this recruitment according to insiders.
However, as Aggie fans expected, this won't be so cut and dry— there's no way a program like the Hurricanes is going to just let Matthews get out of South Florida without emptying their bag of tricks. After a surge of momentum for the Aggies in the early part of this week, Mario Cristobal and the Hurricanes are reportedly swinging back hard in a last-ditch effort to make some noise.
Texas A&M needs to close on Mark Matthews quickly as Miami Hurricanes look to gain back ground in five-star recruitment
Steve Wiltfong of Rivals reported today that the Hurricanes are "still swinging" for Matthews as his finalists are all making their pitches.
Miami is still swinging for Five-Star Plus+ OT Mark Matthews, @SWiltfong_ reports đŸ™Œ
— Rivals (@Rivals) April 30, 2026
+ The Hurricanes are pushing for multiple other 5-star prospects...
Details: https://t.co/7TpMXeMGaQ pic.twitter.com/7TocCaSTpc
This is certainly a shift in tone from earlier in the week, when the Aggies had done enough to get Wiltfong and Sam Spiegleman to shift their predictions from the Hurricanes to the Aggies, but it's also not as though that momentum has been entirely reversed. The Ags are still right in the middle of things— and maybe even better.
This is a counterpunch that Texas A&M fans had to know was coming. The Hurricanes had to make a showing here for their top prospect in this cycle despite everything that Adam Cushing and Mike Elko have done to all but run away with this one.
Will it be enough, though? That's the question that every Aggie fan— and every Hurricane fan— is asking themselves right about now. Cristobal has more than enough skins on the wall when it comes to big time recruiting battles that A&M fans would be foolish to overlook him— but Elko and company may have done more than enough to get this one over the finish line.
Whatever the case, it sounds as if a decision will be coming soon. The moment more news breaks on that front, we'll have coverage of it right here.
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