Texas A&M Football's 21st Portal Addition Is a Former Five-Star

Desmond "Dezz" Ricks Commits to Texas A&M Football and Mike Elko; Aggie Coverage Unit Completely Remade

Texas A&M football has had quite a few impact players commit to them out of the portal so far this cycle. Nic Scourton, Cashius Howell, BJ Mayes... it's a formidable list. Perhaps one of the biggest so far has just dropped, as former #2 prospect in the nation Desmond "Dezz" Ricks has announced he will transfer from Alabama to Texas A&M.

It's hard to oversell how massive this is. This is the cherry on top of a complete makeover in the secondary perpetrated by Mike Elko and Ishmael Aristide. Other luminaries such as the aforementioned Mayes, former Kansas State CB Will Lee, and more also now populate the defensive backfield for the Aggie roster. In other words, there will be no shortage of fierce competition for that position group come spring time.

That competition should be well-heeded, as well. It is likely that there will be some movement in the spring portal window for the Aggie defensive back room as the hierarchy begins to take further shape. No matter what, though, the odds are that Texas A&M football will boast a far deeper and more skilled group at that spot than they have in recent memory.

Ricks, for his part, saw only 2 games of action for the Tide this past season. He was behind juniors Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry, both projected to be high picks in the draft. With a 6'1", 180 LB frame, Ricks is built to be a cover corner rather than a safety, so he didn't figure to break in the rotation in the same way a guy like Caleb Downs was able to do, either.

Even so, you have to be excited about his future. He has elite measurables, and stands a good chance to be an immediate contributor and difference-maker at a position where that kind of player is sorely needed. The Elko Era, if nothing else, should surely kick off with an extremely impressive defensive unit.