Texas A&M Football Now Has the Top Overall Transfer Recruiting Class

Mike Elko's Portal Efforts Pay Off Big Time; Texas A&M Football Now Has Top Transfer Class In Nation

Since stepping foot on campus for Texas A&M football, Mike Elko has been hard at work to turn around the Aggie roster. The decimated group on display in the Texas Bowl was not up to the standard that Elko envisioned for the Aggies, and he along with his staff have been doing yeoman's work to make up the deficit.

That work has paid off big time. The Aggies now have 21 commitments in the transfer class, highlighted by Bryan native and Big 10 sacks leader Nic Scourton, as well as recent addition Dezz Ricks in the defensive backfield. They've supplemented the receiver rotation with Cyrus Allen and Jabre Barber, brought in a couple of tight ends, remade the secondary and pass rush, and even brought home EJ Smith, who once spurned the Ags for Stanford.

Not only have these been vital additions at areas of need, they have been objectively high-quality as well. That quality is now being recognized by the recruiting services, as 247Sports has the Aggies currently listed as having the top portal class in the nation.

This reflects the amazing job that Mike Elko and this staff have done to completely flip the "mass exodus" narrative on its head. The Ags lost four or five key contributors; they are bringing in nine or ten players who can challenge for playing time. In some cases, they have direct upgrades, as with the addition of Scourton (and most of the defensive backfield, for that matter).

Elko and company have also done an amazing job filling specific needs with some portal additions. Vanderbilt's De'Rickey Wright, who will join Texas A&M football come summer time, is a versatile linebacker/safety hybrid player, which is a piece that Elko can use to great effect in his defensive scheme. Jared Zirkel is a kickoff specialist from UGA with one of the highest touchback rates in the nation. Additions like these help to fill out a roster and make sure there are no niches left that need to be addressed.

Overall, this has been quite the turnaround in just a month's time. Key retentions like that of Chase Bisontis have also served to aid the Aggies here. Elko's portal prowess will hopefully pay off big time in 2024.