Reactions are plentiful to Texas A&M stealing out-of-state versatile defender

The Texas A&M Aggies just stole a significant asset in the state of South Carolina. Tamarion Watkins of Rock Hill, South Carolina, is known as a safety, but his 6'4", 200-pound frame is enough to become a linebacker. Either way, this is another big one in the bag for Mike Elko.

This commitment almost makes up for the Aggies missing out on Lamar Brown to LSU. Brown was a five-star prospect whom the Aggies paid a lot of attention to. The loss still stings, but there's already plenty of high praise for the No. 4 player out of South Carolina.

Fan and media reaction to Watkins committing to A&M

After Watkins' announcement, he was asked why he committed to Texas A&M over others.

"I really just think it was the bond that the coaching staff and all the people at A&M built with my family through that period of time," Watkins said.

TexAgs founder Billy Liucci compares Watkins to a heavy-built linebacker that the Aggies had over a decade ago. Sean Porter at 6'1", 229 pounds ended up one of the biggest names in the Big 12 at his time, and had a major impact in the Aggies' first year in the SEC.

Some A&M fans decided to rub this move in the face of Steve Sarkisian and Texas fans, as it seems like Elko's scorching offseason has been too much for Longhorns fans. The Longhorns have had some victories on the recruiting trail, but even then, some are definitely still shocked over the work that Elko has been able to do.

Texas has missed out on many chances this offseason thanks to Elko, but this was Texas A&M stealing one from his home state of South Carolina. Georgia and Miami were in on the mix, too, but this really should've been a chip shot for the Gamecocks.