Star-studded visit list for Texas A&M heightens the pressure to not choke vs Arkansas

Texas A&M is set to host a huge number of five-star visitors this weekend against the Arkansas Razorbacks, despite the fact that the season has not exactly gotten off to a roaring start in College Station. Mike Elko and his staff have still demonstrated that they are not going to slow down on the recruiting trail, however, which should be an encouragement to Aggie fans.

There are not only a good number of players from the Aggies' current class, star-studded as it is, coming into town, but a veritable who's-who of the upcoming cycle as well. Luminaries like Kellan Hall, Prince Che, Casey Barner, Braylon Clark, and others are all making their way into town.

Che, the no. 2 defensive lineman in the country behind Hall, has received a couple of predictions to land with the Aggies already, which shows just how huge of a move it would be for the Aggies to land him. Though Hall is currently predicted elsewhere, the fact that he's making it to campus this early is another great sign— but it also means the pressure is mounting on the Aggies.

Texas A&M cannot fall flat against Arkansas in front of nation's elite

The Aggies' top weapon when it comes to the recruiting game is clearly Kyle Field on a gameday. There is no other environment in the country that comes close to touching The Home of the 12th Man, and putting that on display for the nation's top recruits is something that tends to help sway a lot of decisions.

That has historically been the case, win or lose— but the Aggies are facing quite a different set of circumstances than they normally do. They'll have the momentum and excitement of a night game behind them, but if they struggle against a lowly Arkansas squad— especially after what the Aggies have done over the past two weeks— then things could go sideways in a hurry.

To be clear, this should still be a pretty packed-out game for the Aggies. They only will have three home night games all year, and though the Hogs have been in the gutter (or the trough, I guess) for the better part of the last 15 years, they're still a big enough name that fans will want to show.

But if things look bad— like, really bad— then the no. 1 weapon for the Aggies on the recruiting trail could turn into something that is working against them. How many times have we seen schools get embarrassed at home and have their fans begin booing their team, only to later see the effects it had on the recruits in attendance?

All in all, the Aggies have a good enough system going for these official visits where the result on the field is far from the biggest thing that will play into these decisions. But if they want to keep putting together these big recruiting weekends, Mike Elko and company are going to have to begin to figure things out in a hurry for this team.

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