Texas A&M outlasts Clemson and late charge from Texas to land key five-star DL

Texas A&M football just picked up the biggest commitment of the weekend with this massive win.
Oct 26, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton (11) reacts against the LSU Tigers during the fourth quarter. The Aggies defeated the Tigers 38-23; at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images.
Oct 26, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton (11) reacts against the LSU Tigers during the fourth quarter. The Aggies defeated the Tigers 38-23; at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Texas A&M just came roaring back from behind in a key recruitment to pull ahead of the pack and win a verbal pledge from five-star Buford, GA, defensive lineman Bryce Perry-Wright. Coming into the week, it seemed like Clemson was the sure favorite in this key recruitment, but the Aggies made their move to take the lead and did not relinquish it.

This is despite a reported big time move by the Texas Longhorns, who were up until recently a distant third in the race. They were making some noise over the last couple of hours after a weekend full of misses on their part, most notably on new Texas Tech commit Felix Ojo, but the Aggies were able to stave them off.

With the commitment of Perry-Wright, the Aggies have added a second five-star defensive lineman to their 2026 class. With a couple more players of that stature prospectively coming off of the board soon, the Aggies could be putting together an extremely special class up front.

Texas A&M adds five-star DL Bryce Perry-Wright to massive 2026 haul

Perry-Wright becomes the Aggies' second-highest rated commitment per the 247Sports composite behind Brandon Arrington, but he could slide to third depending on how things go over the next couple of days with Lamar Brown.

As this class gets better, it is also setting up the Aggies for some massive expectations in the season. You can't go out and lay an egg as was the case in the waning weeks of last season, despite the tough slate the schedule presents you with.

Texas A&M will need some signature wins, in other words, as they navigate things down the stretch. They can't just float along with this big summer recruiting run to fall back on— they'll need to show out this season to keep some of these massive names they've won out for.

This is especially so with a team like Texas striking out so much thus far. As signing day approaches, desperation will increase, and so will the size of prospective NIL deals. The Aggies need to be locked in to stave off nonsense like that.

For now, though, this is a huge win. The Aggies are really building something special in this class.