Texas A&M recruiting disappointments are a hot topic among not only Aggie fans right now, but the rest of the country thanks to the high level at which Texas A&M has been recruiting over the past cycle. The Aggies are all but assured of the top class in the nation, barring any major defections or upsets in the ranks below them, which means it’s time for fans of other programs to begin looking for reasons to tear the Aggies down.
They’ll be hard-pressed to find many with this group in particular, which is why so many fans are going back to A&M’s somewhat-sordid history with top-ranked recruits as solace. It’s true, the Aggies have had some trouble getting these highly-ranked players to produces in line with their rankings, but Mike Elko has already proven to be a top-shelf developer of talent as well as a recruiter.
But who are the biggest five-star disappointments for the Aggies since they joined the SEC? Let’s take a look at the players who had all the potential in the world and just couldn’t deliver.
Biggest 5-star disappointments in Texas A&M football history shouldn’t surprise any Aggie fan
Denver Harris
This name being here should surprise no Aggie fan. Harris chose the Aggies late in the 2022 cycle and looked like he would be the top-level corner that Jimbo Fisher needed on his defense, but he never really ever blossomed.
Off-the-field antics were what marked Harris’s tenure in the Maroon and White, and he left the program after only playing in about half a season’s worth of games. He transferred around to LSU, UTSA, and UNLV, but never really found his footing. It wasn’t just the Aggies who couldn’t get him to produce, in other words.
Speedy Noil
This is another huge “what-if” for the Aggies. Noil was talked up by everyone around the program before the 2014 season as the next big thing on A&M’s offense, but his biggest play came in a blowout loss to Mississippi State in the middle of his freshman season.
He never really got beyond that one acrobatic play, and ended up washing out of the program before too long. He had all the athletic talent in the world, but never was able to capitalize on it in his time in college.
Chris Marshall
Another poster child for wasted athleticism, Marshall was a gamble for the Aggies coming out of Fort Bend Marshall high school down near Houston. He hadn’t played football for that long when the Aggies picked him up, but he was quickly rising the recruiting rankings to five-star status.
He never was able to deliver, however. Just like Harris (and in the same cycle, as a matter of fact), he only played in a handful of games before eventually departing the program. He’s bounced around to a couple of different places and is now with the Arkansas Razorbacks, meaning he’ll make a return to Kyle Field this season.
Demond Demas
I’m seeing a trend here with uber-athletic but raw wide receivers coming to undisciplined Aggie regimes… Demas certainly fits that bill to a T. Almost every Aggie fan that follows recruiting closely remembers him committing after the Clemson game in 2018 (only the second game of the Fisher tenure) and the excitement that followed.
Of course, despite all of his athletic marvels, Demas never really worked out for the Aggies. He only saw a few receptions in his time in the Maroon and White and eventually was dismissed from the program.
LT Overton
Overton was the no. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle (ahead of Arch Manning, funnily enough) before reclassifying up to 2022 to join the Aggies’ legendary class. There is still debate today among the fans about why exactly he never worked out, though.
Some blame then-DC DJ Durkin for using him wrongly, while others think he just was never as good of a player as he was cracked up to be. His lack of impact at Alabama, where he eventually transferred, speaks to the latter opinion, however.
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