Texas A&M football was a glaring disinclusion on ESPN's way-too-early list of all-Americans for the upcoming football season, with zero Aggies makign the list in any capacity. In what can only be described as an eye-rolling fulfillment of what I predicted last July, however, the opening line of the article was "let the Texas hype begin," as the article listed four Longhorns.
Marcel Reed's downward-trending close to the season didn't help him any, and he was not likely to receive consideration for the QB spot, anyway. However, Arch Manning is far from deserving the nod— yet, once again, his last name will lend him a greater benefit of the doubt than his play ever will.
Mario Craver was not mentioned except as an also-ran, nor was Isaiah Horton. After what the Aggies accomplished through the air last season, either of these players would be a worthy inclusion on the list— and neither showed up.
ESPN does Texas A&M dirty by completely leaving them off of way-too-early all-American list
The Aggies have some big time pieces coming up in their program like Marco Jones, or transfers like CJ Mims and Anto Saka. Tawfiq Byard could make a lot of noise for the Aggies this upcoming year, as could many of the offensive line prospects the Ags brought in.
The biggest snub, however, comes at corner. Dezz Ricks was a shutdown corner all of last season, and he'll be joined by elite Tennessee transfer Rickey Gibson for the upcoming year. Barring injury, those are Texas A&M's best shots at making this list by year end.
I think the Aggies end up with more players on the list by the conclusion of next season than do the rival Longhorns. Mike Elko has teed this team up for another season of radical success, despite a tough schedule, and that success will garner respect— even if the Aggies have to work hard to earn it.