Not everyone can come play for your team. While three-star linebacker Kareem Palmer did have the Texas A&M Aggies as a finalist during his recruitment, it always felt like a long shot that he would be coming to College Station. With how well the Aggies have recruited under Mike Elko since he took over the reins of the program, it is now exceedingly rare that a three-star will even make his way there.
On Sunday morning, Palmer picked between these three SEC schools as his college team of choice.
- Auburn Tigers
- Mississippi State Bulldogs
- Texas A&M Aggies
Per this sweet Hayes Fawcett graphic, Palmer has elected to commit to the Auburn Tigers for 2027.
BREAKING: Class of 2027 LB Kareem Palmer has Committed to Auburn, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 17, 2026
The 6’2 210 LB chose the Tigers over Mississippi State and Texas A&M
“Every level requires another version of yourself”https://t.co/fPmRInu9OH pic.twitter.com/OsiBL8efRH
According to the 247Sports Composite, Palmer is the No. 61 prospect from Georgia, the No. 39 linebacker in this recruiting cycle, and the No. 505 overall player for 2027. He had 22 official offers, but had it narrowed down to Auburn, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M heading this weekend. What is very interesting here is he did not have an official visit scheduled to come to College Station at all...
Palmer has one on the books with Auburn, as well as others to Mississippi State and Ole Miss for now.
Texas A&M has emerged as a program that is too good for 3-stars now
For Palmer, he gets to play closer to home at Auburn for a well-thought-of head coach in Alex Golesh. Between Golesh, Pete Golding, and Jeff Lebby, Palmer made the right decision there. What Golesh did at South Florida was otherworldly. However, there are levels to this, as Elko is operating on another level entirely. We are talking about arguably the most underrated head coach in the country.
What we are starting to see here is prospective recruits are using Texas A&M as a bit of a leverage play. Technically, Palmer did have an offer from the Aggies, but he was not really on the team's radar. Over the years, players have used offers from the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, and others to position themselves better when it comes to lesser teams. Texas A&M has joined them.
Overall, Palmer went to the best place for him at Auburn, and we should just leave it at that. The chances of him getting early playing time on an ascending team is far more likely to happen down on The Plains than they were to happen in College Station. Since Auburn and Texas A&M are no longer annual rivals in the SEC schedule, no harm, no foul. The big loser in all this has to be Mississippi State.
Ultimately, we should trust Texas A&M's eye on talent evaluation, especially on the defensive side of the ball, as that is the one Elko favors. Golesh may be an offensive-minded guy, but Georgia is an adjacent state to Alabama. As for Mississippi State, the chances of getting Palmer could have come back to haunt other teams who passed on him. At least the Bulldogs were a finalist, unlike Ole Miss...
For now, Texas A&M needs to hone in its focus to make sure it can land the next prospect it wants.
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