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The greatest bust of all time -- the 2022 class
When you don't do your homework, ignore more red flags than a Soviet parade and don't emphasize discipline as you chase talent, this is what you get:
LT Overton (5-star): Transferred to Alabama
Jacoby Mathews (5-star): Transferred to nowhere
Shemar Stewart (5-star): Possible first rounder
Denver Harris (5-star): Kicked out, on third school
Marquis Groves-Killebrew (4-star): Transferred to Louisville, is no longer there
Kam Dewberry (4-star): Backup
Jake Johnson (4-star): Transferred to UNC, doesn’t play
Enai White (4-star): Transferring
Anthony Lucas (4-star): Transferred to USC, had 16 tackles before being hurt this year
Mark Nabou (3-star): Starting center before injury
Gabe Dindy (4-star): Transferring
Evan Stewart (5-star): Transferred to Oregon
Le’Veon Moss (4-star): Starter, possible All-SEC selection despite injury
Chris Marshall (4-star): Transferred/kicked out, on third school
Walter Nolen (5-star): Transferred to Ole Miss, likely first round pick
Theo Ohrstrom (4-star); Starter
Smoke Bouie (4-star): Kicked out, transferred to UGA, kicked out
Bryce Anderson (4-star): Starter
Jadon Scarlett (4-star): Backup
Ethan Moczulski (3-star): Transferred to Illinois
Ish Harris (4-star): Flunked out, transferred to UH, flunked out
Jarred Kerr (3-star): backup
Martrell Harris (4-star): Backup
Bobby Taylor (4-star): Retired
Noah Thomas (4-star): Starter
Hunter Erb (3-star): Backup
Conner Weigman (4-star): Transferring
PJ Williams (4-star): Kicked out, transferred to SMU
Donovan Green (4-star): Starter before injury
Malick Sylla (4-star): Transferring
That is a 5-star list of busts. It’s pitiful. A&M got more players who were expelled or kicked off the team in that class than they did starters. Several more were suggested to get out the door before the foot hit them. A couple (Jake Johnson and Jacoby Mathews, especially) made terrible career decisions. Johnson had 2 catches for 21 yards this year.
Two of these players -- Stewart and Nolen -- were told their value to the program was not worth the value they placed on themselves financially. So they were allowed to walk. You can debate whether that was the right move or not, but neither got what they initially wanted. After Stewart took himself out of the Ole Miss game when he was fully healthy, his goose was cooked. Nolen just wanted big money. Ole Miss came closest as they tried to buy a natty, but they busted. He, on the other hand, did well for himself.
It’s kind of terrifying that, within three years, three of these guys have literally vanished without a trace. Taylor may not be playing, but he’ll be a success off the field.
Jimbo Fisher Fed up the program and his career with this class. He let his ego run the show and didn’t do his homework as he chased talent and not character. That’s why it was so important, and refreshing, to hear Mike Elko say that current players will, and do, have a say in who gets recruited. If someone doesn’t seem like a fit for the locker room, then they’re not going to be an Aggie. It's also a major reason why Fisher will probably never coach again, unless West Virginia gets really desperate.
The more I think about this class, the angrier I get.
Portal rumblings
Here's A&M's shopping list at the moment: multiple wide receivers, a quarterback, a tight end, a lot of defensive linemen and a veteran corner. So here are some names I have heard linked to A&M, or expect will be linked shortly:
Cornerback Julian Humphrey, formerly of Georgia, has indicated his interest in A&M and that appears to be mutual. Humphrey is from the Houston area and has considered A&M seriously in the past. Miami is another school that will be after him and has clearly indicated interest.
Oklahoma wide receiver Nic Anderson went in the portal yesterday and I know he is very high, if not at the very top, of A&M's wish list. Higher than Micah Hudson. Anderson's from Katy and the Aggies really wanted him out of high school, but he locked in with OU early on and that was that.
Hudson, obviously, is someone they're after. LSU is also involved, and they're getting ripped by receiver departures.
Kentucky has two receivers in the portal that will draw interest, including very likely from A&M: Barion Brown and Dane Key. They were the top two receivers for the Wildcats last season and put up strong numbers on a team that was terrible throwing the ball (110th nationally). The Aggies have already indicated interest in Brown, who averaged 12.4 YPC and scored three touchdowns this past season. He's also played some running back, so his versatility will certainly appeal to the Aggies.
One guy I would say A&M has a really good shot at getting is former Arkansas receiver Isaiah Sategna. He was originally committed to A&M back during his high school process, but ended up going to Arkansas when his dad joined the track staff there. His dad has returned to A&M to work with Pat Henry, and Sategna promptly announced his intention to transfer. Sategna is an absolute burner, averaged 13 yards a catch, returns kicks and would be a prototype replacement for Cyrus Allen.
Arkansas tight end Luke Hasz pulled a stunner this morning and announced he will be transferring. He's had injury issues in his first two seasons, but when he's played, he's been a fantastic pass-catching tight end. He caught 32 passes for 324 yards and four touchdowns this past season, and I would think a lot of teams will be after him. It makes sense, purely from a depth and experience position, that A&M will be one of them.
OU quarterback Jackson Arnold is heading to the portal, and his dual-threat nature could be one that appeals to A&M. Even though he played behind a sieve of an offensive line, Arnold completed 62.6% of his passes for 1,426 yards, 12 TD and 3 INT -- stats not too dissimilar to Marcel Reed's. He also ran for another 44 yards and 3 scores. OU's offense was an utter disaster this year, but he did what he could with what he had.
The Aggies would almost certainly have interest in K-State's Avery Johnson if he goes into the portal, but there have been no indications yet that he will. Johnson only completed 59.6% of his passes (Reed completed 61.1%) this year, but threw for 2,517 yards, 22 touchdowns and 9 picks. He also ran for another 548 yards and 6 scores.
A&M took Nic Scourton from Purdue last year, and he was replaced by sophomore Will Heldt. The 6-foot-6, 265-pound Heldt ended up with 10 TFL and 5 sacks on the season, and now he's in the portal. He doesn't have Texas ties (he's an Indiana kid), but he seems like the kind of guy A&M would like to have on the defensive front.
There's going to be others. A lot of others. But here are some guys to keep an eye on as we really get into this.
What's Reed going to work on?
Unless A&M goes out and gets an absolute superstar at quarterback, Marcel Reed is the man in 2025 and beyond. He will make his eighth career start in the bowl game and ended the regular season with 2,073 yards of total offense and 18 touchdowns. That's pretty decent for a guy who didn't play more than 1/3 of the season. But it goes without saying there's work that needs to be done by Reed, and he's aware of it. The primary objectives for the offseason, when it gets here, will be to get stronger and to work on his downfield progressions. Like many observers have noted, he's missed a lot of wide open receivers because he had a tendency to run before he should. That especially got him in trouble against Auburn and Texas, as he ran into sacks instead of out of them.
Offensive line starters all appear to be returning
Elko said during his press conference that one thing the Aggies have done poorly historically is keeping "fringe" NFL draft picks for an extra season when they have eligibility left. Two of the biggest ones for this class Will Lee and Scooby Williams, have already said they're returning. Trey Zuhn, Dametrious Crownover and Ar'Maj Reed-Adams all could be potential draft picks, but there hasn't been any indication to this point that they're considering leaving.
Zuhn would probably go first of the three, but he had a late-season slump and his family has put an emphasis on getting his degree. He's also a key piece to the team puzzle, which he takes seriously. Crownover didn't give up a sack this season, but he's still developing as far as technique goes. Reed-Adams actually cracked Mel Kiper's top 10 guards (at 10th), but he has wanted to be at A&M his entire life and I haven't heard any real buzz around him. He was inconsistent over the course of the season, dominating at times and struggling at others, so that may hurt him.
