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Wideout pursuit in the portal continues
Texas A&M obviously has a need for wide receivers. Two of their top targets, Mario Craver and Nic Anderson, are on campus today.
Craver, if you don't recall, was a true freshman at Mississippi State this year. He scored on the tunnel pass after Conner Weigman was picked off. He had 17 catches on the season, but averaged 21 yards a catch. A lot of teams are seriously interested in him, but right now his only set visit is to A&M.
Anderson may be in the top two targets on A&M's list, along with KC Conception. He had 738 yards and 10 touchdowns last year and was a freshman All-American, but didn't play this year due to injury. The Katy native may take more visits, but there is strong mutual interest here and the Aggies would really like to close the deal with him. Anderson could be a guy who helps establish momentum for the transfer period.
Micah Hudson is going to take a couple more visits, but right now it seems that A&M is going to be very difficult for opponents to top. LSU should get a look, and I believe Tennessee will as well, but A&M has a lot going for it.
I'm not feeling too good about Kentucky transfer Barion Brown, who is coveted by LSU. But he's still supposed to visit and we'll see how it goes.
Alabama feels good about Concepcion, but he didn't commit there or sign anything. He is still supposed to visit and he has A&M in his final six teams. It's amazing that a transfer would have to cut his list to six, but that's the world we live in.
Aggies also entertaining defensive linemen
Nebraska DE Jamari Butler was one of the first visitors once the portal opened and A&M feels like they have a very good shot at landing him. Butler had 22 tackles, 7 TFL and 2 sacks this past season.
Two Florida linemen, Jack Pyburn and Kelby Collins, are high on A&M’s wish list. Pyburn had 60 tackles, 4 TFL, a sack and an INT last year, but wants to be used more in pass rush situations. Collins was misused last year as a defensive tackle, where he was severely undersized, but A&M sees him as an end who could play occasionally play inside. Think DeMarvin Leal’s role.
Wisconsin’s James Thompson Jr. is also coming to town. Thompson is a defensive tackle, and the Aggies really need a couple of those for next year. He missed nearly all of last season with an injury, but had 29 tackles, 5.5 TFL and 3 sacks in 2023. He would be a quality addition on the interior.
Purdue’s Will Heldt is also interested and is supposed to visit. Nic Scourton’s replacement had 56 tackles, 10 TFL and 5 sacks last year, and he’s getting a lot of attention from an unlikely source — Clemson, which has never signed a transfer during the portal era.
Ags looking at two CB targets
The Aggies will host former Georgia CB Julian Humphrey and former Arkansas CB Jaylon Braxton in the next couple of days (I think today, actually). They're the two corner targets A&M focused in on quickly and they haven't looked at anyone else to date. I don't know if they'd take both, but they definitely want at least one experienced corner who can work with Will Lee and Dezz Ricks and allow Adonyss Currie, Jamar Beal-Goines and Cobey Sellers to take their time in developing.
Two tackles on A&M's list
Offensive tackles, that is. The first is Isaiah World, who was really good for a bad Nevada team last season. The other is former Mississippi State LT Makylan Pounders, who didn't grade out so great this past year but only gave up 3 sacks in 334 passing plays. The Aggies were also interested in him when he transferred from Memphis to State a couple of years back.
On the subject of tackles....
For the better part of a year, I had been operating under the assumption Deuce Fatheree and Dametrious Crownover would both be back in 2025. But research last week showed Fatheree had played in five games in 2023, jeopardizing his effort to get an extra year via medical redshirt. But, from what I've heard, he is expected to be back next season. So is Crownover, and those both fall into the "big deal" category.
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