I hate making predictions, but I'm bored, it's summertime and working keeps me from thinking about the crappy stuff that has happened at home of late. So here's my current opinion on where some of A&M's remaining targets end up. SPOILER: Not everyone will like this, because it's not all A&M.
Timpson ATH Terry Bussey: This one has been A&M for a long time and I see no reason for that to change. He could decide to announce after the pool party. That seems to fit his timeframe.
Clear Springs OL Blake Ivy: Another guy who has been leaning A&M for quite some time. He may be down to a couple of weeks before he makes his move.
Humble Summer Creek LB Deebo Atkins: This sounds weird, but he's committed to LSU and is down to A&M and Arkansas. Like I said, weird. But he wants to be close to home and has made his intentions clear that he will be at as many A&M games as he can this fall, so that sounds very good from an A&M perspective. So I think that's where he'll end up.
Duncanville RB Caden Durham: This was all OU for a long time, and then they got Taylor Tatum and they have two backs in this class now. So that opens the door for A&M and LSU. At this point, I don't know what he's going to do and I don't know if he does either. But A&M has ratcheted up the effort.
Duncanville DE Colin Simmons: He's Texas's to lose. Which we have seen them do in the past and more than once. Still, the Aggies may have worked their way up to second on the list (LSU may have something to say about that), but they've got a lot of work to do. Simmons may be a classic case of an NIL bidding war, so his commitment could be wild and all over the place.
Waco Connally CB Kobe Black: Another Texas heavy lean. But another guy who will be at the pool party, and A&M seems to really want him and Bussey as their corners for this class (duh. Anyone would). They have work to do.
Fort Bend Christian OL Bennett Warren: This is an interesting case, because he's got size and talent, but spots seem to keep vanishing for him. He liked Oregon; they filled up. He really liked Michigan and seemed like a big lean there; they've got three tackles. He may end up there, but I think they're slow-playing him now. So that leaves A&M and OU, and the Aggies have two tackles and are likely to get a third. But they'd still take him if he wanted to commit. They need the numbers at tackle. So I think his recruitment is kind of in a holding pattern.
IMG Academy DL David Stone: OU.
Mater Dei (Calif.) DL Aydin Breland: He's been big on the Aggies for months, and nobody has seemed to really pick up on it. If he makes a move anytime soon, I think they'd get him. But competition remains pretty strong.
Temple Lake Belton WR Micah Hudson: Tech is the leader here, and it's clear. But if you want to say there's another horse in the race, it's A&M and they'll have him on campus this weekend. They've had the momentum here, but it's a tough road to hoe and A&M does have five wideouts already. This could bite me later, but I think it's cute Texas thinks they're still in this thing.
St. Louis University WR Ryan Wingo: Another visitor this weekend. I've seen Texas mentioned as his leader, but I'm not sure he's really gotten to that point. He's still checking out a lot of places, including Notre Dame and Mizzou. But A&M's situation is like it is with Hudson -- they're not leading, it'll be tough to win out and you've got five wideouts already.
Statesboro, Ga., ATH Kamron Mickell: Another visitor for the party and another athlete A&M likes at corner. That's all well and good, but I think he's all Georgia's until further notice.
Tyler John Tyler RB Derrick McFall: I get the sense A&M is slow-playing him right now as they focus on Durham and Nate Frazier. And that may mean he heads somewhere else, and right now somewhere else looks like UCLA.
Mater Dei RB Nate Frazier: He'll be in this weekend and A&M is making a very big push. But I think he's Georgia's to lose and they haven't lost him yet.
So, TL/DR: I really like this class for A&M to this point. It's got a ton of talent. I think they'll get some more guys, but they have to do some work at running back and corner, in particular. If they're going to get to 28-30 players, they've also got to do some work.
Timpson ATH Terry Bussey: This one has been A&M for a long time and I see no reason for that to change. He could decide to announce after the pool party. That seems to fit his timeframe.
Clear Springs OL Blake Ivy: Another guy who has been leaning A&M for quite some time. He may be down to a couple of weeks before he makes his move.
Humble Summer Creek LB Deebo Atkins: This sounds weird, but he's committed to LSU and is down to A&M and Arkansas. Like I said, weird. But he wants to be close to home and has made his intentions clear that he will be at as many A&M games as he can this fall, so that sounds very good from an A&M perspective. So I think that's where he'll end up.
Duncanville RB Caden Durham: This was all OU for a long time, and then they got Taylor Tatum and they have two backs in this class now. So that opens the door for A&M and LSU. At this point, I don't know what he's going to do and I don't know if he does either. But A&M has ratcheted up the effort.
Duncanville DE Colin Simmons: He's Texas's to lose. Which we have seen them do in the past and more than once. Still, the Aggies may have worked their way up to second on the list (LSU may have something to say about that), but they've got a lot of work to do. Simmons may be a classic case of an NIL bidding war, so his commitment could be wild and all over the place.
Waco Connally CB Kobe Black: Another Texas heavy lean. But another guy who will be at the pool party, and A&M seems to really want him and Bussey as their corners for this class (duh. Anyone would). They have work to do.
Fort Bend Christian OL Bennett Warren: This is an interesting case, because he's got size and talent, but spots seem to keep vanishing for him. He liked Oregon; they filled up. He really liked Michigan and seemed like a big lean there; they've got three tackles. He may end up there, but I think they're slow-playing him now. So that leaves A&M and OU, and the Aggies have two tackles and are likely to get a third. But they'd still take him if he wanted to commit. They need the numbers at tackle. So I think his recruitment is kind of in a holding pattern.
IMG Academy DL David Stone: OU.
Mater Dei (Calif.) DL Aydin Breland: He's been big on the Aggies for months, and nobody has seemed to really pick up on it. If he makes a move anytime soon, I think they'd get him. But competition remains pretty strong.
Temple Lake Belton WR Micah Hudson: Tech is the leader here, and it's clear. But if you want to say there's another horse in the race, it's A&M and they'll have him on campus this weekend. They've had the momentum here, but it's a tough road to hoe and A&M does have five wideouts already. This could bite me later, but I think it's cute Texas thinks they're still in this thing.
St. Louis University WR Ryan Wingo: Another visitor this weekend. I've seen Texas mentioned as his leader, but I'm not sure he's really gotten to that point. He's still checking out a lot of places, including Notre Dame and Mizzou. But A&M's situation is like it is with Hudson -- they're not leading, it'll be tough to win out and you've got five wideouts already.
Statesboro, Ga., ATH Kamron Mickell: Another visitor for the party and another athlete A&M likes at corner. That's all well and good, but I think he's all Georgia's until further notice.
Tyler John Tyler RB Derrick McFall: I get the sense A&M is slow-playing him right now as they focus on Durham and Nate Frazier. And that may mean he heads somewhere else, and right now somewhere else looks like UCLA.
Mater Dei RB Nate Frazier: He'll be in this weekend and A&M is making a very big push. But I think he's Georgia's to lose and they haven't lost him yet.
So, TL/DR: I really like this class for A&M to this point. It's got a ton of talent. I think they'll get some more guys, but they have to do some work at running back and corner, in particular. If they're going to get to 28-30 players, they've also got to do some work.
