Had a few Aggie targets here, along with one commit. I have stories coming with all four of them, but wanted to give you an overview.
4-star DL Landon Rink can ball a little bit. Actually, a lot more than a little bit. He was very impressive today. At first glance, you might think he's a little short and not as stout as some of the genetic freaks that were at this thing, but when the ball is snapped, he moves people. His lower body is extremely strong for a high schooler. He was giving up a couple of inches in height to some interior linemen and he just slapped their hands away and got into them and, at that point, it was over. He just bull-rushed them straight into the backfield.
I was also impressed with his secondary moves and his overall approach. He's got a good spin move, and he knows how to set guys up so he has the advantage. You don't see many guys with that level of refinement at these things. Most of the time, it's either beat the guy around the corner or go right through him -- which he did -- but he showed there's more than one way to skin a lineman.
Rink has become a leader of the recruiting class and he was working on Taz Williams, Riley Pettijohn and Keylan Moses today. And he has a lot of fun doing it.
And man, he hates Texas.
I talked to Keylan Moses, the 4-star LB committed to LSU, later in the day. He's shown a lot of interest in A&M lately, and I asked him why. "Jay Bateman," he replied. He loves A&M's defensive coordinator and really likes Mike Elko as well. He will return for a game this fall and, while he said he could shut it all down at any time, I got the feeling the Aggies and Oregon are making LSU sweat it more than a little bit.
Moses was a little slighter than I was expecting, but man, he is lightning fast. In coverage drills against running backs and tight ends, where the linebacker is at a marked disadvantage, Moses was the one linebacker who could stick with them. He's got great anticipation and vision, but the speed...he's SEC. For sure.
I talked to Riley Pettijohn, another 4-star LB, as well. He is just a few days from deciding, and it's A&M, Texas, USC and Ohio State for him. He told me he has a good idea of where he's going, but didn't say. Physically, Pettijohn is SEC ready right now. He really impressed me coming downhill after running backs and he did a great job of anticipating their moves and cutting off the angles. These drills are kind of like keep-away, but he wasn't letting these elite backs elude him. Pass coverage was another story. He struggled there. But so did every linebacker not named Keylan Moses. All the advantages are with the offense in this one.
4-star WR Taz Williams looked really good today. He's so fluid, and has that great burst of speed that allows him to separate from defenders. But it was his cutting ability that impressed me most today. He made one sharp cut to go in on a route and left a corner literally on the turf. I thought this one would be between A&M and Michigan, but his official visit to Penn State seems to have really swayed the Pittsburgh native, who is announcing on the 13th. So Holmon Wiggins needs to get after him if he wants Williams to be an Aggie.
4-star DL Landon Rink can ball a little bit. Actually, a lot more than a little bit. He was very impressive today. At first glance, you might think he's a little short and not as stout as some of the genetic freaks that were at this thing, but when the ball is snapped, he moves people. His lower body is extremely strong for a high schooler. He was giving up a couple of inches in height to some interior linemen and he just slapped their hands away and got into them and, at that point, it was over. He just bull-rushed them straight into the backfield.
I was also impressed with his secondary moves and his overall approach. He's got a good spin move, and he knows how to set guys up so he has the advantage. You don't see many guys with that level of refinement at these things. Most of the time, it's either beat the guy around the corner or go right through him -- which he did -- but he showed there's more than one way to skin a lineman.
Rink has become a leader of the recruiting class and he was working on Taz Williams, Riley Pettijohn and Keylan Moses today. And he has a lot of fun doing it.
And man, he hates Texas.
I talked to Keylan Moses, the 4-star LB committed to LSU, later in the day. He's shown a lot of interest in A&M lately, and I asked him why. "Jay Bateman," he replied. He loves A&M's defensive coordinator and really likes Mike Elko as well. He will return for a game this fall and, while he said he could shut it all down at any time, I got the feeling the Aggies and Oregon are making LSU sweat it more than a little bit.
Moses was a little slighter than I was expecting, but man, he is lightning fast. In coverage drills against running backs and tight ends, where the linebacker is at a marked disadvantage, Moses was the one linebacker who could stick with them. He's got great anticipation and vision, but the speed...he's SEC. For sure.
I talked to Riley Pettijohn, another 4-star LB, as well. He is just a few days from deciding, and it's A&M, Texas, USC and Ohio State for him. He told me he has a good idea of where he's going, but didn't say. Physically, Pettijohn is SEC ready right now. He really impressed me coming downhill after running backs and he did a great job of anticipating their moves and cutting off the angles. These drills are kind of like keep-away, but he wasn't letting these elite backs elude him. Pass coverage was another story. He struggled there. But so did every linebacker not named Keylan Moses. All the advantages are with the offense in this one.
4-star WR Taz Williams looked really good today. He's so fluid, and has that great burst of speed that allows him to separate from defenders. But it was his cutting ability that impressed me most today. He made one sharp cut to go in on a route and left a corner literally on the turf. I thought this one would be between A&M and Michigan, but his official visit to Penn State seems to have really swayed the Pittsburgh native, who is announcing on the 13th. So Holmon Wiggins needs to get after him if he wants Williams to be an Aggie.
