Ben Hutch

The high school football season is coming to a close, and early enrollees are nearing their college decisions as the calendar turns to December. Inside, TexAgs hits all the developments from this week in Aggie football recruiting.

With it being the bye week, we should have plenty of updates following up with the weekend visitors and the Aggie coaches on the road checking out prospects from Florida to Texas and all the way out to California.Here's a quick update on where the Ags are expected to pop up throughout the week:Kevin Sumlin and Jeff Banks will make their way out west, where the duo is expected to see known priority target Addison Gumbs (it's no secret at all that the Ags have never backed off in their pursuit of the Oklahoma pledge) in California and then the Aggies' two Arizona DE offers in Tempe standout My-King Johnson and Phoenix pass-rusher Odua Isibor . State No. 1 and five-star OL Austin Jackson of North Canyon HS will also draw the eyes of the Aggie head coach.Clarence McKinney will make the Houston rounds on Friday and watch Lamar (2018 DB Anthony Cook) take on Houston Heights (2018 CB Jalen Green).Jim Turner will see longtime Aggie pledge Adrian Wolford on Thursday in Oklahoma and will canvas the Golden Triangle on Friday.Terry Price will be watching some JUCO ball on Saturday, checking out 6-6, 240-pound defensive end Michael Clemons of Cisco JC.Aaron Moorehead will be at multiple games on Friday night, where he's going to be able to catch 2018 offers Jordan Moore and Joshua Moore at Yoakum and Aggie commit Hezekiah Jones and 2019 teammate Jalen Curry of Stafford.You can probably find Terry Joseph anywhere and everywhere in Louisiana this weekend, as he'll start out in Shreveport and make his way all the way down to New Orleans. The list of prospects he'll see includes A&M commit Keldrick Carper, 2018 state No. 1 Terrace Marshall, who was in CS last weekend, fast-rising Edna Carr WR Racey McMath, recent Aggie commit Jacob Kibodi, Madison Prep DE and Ole Miss commit Bryan Jones and recent A&M visitor and five-star LSU cornerback commit Kelvin Joseph.Offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone will spend some time at IMG checking in on the big three (Aggie commits Kellen Mond and Santino Marchiol and WR target Jhamon Ausbon) and then travel to Georgia to visit 2018 QB pledge Cade Fortin.Finally, A&M DC John Chavis will be in Tennessee where he'll see not only Jacob Phillips but also Nashville OL and Memphis commit Obinna Eze and longtime DT target Ben Hutch.And now for a few quick-hitting notes as we enter the middle of a bye week that will give the Ags some much-needed time to get out and recruit:- There's been a ton of speculation about the Ags adding a transfer quarterback this year and it's been a busy week on the rumor front but, truth be told, Noel Mazzone and Kevin Sumlin simply aren't looking in that direction at this point in time and aren't expected to do so. As Brauny reported, Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham attended the A&M-Tennessee game at Kyle Field with a friend as a college football fan and never had any contact with the Aggie staff. Earlier this evening, I reported that, contrary to widespread reports elsewhere, Alabama transfer Blake Barnett was in fact not contacted by the Aggies and went on to confirm that there was actually zero interest on the part of the Maroon & White. Mazzone and the Ags are happy with Jake Hubenak, Nick Starkel and 2017 commit Kellen Mond for next season.- It's clear that the Aggies are still working to fill out their class with an elite-level pass-rusher and there are several options, including JUCOs Michael Clemons and former Michigan State Spartan Montez Sweat and possibly even 2016 signee Alton Robinson. I mentioned the three west coast high school targets the Ags are visiting this weekend and it's not out the question that A&M could address their biggest need by adding one more from the high school ranks and getting one guy for instant-impact JC help.- Here's the situation at receiver: The Aggies want to add one more pass-catcher to this year's class and would love for it to be a bigger, outside guy. Texas pledge Damion Miller and OU commits CeeDee Lamb (he's been pretty tough for the Ags to make much headway with of late) and Jalen Reagor are still possibilities but Jhamon Ausbon, Omar Manning and Edna Carr's Racey McMath are the three most likely to end up wearing Maroon & White. Ausbon's visit to College Station over the weekend was outstanding and confidence is high that the 6-3 pass-catcher will eventually make the flip from LSU. However, the Ags cannot afford to sit around and wait forever because adding some size, speed and skill on the outside is a must in 2017. It would be an exaggeration to say that the Ags pressured Ausbon while he was on campus but Jhamon is well aware that there is a timeframe in play. At some point in time - and I'm not sure exactly when that is - the Aggies are going to have to move on a gifted athlete like McMath because there really isn't much of a difference between he, Ausbon and Manning and the Ags can't afford to play this hand wrong and miss out on Jhamon while also falling behind in the race for Racey, who they could probably land with a strong push.- Not a ton to report at linebacker but John Chavis is still on two of the very best in the country. Anthony Hines will visit Florida this weekend but we're still not to the point of considering the Gators a major player for the Plano East star's services. A&M is still the team to beat here, thanks to the tireless efforts of John Chavis and the relationship the five-star LB has formed with Chief. There are still some landmines to navigate, as Hines has visits left to take but the Aggies continue to sit in an excellent position with his late November decision date nearing.As for Nashville four-star Jacob Phillips, he's set to announce tomorrow (Wednesday) and recently told TexAgs that he's legitimately torn and undecided. Multiple sources we've talked to fall anywhere between confident and cautiously optimistic about the Aggies' chances but landing a high-profile prospect after such a furious and (very) late charge rarely works out. There are exceptions to the rule, however, and it wouldn't qualify as a shock to see Phillips pick A&M over Alabama and OU. If I'm laying odds right now, I think the Ags come up just short for the time being but don't think this particular recruitment comes close to ending tomorrow. A&M will continue to recruit the heck out of Jacob even if they do lose out and could be a legitimate threat to flip him closer to Signing Day. This one is going to be pretty interesting to watch tomorrow, however, because Chavis and the Aggies made a power move and that visit could not possibly have gone any better than it did.- On the inside, there are still several options for David Turner including four guys who have been on the wish list for quite a while. We've covered state No. 1 and five-star DT Marvin Wilson in depth and the Aggies continue to force their way up his list of favorites. Alabama should still be considered the team to beat, IMO, and Florida State is a real player with LSU and Texas looming as possibilities pending future hires but the Ags are positioning themselves as a team with legitimate staying power. There was a time that the Aggies were clearly on the outside looking in but those days seem like a distant memory after two very productive visits to Kyle Field for the 300-plus pounder. The other three longtime targets the Ags continue to push are Katy's Corey Bethley, Joshua Rogers of Houston Christian (he recently picked up an OU offer) and Tennessee big man/Louisville lean Ben Hutch. My prediction here is that the Aggies land one out of Rogers, Hutch and Bethley sometime before Christmas and then focus all of their efforts on closing things out with Marvelous Marv.- I'm still not including JUCO DT Tyree Owens on the A&M commitment list for a reason. First off, he left town without meeting with Kevin Sumlin so, despite reports that he's committed and the fact that he tweeted out his intentions, he's not yet a member of the 2017 A&M class. When the dust settles here, expect the Ags and Owens to look in separate directions.- As far as the Ags' last spot along the offensive line goes, Jim Turner is going to be patient and take his time while going big game hunting. Walker Little took in Aggieland this weekend, and A&M made a move up the state top-15 talent's list. That said, I just don't see Little and the Aggies making it work, as Stanford and probably a Texas Longhorn program with a new head coach still stand out as the most likely landing spots. Arizona's top-ranked prospect Austin Jackson is still in play but is still a longshot and longtime LSU pledge Austin Deculus of Cy-Fair is a guy Turner would love nothing more than to pry away from the Bayou Bengals' clutches. It's also a longshot but Jimmy T isn't going to let up on a guy who I've heard more than one source tell me is good enough to start at tackle as a true freshman.- A&M has loaded up in the secondary but Terry Joseph would add one more if he's able to convince an elite-level, game-changing talent to the class such as Alabama transfer Kendall Sheffield (he'll be an Aggie if he's able to graduate from Blinn).

Talked to a few well placed sources and got a bit of information on some key targetsFirst, as Brauninger reported in the spring, Nashville LB Jacob Phillips plans to take an official visit to Texas A&M. He did leave the Aggies out of his top five, which included Oregon, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, LSU, and Alabama, but even before the shake up at LSU the Aggies had jumped back into his top group due to the relationship he had with coach Chavis and what he was hearing from guys like Okeke. He is scheduled to visit Texas A&M on Oct. 8 and it will be his final official visit. The feeling right now is Oklahoma and Alabama lead the way for Phillips, but Texas A&M does get the last visit and there are a lot of ties that could pull him towards College Station. Staying with that big Oct. 8 weekend. We already have Copiah-Lincoln CC DE Tyree Owens down as an official visitor for that weekend, and last week we mentioned he may not be the only Co-Lin DL to make the visit. Well, he may not be and the other Co-Lin DL may in fact be Mississippi State commit Montez Sweat. I don't have it confirmed that he has actually scheduled a visit but the last word I got was it was a definite possibility. As for Owens, he just returned from his Auburn official visit and it sounds like the Aggies are still in the lead for his pledge.Back to Tennessee don't be surprised if 2018 DT offer D'Andre Litaker takes an unofficial visit to Texas A&M for the Tennessee game. He's already been to Tennessee and he may go to Alabama soon too. Staying in Tennessee, Ben Hutch is a guy we've been following and it looked like he might be headed to College Station at one point. The word I'm hearing right now is Louisville appears to be the team to watch. It does sound like A&M may have decided to pursue some options closer to home and so did Hutch.