Recruiting Country: The latest recruiting news surrounding the Maroon & White

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Radio on Wednesday morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail ahead of a big visiting weekend for A&M's Maroon & White Game.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• Ashton Funk‍ came last weekend and saw practice. He’s trying to recruit guys like Casey Poe‍ and Daniel Cruz‍. He wanted to be on campus with those guys. He talked about how impressive Chase Bisontis was. He talked about how improved the offense looks. He came to an earlier practice, and he thought it was much more efficient now. He was excited about what A&M was doing on the recruiting front. Casey Poe is a big target. They would be okay with signing an offensive line class from Texas.
   
• The visitor list will be impressive for the Maroon & White game. We will put out a list tomorrow or Friday. The weather could be a factor this weekend. There will be kids out of the greater Houston area that are at the top of A&M’s priority list. They want to see how kids develop. They have not been to high school campuses and will do so after spring. 
   
• Recruiting has gotten better. ​​The messaging is much more consistent and clear. I think things are running smoother than a year ago. You need to start closing on kids. You are at four 2024s with a month until May. The normal number by May is seven to eight.
   
• It’s about what it looks like at the end. You can’t overact, but you have to start landing kids. Payton Pierce‍ committed to Ohio State. They will still recruit him. There are three LSU commits at linebacker in the state of Texas. You don’t have any. You are doing a better job, but you better not miss on some high-end guys. 
   
• I think Gary Bryant Jr. is guy people are wondering about but trending out west. He wants to be the guy. I don’t know if he saw that at A&M. I think it’s going to end up being Oregon. I don’t know that definitely.
   
• Shemar Kirk‍ at Reedley College was productive. They are still adding pieces, and they have the scholarships open. If they get Tank Booker, are you going to be mad about that when they have the scholarship open? You aren’t going to tell these positions no. You can get riddled with injuries and illness. I want them to add three to four more players in this portal cycle. I don’t know when because that’s up to each kid. 
   
• This is new in terms of how the recruiting calendar works. We will see how A&M plays the game between now and summer. You have to be proactive and reactive in everything in recruiting. If you are reactive, you are too late. The Texas A&M offer that comes late to a Texas kid doesn’t mean as much. Alabama offers, gets them to a camp to see them, and they see how hard they pursue them.