Max Johnson

- Let's start with the biggest piece of upcoming news for the Maroon and White recruiting efforts which would be the Saturday announcement of New Jersey DE Fadil Diggs. One of the top defenders on the entire east coast, Diggs looks set to choose essentially between Texas A&M, Florida, and Penn State this weekend. I do know that he spoke at length with Terry Price today, and Mike Elko was in town to see him yesterday. Strong Aggie vibes continue to emanate from this one. - Diggs' good friend and fellow DL offer Isaiah Raikes could be viewed in the same light as Fadil in terms of momentum. However, I don't think he'll be coming to a final decision as soon as Diggs. From talking to a source today, last week the feeling was that wherever Diggs chose on Saturday, Raikes would be soon to follow. However, it now looks like the 6-1, 320 pound space eater will take probably two more visits before making a final decision. I'd still call the Aggies more than a major player here. - Keep an eye on a pair of June weekends - the 7th-9th and the 21st-23rd. Those weekends look like they'll be chalk full of visitors. I know commit Josh Bankhead will be in town for his official visit (the only OV he's taking) on the 21st. That first weekend in June looks like it'll be Seth McGowan and Vito Tisdale if he's not off the board to Kentucky at that time. - A&M has offered a pair of DB's recently - one from east Texas and one more JUCO guy. I mentioned Tyler John Tyler product Kitan Crawford about a month ago as a player that had started drawing heavy interest from the coaching staff. The Ags offered yesterday, and Crawford told me tonight that he's working on a getting a visit date set. Crawford recently released a group of top schools that included Texas, Baylor, and Tennessee. The Longhorns are pretty much everyone's pick to land him at the moment. A&M will likely need to act quickly in order to keep him on the board. The other offer went out today to Hutchinson CC DB Art Green. He's a 6-2, 200 pound corner prospect with 18 offers from around the country - Arkansas, Georgia, Nebraska, Louisville, Tennessee, and South Carolina just to name a few. He's originally from Chesterfield, Missouri.- Lastly, the Aggies did indeed move in Longview QB Haynes King. Widely regarded as one of, if not the top signal callers in the class, King is a great fit for Jimbo Fisher's pro style scheme. He was fantastic in the Lobos' state title run last year and was the offensive MVP in the championship game. I've also heard he might be the fastest kid at Longview which speaks volumes to his athleticism. His dad is the head coach for the Lobos. After speaking to a couple of sources in east Texas, it's good that A&M finally jumped in the boat. Arkansas is a big threat here with Jeff Traylor's east Texas roots, but the Hogs will likely take Chandler Morris out of Highland Park. He's Chad Morris' son. King has family ties to Louisiana so LSU is a real threat, but the Tigers would have to cut ties with either TJ Finley or Max Johnson who are both committed to Ed O and company. I'm working to figure out if/when King will visit College Station.

I've been told by a source today that Texas A&M offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey will be flying to California early this week to see top 2020 QB prospect DJ Uiagalelei out of St John Bosco HS in Bellflower, CA. Uiagalelei is considered by most to be the top signal caller nationally in the junior class. The 6-4, 245 pounder recently released a top 7 that did not include the Aggies. Most folks believe Clemson and Oregon lead currently. Texas A&M has not extended an offer to DJ just yet, but I predict that will change. I have also been told that Uiagalelei is interested in the Aggie baseball program as well, and, should he visit, a stop at Olsen Field isn't out of the question. To say this is a mountain to climb still though would be an understatement. The Aggies would essentially be coming out of nowhere in this recruitment and would have to surpass a lot of schools that are well established in DJ's process. This thing gets interesting only if he comes to campus.Also, the Aggies continue to recruit LSU commit Max Johnson out of Oconee County HS in Georgia. The Tigers currently have in state QB TJ Finley committed, as well. It'll be interesting to see if A&M can get Johnson on campus maybe this summer.

It's time to take a look around at the biggest pick-ups on the recruiting front as well as some of the top recruiting news and notes from around the SEC. Jason Howell details just that and more in this week's Around the SEC.