MJ Daniels

With nearly all of the 2021 recruiting class inked, Billy Liucci takes an in-depth look at all the players signed, offers some position grades and looks ahead to what to expect in the 2022 class.

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 that and more in this week's Around the SEC.

- Tunmise Adeleye tonight and Bryce Foster tomorrow. You guys are reading the crystal tea leaves and that's great and all but I'll stick with what I've maintained over the past week or so. Have to recruit right up until the finish line, but I feel better about the Ags' chances than I do the out-of-state opposition with the announcements getting closer. If the Aggies close those two out, we're talking about the mother of all coups in not only the trenches but also in the Greater Houston area, something that will pay dividends not only in SEC play over the next three or four years but also during the '22 recruiting race in what could be the most loaded city in the country when it comes to high-end SEC caliber football prospects.- Baton Rouge S Jardin Gilbert has been being bombarded by Alabama and LSU over the past 48 hours or so and it's created a situation where he may not sign during the early period after all. I'd still call the Aggies the team to beat here. Problem is, the Tide and Tigers know it so they've been hammering away in hopes of convincing the four-star defender to extend the process. This will be one worth watching over the next day or two but it's starting to feel like a recruitment that runs into the New Year (at least until his currently-scheduled announcement date of January 2)...one that the Aggies will still have a legitimate chance at winning. Frankly, I don't see the need for LSU to sign another safety but it wouldn't surprise me at all if they weren't just trying to throw a wrench into Fisher and A&M's plans at the last moment in hopes that they can either make room or cause the homegrown product to not sign with a division rival. - MJ Daniels was the only noteworthy loss today. He chose to stay in state, which was disappointing for the Ags but not completely out of left field. I know he wasn't a national top-100 kid or anything like that and some on these boards didn't deem him a must have or a 'big get' but he was a longtime target for Jimbo and Elko so one of the only negatives of an otherwise outstanding day.- Philadelphia pass-rusher Elijah Jeudy won't announce until January 2 and is going to choose between A&M and UGA but his plan was to sign today. I felt great about the Ags' chances entering today. If it works out, he'll be another huge addition along the defensive front and has been a guy not enough folks have talked about. An absolute stud in the front seven and if you add Jeudy and Tunmise to close things out, well, that's as good as it gets for a d-line class.- Credit the Ags for signing all of their committed players on the first day of the early signing period with little to no drama at all. There's something to be said for that, especially when you look around and see what happens across the country every year. It also has a lot to do with where the Aggies are at right now in terms of how they're being perceived by recruits around the state and country. Bodes very well for the upcoming cycle, as well, especially if the Ags can close the season in style.- JoJo Earle is heading to Alabama, a secret that LSU's beat folks let out of the bag as soon as he called Ed Orgeron and the Tigers to decommit this afternoon. Hopes were beginning to escalate in College Station when LSU flipped another receiver earlier today (from Mississippi State) and there was 'panic on the Bayou' over the increasing odds that the Tigers lose their third-highest rated commitment to A&M, as the Aggies have been in consistent communication with the Aledo star for over a week. And then? In steps Alabama, the one program that everyone currently fears in the days and hours before their top targets sign...even teams putting together top-10 classes like the Aggies and Bayou Bengals. Bama swooped in late, used last year's thievery of Jace McLellan from OU as a selling point and also leveraged the whole "You'll be the next Jaylen Waddle pitch. It worked. While I wouldn't call this one a stinging loss for the Ags because it only popped up recently, I get the feeling A&M was really damn close to pulling off the late coup and ripping the nation's No. 48-ranked player away from a division rival so there's no two ways around it - this one stings unless you somehow recover and nab a true outside game-breaker like Brian Thomas in February. And by 'land' him, I mean out-recruit the Crimson Tide and return the favor.- If LJ Johnson Jr stays on his current path and signs in February and LSU and Bama convince Gilbert to push his decision back, we could be heading towards an unusually active January on the recruiting front. Those two plus Louisiana WR Brian Thomas, who will choose between Bama, A&M and LSU (LSU is pushing hard but at some point you have to think the fact that the Bayou Bengals and Bama are loading could come into play) will be out there and the Ags also extended an offer on Wednesday to Auburn commit and state of Florida ATH Tar'varish Dawson, who also plans to sign in February. Expect another name or two to pop up like Dawson's as the Aggies, with about six weeks to work, look around the country at prospects who decided to push back their signing date.The L.J. Johnson recruitment will be one that is at least worth keeping an eye on over the next day or so. He's expected to wait it out but I'm sure Jimbo Fisher and the Ags will make one final push before the early signing period is over.