A few Friday recruiting notes
The February dead period is over and visitors are starting to show up on campus. Earlier this week, Wednesday, March 2, the Aggies hosted three intriguing prospects from Trinity Christian Academy in Addison. There was 2023 TE Luke Johnston, 2025 DT Jack Harwell, and 2025 OL Jaylan Beckley. Thank you @AggieFootball for having me today! It was amazing! @bryan_lacivita @CoachColey @Jason_Howell @TCAAddisonFB @HC_Hayes @GregJohnston67 pic.twitter.com/EaatJqbCxY— Luke Johnston (@luke_johnston23) March 2, 2022
Johnston is a 6-5.5, 230-pound target who could end up being an intriguing option at TE. He had a hip injury in the spring, which cut last spring short, cost him all of summer camp season, and limited him his junior season, He is healthy now. I could see him emerging as a target with a strong camp performance this summer.Harwell (6-1, 280) and Beckley (6-6, 285) are new to the scene, but are very intriguing to say the least. Harwell is already attracting attention with his strength and athleticism. His boasts a 295-pound benc max and a 455-pound squat, and his ball skills at the h-back/TE position are impressive. Coach Greg Johnston described him as the strongest freshman I've seen. Beckley's size and build is quickly drawing the eyes of college coaches. He does not have any varsity tape and he has not played a lot of football. His dad is a basketball coach and he spent most of his time on the basketball court. After college coaches saw him in person this week, their interest as been piqued. .The visit to Texas A&M went well for all three. They were impressed by the facilites, loved how focused the visit was on academics, and enjoyed meeting with some of the staff and taking pictures. Johnston also received some good feedback and knows the next step is competing at camp this summer.The trio also visited Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and SMU this week.*********Today the Aggies are hosting a few players from C4 Sports Performance. C4 is a training and development program in Texoma and has done some great work developing top talents in Oklahoma and Texas, including Texas A&M signee Ish Harris out of Pilot Point.Today, Ardmore (OK) Plainview WR Morgan Pearson, Leonard (TX) 2023 WR/DB Cameron Armstrong, Denison (TX) S Kenyan Kelly, and Denison (TX) 2024 CB Caleb Flowers are stopping through Aggieland. Pearson is a big bodied receiver with ties to the area. He is a flex/utility type of receiver at 6-2. 220. He already holds scholarship offers from Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Texas Tech. Armstrong is a long, lean 6-1, and currently holds offers from UTSA and Marshall.The Denison 2024 standouts are also beginning to draw attention. Flowers is a 6-1.5 CB who is focusing more on defense after also working at WR. Athletcism runs in the family. He is cousins with Notre Dame 2022 signee Jadarian Price and 2024 Kelly. Kelly is a 6-1, 180-pound defender and if there's a guy out of the group I might put on offer watch, he is the one. He already holds offers from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, and Marshall, and he is a rangy, physical presence on the back end of the Jackets' defense.https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15148986/6190812234530605d80fea47**************Wylie East 2023 DE and Texas A&M commit Anthony James has scheduled his official visit to Texas A&M. The plan is to take his OV the weekend the Aggies host LSU (Nov. 26) and it does not take a genius to foresee that being an absolutely huge weekend for the Aggies. *********Speaking of official visits, 2023 prospects can start taking them the first of April. We have not confirmed any 2023 prospects taking spring OVs so far, but it is something to watch. The 2019 and 2020 cycles were the first recruiting cycles prospects could take spring official visits, and the Aggies used them quite successfully those years. COVID ended the practice for the 2021 and 2022 cycle, but spring OVs are back in 2023.
Elite Underclassmen Camp Notes and Thoughts
Yesterday Brauny and I were in Houston for the Elite Underclassmen Camp at CE King and I had a few thoughts and notes I wanted to share. I'm sure Brauny will chime in as well.-Let's kick things off with WR commit Noah Thomas and CB target Julian Humphrey. Both were in the final group and coming off strong track performances the day before, so I don't think we saw them at the top of their game yesterday. Both are top flight athletes though and there is definitely a lot to like. Thomas has great length and he is just scratching the surface as a receiver. As he adds weight to his frame, he is going to be fun to watch. Humphrey is one of the more well put together DB prospects you will find. In one-on-ones I thought both showed promise. He got caught clutching and grabbing a few times but his last rep he made a great break to challenge a catch. I look forward to seeing both again soon. -The OL/DL was the first group, and 2022 CE King OL Van Wells walked away with the OL MVP. I would say he was the most impressive performer of either group. It is not often where a 1-on-1 receives applause from the crowd but parents and coaches in the stands let him know they appreciated his efforts after a couple of physical reps from his center position. This is not the first time Wells has earned MVP honors at a camp either. I saw him claim MVP honors at another camp earlier this year and I believe he won those honors at another camp in the last couple of months. Wells already has some offers but right at 6-foot-2, his height is the big knock. He is very smart, athletic, and explosive. He actually was an h-back/tight end before moving to center full time last fall. He also played basketball before focusing on football. There is no doubt in my mind this guy is going to be a steal for some P5 at center, and see the field very quickly. He holds offers from several group of 5 programs, but Maryland became the first P5 to offer in mid-April.-The guy who made the biggest impression on me was Colton Thomasson. The 2023 Smithson Valley standout has been working hard the last few years and he has reshaped his body. He checks in at a solid 330 and at 6-7 he wears it well. His flexibility and footwork have improved greatly since I last saw him at Texas A&M's camp between his eight and ninth grade year. I mean, that is to be expected, but it was very nice to see. If he continues to work and progress, I could see him turning into a real Texas A&M OL target in the 2023 class. He was in College Station on Saturday and he enjoyed what he saw and he will be back at camp in June. Smithson Valley 2023 OL Colton Thomasson (@ColtonThomasson) has trimmed up and is putting in work. He’ll camp at A&M in June pic.twitter.com/Fw3i1LoM0R— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) April 25, 2021
-Sticking with the OL, Port Arthur Memorial 2023 Cayden Bowie was another prospect who continues to make an impression. Yesterday was the second time I got to see him work in person and the third time I have laid eyes on him this spring and he has some really great tools. He has the frame to add some really good weight and he is pretty lean. His footwork and flexibility continue to catch my attention. I know he is one Brauny has been talking about for awhile and he is definitely on Texas A&M's radar. Another nice rep from @cayden_bowie pic.twitter.com/fVbqpBBoIb— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) April 25, 2021
-On the DL, CE King 2023 DL and Texas A&M offer Dylan Spencer definitely looked the part. He is a big framed, long armed prospect and has plenty of room to grow. He showed some nice quickness through drills and I particularly liked watching him running the L drill showing his burst and flexibility. This was my first time seeing him in person and he definitely made a strong impression.Dylan Spencer (@Trilldyl8) doing damage pic.twitter.com/zitgPY0Lih— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) April 25, 2021
-I was really looking forward to seeing Converse Judson 2023 DL Johnny Bowens and he did not disappoint. Checking in at 6-3, 250, he shows well on tape. He is a d-end but I could see him being a versatile type DL. He only did two reps during one-on-ones, both were at 3-tech. It was the first time he worked there so it was a bit of a learning experience. Still you could see the athleticism throughout and he is a guy I look forward to watching over the next few years. He already has an offer from UTSA and he said Baylor and Texas are showing interest. He also talks to DeMarvin Leal a bit about Texas A&M. I could see him turning some heads this summer on the camp circuit and see him as a P5 prospect.Converse Judson 2023 DE Johnny Bowens III (@D1Bowens) working the L drill. pic.twitter.com/CSjdhpoztM— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) April 25, 2021
-Cy Ranch 2023 DE Ashton Porter also had a strong day. He showed some really nice burst off the edge and looked really good in drills in testing. -McKinney 2024 Xavier Filsaime is a name you guys are going to want to write down. He passes the eyeball test with flying colors and he has precision footwork and routes. He will be a national prospect in his class.Another explosive rep for McKinney 2024 WR Xavier Filsaime (@XEF_19) pic.twitter.com/DQt0zG8Tsu— Jason Howell (@Jason_Howell) April 25, 2021
-Austin Westlake 2023 WR/TE Jaden Greathouse is one stout looking prospect. He showed well throughout drills and I like the thought of him being an H-back type.-Lucas Lovejoy 2022 TE Omari Murdock continues to impress. He has been working on his feet and routes and it showed on Sunday. He was quick getting out of his breaks yesterday.-Bryan LB Nic Caraway continues to look like a million bucks when he shows up. -Keller Fossil Ridge 2023 RB Landen Chambers continues to catch my eye. He already has some nice size and once again he showed a versatile skillset.-San Antonio Christian OL Ethan Sanders is primed to see his offer list grow this spring. The 2022 standout has the size and he is among the favorite to claim gold in the discus (176) and shot put (58-8) at the TAPPS State Championships. -Dickinson 2023 CB Vernon Glover was a wet blanket yesterday. He stayed in the hip pocket and it seemed like every time I turned around he was jumping up to make an INT. -Addison Trinity Christian 2023 TE Luke Johnston continues to turn heads at 6-5, 225 and he has the makings of a true in-line tight end. Clemson and Georgia have both reached out about him getting to camp and he plans to attend camp at Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and Arkansas as well. -Denton Guyer 2022 LB and North Texas commit Vincent Paige has done a great job of slimming down and becoming more of a true LB. He once checked in at around 230 and now he is more in the 205 range and he is showing better lateral movement and flexibility. He earned LB MVP honors on the day.
