Karnell James

Our recruiting team recently got together to pour over and update our state rankings for the classes of 2026 and 2027. We also expanded our alphabetized watchlist for the class of 2028. In an attempt to be succinct, here are a few of the highlights and biggest movers.Class of 2026SummaryWe landed on just two five-stars within the class, but there are a handful of others that fell just outside of that esteemed title. Senior tape still very much matters despite everyone's rush to fit these kids into boxes early in their high school careers. The wide receiver group is tough to separate. To me, it was the deepest position to situate because there were a lot of prospects that all fell relatively close to each other in their evaluations. Highlights- Keisean Henderson takes over the top spot after a sensationally good senior season at Houston Legacy. - Jermaine Bishop drops a spot to #2, but he's been other-worldly in the last few weeks of the season/playoffs.- KJ Edwards moves into the Top 5 at #4- Do-it-all standout Legend Bey gets a nice bump into the Top 10 at #7- Recent A&M commit Jayden Warren continues his move forward as he's now up to #15.- Carthage LB Carson Crawford goes from unranked to #28 - our biggest mover in the state.- Record-setting RB John Hebert makes his debut at #61 following a ridiculous senior season.A quick look at the Texas A&M commits (soon to be signees):#4 - KJ Edwards#10 - Zaden Krempin #15 - Jayden Warren#21 - Kaeden Johnson #22 - Tank King #25 - Mike Brown #30 - Avery Morcho #38 - DaQuives Beck #42 - Chance Collins Class of 2027SummaryThis is a deeper class that featured some really tough decisions and longer discussions. For a lot of these kids, they're ranking is just going to depend on the eye that is evaluating them because the margins are that fine. It's deep on the offensive line but also shows impressive balance. If anything, quarterback might be a touch down which is unusual for the state of Texas.Highlights- The top 3 remain the same after some real debate on Ismael Camara taking over at the top. - A&M safety commit JayQuan Snell deservedly moves into the Top 10 at #7 - EDGE rusher Kaden McCarty got a nice bump up to #12 due to his elite ability to rush the passer- WR Benny Easter Jr. was our biggest mover in this class - from unranked to #17 in the state- Houston Kinkaid RB Wayne Shanks Jr is now only behind Landen Williams-Callis in terms of ball-carriers- Manvel's Karnell James made a move up as he starts being evaluated more as a nickel/safety.- DT George Toia is in at #31 after moving into the state this season.- Recent Texas A&M LB offer Aston Whiteside is also debuting in this update. He's at #47- Columbus OL Keyon Hemphill-Woods got some deserved love and is up to #56.- A couple more debuts: WR Julian Cromartie at #62 and QB Andre Phillip at #100A quick look at the Texas A&M commits:#7 - JayQuan Snell#43 - DeMarrion Johnson Class of 2028SummaryThe only note I have here is another reminder that this is a Watchlist that is listed alphabetically. We expanded that group from 75 players highlighted to 80. In our opinion, it's far too early to accurately put that group into any sort of order based on ability.