Jordan Karhoff

With 13 commitments in the class of 2027 and plenty of other national standouts taking interest in the program, Texas A&M could very well top the recruiting rankings when signing day arrives, but that will require Mike Elko & Co. to positively answer a few more questions.

As he does every Friday morning, TexAgs' senior recruiting analyst Jason Howell offered up another round of his weekly recruiting thoughts. In this edition of his Three Things, Howell discussed a few things he loves heading into the weekend.

The Aggies opened spring ball over the weekend and had a number of top visitors on hand to take in the action. The reports continue to roll in and the returns have been overwhelmingly positive. The Aggies are set to host several more visitors over the next few weeks with many national prospects making plans to check out Aggieland. IMG Academy (FL) EDG Zyron Forstall will return to College Station on March 26 to take in spring ball. Our friends at Irish Sports Daily also report he plans to take an official visit to Texas A&M and it is the only official visit he has right now. We have been hearing similar things on Forstall, but it is always good to hear from others. The guys at Irish Sports Daily also got us a few notes and quotes from some standouts who were at Notre Dame over the weekend. The Aggies are also set to host Ramsay (NJ) Don Bosco Prep EDG Aidan O'Neil. He will take his first visit to College Station on March 28, and he is excited to see what the Aggies have to offer. "I don't know much about them. I know Coach E (Elijah Robinson). We go back to like last year when he was the DC at Syracuse," O'Neil said. "They haven't been recruiting me as hard as some of the other schools, but I'm really interested in seeing how I fit. I'm going there this weekend. I'm super excited." He also has unofficial visits scheduled to Tennessee (March 31), Kentucky (April 2), Indiana (April 4), and Penn State (April 18), and an official set for Illinois (April 11). Moss Bluff (LA) Sam Houston standout OL Albert Simien plans to return to College Station March 31. In addition to Notre Dame he also visited LSU on Tuesday. He has been a frequent visitor to College Station as well, and he has a few things on his mind as he prepares for his upcoming visit to Aggieland. "They have a lot of new dudes in the building personnel-wise. The coaching staff kind of stayed the same, so just learning their adaptation to it and how they've progressed from getting into the building, and learning the system. And, how is the flow of connecting with Coach Cushing's teaching style, as well as getting to know the atmosphere of College Station." Haymarket (VA) Battlefield LB Noah Glover has the Aggies in his top six and plans to get to College Station this spring. The Aggies made the cut along with Georgia, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Virginia Tech, and he has spring visits set to all the schools in his top six this spring as well as Texas. He has locked in an official visit to Texas A&M for June 12, and the Aggies continue to make a strong impression. "I just really love T.-Will (coach Travis Williams). He's just a really good guy. Then Coach Elko, a defensive coach. I love it down there. It's awesome. It's really cool. "I just want to spend more time with the players and talk to the coaches more and meetings and all that. See how the meetings, see how Coach T-Will coaches his players and all that." *******On another note as I mentioned in the OT7 thread, the Aggies are also set to host 2028 Glassboro (NJ) ATH Mekhi Parker in April. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound standout prides himself on being a team player and doing whatever it takes to win. Not only is he a big target in the passing game, he is also a playmaker on defense and even deep snaps. He will be at Penn State on Saturday and then he has trips coming up to Syracuse, Texas A&M, Tennessee, and Oregon. Coach Elijah Robinson has already developed a strong relationship there. He was recruiting him at Syracuse and has always had a strong presence in the area. Parker has one thing in particular he is looking forward to on his first trip to College Station. "Learning something new," Parker said. "I'm going to watch them practice so if I can learn a new skill from there that would be good." Oregon, Texas A&M, and Tennessee are the schools he said were really coming on strong. ******Richmond (VA) Benedictine TE Sam Faniel has scheduled an official visit to College Station. He will visit the weekend of June 12. He took his first visit to College Station in January and received his Texas A&M offer. He and tight ends coach Derek Shay have been keeping in close contact before Shay arrived in College Station The Aggies made the top six for Columbus (OH) St Francis DeSales TE Jordan Karhoff along with Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech. Texas A&M also made the top eight of Dallas (TX) South Oak Cliff OL Brian Swanson along with Arizona State, LSU, Ohio State, Oklahoma, SMU, Tennessee, and Texas. Right now I'd put Texas in the top spot with momentum. I'd put Oklahoma and SMU in the next group, with the Aggies right in this range too. Getting him back to campus will be key for Texas A&M, and those discussions are on going. So all hope is not lost, but others are looking better.