Primer: The Opening Regional - Dallas - Sunday, March 5
Sunday prospects from across the region will make their way to the Star in Frisco, Texas for the Opening regional in Dallas. The competition will be fierce and several key Texas A&M targets are expected to be in attendance.Below are the guys Texas A&M has offeredQB Roschon Johnson, Port Neches-Groves (2019) - One of the top prospects in 2019. A&M offered first and he has since added Oklahoma, Florida, Texas, and Penn State to name a few. RB Keaontay Ingram, Carthage - he's giving the Aggies a serious look. WR Jaquayln Crawford, Rockdale - The Aggies are working him hard since extending a recent offer.WR Erik Ezukanma, Keller Timber Creek - Early offer and the Aggies are high on his list.WR CJ Moore, Tulsa (OK) Union - very early offer by the Aggies, and he has become a national recruitWR Marquez Beason, Dallas Bishop Dunne (2019) - plans to visit Texas A&M soon, adding offers left and rightWR Kameron Brown, Collleyville Heritage (2019) - son of Larry Brown has a playmaking rep of his own and a ton of scholarship offers.He is my No. 1 WR in Texas for the 2019 class.WR Arjei Henderson, Fort Bend Travis (2019) - committed early to OklahomaWR Jordan Whittington, Cuero (2019) - it's early and he has a ton of offers. He's visited B/CS a few times. May just be the best overall prospect in Texas for 2019.OL Chasen Hines, Marshall - he has the Aggies in his top five, the school to watch remains LSUOL Darrell Simpson, Justin Northwest - Texas A&M is in the runningLB Alston Orji, Rockwall - the Aggies are in the mixLB Bumper Pool, Lucas Lovejoy - committed early to childhood favorite ArkansasCB Verone McKinley III, Hebron - I've already said I think he commits to Texas A&M at the end of the dayS DeMarvion Overshown, Arp - recent offer, has talked of visitingS Atanza 'AT' Vongor, South Grand Prairie - narrowed his list to Texas, TCU, and BaylorA few other top offensive prospectQB Tanner Mordecai, Waco Midway - No. 3 QB in the state by TexAgs, 4-star QB with offers from Baylor, Missouri, Ole Miss, and Northwestern.QB Zadock Dinklemann, Somerset - former LSU commit, prototypical pocket QB, big arm and great size. Ranked the No. 2 QB in the state by TexAgsQB Jalen Mayden, Sachse - four-star dual threat QB with offers from across the country. QB Grant Tisdale, Allen (2019) - split time in 2016, big time buzz already surrounding this polished passerQB John Stephen Jones, Highland Park - grandson of Jerry Jones and first QB to lead HP to a state title since Matt Stafford.RB Brock Sturges, Allen - the offers are beginning to roll in after a solid junior showing in his first season at Allen.RB Craig Williams, Crosby - he brings speed and quickness to the table. Offers are on the table from Baylor, Auburn, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, and several othersRB Sarodorick Thompson, Carrollton Ranchview - big back with some speed of his ownRB Jase McClellan, Aledo (2020) - rushed for over 1500 yards and 20 TDs as a freshman, earned state title game offensive MVP honors, and has been offered by SMU RB Kaedric Cobbs, Melissa (2020) - 5-9, 195 and averaged over 10 ypc on his way to over 1200 yards and 16 TDsWR Drue Jackson, Sachse - 46 receptions for 652 yards and 6 TDs as a junior. He counts Texas Tech, Houston, Louisville, Iowa, and Colorado among his offers.WR Miles Battle, Cy Creek - long receiver, who attacks the ball. Body control is a big plus. He has been piling up the offers too with LSU and Ole Miss arriving in the last few weeks.WR Ke'von Ahmad, Colleyville Heritage - slowed by an injury last fall but had a big sophomore year and has offers from Baylor and Louisville.WR Quandree White, College Station - the versatile central Texas athlete will be working at WR on SundayWR Theo Wease, Allen (2019) - 2019 playmaker who recently committed to Oklahoma WR Trejan Bridges, Hebron (2019) - 4 offers are on the table for the 2019 and he is one smooth playmaker WR DJ Graham , Keller Central (2020) - 6-foot-1, 175-pounds, recorded 36 receptions for 527 yards and 3 TDs.TE Nic McTear, Frisco Heritage - committed early to Oklahoma State, but offers continue to arriveOL Rafiti Ghirmai, Frisco Wakeland - has absolutely exploded and become one of the state's hottest prospects since January. Alabama, LSU, and Georgia offered earlier this week. A&M is watching close.OL Casey Phillips, Franklin - another OL on A&M's radar. He's added some nice offers, and is one of the more versatile OLs in the state.OL Brey Walker, Moore (OK) Southmoore - the top prospect in Oklahoma, committed to OU. OL Keivan Myers, Dallas Bishop Dunne - 6-5, 330 and described as athletic. Yep, I'm interestedOL Ylijaah Hall, Bryan - big Centex OL is a guy the Aggies are watchingOL EJ Ndoma-Ogar, Allen (2019) - back from IMG, Ndoma-Ogar is one of the top OL prospects in Texas for 2019OL Brannon Brown, San Antonio O'Connor (2019) - holds a Texas Tech offer, had a big day at the Army Combine in San AntonioA few defensive prospects of noteDE Tyree Wilson, New London West Rusk - emerging DE prospect who I'm intrigued to see in person. 6-4, 225 and offers from ULL and Washington State.DE Ron Tatum, Oklahoma City (OK) Putnam City - top defensive lineman in Oklahoma with top national offersDE Ochaun Mathis , Manor - committed early to TCU. 6-5, 230DT Scale Igiehon, Del Valle - big DT who can do damage in the middle, 6-2, 330, holds a Texas State offerDT Nelson Jenkins, Plaquemine (LA) - committed to LSU in February after decommitting from KansasDT Lloyd Murray, Wichita Falls Hirschi (2019) - very active and strong DT, announced his FSU commitment ThursdayLB Byron Hobbs, Fort Worth Eastern Hills - long and athletic, his tape is fun and he holds offers from Oklahoma State, OU, and Texas to name a fewLB Nicholas Bolton, Frisco Lone Star - one of my personal favorites, intrigued to see how he measuresLB Mykel Gates, Carthage - active LB and multi-year starter for state champion CarthageLB Brian Johnson, Manvel - one of the more athletic LBs in the stateLB Chance Cover, Trophy Club Byron Nelson (2019) - recorded 125 tackles, 13 TFLs, and 2 sacks as a sophomoreS Caden Sterns, Cibolo Steele - LSU commit, top 10 in the stateS Kolby Peel, College Station A&M Consolidated Central Texas standout we've always been high on at TexAgs. S Isaiah Humphries, Sachse - top 50 Texas talent, committed to Penn State commitDB Dayven Coleman, West Mesquite - 6-2, 200 and can play CB, S, and even roll down, Syracuse is his most recent offer.S Jalen Catalon, Mansfield Legacy (2019) - Clemson offered this week. He's a little small, but he's one of the best defenders in the state. Almost 200 tackles and 9 INTs as a sophomore. CB RJ Mickens, Southlake Carroll )2019) - the son of Ray Mickens, started at Southlake Carroll as a freshman last year and is already approaching double digit offers as a 2020 prospect.Quick Notes- Wide receiver is absolutely loaded. There are more prospects holding Texas A&M offers and there is a great combination of size, speed, quickness, and overall playmaking ability. I would give it the nod as the deepest position group of the camp.- The OL group is strong as well. There's a lot of good depth there too. I'm predicting Brey Walker as the OL MVP right now, but it would not surprise me if Rafiti Ghirmai or Casey Phillips came from out of the pack to claim the honors.- My early contenders for fastest man would be Mansfield WR Jackson Gleeson and Rockdale athlete Jaquayln Crawford. Both of those guys can flat out fly.- The defensive end group has the most guys I really want to watch. TCU commit Ochaun Mathis, East Texas sleeper Tyree Wilson, national recruit Ron Tatum, and Euless Trinity DE Izaih Filikitonga all bring some intrigue to the table for me. And I have never seen any of them in person.- The S group another very strong. From Overshown to Catalon there are some are playmakers big and small and everything in between.- Speaking of intriguing the prospect A&M has offered that I'm most excited to see in person is Overshown. I want to see how big he actually is, how he moves, and what that frame looks like. - the guy I most want to see in person that does not have an offer is LB Nicholas Bolton. I love his tape but I've heard he is on the shorter side which has some schools holding off. We'll see. because he has been a defensive playmaker at Lone Star.- One guy I loved on tape that I think could come out of nowhere to make a name for himself is Livingston's Christian Mitchell. He's small but he can flat out go and he will be a tough cover in one-on-ones. Check out his tape if you haven't already.
A couple of quick recruiting notes
After the game last night Tulsa Union 2018 WR CJ Moore told me he didn't have any unofficial visit plans yet, but to stay tuned. He does hold an offer from Texas A&M and he had the following to say about the Aggies "Of course any D1 school is a big deal. But they play fast and I love that. They play fast."Honestly, I get the feeling he's more serious about some of his other options, but the Aggies did jump in the mix early with an offer.***************2019 QB Grant Gunnell helped his team to a season opening win in Las Vegas. He told me he plans to attend the A&M/UCLA game.
Wednesday news and notes from the recruiting trail
Last week I posted that Houston St. Pius X QB Grant Gunnell was planning to visit Texas A&M on July 29. The visit did not take place because coach Mazzone would not be able to spend much time with him due to some other responsibilities. The visit will be rescheduled and he plans to attend a practice next week.I was able to connect with some contacts in Tennessee about the Tennessee prospects in town for the Aggies' final camp of the summer. 2018 DT D'Andre Litaker earned a scholarship offer and he had some great things to say in the update we posted. The Aggies have some stiff competition for Litaker, but he does have some friendly faces with guys like Ikenna Okeke. Offensive tackle Obinna Eze also liked what he saw on his visit and enjoyed meeting coach Turner. He's definitely a guy to watch and if he decided he wanted to go to A&M it sounds like he's a guy they would find a way to add.2017 LB Nick Okeke - who is Ikenna's little brother 2017 TE Joseph Sewell, and 2018 WR/S Jarek Campbell were also with the group. Campbell is the most likely to catch the Aggies attention next. He already holds offers from Tennessee, Kentucky, and Memphis.On the receiver front, with CeeDee Lamb recommitting to Oklahoma, the Aggies biggest uncommitted target is currently Omar Manning. Texas continues to make a big push and Texas A&M, TCU, and Oklahoma are also right there. Right now, there's a lot of stuff out there about who leads. The Aggies have been playing catch-up but are still among his top group and still in the race. Today I was told he has trimmed his list a little and "the Aggies are in the hunt." Getting him on campus again is a majorIf things don't go well on the Omar Manning front, the Aggies will likely have room for a bigger receiver. A guy to watch who fits that mold is Kenny Nelson (6-2, 215). He's been targeted as an h-back type but he's showing more and more he has the tools to stay outside. He was the WR MVP at the Opening Regional in Dallas and he grew up an Aggie fan. He just moved from Frisco Centennial to Trinity Christian Academy in Addison, and senior tape will go a long way to making him a target but he's been very impressive this spring and summer. The last time I connected with Tulsa Union WR CJ Moore, in early July, he said he had not talked to A&M much. Since then Coach Moorehead was able to connect with him and there seems to be some progress there. How much progress? That still remains to be seen, but it sounds like the talk went well. He's a guy A&M targeted early and he fits that long, lean WR type the Aggies have been after in the 2018 group see Terrace Marshall and Joshua Moore. Speaking of Terrace Marshall, the reviews from his trip to College Station on BBQ weekend were very positive. I'm trying to get more on this and will keep you posted, but it sounds like he very much enjoyed his time in College Station.A guy I'm hearing the Aggies should feel very good about is Silsbee 2018 WR Kalon Barnes. Word I've heard from those close to him is this will come down to A&M and Texas. Since receiving his A&M offer Missouri and Georgia have both offered. He currently does not have an offer from Texas.
