Nakia Watson

As we mentioned earlier this week, the A&M coaching staff has hit the road for spring evaluations. We've started collecting feedback and have got a pretty extensive overview have how proceedings have gone here early on. Let's break it down by position. It's also worth noting that the Aggie coaching staff is still operating under the assumption that this year's class will be significantly smaller than last year's 27-man haul. To the point that Liucci, Howell and I are still comfortable saying 18 might be at the high end of the spectrum.QBWith Cade Fortin in the fold, the Aggies are seemingly done under center in the 2018 class. In 2019, the top target remains St Pius signal caller Grant Gunnell who will receive a lot of Maroon and White attention as he begins to narrow his focus. A&M is in a great spot here despite the nation's No. 1-ranked '19 passer having what could fairly be described an eye-opening visit to Nebraska this past weekend.RBIt's been well documented that the state is a tad thin at running back in 2018. Jeff Banks was by Austin Westlake to see Nakia Watson this week, and don't be surprised to see someone like Cedar Ridge's Simi Bakare emerge as an A&M target as Clarence McKinney made the rounds out there early this week and reportedly liked what he saw from the 6-0, 195-pounder. There's also a chance Terry Price will be through Allen next week to see Brock Sturges. Even with some uncertainty, it looks like the Aggies are still interested in taking a back in this class.WRNot much has changed here so far. The usual suspects are still there - Jalen Preston, Jaylen Waddle, Joshua Moore, Al'vonte Woodard (though I've heard he's bound for Austin), and Tommy Bush. I'd still expect A&M to push for two more to go along with commit Montel Parker. For now, Bush and Preston look like the Ags' best early bets. TETight end is an interesting spot. The number one target remains Mustapha Muhammad who stays in contact with A&M almost daily. However, the Aggies are fighting a tough battle and will have to show production from the TE position throughout the fall. As of now, it feels like Clemson and Michigan (Muhammad visited there over the weekend) have jumped to the forefront. From there, the Ags will give a few prospects some long looks. Keep an eye on Nic McTear and Bralen Taylor as in state offer possibilities, with McTear - an Oklahoma State commit - certain to get a hard look from Jeff Banks this spring. Banks will also check out the 6-7 Taylor, who was seen by Aaron Moorehead on Tuesday. While there, A-Mo also checked in on 2019 receiver offer and priority target Jordan Whittington. There's also a name surfacing out west in Ontario, CA pass catcher Michael Ezeike. He's got 10+ offers and fits the mold of that flex TE position. Banks will see the fast-rising West Coast standout at the start of May and an offer wouldn't surprise us one bit. During the Ags' two-day Central Texas blitz, Banks was also in San Antonio to see Clark big man Ben Sims.OLThere's been little movement on the 2018 OL front since the Ags grabbed commitments from two of the state's best in Luke Matthews and Colten Blanton. Ft Bend Marshall's Barton Clement and state top-25 taletn Darrell Simpson (the Ags recently made the towering tackle's top 8) remain on the in-state offer board. Turner will check in on both in coming weeks and could very well make a decision to push for one of the two highly-regarded blockers if and only if he likes what he sees. In Simpson, we're probably talking about a guy like Dan Moore who Jimmy T hopes to see a little more from when he lays eyes on the big man in person. There is some thought in Marshall that LSU commit Chasen Hines could wind up on the defensive interior before all is said and done. An interesting development to keep an eye on but Hines is currently solid to LSU. A&M also remains a legitimate player for Chasen Hines. The 340-pound earth-mover has been solid to the Tigers, but it hasn't stopped other schools from making overtures. A&M is right in that group. DLHere's another group where the names are pretty familiar. Top targets Max Wright, Joseph Ossai, and Keondre Coburn were all in Austin last weekend. There's been some murmurs about Texas making some in roads with Wright, and some of that is legitimate. However, I've still never gotten the impression from Max or those around him that Texas A&M wasn't his leader, even after the visit. There's a chance Max may have some future ties to the city of Austin, but as of now, I still favor the Aggies by some margin. I could say the same for Ossai as well who, from the info we've been given, came away from his second trip to the state capitol still leaning the way of the Maroon and White. As for Coburn, I'd say that one is truly a coin flip at the moment. We've heard Texas really put the pressure on last weekend. It's shaping up as one of 2018's most competitive (and important) Aggie/Longhorn showdowns. Despite strong ties to the Longhorns in the form of former Westfield head coach and current Herman's Hermit Corby Meekins, the Aggies are very much in the thick of things here and should be in it for the long haul.Be on the lookout for a list of top schools from Calvin Avery soon and expect the Ags to be one of the only in state schools to make the cut. More recently, Terry Price was in Manor to check out TCU DE commit Ochaun Mathis, and David Turner checked in at Converse Judson to see 2019 stud DeMarvin Leal. A&M is in a good spot there early on. LBNot much movement here so far. Alston Orji remains a key target, and Price was able to see Jeremy Fowler (younger brother of Erick) at Manor. There's also a thought the Aggies could remain in the hunt for Cibolo Steele defender and LSU commit Caden Sterns as an outside linebacker type (think Justin Dunning or 2017 OU signee and former Elkins star Kenneth Murray here). DBWith Yoakum's Jordan Moore committed, the Aggies look like they'll take a couple of more players in the defensive backfield in the 2018 haul. Ron Cooper has been busy early identifying guys he thinks would be good fits. He was in Rockdale to see Jaquayln Crawford (who despite not putting A&M in his list of top schools has been very responsive to the Aggies), and he stopped by Hempstead to see the fast rising Delarrin Turner-Yell. It wouldn't shock us to see an offer go out to Turner-Yell as a corner prospect. With Anthony Cook and Jalen Green likely to end up elsewhere, the Ags primary target has been Verone McKinley III. McKinley is still considered a heavy A&M lean and we'll see what happens once the new position coach visits with him in person and stops by Hebron to see the state top-25 talent this spring. Leon O'Neal was another priority target in Austin last weekend. After speaking with some folks, our recruiting team still feels comfortable calling the Aggies the leader for Leon. There's talk he could shut things down at the end of the spring. We'll monitor that as any decision would be big news for the Aggies or Longhorns and a big blow to the state power that finishes a frustrating second. STBanks checked out Lake Travis kicker Cameron Dicker on his Hill Country trip, and I'd also keep an eye on Katy's Seth Small, as the Ags are likely to offer a kicker in 2018. Both of those guys have big time legs and will soon hold plenty of Power 5 offers from around the country.