Around the SEC: Recruiting news and trends
With the halfway point of the 2018 football season fast approaching, recruits are finalizing their decisions and SEC teams continue to recruit around the nation. Jason Howell has all the latest recruiting news from around the SEC.
My Three Things
1. The 2018 Class is on its way to College Station - Things have been moving at such a rapid pace on the recruiting front that this one honestly snuck up on me. But it is here all the same, and signees are moving in. In the last week I saw two future A&M DLs and it quickly reminded me just how much talent is in the class. The DL group of Tyree Wilson, Bobby Brown, Jeremiah Martin, Max Wright, and Mohamed Diallo is an SEC bunch. They may not all be ready to play from Day 1, but there is length, athleticism, and big time potential in all of those guys. It is hard not to smile when you think what those guys can do in the trenches. I know I am looking forward to watching them develop. And one last thing. To steal from the Dan Patrick Show, Stat of the day: Jeremiah Martin had 30.5 sacks and 47 TFLs in 16 games last fall. That's just ridiculous. https://twitter.com/Jason_Howell/status/9983093166786396172. Miami assistant Todd Hartley sit down - First here's Hartley's tweethttps://twitter.com/coach_thartley/status/998893294871547909Now that I know we've all seen it I'll just say he should have kept his mouth shut. I do agree that things can and often do get out of control with the recruiting process and top schools and favorite lists and all of that, but we all have to take some ownership of this thing especially the adults. The media, the college coaches, even the fans have some responsibility when it comes to this. But just for the sake of brevity let's stick with the college coaches and why Hartley just needs to take his seat. College coaches continue to recruit prospects committed to other programs all the time, and they certainly do not quit if they are left off a list of top schools. If they want a prospect they are going to pursue to the end, and they are going to do as much as possible to stay in the fight. So I cannot fault a prospect for flipping, switching, and shaking up his list. Even if he does it multiple times. It is also why I love how Jimbo Fisher's staff recruits the A&M commitments as hard as they do any other prospect on their board. It is why I love seeing how they doggedly pursue committed and uncommitted prospects. You have to in today's recruiting climate. It is part of the game especially with the most highly coveted prospects. If you do not like it then change the rules, but know change is only going to happen when the adults in the game start making the changes. 3. The Opening Finals in Frisco - I am sad to see the Opening Finals leave Nike headquarters in Oregon. It was always a fun trip and an incredibly unique experience for the prospects and reporters lucky enough to have the opportunity to go. That said, the star-studded event is now being held at the Star in Frisco June 30-July 3 and it should be amazing. The rosters are out and there are going to be plenty of reasons A&M fans are going to want to pay attention. The Aggies will be represented by commitments Brian Williams and Demani Richardson at the event, and there are several other targets. In the secondary alone Erick Young, Bobby Wolfe, Marcus Banks, Jeffery Carter, and Jaydon Hill will be in attendance. Others of note include RB Eric Gray who just took an unofficial visit, RB Isaiah Spiller, LB Nakobe Dean, DE Marcus Stripling, DT Ishmael Sopsher, OLs Kenyon Green and Javonne Shepherd, and underclassmen Jase McClellan, Zach Evans, and Bryan Bresee. There are others I'm sure I'm leaving off, but I'm trying to keep this post short. Just know this is one event I have circled on my calendar.
A trio of Tuesday evening recruiting updates
Just got off the phone with a quality source on Marcus Banks who believes the Aggies are the team on top with Alabama and LSU now running the closest. Banks is set to announce his commitment later this summer. Also, I've been told Madison (AL) DB Jaydon Hill actually reached out to A&M about his interest to play for Jimbo Fisher. Cornerback coach Mo Linguist went out Alabama recently to meet with the kid. Hill is considered one of the top DB's in the south and a top 10 player in the state. Finally, a source told me today that Newton ATH Tamauzia Brown to Texas A&M was gaining more steam and could happen before the end of the month.