Aggies land commitment from Keaton Sutherland

We said it was going to be a big weekend on the recruiting front, didn’t we?
 
On Monday, another (huge) domino fell when longtime priority target Keaton Sutherland called Kevin Sumlin and officially became an Aggie. The Flower Mound Marcus tackle’s original plan included checking out finalists Arkansas, Ole Miss and Baylor once more before reaching a decision prior to his senior season ... but he apparently saw all he needed to see while in College Station late last week.
 
B.J. Anderson and the Aggie offensive staff saw all they needed to see last fall, when Sutherland lined up as a strongside tackle (he has experience on both sides of the line as a result) and was a truly dominant figure as a junior. Very early in the offseason following his junior campaign, the Dallas-area standout was among the first O-line offers extended by A&M and has been considered a ‘must-get’ by Sumlin and Anderson ever since.

At 6-6, 285 pounds, Sutherland is a long-armed, lean and very athletic lineman who is a perfect fit for what the Aggies like to do up front. He can move his feet exceptionally well, has tremendous reach on the edge and is a gifted natural talent when it comes to pass protection, both from physical and footwork/technique standpoint. In addition, he is a very polished blocker at this stage in his development and a finisher who goes all-out from snap to whistle who displays very strong hands when engaged with opposing defensive linemen and linebackers.

It won’t be long before the Ags’ most recent addition checks in at as tall as 6-7 and probably somewhere in the 310-315 pound range, while still moving at somewhere close to his current 4.9 clip — giving him the ability to go toe-to-toe with the monster D-linemen that dominate the SEC West landscape.
 
Sutherland ultimately chose the Aggies over the Razorbacks (the program that many an outlet mistakenly presumed to be the overwhelming favorite), Ole Miss and Baylor, but also held offers from around the country, including the likes of Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Clemson, TCU, Tech and Miami.

His commit is the latest example of how the Aggies are absolutely dominating the state landscape when it comes to recruiting in the trenches. The Ags’ success in ’13, ’14 and thus far in ’15 has been well-documented; on the offensive side of the ball, Anderson has plenty to sell thanks to recent or future top-10 NFL Draft picks Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews and Cedric Ogbuehi and one of the nation’s most talked-about and productive offensive attacks.

During the ’14 recruiting cycle the Aggies offered four in-state O-linemen and signed three of them (in addition to signing two of the nation’s top five JUCO blockers). The Ags have three of the five OL they’ve moved on in the 2015 class committed and are still very much in the running for Westfield standout and Texas commit Toby Weathersby. Looking ahead to 2016, A&M has offered two linemen total (in state and nationally). They’ve already landed one in Silsbee big man Patrick Hudson and are the runaway leader for Allen tackle Greg Little.
 
Sutherland becomes the Ags’ fifteenth commitment from the Class of ‘15, joining Rockwall-Heath’s Trevor Elbert and Hays Consolidated’s Connor Lanfear to make up the OL in a group contending for the mythical national recruiting championship. All three linemen are ranked in TexAgs’ Top 44, with the Marauders’ star coming in at No. 35.

A&M’s likely target number up front is four and, with no in-state offers outstanding to uncommitted prospects, Anderson and the Aggies are likely to stay in a holding pattern until a wide-bodied, athletic interior lineman emerges as worthy of joining a top five class that, with Monday’s addition of Sutherland, only continues to gain steam.