Recruiting Country: The latest recruiting news surrounding the Maroon & White

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Radio this morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail as high school playoffs start across Texas. 

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• Who would have thought we would be sitting here talking about this two months ago? We thought they could still make a run at a top-five class. It felt like to was moving in the right direction. Some of the recruiting strategies I would have done differently. I said it last week, you dont have time to start now on building relationships to flip a kid or sign a kid. There have been communication issues. They have got to figure out how to turn this around.
   
• Last year, they were getting everyone they wanted. It is going the opposite of that this year. It feels like as many things are going wrong, are going wrong. After the Anthony Hill‍ decommitment, it may get worse before it gets better. I dont think there is any question that if A&M is 7-2 and has a top-60 defense, Hill is still committed.
   
• The portal gives you a safety net, but you dont want to build a roster off of that. It hurts your relationship with high schools. You can supplement your program with transfers, but I dont think it's a good long-term recruiting strategy. I think they can hold onto what they have now. The sharks are circling. There are people chomping at the bit to get A&M’s commits. Schools are going after them. It’s going to be a dogfight. 
   
• Sure, it can get better this recruiting cycle. They have to come up with a plan. It could start on the field and sell the freshman playing. Hope is not a strategy. Hope does not hold onto a kid. 
   
• I dont think Anthony Hill is completely out. He would still listen. He always said he wanted to stay in the state. Texas has a lot of momentum there.
   
• I feel bad for Ashton Funk‍  because he commits, and it gets swept under the rug. We at TexAgs are very high on this kid. We did not miss on this kid. He checks every box. All the physical boxes are there for him to be elite. He is intelligent. He wants to be an orthopedic surgeon. He’s an enormous get for Texas A&M.