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

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Radio on Wednesday morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail surrounding Texas A&M.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• The month of June is probably my busiest month of the year, and on top of that, Texas A&M went on quite a historic run in recruiting. Almost a month ago, since June 6, I think it’s 11 commits, and 10 from the high school ranks. Jordan Anthony from Kentucky committed on June 6. Miles O'Neill‍ kicked off the high school commits on June 14. That’s pretty crazy.
   
• We knew for A&M to get the ball rolling in this cycle that they had to go on some sort of run. We wouldn’t have projected they would go on this sort of run. A&M has done a great job with official visits, unofficial visits and camp. Drelon Miller‍ and Tyanthony Smith‍ were both here for unofficials during the 7on7 week. Every chance A&M had had to get guys on campus has been a net positive. In the last couple of months, it has been a sensationally good, over-the-top wave of momentum.
   
• I’m not sure momentum is going to push a kid that wasn’t already leaning A&M’s way to A&M. It pushes guys who were already close even closer to committing. I think that happened with Smith and Weston Davis‍. They were already close. I think momentum plays a part in nabbing kids that are already close to making a decision.
   
• If you ONLY throw the NIL argument out there, it’s misinformed and lazy. NIL is part of a lot of recruitments now, but that’s not the only reason kids are picking Texas A&M or any other school. You’re telling me that Cameron Coleman‍ is only coming to A&M for NIL? You’re trying to tell me Miller or Smith wouldn’t get a sweet NIL deal at USC? If you think A&M is doing this solely because of NIL, that’s an easy way out.
   
• With what NIL is and how these packages are structured, A&M isn’t going to go bid $5 million more than Texas. It’s all close for these top-end kids. A&M’s NIL structure is good right now but look at the facilities they’re building. Jimbo Fisher is a great recruiter. Look at the Aggie Network, which is something kids and parents love to hear about. A&M checks all of the boxes when talking about the quality of the degree and the quality of people. Combine all of that with NIL, and it makes A&M an attractive place to play.
   
• There is still pressure to win. You’d rather have them committed now, but you have to go win games.
   
• With Coleman, Dameyune Craig and Fisher did a great job behind the scenes. A&M momentum for him started building back in June when he was here for camp. It came to fruition on the Fourth of July. I think they might be done getting commits for a couple of days.
   
• If they win games and show a dynamic offensive attack under Bobby Petrino, I don’t think they’ll have any trouble signing these kids. Still, you have to be careful with what you take now in order to keep some spots open for some big fish late.
   
• Coleman’s catch radius is off the charts. I see Michael Crabtree when I watch him. He’s competitive after the catch and with the ball in the air. Still, he probably jumps better and runs better. If he continues to develop, he’s going to be a high-round NFL draft pick.
   
• A&M was the first to offer Coleman. He also has family in Bryan and Houston. There were a lot of reasons for A&M to be a player, but people blew it off. He chooses the Aggies for a lot of reasons, and I think people don’t give Craig enough credit for being the first to offer.
   
• You have to be excited about the future of the wide receiver room. It’s a good mix. Debron Gatling‍ is built like a Chase Lane or an Ainias Smith. He’s not small but not big. Jaylan Hornsby‍ is big and long and can stretch the field. Drelon Miller‍ can play like Deebo Samuel. Cameron Coleman‍ can be on the outside and do just about everything. It’s a talented, versatile and well-round group.
   
• If they bring in another pass catcher, it’ll be a guy that can really run like Ernest Campbell‍ from Refugio or Jelani Watkins‍ from Klein Forest. You’d be adding something you don’t have. If you get some elite speed, it would be a complete receiver class.
   
• Watkins is a name that had fallen off, but in the last four days or so, I’m hearing that A&M is back in the mix. I’m hearing more about him now than I had in the last couple of months.
   
• Tyanthony Smith‍ was a huge one. D.J. Durkin put a priority on him at the beginning of the cycle. There was a long period of time when A&M was never ahead. A&M hung around and hung around. Durkin and the effort he put into that recruitment was special. He went to Jasper and would spend hours in the coach’s office. It went a long way and was rewarded. Smith committed to A&M because of the work Durkin put in. Bryce Anderson also did a great job.
   
• Kam Dewberry’s name comes up a lot when talking about current players recruiting the future. Think of how big of a recruiting win it was for the Aggies to land Anderson over Texas. That win two years ago is still continuing to pay off with these Southeast Texas kids. Dewberry is much the same way.
   
• Smith and Miller were guys in the state you had to get, and they did.
   
• I’m not sure the 2024 momentum is directly tied to the 2025s. Every kid and every recruiting story is different. There are some kids I’m watching that might be wanting to make a move before their junior season starts.