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
- Most of the reactions have been from high school coaches. I had a trainer reach out from the Oklahoma, Kansas, and Arkansas area who has an active background of Collin Klein with him recruiting the trainer's kids. He gave a quick quote of what he thought of him. He said, "His offenses are going to be just like he was as a player. Tough and efficient."
- In terms of overall talent, K-State was 13th of 14th teams this year. He is doing a lot more with less.
- Mike Elko is getting so much out of these visits and seeing people face to face. The high school head coaches are more understanding of your time. The coordinators talk ball. The head coaches at these high schools understand how valuable your time is.
- On Elko's first day in Houston, he saw Lonnie Madison, head coach at Bridgeland High School and former Texas A&M defensive lineman. He saw Cornelius Anthony, former All-Conference linebacker at A&M and head coach at Fort Bend Hightower.
- People are surprised by the simplicity of Elko’s approach. He does not have an entourage or a driver. He just drives himself and calls the coach and says, "Hey, I'm here." That is something that had not been happening at Texas A&M. It's refreshing.
- I had a coach reach out to me, and say whenever Elko gets around to coming to us, "He has an open door to our program. He is welcome at our place." He said, "The last guy never showed up."
- If Mike Elko doesn't succeed at Texas A&M, it will not be because of a lack of work ethic. He is busting his tail. There is aggressiveness in the portal.
- These 16 to 17-year-old kids are not sitting at home researching Collin Klein's red zone offense. They will want to meet the guy. They will look at numbers. I am sure Klein has a detailed report on what his offense is and how multiple it can be. I am sure Chris Klieman wanted his offense run a certain way. What if Elko gives him more freedom? He will have better players. We are seeing more with less output from the guys that Elko is bringing in. They have done more with less.
- Sources in Florida love the Sean Spencer hire. He would do some of the pregame speeches because he was such a good motivator. It has been really cool to watch this come together.
- I like what he has done as far as hires but also from an organizational standpoint. He is providing a clear hierarchy and chain of command. Elko expanded the staff in ways A&M did not even have.
- People were questioning Elko's recruiting as a defensive coordinator. I had it on better authority that it was going to be fine. I don't want to say Jimbo put him in a box, but we were not privy to his whole personality.
- Ashton Funk was the first in-home visit. It's kind of funny because Ashton and his dad are such low- maintenance people that they don't need anything. Elko could have waited for him to be the last one, and they would have been fine. He was coming to A&M. It was wise because he knows how bought in Ashton is. They were super impressed.
- Drelon Miller, I am working to get a report on it, but they met last night face-to-face, and I do believe Drelon has been in communication with A&M since that visit happened. There was talk that he was going to go to Ohio State on an official visit. I feel he wants A&M to give him a reason. That first meeting with Collin Klein will be interesting.
- Adam Cushing is a stark change from what was here. He is a good communicator. He wants to really get a good grasp of what was expected last year and what was liked and not liked. The initial response from players and recruits for coach Cushing has been overwhelmingly positive. I am not saying I will not get that same intel on other assistants. This information has been volunteered to me.
- They will have a couple of portal visitors. Two wide receivers visiting have been posted on the site.
- Tyanthony Smith, Ashton Funk and Miles O'Neill will be on campus. The full list will be up on the site probably tomorrow. The new coaches will start getting on the road. I expect to see A&M representation when Terry Bussey plays tomorrow night. It is a high priority to keep him in the class.
- Klein just got hired. The reponses we have gotten this morning are because of the ways he operates his offense. People really like to watch it.
- I think Kobe Black is headed to Austin. If A&M is able to undo that in that short of time, it would be one of the bigger recruiting miracles I have seen.
- We do not post portal names before they are in the portal. We are fielding calls about kids that interested in A&M if they go in. We do not talk about those names.
- I like what Mike Elko has done. There will be guys on staff who will be watching mainly portal film and guys watching mainly high school film. It will be intersting to see if any new 2024 offers go out.
- I love how aggressive they are being. You have to play the portal game. Caullin Lacy, receiver out of South Alabama, is coming in this weekend. He has been hugely productive. He got an offer like that. The other receiver coming in is from Old Dominion. How do you have an offer that quickly if you are not doing your homework?
