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

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Live 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

• Big update on the site last night. We said we needed to plan our signing day show in our content meeting. A lot of it will be determined by the result this weekend. If A&M is playing in Atlanta, then that Wednesday show, a chunk of it will be devoted to that game.
   
• Next Wednesday, as always, a massive chunk will be devoted to signing day, but there is more. We don't have a time locked in yet but myself and Billy Liucci will have something in the day to recap the evening. We will go live on the site and YouTube so people can tune in. We'll be putting a bow on the day. We anticipate that most signatures should be done on Wednesday. The vast majority will be done on Wednesday night.
   
• I miss the old signing day. We would be up here, go live at 7 a.m., go all the way to 11 a.m. When there was just one signing day, that was like Super Bowl Sunday for us. Now, because you have a signing window instead of a signing day, much of this stuff is waiting till later in the afternoon. We wanted to come back after everyone had had the chance to get their signing day ceremonies at their schools to go and break down the class in the evening. We'll start promoting that this weekend.
   
• This is what I have maintained since Husan Longstreet‍ decommitted. No. 1: It is a punch in the gut. No one is saying that it isn't. You put all of your eggs in one basket from the get-go. We praised Collin Klein for that. You get burnt by it 17 or 18 days from signing day. Hindsight is 20-20. You think you should have looked in-state for people like Keelon Russell‍ out of Duncanville.
   
• When the home school comes calling with a lucrative NIL package, all of the work that you put into getting him to your class and keeping him in your class goes to the wayside like that. I don't think Husan Longstreet is getting that, but it was still lucrative.
   
• That is a tough situation. What are you going to do? You have to make the best of the situation that you're in. They're looking for good players who will help the recruiting class and players who will not be a problem in the locker room. I don't think they are going big-game hunting. I think they believe in Marcel Reed. If you upset Texas this week and are playing for the SEC Championship, it's hard not to say Marcel Reed is your guy.
   
• They went into the high school ranks: Adam Schobel‍, Ty Hawkins‍, Edward Griffin‍, Chad Warner‍, Austin Carlisle‍ and Eli Morcos‍. The one that has stuck the most out of all those was Eli Morcos. He's been getting a lot of attention from SEC schools. There is a reason that all of these schools are circling this kid. He’s committed to Tulsa and is a kid from right down the road. Everybody starts filling up their classes based on junior film. His senior tape was good. They haven't offered Morcos or any of those other kids yet. Until that happens, we will not definitively go that way in the state of Texas.
   
• Another possibility that I mentioned is a kid like Brady Hart‍. He's from Florida. There is a rule that you can be homeschooled and play for a public high school. That is Brady Hart's scenario. His process is sped up. There were talks about him reclassifying. That would be a possibility if he decides to reclass.
   
• They are going to bring in at least one prep quarterback this weekend. It's not as easy as just inviting him to campus. The Brady Hart situation has so many layers. I talked to a Florida source who said he probably will not reclassify. Michigan was the first to talk about him reclassifying.
   
• A&M has to get a prep quarterback. Whether you think it is a "reach" or a developmental guy. I say reach, but would Mike Elko call a guy a reach? This is not how this is going to work. Whether the fans take it as a "reach," the coaching staff will take a guy they think they can develop. Will the kid understand that coming in Marcel Reed is probably our guy? You're not ready to play right now. I think that is a real conversation you need to have with them.
   
• Nobody is saying the quarterback situation is ideal. They are trying to make the best out of a bad situation. I am trying to present what the staff is going through and the hand they have been dealt. How they pivot from Husan Longstreet will be interesting. This scenario may have been eye-opening for the staff. Maybe in future classes, they won't close the door on communication with anyone, even if they have someone they like committed.
   
• The defensive end position is interesting because Tobi Haastrup‍ left Texas A&M out of his top six. His sister goes here. He is a fantastic prospect who just started playing football this year. He is still a long way from playing every down in the SEC, but that doesn't mean he can't get there and be a high-impact player. Texas A&M not being in his top six tells me that the coaching staff likes the idea of adding someone who is a more ready-made player who is closer to being able to make an impact.
   
• Javion Hilson‍, out of Cocoa, Florida and high school teammate with Brady Hart, is in that discussion in the high school ranks. That is about it. It is kind of Javion Hilson or the portal will be used for that spot.
   
• When you look at the current roster, you may need instant-impact defensive ends.
   
• When they go make decisions on the portal, no matter the position, it comes down to what they think about the current freshman class. We know they are high on the offensive line group. That hasn't stopped them from going out and hitting that group hard this year. 
   
• What do they think of Izaiah Williams and Ashton Bethel-Roman at wide receiver? What do they think of Kendall Jackson, Solomon Williams, and Dealyn Evans on the defensive line? What they think of those kids and how close they are to being ready to play will also determine decisions going into the transfer portal.
   
• High school recruiting and developing players are still the way to change the culture. Doing what they did in the offseason and going and getting 24 guys out of the portal is not how you change culture. Ideally, that number is cut in half and you start developing guys within your program.
   
• I understand everyone wants to win now. Ninety percent of fans have no idea what Mike Elko had to undo when he arrived. I am not trying to throw shade at anybody. A massive amount of work had to be done for him to establish what he wanted here. His tenure will be decided by winning football games, but you have to give the guy a little bit of time.
   
• There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs. There will be some tough medicine to take and last weekend was a tough pill to swallow. I am not saying that Mike Elko will win a national championship, but from what I have seen from a culture standpoint, there is promise. He is taking care of the low-hanging fruit that wasn't being taken care of.
   
• I also have a rant about the narrative that the Texas A&M schedule is easy and is a "cupcake" schedule. This conference schedule will fall right in the middle in terms of opponent win percentage that Texas A&M has had since joining the SEC. The easiest schedules since joining the SEC in terms of opponent winning percentage were 2012 and 2020.
   
• Everyone looked at the schedule and made assumptions about it being easy. Look at what Florida and South Carolina have turned into. I am not saying it is difficult. If you called it favorable or manageable, I wouldn't even argue with you. It is not a "cupcake" schedule.
   
• A&M’s staff is working aggressively behind the scenes to add another skill guy on offense... Someone who catches or runs the football.
   
• As far as Michael Fasusi‍ and Lamont Rogers‍, they would take one or both. I don't think it matters which one they get. Jason Howell will be really clued in on those recruits. I believe Texas A&M will get one, at least. I could talk myself into a scenario where Texas A&M gets both, but it is more unlikely. I think they get one of the two.