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

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Jason Howell 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

• Xavier Tiller‍, the big tight end, decommitted. He's a guy that's been looking around a little bit. When he committed, it was an unexpected thing as well. It was at the LSU vs. A&M game, and the atmosphere played a big role in his decision, along with guys like Aaron Gregory‍ and Jordan Carter‍. That kind of factored into some of it. I wouldn't call it second-guessing, but not being as solid as other guys.
   
• Tiller's been a guy that we've been watching as the January contact period took place. I know Auburn has been a big factor there. He was continuing to look at his options, and we kind of had a feeling that, if there was going to be a decommitment, he was the guy that we thought could be one of the first ones.
   
• The other decommit was Ryan Gilbert‍. When I posted last night when this happened, A&M had several targets at cornerback that were on their board, that have been to campus multiple times.
   
• You've got Jordan Thomas‍ out of New Jersey. Brandon Arrington‍ would fall into this category. He's listed as an athlete because he's a heck of a ball player all over the field. He's a stud cornerback as well, and he's a guy that A&M has made a big priority. You see coach Jordan Peterson out there with him, and he's visited a few times this fall. Look for him to be back this spring for an official visit. It looks like the Aggies are in line for one there. You've got a number of different guys.
   
• Dorian Barney‍ is out of Carrollton, Georgia. Just because you see a departure from Georgia doesn't mean that they're not dipping into those waters. They're still very rich and doing a really good job in that area with Gregory and Carter. Barney is the guy that's visited a few times.
   
• Gilbert is one of the earlier commits, but he has been to SMU and Oklahoma. He took a visit to Oklahoma's Junior Day. That was another one that we felt if there was going to be a decommitment, he's a prime target to watch.
   
• For decommits, maybe there is new interest that comes about. Maybe you're not feeling the love that you were earlier in the process. Maybe you see certain guys jumping on board or showing a lot of interest, and you're ready to take another look at the options. The good thing about it being so early is you do have time to regroup. It's not like you're dealing with a long-streak kind of situation where you're scrambling there for a little bit and trying to get everything in order. These weren't guys that were big surprises. These guys were in situations that were being monitored. When they happen, A&M is prepared.
   
• Helaman Casuga‍ was in action this last weekend with the Pylon in Las Vegas with Miami Raw. It's an Adidas program out of the Miami area, and he's connected with them. This was, I think, his first tournament back since his injury. Seeing him out there throwing the ball around and leading the team was a good thing. He'll be in Houston this weekend for the Shock Doctor's Legends Showcase, so we'll have someone out there taking a look. 
   
• Casuga's looking like he's gearing up for a big spring. It was a good first step to get back in some action there, 7-on-7, throwing the ball around and looking good.
   
• Helaman has a big, strong arm. He can make all the throws, and he's a pass-first, dual-threat quarterback. He's a very quick processor. He has a quick release and throws with a lot of accuracy. He only played in three games this fall with Corner Canyon but put up some monster numbers. He and Jerome Myles‍ connected really strongly in those games and put up some monster numbers. He's not the biggest guy, but he brings a lot of versatility and athleticism to the position, along with a strong, accurate arm.
   
• Helaman committed before Jerome, and Helaman played a part in Jerome's decision. He described himself as being a kind of annoyance in Jerome's ear throughout the end of his recruitment. It definitely helped to have a guy in Jerome's ear that he could hear the sentiment that he was wanted in Aggieland. There was talk at the Navy All-American Bowl, where we saw him, and he was talking about the chemistry he already has helped him go ahead and jump on board with A&M.
   
• The official visit schedule is starting to come out. You're seeing a lot of these guys look for the actual officials to take place more toward June. The month of June looks like it's going to be a busy one for Texas A&M. You're going to have a lot of spring unofficials. We look for those to happen around spring practice.
   
• You're seeing guys like John Turntine‍ announce that they're taking official visits in June. Drew Evers‍, out of Flower Mound, is another big offensive lineman from the DFW area with strong Texas A&M ties announced yesterday that he's got a visit on June 20. We're trying to keep track of them as best as possible. There's a ton of them starting to fill out their schedules, and A&M is already starting to see those visit weekends get real populated.

• Guys from Texas in the Super Bowl, it was a strong group. Milton Williams from Crowley with the late sack. Moro Ojomo from Katy and the University of Texas there with a lot of work done in the trenches for the Eagles. Lane Johnson is from Groveton. 

• Nick Bolton was a guy I loved at Frisco Lone Star. I loved his tape. He was just 5-foot-10 or 5-foot-11 and just didn't meet the standard of a top prospect. Now, here he is claiming championship rings.

• It's fun to watch these journeys. Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts... Hurts is still battling the same criticisms when he was at Channelview. It seems to work out pretty well for him. He's done pretty well. The state of Texas is always really involved in the Super Bowl.

• If you look back at all the Super Bowl MVPs, you're going to see it dominated by quarterbacks and defensive ends. Those are the only two positions that have won the Super Bowl MVP from Texas, and I thought it was interesting that two of them played at the same high school, and the two defensive ends came out of the Dallas area and the same proximity of the Dallas area.

• Houston has to step it up. Channelview gets one in the books, but that's just one of the crew. East Texas in there strong with Mahomes. Central Texas with Austin West Lake and then DFW leading the charge with those edge defenders.

• The Under Armour camp in Dallas is always a really strong camp. It attracts the best of the best from the state of Texas and around the region, so you'll see some Oklahoma. You'll see some Louisiana, New Mexico and Arkansas. You'll see a few Texas A&M targets. Guys with offers. You may see some 2028s, but the overwhelming majority will be 2026s and 2027s.

• It's always been one of my favorite camps because there's so much news that comes out of it.  The offensive line's going to do those 1-on-1s. They get a little physical and nasty. So I look forward to seeing some hurt feelings. It should be fun out in Melissa, Texas. One of the newest facilities in the State of Texas. It's huge. They have a massive indoor. The action shouldn't be hard to see whether you're inside or out.

• You're going to have spring practice coming up, and you're going to have a lot of top prospects on the way to campus. We typically see a little bit of a lure when it comes to commitments around this time. You may see a few jumps in the boat here and there.

• I know Deondrae Riden‍, this time last year, was a guy who surprised some people when he made his announcement on February 19. I did that interview from an AMC movie theatre lobby. It's going to be a lot of preparing for spring visits and getting things lined up for official visits. 

• A&M is in a very strong position with a number of key prospects, and I expect those visitor lists to be who's who. Not just in the State of Texas but across the nation.

• Markel Ford‍, he's committed. He pledged to the Aggies this summer. I know he's super close friends with Gilbert, who just decommitted. They were defensive backfield mates there at Mesquite Horn before Gilbert transferred over to North Forney. I know SMU and Oklahoma are two schools that are going hard after both. He's talking about how he's going to be back on campus. He visited Oklahoma for Junior Day this January didn't get to make it to A&M, but when we talked last time, he was excited about getting back on campus. A&M went out to Mesquite Horn and made sure to talk to him. We'll see what happens, but I expect him to be back on campus this spring and line up an official visit as well.