TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Live on Wednesday morning for another edition of Recruiting Country presented by American Momentum Bank, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting and transfer portal trail surrounding Texas A&M.
Key notes from Recruiting Country
- I wrote a long article yesterday on recruiting. Texas A&M has not made any spring portal additions so far. There is still an opportunity for them to go out there if they are combing through the portal, and they find a name they like.
- I would like to see them address specific needs, but on the other hand, I understand how difficult it is to go into this spring portal window, especially with the quality of it not being as great as people anticipated. The Nico Iamaleava situation could have scared guys from entering the portal. Iamaleava went in for a big payday and got paid less. He will also go play in California, where the in-state taxes will hit him. Maybe that kids from jumping into the portal.
- Look at A&M’s specific needs. A big outside receiver, defensive tackle depth and maybe linebacker depth. A&M is asking questions, and I imagine these questions are being asked all around the country. “What do we need? What’s in the portal? Is there the talent and the measurables that fit what we need in the portal?” Then, you have to recruit those guys.
- Say you need a big-bodied defensive tackle. How many guys in the transfer portal window are willing to come to A&M and be a fourth to fifth option at a position? That’s tough. If you say, “We are going to pay this guy whatever because we need a fourth or fifth defensive tackle,” I think you are setting yourself up to be in a really tight spot. It’s crazy that this is a part of the conversation, but it’s “What is the price tag?” A&M has a need for a big, outside receiver. Is it a desperate need? Someone else with a desperate need will double the money. There are so many extenuating factors.
- For A&M, they could make additions. At this point, they haven't. You never want to be definitive, especially now, given the nature of recruiting, but if this pattern holds, and you don't bring anyone in, it will obviously open them up for criticism. That is a risk. That is no different than any business. Now, part of your decision-making is risk management and risk mitigation.
- One of the reasons I think A&M has been OK to stand pat with where they are is because of the development of the younger guys. How important is the development of Dealyn Evans as the fourth defensive tackle? How important is the development of Jordan Lockhart and Tristan Jernigan to provide linebacker depth? You don’t have a bigger-bodied true wide receiver, but could Amari Niblack fill that role in certain circumstances when you get inside the redzone and play matchups? They have pieces on the roster that could answer those questions.
- A&M thinks they hit a home run with the freshmen defensive line class with DJ Sanders, Landon Rink, Chace Sims and Marco Jones. It’s not a surefire thing that just because Jones had five sacks in the Maroon & White Game, that he will be awesome as a true freshman. Same with Rink. They are very high on the rest of that group. You are going to lean on them for depth. I don’t think you need any of them, or Noah Mikhail at linebacker, to play significant snaps. You don’t have to have them as starters. All five of those kids, the coaching staff believes that they got it right with their evaluations.
- The ideal scenario in college athletics is to recruit these guys, bring them up in your program, and let them grow and flourish in your culture. You will get the best version out of them. Also, that risk mitigation I talked about is a lot more efficient when you have a guy you are bringing up. You get a day-to-day look at all of these kids.
- It certainly is a risk that your big, true outside receiver could be Jerome Myles. A true freshman who had a knee injury and is not here in the spring. That is a risk.
- They have flirted with the Ted Hurst kid out of Georgia State, who is going back. I don’t need to get into the weeds on every one of these recruitments. It is not white and black, cut and dry, “just go offer the kid more money, and he will come to school here.” There is so much more that goes on behind the scenes now. The Incarnate Word wide receiver Roy Alexander went to Texas Tech.
- You can look around at other programs in the league like LSU, Texas and Auburn. They have strengthened in this spring portal window, and they had bigger needs than A&M did. Maybe they didn't feel as good about their underclassmen as A&M does.
- I think it’s noteworthy to point out A&M only had two defections, and they are players way down the depth chart in Ernest Campbell and Eric Karner. When players show up for role call in the summer, the position rooms are going to look almost identical, outside of Myles, who arrives this summer.
- College lets out for summer earlier than high schools do. The contact period is back on. Seeing the A&M coaches get out and go across the country and state. Dallas-Fort Worth has been a hot spot for them, especially with offensive line targets. Avery Morcho has been your main target in Houston. In Dallas, you have Zaden Krempin, Drew Evers, Pupungatoa Katoa and John Turntine. We are ramping up again for a very busy summer in terms of commitments. I like what Adam Cushing has done in his time here in terms of recruiting.
- To go back to the transfer portal discussion, there were some offensive linemen who they were scared would go into the portal because they were buried on the depth chart. That tells me a lot about the offensive line room. That should be the strength of the team going into the 2025 season.
- Jay Bateman continues to go coast to coast to see linebacker targets. He was in Florida to see Malik Morris. Tamarion Watkins is from South Carolina and has played a lot of safety but projects as a linebacker. In-state, I think A&M is making moves in the right direction for Tank King. I think they are in a strong position for DaQuives Beck. You have Storm Miller committed. Samu Moala is in that EDGE role. That total number of off-the-ball linebackers could get to four.
- Texas A&M has been, twice now, to The Woodlands High School to see quarterback Jack Daulton throw. They have not changed in their evaluation and feeling on Helaman Casuga. I think they love his arm talent. We have said it before, but you just can’t get burned again like last year with Husan Longstreet. It is another note to make in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
