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Longhornfrenzy

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Everything posted by Longhornfrenzy

  1. Securing the cash at Bright Complex
  2. Hamm from his Facebook group Please Read: I want to address the rumors circulating around myself and Ryan Brauninger over at TexAgs. It’s a bit of a layered issue so stick with me as I provide a very detailed and accurate account. I have to give some background on a few things first before I get to Thursday night but before I do I want to make it very clear that this was not a post I wanted to make. I’ve had a great working relationship with TexAgs for months and I keep in frequent contact with Liucci and Hop. Unfortunately, I have to provide some facts that shouldn’t have to be made public but an attack on my character has been made and details floating out there are flat-out inaccurate. Let me start with explaining my relationship with Brauninger. Like most employees at TexAgs, I feel like he’s had a negative opinion of me from the moment he got in the industry. We’re both very competitive and passionate guys, so I understand the natural rivalry since we are competing for information. There’s also an added grudge that he had towards me that I didn’t learn about until it came to light last Thursday that I’ll get into here shortly. I’m very selective about who I trust in this industry because over my ten years of doing this I’ve been burned a lot, so I keep my circle small. Not to digress into TexAgs’ past with me but it’s worth noting once again that this is a site that had to fire an employee for fabricating quotes from a story I did (Jacob Kristen made up quotes from my story on Wole Betiku), had another employee start the Steven Parker myth (Brice Jones), and have allowed a lot of nasty and personal things said about me on their website over the years. I don’t want to lose track of my purpose here but there’s so much more I’ll eventually go into detail about one day. I just wanted to set the tone about how Brauninger has never tried to form a relationship with me like he has with other analysts because of the reasons above. This summer at the Aggies’ summer camp, I was standing outside the indoor facility with Brian Perroni, who I’m still very close with to this day, when Brauninger walks up. He begins to make small talk with Perroni and I wanted to use that opportunity to extend a handshake and give a peace offering. Perroni can account for what happened next. Brauninger looked at my hand and told me, “I’m not shaking your fucking hand.” I let it go and didn’t think about it again. I did call Hop and Liucci to let them know that I tried to be the bigger man but that I got a disgusting response from Ryan. They said they were going to talk to him but apparently it didn’t work. Fast-forward to week one of TXHSB, when I went to Atascocita vs Katy Taylor. Brauninger was out there as well. After the game, I interviewed Kenyon Green. I was using my phone to interview so my back was turned to what happened next. During my interview, Brauninger is behind me flexing and grabbing his TexAgs shirt and flashing it to Kenyon, essentially trying to distract him. Kenyon did a good job of holding it together for me and finished the questions but it was extremely unprofessional. I didn’t say anything to him and let it go. That gets us to Thursday night when I go to see Demond Demas and Javonne Shepherd. I’m running a few minutes late to the game and I walk in the gates and Branuniger is talking to Mike Craven from the AAS. He’s staring me down as I walk up to the field so I asked him what his problem was and that’s when he began to get in my face and lay into me about what he’d been holding in for a long time. Brauninger graduated from McNeese St. and went to grad school at A&M. While at McNeese, he played baseball with Matt Fontenot, who was brought on by Sumlin to be his director of operations a few years ago. Getting back to Thursday, Brauninger got visibly upset about an open records request that I did over a year ago and let me hear it. Open records requests are not uncommon, reporters do them all the time, and my intention for doing this one had absolutely nothing to do with Fontenot or Brauninger. Fontenot was on the list of people I had on there because I was canvassing the entire athletic department. Apparently, Fontenot had to hand over some sensitive information about his personal life and he told Brauninger. These two are very close. In fact, Brauninger is the Godparent to Matt’s kids. Brauninger laid into me about how Matt didn’t get the same job under Jimbo Fisher and somehow was trying to correlate that my open records request was the reason he didn’t get the same job under a new regime. Back to the game, the Athletic Director saw Brauninger and I on the sideline and asked us to take it outside. We walked out into the parking lot and that’s when cooler heads prevailed. We got in our vehicles and went around the corner and talked it out like adults. We got everything off our chests and then went back and apologized to the athletic director. He accepted our apology and said we’re welcome back any time but tonight we’re sitting this one out. I told Brauninger that we needed to go find a spot and sit down and talk more so we found a local place and had a great talk. We literally left hugging. As far as I'm concerned, Brauninger and I are good. Brauninger was very concerned that he was going to go back to College Station without an interview with Demond Demas. At the time, I was still the only site to have quotes because of my relationship with Rischad Whitfield. I called Rischad Whitfield, who was at the game, and had him make sure Demas called Brauninger that night. He did, and that’s how Ryan was able to get his story out. Typically, they do on-camera interviews, so it backs me up when their story is just quotes. I even gave Ryan Demas’ number to lock in. I wanted to do the right thing after our talk. This ended up being a great thing that needed to happen. Obviously not on the sidelines, and I really couldn’t get out of the way of his approach, but I could have walked away right when it happened. That was a mistake. Brauninger called Liucci to tell him what happened and that’s where things went sideways with TO98. Liucci then called Rush to alert him instead of calling me. Rush reached out to Craven, who is also friends with Brauninger, to corroborate the story. Perroni was there but was on the opposite side of the field. Those were their witnesses. Essentially, the guys I work with took the story third-hand from my competitors, and I never got a chance to defend myself. Nor did they believe me when I tried. They did ask me not to say anything to Brauninger about the Kenyon Green incident, but this was not able to be avoided and I was perfectly capable of smoothing things about with Ryan like an adult which I did. I don’t understand why and probably never will get the full story. Over the past few weeks, Rush has been in frequent contact with Liucci and the CEO of FanReact went to College Station before our launch at TO98 to mend their relationship but didn’t include me. In my opinion, that would have been a great opportunity to sit down with everyone at TexAgs and mend relationships with everyone in their office, especially Ryan. There’s more to this story. FanReact CEO Buckner actually approached TexAgs a while back about white-labeling their product and getting into other college markets. Per Buckner, TexAgs stole their idea and that’s how F5 Productions started that David Sandhop now manages. That’s just one side of the story but that’s all I can offer up. I add that tidbit because my bosses essentially believed a group of people, including my competitors, that they had major issues with, stole their idea from, and wanted to take down, over me. Obviously the incident wasn’t bad enough for TexAgs to fire Brauninger. They are of course going to make sure they back their employees but I didn’t get that same courtesy. Logan Lee actually called Buckner this past week and was trying to spread rumors that I had cost A&M Malik Hornsby. I will absolutely defend Buckner here because he laid into Logan Lee after Malik showed up to our offices later that day to storyboard his commitment video. I had everything under control and I was allowed the exclusive because of my relationships with the people closet Hornsby and we were fronting the costs of the video. Again, more TexAgs meddling. I hold no grudge but there’s a common theme here. There’s been a lot of people who have taken advantage of me during a very vulnerable time in my life. Very personal stuff about my life has been made very public. The picture others have painted about me, mostly done by my competitors and their subscribers, often has me guilty before proven innocent in every situation rumored about me. I’m aware how my past internet persona has perpetuated that but that doesn’t dismiss these facts. I never wanted to get this detailed but I’m not going to let others continue to push this false narrative about me and this current situation. That’s all for now. Thank you all for your continued support. Gig’Em!
  3. Hamm back on Facebook. Dude is like a cockroach that you can't kill.
  4. I was told he is trying to get a job with a new media group called "the athletic" theathletic.com
  5. Recruits sound off about A&M's season-opening victory VIP ByDAMON SAYLES 79 minutes ago Share 1 Comments A&M CB commit Jeffery Carter (Photo: Mike Roach, 247Sports) The Jimbo Fisher era on the football field officially started with a bang Thursday night, and the noise the Aggies made didn't go unnoticed. Texas A&M dismantled Northwestern State, 59-7, to kick off the 2018 football season. It was a game that saw the Aggies gain more than 750 yards of total offense and hold Northwestern State to 251 yards and 13 first downs on defense. The announced crowd of 95,855 at Kyle Field was entertained from start to finish, and those who couldn't make the trek to College Station enjoyed watching on national TV. With the game being on Thursday, many of the committed players in the 2019 class didn't get a chance to see the game in person, but what they saw on TV lit a fire in them regarding the future of the program. "I thought it was a great way to showcase what their offensive scheme would look like this season without showing too much," 4-star wide receiver pledge Kam Brown said. "And I was impressed with the way the defense played." "They blew them out like they were supposed to," 4-star cornerback Jeffery Carter added. "Five [Trayveon Williams] did good, and the defense played good, too." There was much to like from Thursday's game if you were rooting for Texas A&M. The offense looked crisp and methodical. Williams rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Kellen Mond answered many questions by throwing for two touchdowns -- both to tight end Jace Sternberger -- and rushing for another. Defensively, Texas A&M played with a purpose. Northwestern State was only allowed 21 rushing yards for the night. And those numbers were against the Aggies' first and second teams -- and some third-team players, as well. One commit checking out the defense was Christian Harris. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 4-star athlete, who is expected to see time at either linebacker or rover upon his arrival in College Station, was proud of what the front seven was able to do. "I loved the game!" Harris said. "One thing I was really impressed with was the defense. I think this year they're going to be the team to beat." While the commits were happy with the results, some of the team's top recruiting targets for the 2020 class also were impressed. 2020 cornerback Dwight McGlothern spent much of the summer in College Station hanging out and training with safeties Jordan Moore and Leon O'Neal Jr., who saw extended playing time Thursday. McGlothern sent a tweet during the game expressing his full support for Fisher and the Aggies. La Habra, California, 4-star Clark Phillips III is another out-of-state player keeping tabs on the moves the Aggies make this season. Phillips was extremely excited to pick up a Texas A&M offer on July 24, and while he didn't catch the game because of a La Habra team dinner, he did make it a priority to stay updated with what was happening with the program. Phillips added that a win like Thursday's will have a bunch of recruits tuning in next Saturday. The Aggies will host Clemson at Kyle Field. "Big win for Coach Fisher in his opener," Phillips said. "They've got a huge one with Clemson. I can't wait to see that one." 1COMMENTS The season is still very early, and there's still a lot to learn with the football team. To 2019 safety pledge Brian Williams, Thursday's effort sent a message to every recruit. It was the opportunity to show commits and targets that there's a new dynamic in College Station, and the goal is to play all four quarters with the same level of intensity. "They did what was expected. A dominating win," Williams said. "There's a lot to be happy about on both sides
  6. So Hamm has a guy named chumbley working for him..lol 10:53 am | August 25th, 2018 On On One With DeMarvin Leal Colton Chumbley chumbley Despite numerous reports elsewhere in the media, Leal’s commitment remains solid to the Aggies. After taking the field for one last scrimmage before his senior season begins, coveted Aggie commit DeMarvin Leal caught up with TheOther98 yesterday afternoon. After our brief interview, I was able to spend a few extra minutes with the fringe five star and really got a feeling for what makes Leal and the Aggies such a natural fit. First of all, the young man’s character will make him a fan favorite from the moment he steps foot on campus. His humbleness was very evident during our brief conversation, which was not surprising to me at all considering how he has handled his recruitment thus far. This is a guy who is likely the best defensive player in the state this cycle, and yet he has still not been granted his 5th star. Why? That’s because he’s focused on his game, not what others like myself, or anyone else on social media have to say about him. When The Opening pleaded with him to come showcase his talent, their begging fell on deaf ears. When the mob of fans on twitter blew up his mentions, he signed out of his account. This is a young man who doesn’t need a spotlight to validate his work ethic. However while he ducks and dodges the attention off the field, he takes center stage on it. Leal is an explosive athlete who has continuously wreaked havoc on opposing lineman for the Rockets the last two seasons. He is violent at the point of attack, has solid hand placement, and is equipped with off-the-chart athleticism. At 6’6, 280 pounds, that skillset and combination of size and speed makes him a prospect defensive coordinators across the nation salivated at. So that begs the question of, why Texas A&M? According to Leal, the answer to that was the unique feeling of being in College Station, and the pristine relationship he has with the Coaching staff. DeMarvin has developed a strong rapport with Coach Brewster and Coach Price since his recruitment began, and it played a big role in his commitment. Although he will not be back on campus till towards the end of the season, Leal said he spent around four days in Aggieland this summer and didn’t want to leave. This was of course after the cookout and pool party which brought many of the 2019 and 2020 classes together before their seasons started. That bond with his future teammates has also been a major factor in his recruitment. So much so that the Judson phenom will be enrolling in school this December. The coaching staff made the young athlete a priority in this class early on in the process, and it’s easy to see why. Aggie fans will be rejoicing that decision for the next few years once he makes it to campus.
  7. Hamm reporting Zach Evans will visit aggy for the Clemson game
  8. I tweeted screenshots to the mom.
  9. FSU fans loves Karen
  10. Hamm The Clemson game is going to have an insane amount of visitors…. So far we know that Kris Bogle, who I first reported, will be officially visiting for the Clemson game but there will be more guys in town on OVs than we currently have out there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see A&M bring David Ugwoegbu in for an official that weekend. He already told The Other 98 that he will be unofficially visiting for the Clemson game but the staff is eager to get him committed so there’s a chance his name could be added to the OV list. There might be one or two more but the OV list may end up being small compared to other big visit weekends due to the fact there’s only a few spots left. Nakobe Dean was going to take his official that weekend but Horn Lake plays on that Saturday. Where the bulk of unofficial visitors will come from are the class of 2020 and 2021. Even though Demond Demas left the Aggies out of his top five, the staff is still working on that one, and at the end of the day, kids love to attend games like the one on September 8th. Speaking of North Forest products, A&M is still in communication with Javonne Shepherd but they aren’t pushing right now. It wouldn’t surprise me to see both in Aggieland that night. Of course, players like Malik Hornsby, Zach Evans, Troy Omiere, James Sylvester, Vernon Broughton, Branard Wright, Dwight McGlothern, Jaylon Jones, among others, are going to be made priorities to get to campus. You’ll also see quite a bit of out-of-state flavor. We’ll also see names from the class 2021, and perhaps 2022, that don’t have an offer from A&M but will become targets down the road. A&M is getting ahead of their early evals so bringing in kids before the recruiting process heats up for them is a good way to connect potential targets with the school and atmosphere
  11. Analyzing the latest Rivals 250 rankings... Taylor Hamm Hamm Rivals.com recently released their updated 250 rankings, which had an impact on the Aggies’ overall Composite Rankings, but we also saw some big moves for many of Texas A&M’s current commitments. Before we dive into the individual changes, first I just to share my thoughts on the rankings with respect to the players I’ve personally seen play in-person. It’s always interesting to see how the different services grade players, which often reflect an inherent bias into their rankings. Having worked for national services for the majority of my career and knowing many people in charge of rankings at different companies there’s almost always bias involved (either overtly or inherently) for a number of different reasons. For example, if a certain company is the direct sponsor of a selection committee and a player flips from one All-American all-star game to different All-American game, it’s almost guaranteed you’ll see the player downgraded in the next set of updated rankings. Obviously, 247Sports wants their top-ranked players to play front-and-center at the Adidas Game, while other services do the same with their player rankings with respect to their sponsored all-star bowls. Want proof? Ask Grant Gunnell what happened to his ESPN ranking when he flipped from Under Armour to Adidas... There are so many anecdotes with these biases that I could rattle off from relationships with college staffs members, the organizations involved with training players,, etc... Aggies have seen the bias reflective in the Rivals rankings for years, primarily because of how big Orangebloods is and the revenue overhyping Longhorn commitments generate for the site (and its parent - Yahoo!). I mean, how does Garrett Wilson drop five spots? If he was committed to Texas I guarantee you he would be a five-star like he is on 247Sports. And no disrespect to Theo Wease, who is a tremendous player, but he’s not better than Wilson, Dylan Wright or Trejan Bridges. Here’s where the bias comes in - Wease had his day at the Rivals 5-star Challenge and subsequently rose in their rankings. Still, even though he had a strong performance (in shorts mind you) a true evaluation would never have him ahead of others in the state of Texas or nationally. You also get the “balancing act” with these updated rankings. If you bump up an Aggie commit, you have to drop one. Rivals didn’t do much of that in their latest update, and I understand that if one guy move up, another has to move down, but six of the ten A&M commits in the Rivals250 actually dropped spots. Also, DeMarvin Leal outside the top 100 is pure blasphemy. Just from a pure football evaluation standpoint, and this nothing personal, but how is Jalen Curry ahead of the likes of DeMarvin Leal, Kam Brown, Isaiah Spiller, Marcel Brooks, Tyler Johnson, Demani Richardson, Marcus Stripling, Marquez Beason, or Marcus Banks, who I feel should be higher rated? Again, imagine where Brian Williams, DeMarvin Leal or Demani Richardson would be ranked if they were committed to Texas? Look - the updated rankings benefited A&M a lot, much more than we’ve seen in past years, but there’s still a lot of discrepancies with the in-state rankings. Rivals did give Dylan Wright (up 109 spots), Baylor Cupp (moved into the top 250) and Erick Young (given his 5th star) their proper dues, but not to have Jeffrey Carter or Christian Harris in the top 250 is simply ridiculous. Is EJ Ndoma-Ogar really better than these two? I’ll say this, I know for a FACT that LSU had Jeff Carter No. 2 on their corner big board behind Stingley. I know that Rivals primarily leans on one person for their in-state rankings, and while I consider that person a friend, I’m not sure I always trust his eye for talent. I do trust Corey Raymond’s eye, however. The fun thing about these rankings is that time always gives us an opportunity to go back and see who was right and who was wrong. I think Rivals did a nice job with their recent updates but as I pointed out there’s still plenty room for improvement
  12. 3 hours ago VIP RECRUITING NOTES: WHERE DOES A&M STAND AT EVERY POSITION? Brian Perroni 68115 posts 3 hours agoVIP Texas A&M currently has 25 commitments already in the class of 2019. With there being room for a maximum of 28 under the NCAA rules, spots are at a premium. Here is where things stand at each position. QUARTERBACK: There are always a couple rounds of the quarterback shuffle across college football recruiting. One domino falls, causing others to jump on board at different schools in order to secure their spots. In the second go-round this class, Texas A&M ended up landing Zach Calzada out of Georgia. An intriguing prospect, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound rising senior has grown a ton since beginning high school and has also improved tremendously as a passer this offseason. He was dominant at just about every camp he attended this spring and summer. Though he struggled the first day of the Elite 11 Finals, he was one of the top performers the rest of the time. If that improvement shows up on the field this fall, Calzada could end up helping his rating even more. Though California four-star dual-threat Jayden Danielsstill wants to officially visit Aggieland, it’s a good bet that A&M is done at quarterback. Now, Jimbo Fisherand Co. have turned their eyes toward the 2020 class with Malik Hornsby of Fort Bend Marshall being the primary target. RUNNING BACK: After signing four running backs in the class of 2018, and seeing former four-star prospect Cordarrian Richardson transfer in from UCF, the Aggies only needed one in this year’s class. A&M got its primary target and the state’s highest-ranked back in Isaiah Spiller of Klein Collins. An all-purpose back, the four-star 6-foot-0.5, 201-pound Spiller is an outstanding receiver out of the backfield as well. A one-time early Oklahoma commit, Spiller built a very strong bond with Aggie running backs coach Jay Graham and that was a big reason he committed to A&M last month. WIDE RECEIVER: This one saw a huge addition earlier this week in West Mesquite four-star Dylan Wright. The 6-foot-4, 213-pound four-star prospect had planned to wait until the Under Armour All-American game in January to announce. However, he pushed things up and made a public commitment to A&M on Monday. He had been leaning that way for some time. At one point, Texas felt like it had Wright all but locked up, so this was a huge win for the Aggies, not only over the Longhorns but also over the likes of Alabama, Georgia and LSU. Dameyune Craig was a huge factor in Wright announcing for the Aggies. Chase Lane of Houston St. Pius has been committed the longest of any player in the class and brings speed to the position. So does four-star Kam Brown of Colleyville Heritage. A one-time UCLA pledge, Brown was one of the first prospects in the class to commit to Fisher. On an official visit in April, Kenyon Jackson of Loganville (Ga.) Grayson committed to the Aggies as well. He has built a solid relationship with Fisher and Craig while the coaches had been at Florida State and Craig continued to recruit the big 6-foot-5.5, 195-pound wideout when he arrived in Aggieland. A&M is almost assuredly done at the position but there could be one player that would pique their interest for sure. Five-star Garrett Wilson of Lake Travis is committed to Ohio State but, in what is looking like the unlikelihood that something major happens with Urban Meyer, he would give the Aggies a long look. In fact, A&M would likely be considered the biggest threat to the Buckeyes at this point. Still, it is a longshot right now. Another player to watch is Fort Bend Dulles athlete Ainias Smith, who picked up an A&M offer after a strong camp performance this summer. Smith, who also plays corner, plans to use all five of his official visits with Vanderbilt and Southern Miss being the two schools that are the Aggies’ biggest competition. By the time he is ready to make a commitment, A&M should know more about where the scholarship numbers stand. TIGHT END: After this season, A&M will only have two tight ends on scholarship and one, Jace Sternberger, will be a senior. The team did not really use the position under the previous staff, so the new one had to restock it. Position coach Tim Brewster made four-star Baylor Cupp of Brock his top priority at the position. The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder, who 247Sports ranks as the top tight end in the country, picked up offers from all over the country but it all came down to the Aggies and Longhorns. After being close to committing for some time, Cupp did so at the spring game and has remained solid. With there being a numbers crunch in the class, there was a lot of debate as to whether the Aggies would take a second tight end. Right now, the plan is to being another one in. However, A&M is not going to sign a player just to be a body at the position. The only real target at the moment is Jalen Wydermyer of Dickinson. The 6-foot-5, 235-pound prospect was in Aggieland for the pool party a couple weeks ago and it was huge that his mother was also with him. That is the first trip she has made anywhere and it made a huge impression on her. The Aggies also have a familiar face on the roster from Dickinson in true freshman wide receiver Montel Parker. Wydermyer wants to take his official visits and decide near the end of the season. Right now, Miami and Ole Miss would be considered the biggest threats to the Aggies. In fact, Miami is the only official he is 100-percent positive he will take. However, A&M is in good shape as Brewster has been working on him and he loves all that the Aggies have to offer. OFFENSIVE LINE: A&M has four commits on the line, led by five-star tackle Kenyon Green of Atascocita. The 6-foot-4, 330-pounder is ranked as the top prospect in the state and the No. 11 overall player in the country. Blake Trainor of Hallsville is a big 6-foot-7 tackle that is a bit raw but is someone that the Aggies really like the potential of. Manvel’s Layden Robinson earned an offer over the summer after dominating at the Opening and Under Armour camps and then doing the same thing at an A&M. He did not waste much time in committing and is set to play center in Aggieland. The fourth commitment is tackle Adrian Medley out of Pensacola, Fla. Set to graduate early, Medley committed not long after his official visit to Aggieland, despite a push from Florida State and Florida. A&M is likely done on the offensive line but is still after Houston North Forest four-star tackle Javonne Shepherd, who committed to Texas a couple weeks ago. Once thought to be an Aggie lean, the 6-foot-6, 346-pound prospect is still listening and is one to at least keep an eye on. Medley’s teammate, offensive guard Hunter Rayburn, also took an official visit to A&M and came close to committing to the Aggies before deciding on Clemson. He is pretty solid and there might not be room even if he did change his mind, but he is at least one worth monitoring as well. DEFENSIVE LINE: Starting with who is left on the A&M board, there are actually quite a few players on the defensive line. Katy Mayde Creek defensive end Marcus Stripling has gone back and forth between wanting to take his official visits and making a commitment over the summer. Now, the 6-foot-2.5, 260-pound four-star defender is back to planning to take his visits. However, he should still be considered a strong Aggie lean. The one school that could give A&M some trouble is Oklahoma and he does plan to visit Norman. However, those around him still feel like he will end up in Maroon and White. He is very close to many of the Aggie commits and current players and has spent a ton of time in College Station over the last couple years. It would not be a surprise to see a decision come sometime relatively soon after his Oklahoma visit, once he plans that. Five-star defensive tackle Ishmael Sopsher out of Amite, La., is still considering A&M and has the Aggies in his final group. He also plans to officially visit at some point this season. That is never a bad thing this staff has proven that it shouldn’t be counted out with anybody, but the Aggies are behind both Alabama and LSU with him at the moment. It is an uphill battle right now. Four-star defensive tackle Jaquaze Sorrells of Largo, Fla., has also said he plans to make an official visit to A&M. However, he has long planned to commit on Aug. 27 and he is expected to choose South Carolina. Whether he actually makes the trip to Aggieland is something that remains to be seen. It seems unlikely he will end up playing for A&M, though. The Aggies are still looking for another hybrid defensive end/linebacker in the class and there are a trio of players on the radar – Adisa Isaac of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Canarsie, Khris Bogle of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons and David Ugwoegbu of Katy Seven Lakes. Isaac has already been to A&M on an official visit but the Aggies have long been running No. 2 behind Penn State. Now, LSU has jumped into the mix as well. It looks increasingly less likely that he will end up at A&M. Bogle was hoping to visit A&M unofficially in the spring but was unable to. However, he has an official visit set up for the Clemson game the weekend of Sep. 8. The nation’s No. 59 overall player, many people don’t expect Bogle to leave South Florida and see him signing with Miami. He also has officials to Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Ugwoegbu is the most likely of the bunch and the Aggies would be considered the heavy favorite for the 6-foot-4.5, 225-pound defender. After playing defensive end last year, he is moving to linebacker in the team’s 3-4 this season. He was at A&M for the pool party and the Aggies have made a huge impression on his family. Ugwoegbu wants to officially visit Alabama and Oklahoma before making a decision but the Tide may not have a spot. There are a lot of factors pulling him to Aggieland. A&M has also offered a junior college prospect at the position in Kuony Deng but the numbers will dictate how much they pursue the 6-foot-6, 231-pound prospect. Deng, who played high school ball in Virginia, likes a new offer from Virginia Tech as well and is also high on Nebraska and Texas, though neither has offered at this point. As far as commitments, A&M has pledges from a pair of defensive tackles in Josh Ellison of A&M Consolidated and Adarious Jones of Virginia Beach (Va.) Bishop Sullivan. The latter could be an absolute steal and was once thought to be a lock to in-state Virginia Tech. Having him on campus could also help with stud 2021 cornerback Tony Grimes from Virginia Beach, who spent close to a week in Aggieland this summer. A&M has a commitment from four-star defensive end Braedon Mowry of Katy Taylor as well. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound defender is one of the state’s top pass rushers. Perhaps the biggest pledge in the entire class, though, regardless of position is DeMarvin Leal of Converse Judson. The 6-foot-4, 280-pounder is a high school defensive end that is incredibly versatile. The nation’s No. 55 overall prospect committed a couple days after an official visit to A&M in the spring. He also took officials after that to Texas and Alabama with the Tide being the team that would be considered the biggest threat. Still, A&M is not very worried about losing him. LINEBACKER A&M’s first linebacker commit was RJ Orebo out of Dayton. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound defender is an intriguing prospect and could potentially grow into a quick pass-rushing defensive end as well. Where A&M really needed help, though, was at inside linebacker. Last week, the Aggies landed a big-time target in four-star Christian Harris of Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound athlete, who actually plays receiver and cornerback in high school, had spent the previous weekend at Alabama. However, Alabama was not able to close the Aggies’ lead. Harris is a player that defensive coordinator Mike Elko personally recruited and A&M is very high on him. The biggest surprise commitment in the class was linebacker Andre White Jr. of Harrisburg, Pa. The 6-foot-3, 224-pound defender was thought to be very close to a commitment to Penn State before making an unexpected commitment to A&M while on an unofficial visit in late April. Ranked as a four-star by 247Sports, White returned to Aggieland a couple weeks ago for the barbecue and appears to be solid in his pledge. He is also set to graduate in December and enroll in January. The other linebacker commit is Tarian Lee Jr. of Tallahassee (Fla.) Godby. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound defender, who recently was named an Under Armour All-American, was in town to camp at A&M and then attend the Aggie Elite Day. He made a commitment before leaving town. Lee’s offer list does not quite match his talent, but other schools are keeping an eye on him. He recently made his way across town for a visit to Florida State but, as of now, he is not a target for the Seminoles. Though almost all of the current commitments are solid, Lee is one that A&M will at least have to keep an eye on when it comes to other schools. If the numbers work out that there is room at linebacker later in the season, both Nick Jackson and Kevon Glenn from Georgia unofficially visited over the summer. A&M likes both players and they could be brought in on official visits. Former LSU commit Zach Edwards out of Mississippi has A&M at the top of his list but, at the moment, the Aggies are not in communication with him as much. DEFENSIVE BACK: A&M’s haul in the secondary is probably the best in the country. The Aggies offered only three safeties in the class and landed two of them. Brian Williams of Dallas Bishop Dunne was not really even considering the Aggies until Fisher and Elko arrived in College Station. He made his way down to campus in January and made a commitment, shutting things down completely after that and becoming a leader of the class. The No. 35 overall prospect in the country, he will be hard to keep off the field early. A&M landed safety Demani Richardson of Waxahachie in February after two visits in as many weekends. The nation’s No. 70 overall prospect, the 6-foot-1, 209-pound defender is incredibly athletic for his size and loves to hit. At cornerback, A&M entered July without a player committed at the position. However, in the span of a couple of weeks, the Aggies picked up a trio of four-star prospects, including a pair of national top-100 players. Houston Madison corner Bobby Wolfe, who was briefly committee to A&M earlier in the spring, made a commitment to the Aggies at The Opening Finals. The next day, national top 100 prospect Erick Young of Fort Bend Bush did the same thing. The big 6-foot, 208-pound corner was dominant at The Opening Finals. A couple weeks ago, it looked like Mansfield Legacy cornerback Jeffery Carter could be making his way to Oklahoma to commit to the Sooners. However, at the last minute, he decided to make a trip to College Station the day before. The nation’s No. 84 overall prospect decided to stay the night in College Station, never making the trip to Norman and announcing a commitment to A&M the next day. He long was very high on the Aggies, who were the one team that remained constant in his recruitment. A&M is still after Williams’ teammate at Bishop Dunne, four-star cornerback Marquez Beason. Once close to making a commitment to the Aggies, the national top-100 defender surprised quite a few people by committing to Illinois instead. The Illini have recruited multiple players from the school. Those close to Beason expect him to stick with that pledge, even if Illinois struggles this year, but the Aggies are not going wave the white flag. KICKER: Caden Davis of Coppell made a commitment to the former staff last fall. After the new staff met, he was reassured that he still had a spot in the class. Davis is considered one of the top two or three kickers in the country by all the services that specialize in kicking zee
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