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 presented by American Momentum Bank, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting trail surrounding Texas A&M.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• I think Texas A&M has made up some ground and done some good things. Chance Collins‍ was in town with his high school team for the 7-on-7 camp. Last night, I started to get the feeling we were trending upward. If I'm making a prediction, I think Texas A&M is going to be in the lead. I get the sense Texas Tech isn’t going away. I think A&M, if they are able to pull it out, will be in a great spot. He has some A&M ties. Edgerrin Cooper is a cousin. I think there’s a good feel over there with the coaches if they can pull out the win today. It’s like any of these, you have to stay on it because the competition will jump on it and plant seeds of doubt and division. We'll see how it works out. You've got Utah and West Virginia in there, as well. He's announcing today on his Instagram around 2 p.m. CT. Right now, I'm predicting A&M, but we'll see.
   
• Collins is a guy who is a true safety. He's been a standout on both sides of the ball, being a return man and one of Timberview's leading receivers. They have a reputation for a hard edge program and produce a lot of guys that go on to do a lot of great things at the college level. This is a guy who could be a versatile playmaker in the back end of the defense. Has some great cover skills with good instincts from being a receiver on the backend.
  

• Aaron Gregory‍ set the tone with his announcement that, “Hey, I'm locking in.” He tweeted about knowing what’s best for his family and made a strong statement there.
   
• Jonathan Hatton Jr‍ was right there as well. Talking to Gregory, he said, “Yeah, I wanted to set the tone.” I think we’ll see a lot from him in the studio. It will be fun to follow him. He brings a big personality but is very smart. He and his family have a precise plan. He chose this school because of the relationships that he formed with many of the staff members, all the way back when they were at Duke. Same way with his cousin Jordan Carter‍. Pretty much all the commits said, “Hey, we are shutting it down. We are locking in.” They did a good job helping recruit over the weekend. These players see the network on and off the field. Having Holmon Wiggins in the receiver room as a developer played a big role in his decision as well.
   
• The bond in that class with the guys that are already committed seems like it was really productive for them as a group. They made sure to get after those key targets on campus last week. Tristen Keys‍ is a five-star receiver, committed to LSU, but he's kept an open eye on his options. A&M has been on his radar. It’s one of those things where he's liked what he's seen, and getting him around some of those guys really played a part. He signed a big NIL deal with Adidas right before his visit, but that A&M-Adidas connection is very prominent, so it couldn’t hurt.
   
• Tank Jones‍ is an EDGE defender who is looking at Oregon and Alabama, Miami, Auburn, and I think Florida is in there also. He’s a guy that A&M has quietly been productive with. I think some of the national guys haven’t really paid attention to Texas A&M's efforts there. He's visited multiple times and talked about how “homey” it feels. He’s a big, destructive EDGE defender. A&M has their hands full, but if they aren’t No. 1, they are way up there on his list.
   
• One of the criticisms A&M has received from the fanbase about the 2026 class is the offensive line and not having one so far. This past weekend, they had three of their top targets in town. North Crowley offensive tackle John Turntine‍, offensive tackle Zaden Krempin‍ out of Prosper and out-of-state offensive lineman Samuel Roseborough‍. All three of them left, leaving you feeling good about where they stood. A&M didn’t get a commitment, but no one expected that. But A&M is way up there for all of those guys.
   
• I think you’ll see A&M land a couple of those guys. You’ll see them make summertime decisions. Turntine is between Stanford, A&M, Michigan and Texas. Krempin is Michigan, A&M, LSU and Texas. With Roseborough, it’s A&M, Texas, Florida State, Ohio State and someone else. You have top competition for all of those guys, but A&M is in the top three for all of those guys, and they made good pushes for them this weekend. Krempin caught a 6.5-pound bass. Turntine did some fishing, too. They spent some good time around the coaches, and Mike Elko spent time with Krempin’s parents. They got a lot of quality time. A&M has been consistent and strong in each of these processes. As you move to late June/July, you’ll start to hear some of those names. I see A&M trying to continue building these relationships regardless of what happens this summer. I think multiple of those guys could end up in the commit class.
   
• Asher Murray‍ announced his decision before he left. I mentioned him last week, picking up his offer and scheduling his official visit. You see the ball start rolling with specialists, because there aren’t a lot of opportunities. It’s like quarterbacks, once the ball starts rolling, decisions can be made very quickly. He’s an All-American kicker from a family of kickers. His two older brothers kicked in college, and one is currently kicking at California. They are well known in Shreveport and around the country for having big legs and being accurate. He’s handled kickoffs, field goals and extra points. Big gets over Maryland and Memphis. He had interest from Auburn, Ole Miss and Georgia.
   
• I think a lot of it goes back to relationships and building something fun, and people having a relaxed time. Even Jimbo Fisher tried to foster that with the pool party BBQ. I think Elko is utilizing a lot of that in his own tactics, but it’s about getting people to have fun, and that can lead to positive discussions about business. “Here’s what A&M has to offer, where you'll fit in with the football team and academics...” I think Elko does a great job blending the two and creating an atmosphere that leads to good memories and good conversation.
   
• On Sunday, they had a strong group of defensive linemen. Sunday was an overall prospect camp. Quarterback, receiver, corner, offensive line and defensive line. Yesterday was the 7-on-7 camp where you had actual high school teams bring their guys up. Then you have the “Big Man” camp. They spend quality time with Adam Cushing, Sean Spencer and work hands-on. Thursday, you’ll have another prospect camp for everybody. They’ve broken it up and done some things differently than Fisher, but it’s worked well the last few years.
   
• The indoor facility is getting a lot of use with the 7-on-7 camp and the practice fields behind it. It’s a great format, and they have done a good job getting it going. Yesterday, you had guys getting offers because you go back to their tape if they do well in 7-on-7. One of the most notable guys like that was Jaiden Fields‍ out of Hutto. He picked up an offer after having a phenomenal day yesterday. Eli Reinhart has that offense humming with a quarterback and a couple of receivers. He’s seen his offer list shoot through the roof in the last few weeks.
   
• I’ll throw this out. Ismael Camara‍ didn’t get to work out at the last “Big Man” camp. Look for him to be back tomorrow and get some reps in hands-on.
   
• The Official Visit List on June 13 is 15 overall prospects, three commitments, six Texas prospects, eight different states, and every position but quarterback and tight end. Kaeden Johnson‍ is an athlete prospect who has the potential to play tight end. He’s 6-foot-6, 245 pounds, a phenomenal athlete, and who knows what he could be. Look at him in the same vein as Dametrious Crownover. He may come in as one thing and end up in another. A lot of upside potential and athleticism, and his quarterback background is very intriguing. You have a guy who was originally scheduled for the previous weekend, Camren Hamiel‍. He moved his official visit up to June 13. You have two Ohio guys, Storm Miller‍ and Victor Singleton‍, coming back. You have a loaded slate of uncommitted guys A&M will be going after pretty hard.
   
• I think the recruiting class could be anywhere from No. 4 to No. 8 nationally. You could make the case that it only puts you at No. 4 to No. 5 in the SEC. When you look at the top three through five teams in the SEC… You have to stack classes, too. Last year, A&M put together a really solid effort, and you want to take care of your home state. I think they’ll end up with a quality class from in-state. I think they’ll win some battles for some in-state guys and put together a really quality class.
   
• Last year, with the LSU game, that was the peak momentum of the season, and you saw a lot of recruiting momentum built on that stretch. Injuries and things happen. You don’t play as well, and some of the shine comes off, but you could see the promise of the offense. You continue to build on that, and eventually, you have to get over that hump and break through. There is a lot of promise, and these kids see that. As Ryan Brauninger would say, you’re selling some sizzle, but you need to put some steak on the table at some point. There are some crumbs there for people to hold onto, and I think you’ll see how it plays out.