Recruiting Bonanza Part II: Stack’em up
The Early Signing Period is here. How do we stack up against the rest of the SEC? Our other rivals?By: Slim Slocum
Photo: Butch Dill, AP Photo
We’ve made it to the early signing period, and it’s closing time for Jimbo and the Ags.
In Part I of our recruiting Bonanza, we took a deep look at A&M’s class so far and what we’re still looking to pick up heading into the Early Signing Period and beyond. A few developments have happened since we published Part I, so let’s quickly get caught up here.
When we wrote Part I, the Ags sat at #15. Since then, A&M was moved up to #14 with a few commitments from targets, along with one unexpected decommitment. Here’s what happened:
Shemar Turner (5-star DE; Desoto; 6’4 285): A&M landed a BIG fish from the Desoto pipeline in 5-star DE Shemar Turner. He’s the type of player who can be the next Myles Garrett, Demarvin Leal, or Von Miller type name for the Aggies. Turner has the potential to be historically good, and he gave the Ags 2021 class a big boost with his commitment.
Remington Strickland (3-star OL; Sugar Land; 6’4 300): Another big commitment came when Strickland committed to A&M over Oklahoma. He’s rated as one of the best lineman prospects in Texas for the ‘21 class, and he has the size to go with that rating. It was a nice win for Jimbo to go head-to-head with Lincoln Riley for a big man and get him.
Kaci Seegars (3-star LB; Cornelius, NC; 6’2 215): Seegars decommitted from A&M on Monday, which set the Aggies back a few spots on the 247 composite rankings. As we said in Part I, we were hoping to add another LB alongside Seegars in this class. Now it looks like the staff will have their work cut out for them to get one LB on the board. It’s possible the coaching staff has something up their sleeve. We shall see.
So that’s where we stand as of Wednesday morning, December 16th. Don’t expect too much movement in the next few days, as many of the Aggies final targets are going to be announcing after the Early Signing Period.
With that in mind...let’s take a look at how the Ags are stacking up against the rest of the SEC and our main rivals in recruiting, our old foes from the Big 12 who we still hate: Texas and OU.
Actually, no we don’t.
We’re also including Ohio State because they were scared to play us, and because they routinely pluck top talent from the Lone Star State (which we loathe). Also Clemson, as they too go head to head with us on occasion, and if you want to be the man, you gotta beat the man (they beat us for Travis Etienne...still stings) Here’s the breakdown:
SEC
Alabama: #1
Georgia: #3
LSU: #4
Florida: #8
Tennessee: #15
Ole Miss: #18
Arkansas: #20
Mizzou: #26
Mississippi State: #36
Kentucky: #38
Auburn: #40
Vanderbilt: #48
South Carolina: #106
The SEC is showing out as usual. Alabama is cleaning up as they do every year, and LSU is holding strong as they look to rebound from their dreadful encore to 2019. It’s never easy in the SEC West. Looking at our top foes in the West, it shows just how imperative finishing strong in the 2021 recruiting class is to keep our momentum from the 2020 season going. Alabama and LSU aren’t going anywhere. Coach O is going to have the guys to right the ship next year, and will likely get rid of Bo Pelini. The Tigers will be back, so we need to reload. Arkansas is also nipping at our heels right now, and I don’t like that one bit. We should finish 10 spots ahead of the Hogs.
A few interesting things to note here. First, Auburn. Their class has been steadily in the 40s now for a bit, and it’s obvious that this must have played a part in Gus Malzahn’s dismissal. The athletic department didn’t see him righting the ship with recruiting falling off a ledge. There was a big write up on AL.com last week about why Auburn has struggled with the 2021 recruiting class...but frankly, it’s just a bunch of excuses. A&M uses similar recruiting tactics as Auburn of selling our campus and the family atmosphere. There was no excuse for Malzahn and co. to be #40 in the country at Auburn. We’ll see if the next man up can conjure some of Gus’s magic and fix this class up - but don’t hold your breath.
The story of this recruiting cycle just might be Ole Miss. Sitting in the dregs of the 247 rankings just a few weeks ago, Lane Kiffin has kick-started the Rebels recruiting and has them sitting pretty at #18. In just one week, Kiffin and the Rebs shot up 55 spots. The Lane Train is SMOKIN’. THROW MORE COAL ON THAT PILE CONDUCTOR. Ole Miss still has some room in their class, and with Kiffin being the captain of SEC social media, talking about #Flipmas and putting up dancing videos, they just might close out on the cusp of a top ten class. Kiffin is coming.
In Columbia, Shane Beamer has his work cut out for him. South Carolina sits at #106. Even behind the Ragin’ Cajuns (#93) and Billy Napier who turned down the Gamecocks’ job. I don’t expect this class to improve much. Beamer will be climbing Mount Everest in Columbia. Tennessee sits at #15 even after a dismal year on the field. The Vols started this class off strong but filled up quickly which inflated their ranking. Now they are falling back to earth, and falling back hard. The class is falling apart, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they finish on the cusp of dropping out of the top 25. Eli Drinkwitz is recruiting well at Missouri. If they finish 20-35, Eli is doing his job. Mizzou feasts off of finding diamonds in the rough and maximizing their talent.
Other Rivals
Ohio State: #2
Clemson: #5
Oklahoma: #10
Texas: #17
Ohio State continues to plunder Texas. They’ve taken 3 of the top recruits in Texas the past two years. I hate these dudes, but we gotta win head to head battles with them if we want to be in the same class on the field. I wish they would have played us this year. Last year, they took the #5 and #31 players in the state. This year: the #2 player. Why the hell do recruits want to go up there, it’s cold as balls! And an FYI: the Ohio State 247 site is called “Buck Nuts.” I hate that I like that.
Clemson is a bit of an afterthought for us this year, but they continue to recruit at an elite level and did pluck a safety out of Austin. OU and Texas continue to be thorns in our side, and nothing would make me happier than swiping LJ Johnson from Herman’s clutches and Bryce Foster from OU. To be a top tier program, we have to be consistently outperforming OU and Texas in recruiting. Since Jimbo has been here, he’s out-recruited the Horns once and the Sooners twice. Gotta keep that up, and it’s looking achievable to do it again this year.
It’s ripe for the taking. It’s time to let Seabiscuit run. Nabbing a few of these kids left on the board and beating teams like Bama, Texas, and OU in head-to-head battles would be the icing on top of the 2020 season cake.
Time to strap in, finish strong, and #BTHOEarlySigningPeriod
