Brian Perroni 65995 posts
17 minutes agoVIP
-Starting off with the quarterback spot, there are a lot of moving parts with the Graham Mertz recruitment. A longtime Wisconsin pledge, the Kansas City four-star passer was thought to possibly be opening things up not that long ago before doubling down a bit on his commitment. However, he has been in contact with A&M.
Mertz recently said he only had two visits scheduled – an official this upcoming weekend to Wisconsin and a return unofficial to Madison the following weekend. A&M, though, expects him on campus at some point before the weekend is out, though. What that means for the Wisconsin official, I honestly don’t know. Do they expect him to cancel that one? Again, I don’t know. But the Aggies feel they are right there in it for him.
Two other schools to watch are Notre Dame and Ohio State as well. Neither has given up on the early enrollee and there has been contact with those schools as well.
In talking to some people, at the moment, there would be a little bit of a surprise if he stuck with his pledge to the Badgers.
-Moving to the other position with the biggest question marks, there has been some movement at linebacker. After making an unexpected pledge during a short unofficial visit to A&M last month, Pennsylvania linebacker Andre White Jr. is now set to return this weekend for the Aggie Elite Day. That will give him a chance to meet the other commitments in the class.
A&M has been making up ground Baton Rouge U-High athlete Christian Harris, who the Aggies are recruiting at linebacker, and he will be in town this weekend. This one is a bit odd because A&M is feeling pretty confident here – and I’ve learned not to bet against them when they are – but literally every person I’ve talked to that is connected in Louisiana has said he is going to Alabama. The Tide have not been pushing as hard as in the past, though, so that could also be a big reason he has changed his mind, if he indeed has. Mike Elko has done a great job with him.
Also, five-star linebacker Nakobe Dean out of Mississippi still isn’t 100-percent sure he will be there this weekend but it is looking more likely. He and his family will likely make it to the Lone State to visit A&M and visit his grandmother in Austin. As Steve Wiltfong has been saying, A&M is definitely in this one.
Kane Patterson out of Nashville is down to a final four of A&M, Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee. He was at Ohio State today and will unofficially visit A&M on June 15 and Alabama on the 22. He will see Knoxville again before deciding as well.
-A&M got the first domino in offensive line recruiting to fall when five-star Kenyon Green committed this past weekend. Another pledge could happen on Saturday.
Hallsville tackle Blake Trainor has not been talked about a ton but the 6-foot-7, 280-pound rising senior will be in town for the Elite Day. Though Arkansas and TCU are also in it, there’s a feeling around campus that he could shut things down this weekend.
A&M is also hosting the Pensacola duo of Hunter Rayburn and Adrian Medley on official visits this weekend. They have already been to Aggieland on an unofficial and this will be each of their first official visit. From talking to people in Florida, A&M is in the driver’s seat on this one. Jim Turner loves both guys. There could be a chance they decide this weekend but, even if not, the Aggies are in great shape.
A&M is still not sure if Javonne Shepherd will make it on Friday or not. They obviously want him to and his friend Kenyon Green is in his ear. Getting him on campus this week would be huge coming off his trip to Texas on Tuesday.
-Aledo cornerback Jeffery Carter had a bit of a surprise omission when he released his top four today. Despite being close to committing to Oregon not too long ago, the Ducks did not make the cut. It was A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas. The Crimson Tide have not been talked about a ton in his recruitment but it’s fair to say they are the leaders at this point. He will be in Tuscaloosa for the barbecue on June 22