re: Official 2018 Recruiting Thread

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Texas A&M VIP Notes: Two days until Signing Day
Perroni (Part B)

- And yet another A&M/Alabama battle is WR Jaylen Waddle. I can say that, if he has made his mind up, he has done a good job of keeping a poker face. I have done a lot of digging around with people that almost always in the know and none of them were sure what he was going to do. Both schools feel optimistic with Alabama maybe feeling a bit more confident but there is a time where I honestly don’t have a ton of insight just yet. As it gets a little closer (and yes, I know it is only like 48 hours away), I should have a better feel for this one.

- A&M had two official visitors this weekend that were relatively new names on the radar in LB Javontae Jean-Baptiste from New Jersey and WR Geordon Porter from California. I have heard from more than one person that both visits went really well but I don’t expect either to sign with A&M. The Aggies have a better chance with Porter but it still looks to be a longshot.

- Quarterback Brock Purdy was also in town on an official visit. After Alabama made him wait a little bit as they went after another quarterback, he decided to eliminate the Tide, leaving it as an A&M-Iowa State battle. I’ve been told he is not afraid of competition which should be obvious in that he looked likely headed to Alabama for a while but he is also not just going to chase the bigger-name school. He has a good rapport with the Iowa State staff but A&M did a good job with both him and his family this weekend. Their plan was to talk about things as a family on Sunday and Monday and come to a decision then, before announcing on Signing Day. The picture will likely be clearer tonight.

- As for the one other official visit, nobody seems to know what is going on with JUCO LB Umstead Sanders. He came to town full prepared to commit if offered and, with that not happening, the question remains to if he will receive one in the next two days. The situation is definitely odd with his lack offers in general and nobody is really able to give a good reason for that. I don’t want to count him out when it comes to signing with A&M but, at this point, I don’t feel comfortable predicting he will be in the class.

- At tight end, I think A&M signs Glenn Beal from Louisiana. He was close to committing the Aggies a couple different times after his visit and the word is that College Station is still his likely destination. I think A&M would also take Leonard Taylor from Ohio as well but people in the region have had a bit of trouble getting a read on him and where he’s leaning. The Aggies definitely have a very real shot, though.

- DE Jeremiah Martin took the official to Washington over the weekend. The Huskies were really the only real threat to keep him in the Pac-12 and there is not a whole lot of optimism in Seattle after the visit that he will sign there. That leaves A&M and Oklahoma. While nobody can give a definitive answer, most say they think it will be A&M. The Aggies also feel good about their chances.

- The other main DE target, JUCO Dorian Gerald was at Florida this weekend. That was seen as A&M’s biggest competition and there is a feeling with the Gators after the weekend that they will land him. Going into the visit, though, the Aggies were the leader. After he has a day to look back at both, it’s likely he lets each staff know one way or the other. I think this one is close to 50/50 but I’d lean ever so slightly more toward Florida.

- On to the class of 2019: A&M landed two commitments on Sunday four-star WR Kam Brown and four-star CB Bobby Wolfe. There was some thought going into the day that national top-100 prospect Marquez Beason from Bishop Dunne could also join the fold but he left uncommitted. He says he plans to wait a while but it would not be a big surprise to see him make a decision, especially with teammate and Aggie commit Brian Williams in his ear.

- A&M made significant progress with a ton of other players as well. I put in a Crystal Ball pick for TE Nnamdi Adim-Madumere for the Aggies. I also expect him to blow up very, very soon. With the A&M offer, it made others realize they could wait any longer. I actually heard from multiple coaches on Sunday after the Aggies offered, with one calling him ‘an absolute stud’ and another saying, ‘monster.’ I think he will hold multiple more Power Five offers by the end of the week but he loved Fisher and loved A&M and it meant a lot to him that it was his first ‘big’ offer.

- Another player that is higher on A&M now than before is Aledo four-star corner Jeffery Carter. He’s not ready to make a commitment but this was his second weekend in a row to be at A&M and there was a lot of talk among the other recruits about how high he as on the Aggies.

- Mayde Creek DE Marcus Stripling is incredibly familiar with A&M, having been to campus at least a dozen times. He described the feeling of the new staff and just, ‘an entirely different program. You can just feel a change.’ He was able to meet with some current players and said you could feel a different attitude with them. He is going to take visits this spring and summer so a decision is not imminent but he is a big fan of Fisher and Co.

- I put out the update with five-star OT Kenyon Green calling A&M his No. 1 school after his Saturday visit. That is actually a big deal because, while it always seemed to be the case before, he never publicly said it. Fisher, Jim Turner and G.A. Lee Grimes have done some serious work there and put A&M with a chance to land him in the not-too-distant future.

- I have not had a chance to speak with Grant Gunnell yet so I can’t say for 100-percent certain how he is feeling now. I can say, though, that A&M feels good about him being in the fold. They think he’s likely shut things down but the real tell is if he makes the Arkansas visit next month. Even if he somehow did not end up in the class, the staff has done such a good job of building momentum that it would not hurt nearly as much as it once would have. One player that is uncommitted actually joked after the event that the 2019 class might have more commits than the 2018 class soon. Gunnell is definitely a player that others are drawn to and he very much wants to be the leader of the class. He can be exactly that but he and A&M both realized that, for him to be that, he has to be fully ‘in.’ In the meantime,Brian Williams has stepped up into a role as a very local leader and was definitely still doing his part on Sunday despite being back in Dallas for his family’s annual Super Bowl party.

- With the event ending so late on Sunday, we have not had a chance to catch up with the majority of the visitors but we will be doing so today and throughout the week. I can say that A&M feels very, very good about the direction of the 2019 class.

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The resistance will make your lungs stronger though.

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Leon O’Neal Jr
@WakeEmUp9
My coach got more juice than you're coach stop it ??
C.Sterns
@lil_STERNS2
A&M is dead

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Leon O’Neal Jr
@WakeEmUp9
Natty? I'm dead
C.Sterns
@lil_STERNS2
Come to Texas , you’d get 3k+ and compete for a natty

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Leon O’Neal Jr
@WakeEmUp9
Thank You BOOMER Nation Still Hate Texas With a Passion That Hasn't Change

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