re: Official 2020 Taylor Hamm Aggy Recruting Scoops from the bathroom

I think Hamm is right on Broughton. Evans and Roy would be awesome, but seem like longer shots to me. Hope Hamm is right. He is often really optimistic.

Ryan Brauninger 7:55p, 6/24/19 Staff
- I'll start with the Ft Bend Marshall duo of Malik Hornsby and Devon Achane. A pair of sources in Missouri City have expressed to me that Hornsby might be on the outs with North Carolina. It sounds like Tar Heel OC Phil Longo has different plans for Malik than maybe his lead recruiter did. Last weekend, Achane took an official visit to North Carolina by himself...meaning his mother (who's going to be a big part of his decision making process) and Hornsby did not accompany him to Chapel Hill. One of my contacts said the trip for Achane was nice, but in the end, he doesn't see UNC as a viable landing spot for Achane. On the A&M front, it sounds like Devon and his mom will be in College Station in late July for the Aggies' end of the summer recruiting event.

- An east Texas source tells me tonight that members of the A&M staff are set to speak with Longview QB Haynes King on the phone as the highly touted signal caller moves closer to a decision. Tennessee has not let up here and still serves as the Ags' prime competitor. I did have a source tell me that, in terms of what Haynes is looking for development wise, there's no question the advantage lies with the Aggies. I'm still giving A&M the edge on this one, but because this one has been played close to the vest, it's really tough to be highly confident in that pick.

- Just to back up Jason's report from earlier today, I've also been told by a different source to expect Memphis (TN) OL Chris Morris back in town for the late July recruiting event.

- I'm still not ready to go all-in on Vernon Broughton to A&M, but my confidence is growing. It's sort of similar to the Derrick Hunter recruitment last cycle in that, from what I've heard after asking around, a few schools feel like they have reason to believe he'll pick them, but the one consistent team I hear is Texas A&M.

- Received a pair of reports earlier today that indicated Texas has taken the lead for Bastrop Cedar Creek DE Alfred Collins. The good news for A&M is that I don't think Collins will make a decision any time soon, and the Aggies will get him and Princely Umanmielen in for an OV during the Bama game weekend.

- It looks like many of the A&M cornerback targets are lining up decisions that first week of July. Joseph Johnson and Joshuah Moten are announcing their choices on July 2nd with Josh Eaton expected to make his choice on July 4th. A report out of Virginia I received today indicated that the Aggies still maintain the advantage for Johnson. If you look at the upcoming depth chart down the road, I think it would behoove the Aggies to load up with cover men in this class if they can close with the guys they really want.

- Staying in Virginia, I spoke with a source near highly touted 2021 Virginia Beach CB Tony Grimes who made another trip to Aggieland last week. Tony and his crew were actually going to come by TexAgs before they headed out, but they stayed on campus longer than expected. My source said the Grimes' crew had an absolute blast with the A&M staff and players. "They love that place. Real talk," was one of the quotes I got. Every time I reach out to folks near Tony, I get the same response in regards to their visits to Aggieland and their affinity for the coaching staff. A&M has positioned themselves very well early on for one of the premier national prospects in that class.

- I also was able to catch up with recent 2021 RB offer LJ Johnson Jr out of CyFair to get his thoughts on A&M after he spent the day camping with the Aggie staff earlier this month.

"Coach Fisher was the one who made me the offer. He said he really liked my combination of speed, size, and burst the most. My favorite part of the day though was just seeing the campus and the facilities."

"The entire atmosphere around the camp was great. Every one was competing and pushing each other. I liked that the coaches were coaching us hard and trying to get the best out of us."

- Reminder that we are keeping an eye on the commitment decision from Smyrna (TN) DT Dallas Walker that is going to happen tomorrow at the Rivals 5 Star challenge in Atlanta.

Warning: Odd rant coming that all of you have seen before.

Reading this, as someone who cares about college football and doesn't follow recruiting all that closely, really makes me question just WHAT IN THE HELL ARE WE DOING?

How can one guy have so many sources about the actions of 17/18 year old young people? How can they earn a living by providing this information to people willing to pay for it? Capitalism is great. Period. This is such an odd way for it to flourish.

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to add, perroni thinks king is shutting it down by Wednesday night

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And Hornsby just decommitted from UNC, so we have a nice fallback option if Haynes doesn't go our way

probably focused all on in broughton right now and will hope we get some luck with roy

also, seems like walker is starting to blow up a little bit. a bump sees possible down the line

ChinPubes(Liucci) 2:50p StaffAG
The Ags added another piece to the defensive line puzzle on Tuesday when Smyrna (TN) defensive tackle Dallas Walker chose A&M over Auburn and Kentucky at the Rivals Five Star Challenge in Atlanta.

The 6-4, 315-pound d-tackle, who held offers from his finalists plus Tennessee, Penn State, Ole Miss and OU among others, gives the Aggies a raw but extremely athletic big. The reason I describe Walker as raw is this: He's spent time at end and tackle on defense and at tight end (you can peep his highlight tape and see him taking one to the house from 50 yards out and running shockingly crisp end zone routes for TDs) and h-back on offense while also covering kicks and punts. Walker is long and unusually light on his feet and nimble for a guy his size and, based on how much size he's added over the past couple of seasons, isn't close to being done. I think the potential is there for the most recent defensive addition to eventually check in somewhere in the 6-5, 330-pound range, the type of longer but enormous-bodied athlete the Ags don't currently have along the defensive front.

I can tell you that this is one that has Mike Elko, Elijah Robinson and the folks in Bright pretty excited. He was one of two guys who I heard really impressed the staff during his official visit weekend, along with recent Alabama pledge Xavier Hill. Hill plays on offense but what the two had in common is that they were both 300-plus pounders whose frames, while not filled out entirely, were closer than most to being SEC ready.

Walker plus Isaiah Raikes means that the Ags are probably done on the defensive interior, with a couple of future additions likely coming at defensive end, as A&M is squarely in the mix for Vernon Broughton, Princely Umanmielen, Jaquelin Roy and Alfred Collins.

He also becomes something like the 15th addition to the Aggie roster from what I would consider the 'SEC footprint' since Jimbo Fisher took over the reins in College Station a year-and-a-half ago. Very nice get for Fisher, Elko, Robinson and the Aggies.

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The reason I describe Walker as raw is this

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Recruiting cliché for a 3 star recruit with a lot of offers.

Auburn has 11 commitments right now and 5 are 3 stars. Coaches evaluate film and camps, not internet recruiting lists.

I remember watching guys like A'Shawn Robinson and Da'Ron Payne wreck shite on the defensive interior for Bama and they both around 6'4", obviously they were more talented by this point in their career but it can be done.