Team Recruiting Countdown: No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies

No. 18 Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12 No. 4)

2008 Haul: 24 signees, 2 Athlon Consensus 100

Scouting Report:

The biggest issue in College Station in 2008 will be the switch in offensive philosophy. The power option attack of Coach Franchione had a tough time recruiting certain positions that involved the forward pass – wide receivers, quarterbacks etc. That should no longer be an issue for the Aggies. Mike Sherman steps in with a 10-plus win-per-season NFL resume and a love of the West Coast offense. It paid off immediately.

Playmakers on the outside have been missing for the Aggies for sometime but they addressed that by stealing big Jeff Fuller (McKinney, Texas) from Oklahoma and landing Derrick Hall (Beaumont, Texas). The future of the quarterback and running back spots are secure as Sherman landed quarterback Tommy Dorman (North Richland Hills, Texas) and Cyrus Gray (DeSoto, Texas). Dorman is more of a drop back passer and will fit the new offensive system in College Station once Stephen McGee graduates. Gray is a home run threat and will be a star in the Big 12.

The other main area of concern for Texas A&M was the defensive front. This class surely has added depth to the defensive line as the Aggies landed eight D-line prospects (three tackles, five ends).  Big tackle Roderick Davis (Aldine, Texas) and the explosive Andrew Wolridge (Lexington, Texas) headline this group of defenders. Kyle Mangan (Brenham, Texas) leads a group of three linebackers headed to A&M.

All but two of the 24 incoming freshman are from the state of Texas. JUCO defensive end Matt Moss (El Cajon, Calif.) and the versatile athlete K.J. Williams (Norman, Okla.) are the only two prospects in this class not to play their most recent football in the state of Texas.

Top Prospect: Cyrus Gray – RB – DeSoto, Texas (5-11, 185) AC100 No. 61

Gray is quite the opposite of his counterpart Jonas Gray. Cyrus is about 30 pounds lighter than Jonas and is more of a speed back rather than a power runner. He lined up predominately as a quarterback, taking the shotgun snap and running with the ball. His natural open-field running ability is outstanding. He shows great vision and cut-back ability, exploding into creases and slashing through defensive front sevens. He can be a home run threat from the running back position.

For a speed back, Gray is very comfortable between the tackles. He uses his explosion and vision to find holes and squeak through with great quickness. Because he is smaller in stature, though, his penchant to run with a mean streak will catch up to him in college. Gray is a hard worker in the weight room, so he should be able to strengthen his lower body. An aspect he will have to improve, if he expects to run with the same intensity that made him so successful in high school.

Best of the Rest:

Jeff Fuller – WR – McKinney, Texas (6-4, 205) AC100 No. 92
Rod Davis – DT – Aldine, Texas (6-2, 300)
Derrick Hall – WR – Beaumont, Texas (5-11, 200)
Andrew Wolridge – DE – Lexington, Texas (6-3, 240)
Tommy Dorman – QB – North Richland Hills, Texas (6-3, 205)

Sleeper: Anthony Hyde – OT – Colleyville, Texas (6-6, 290)

Coach Fran and his running attack always required smaller, more athletic offensive lineman. With the implementation of the West Coast offense, a big-time left tackle is a necessary commodity. Hyde is just that. He has ideal left tackle size and is surprisingly athletic. He has the frame to add weight and strength while still maintaining his quick feet. He will need to adjust to playing in a pro-style offense as he used very unusual splits and formations in high school.

Signing Day Watch List:

There will be fans of every school in America wasting many man (or woman) hours at the office Wednesday.

That is because tomorrow is college football’s National Signing Day. It is the first opportunity for head coaches to officially claim players as their own. It is also the first time head coaches can publicly comment on recruits.

Needless to say, it is an exciting time for everyone involved. Fans, coaches, players and recruiting junkies everywhere will be glued to a medium of choice waiting for those faxed letters of intent to come in.

This season, more so than in recent years, the names left yet to commit are extraordinarily talented. The top quarterback, running back and wide receiver have yet to pick a school. The 2008 recruiting national championship, very much so, still hangs in the balance.

The big three are obvious:

Terrelle Pryor - QB - Jeannette, PA
Finalists: OSU, Michigan, Oregon, Florida, LSU, PSU
Prediction: if it happens tomorrow...OHIO STATE

Julio Jones - WR - Foley, AL
Finalists: Alabama, FSU, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas Tech
Prediction: ALABAMA

Darrell Scott - RB - Ventura, CA
Finalists: Colorado, Texas
Prediction: COLORADO

Pryor is set to announce on ESPNU at 12:05 pm ET. Pryor has hinted at taking a visit to Oregon this upcoming weekend, which would push back his announcement past Signing Day. Jones is set to announce at 12:30 pm ET on ESPNU. Scott is set to announce at 12:50 pm ET on ESPNU.

Here is a list of some of the other big names announcing Wednesday, my prediction is in bold:

E.J. Abrams-Ward - ATH - Thomasville, NC
Finalists: Tennessee, North Carolina

Aaron Boyd - WR - Lexington, KY (10:30 am)
Finalists: Kentucky, Oregon

T.J. Bryant - CB - Tallahassee, FL
Finalists: USC, FSU, Miami, Florida, Alabama, LSU

Quinton Coples - DE - Chatham, VA (10:45 am)
Finalists: North Carolina, Tenn, NC St, FSU

Enrique Davis - RB - Chatham, VA
Finalists: Maryland, Oregon, Auburn, Ole Miss, Tenn

Roderick Davis - DT - Aldine, TX
Finalists: Texas A&M, Texas, Florida

J.B. Fitzgerald - LB - Princeton Junction, NJ
Finalists: Michigan, Rutgers

Jarmon Fortson - ATH - Columbus, GA (12:45 pm)
Finalists: Florida St, Auburn

Jamie Harper - RB - Jacksonville, FL (12:20 pm)
Finalists: Clemson, FSU, Florida, Miami

Brandon Harris - CB - Miami, FL
Finalists: Florida, Miami, Ohio State

Jerrell Harris - LB - Gadsden, AL (3 pm)
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Tenn, USC

Josh Jenkins - G - Vienna, WV (9 am)
Finalists: Ohio St, WVU, Florida State

Ben Jones - OL - Miami, FL
Finalists: Clemson, Miami

Datone Jones - DE - Compton, CA
Finalists: Oregon, UCLA

T.J. Lawrence - WR - Lakeland, FL
Finalists: S. Car, Va. Tech, Florida, Michigan

Antoine McClain - OL - Anniston, AL
Finalists: Tenn, LSU, Clemson

Charles Mitchell - S - Clarksdale, MS
Finalists: Southern Miss, Nebraska, Miss St

Nick Perry - DE - Detroit, MI (3 pm)
Finalists: Michigan, USC, Mich St, Miami

Robert Quinn - DE - North Charleston, SC (10:30 am)
Finalists: Auburn, Alabama, North Carolina

Hamani Stevens - C - Hemet, CA (3 pm)
Finalists: UCLA, BYU, Oregon

Tommy Streeter - WR - Miami, FL
Finalists: Miami, Oregon, S. Car, USF

Note: Time = Player's expected announcement. All times Eastern.

Sherman reels in Cyrus Gray

Mike Sherman certainly has a great resume in is hand when he walks into living rooms. He averaged more than 10 wins a year in the NFL. He coached arguably the greatest quarterback in history in Brett Favre. And he is a Texas A&M guy, having coached there during the famous "Wrecking Crew" days.

It worked in the case of Jeff Fuller, whose father played in the NFL and is familiar with Sherman's offense. Fuller switched from Big Xii South rival Oklahoma to A&M as soon as Fuller heard about the West Coast offense that the Aggies would be running.

Sherman has done a great job of keeping a pretty solid class together. For a while this class, which was built very early in the recruiting season, was hanging in the balance.

College Station got some more good news recently. DeSoto running back Cyrus Gray has made his pick and committed to the Texas A&M Aggies.

Gray is ranked No. 54 in the Athlon Consensus 100.

This Gray is quite the opposite of his counterpart Jonas Gray (Detroit, MI - Notre Dame). Cyrus is about 30 pounds lighter than Jonas and is more of a speed back rather than a power runner. He lined up predominately as a quarterback, taking the shotgun snap and running with the ball. His natural open-field running ability is outstanding. He shows great vision and cut-back ability, exploding into creases and slashing through defensive front sevens. He can be a home run threat from the running back position.

For a speed back, Gray is very comfortable between the tackles. He uses his explosion and vision to find holes and squeak through with great quickness. Because he is smaller in stature, though, his penchant to run with a mean streak will catch up to him in college. Gray is a hard worker in the weight room, so he should be able to strengthen his lower body. An aspect he will have to improve, if he expects to run with the same intensity that made him so successful in high school.

Gray will play behind Mike Goodsen and big J-Train Lane next season but should be ready to tote the rock shortly there after.

Mike Sherman is certainly going to have a nice roster to work with over the next few seasons. Of course, so did Coach Fran.

Pre-Signing Day Team Recruiting Rankings:

In the middle of November, the first edition of The UV's Unofficial Team Recruiting Rankings debuted. Notre Dame was the best class in the nation after the first unofficial rankings. Things have changed a bit since then.

Athlon's ranks were USC-1, UGA-2, OSU-3, ALA-4, MIA-5. Our rankings only act as one-fourth of the overall team rankings. Much in the same way that the Athlon Consensus 100 works, these team rankings are compiled using four expert sources. ESPN, Rivals, Scout and Athlon.



Rivals and Scout use a computer system that calculates a point total based on individual rankings and quantities. ESPN's list is a subjective group put together based on one man's opinion. Athlon's rankings are obviously subjective as well. This gives The Unofficial Team Recruiting Rankings equal parts computer and human.

Georgia's consistency at No. 2 across the board gave the Bulldogs enough to overcome Notre Dame's two No. 1's. USC and OSU have the best bang for their buck with the highest level of quality. But schools like Miami and Alabama have put together much bigger classes at the moment so they got the nod in most rankings.

Texas has the top running back class with five nice prospects. They would have one of the best classes at the position in history if land Ventura (Cali.) running back Darrell Scott, whom they seem to be leading for after Longhorn tailback Jamaal Charles declared for the draft. Scott is the No. 1 running back prospect in the nation. If the Gators were to add Jacksonville star Jamie Harper and DeSoto (Tx.) product Cyrus Gray, they might be able to challenge. If the experts want to count USC transfer Emmanuel Moody, Florida might be leading.

USC is pulling off the same feat along the offensive line with six outstanding prospects. Ohio State could challenge if they were to land a kid like Josh Jenkins and Notre Dame might have something to say if they could snag Kenneth Page from the southeast.

The depth of this wide receiver class is special and there is still a lot of work to be done. With names like Muskogee's (Okla.) Jameel Owens and Foley's (Al.) Julio Jones still hanging in the balance, any number of teams could claim the title.

Florida would certainly clinch this position if they can somehow pull the upset and land Jones. Carl Moore, Omarius Hines and Frankie Hammonds round out a very well-balanced class for the Gators.

USC's class is special. D.J. Shoemate is Percy Harvin plus two inches and 30 pounds. Brice Butler might be the most polished wideout in the entire class. Oklahoma would challenge if they land Owens - which seems likely. Notre Dame recently pulled Deion Walker off the east coast and Michael Floyd is a very special player. Miami could join the action if the 6-6 Tommy Streeter gives The U a clean sweep of the Northwestern-7. (Ben Jones would have to commit as well...work with me here)

Spain Park defensive end William Green would give Alabama the best defensive line class. Miami boasts the best interior group led by Marcus Fortson, Texas A&M leads on the edge with six commits. Georgia has the second best overall class. Clemson and Oklahoma bring in the best two defensive line prospects in DaQuan Bowers and R.J. Washington respectively.

Miami has the linebacker class locked up. This class is so deep that the Canes might have five starters in the group: three linebackers, one safety and one defensive end. Michigan and Virginia Tech both have great depth in the linebacker corp. If the Buffaloes can hang onto Lynn Katoa, Colorado will have a dynamite group at linebacker.

LSU is atop the list of defensive back classes, led by Ely's (Fl.) Patrick Johnson. If Rick Nueheisel can hang onto Rahim Moore, E.J. Woods and company, UCLA might get my nod, however. It just seems so unlikely that will happen. The Gators claim the top safety group with New Jersey product Will Hill and Auburn High's Dee Finley.

The final team rankings will be released post-signing day.

Decommitment Party Coming to a Town Near You

Working for Rivals.com, one realizes that a 'verbal commitment' is just that. A spoken agreement between two parties. In the past a 'commitment' meant more. Realistically, roughly 90% of commitments stick and hold true.

Its seems recently that with all the major coaching moves, the word 'decommitted' has come up more and more often....

It all started with Nebraska and Bill Callahan getting axed...
Blaine Gabbert - QB (Ballwin, MO) Nebraska --> Missouri
Jonas Gray - RB (Detroit, MI) Nebraska --> Notre Dame
Trevor Robinson - OL (Elkhorn, NE) Nebraska --> ???
Sean Mohler - LB (Newport Beach, CA) Nebraska --> Colorado
D.J. Woods - WR (Strongville, OH) Nebraska --> West Virginia

This, on the same day that WVU lands another wide receiver named J.D. Woods from Naples, FL. So DJ Woods and JD Woods both wideouts, both commit to same school on the same day? Am I the only one who finds that weird?

Nebraska stopped the bleeding a bit when Bo Pelini hired Barney Cotton...
Ben Cotton - TE (Ames, IA) Louisville --> Nebraska

Then Dennis Franchione got lopped and Oklahoma got lucky...
Markelle Martin - S (Wichita Falls, TX) Texas A&M --> Oklahoma

But then Mike Sherman and the Aggies returned the favor...
Jeff Fuller - WR (McKinney, TX) Oklahoma --> Texas A&M

UCLA, Arkansas, and Georgia Tech have removed their HC's and it cost them...
Kemonte Bateman - WR (Los Angeles, CA) UCLA --> Arizona St
Sean Renfree - QB (Scottsdale, AZ) Georgia Tech --> ???
Jarius Wright - WR (Warren, AR) Arkansas --> ???

Keep an eye on E.J. Woods and Aundre Dean as well as their commitments to UCLA still hang in the balance.

Miami recently lost one of its fine linebacker commits...
Lerentee McCray - LB (Dunnellon, FL) Miami --> ???

This makes the tenuous commitment of Patrick Johnson even that more fragile.

Bret Bielema and Wisconsin have been poaching a bit...
Brandon Kelly - DE (Eden Prairie, MN) Minnesota --> Wisconsin
Anthony Mains - DE (Naples, FL) South Florida --> Wisconsin

A 6-6, 250 lb quarterback was not satisfied with one decommitment, he had to go for two...
D.C. Jefferson - QB (Winterhaven, FL) Rutgers --> LSU --> Rutgers

LSU has lost two QB commits in the last two weeks (Darron Thomas).

Now there is a rumor that Lynn Katoa is uneasy with his commitment to Colorado. Oklahoma looks to be a player.

Just a few more...
London Davis - TE (Cahokia, IL) Missouri --> Illinois
D.J. Marshall - DE (Mesquite, TX) Iowa State --> Kansas
Blair Irvin - DB (Patterson, LA) Auburn --> West Virginia

Jeff Fuller: Turn-a-bout is Fair Play

Shortly after Texas A&M announced that Dennis Franchione would not be retained as head coach, top flight safety prospect Markelle Martin decommitted and pledged to Oklahoma.

What goes around, comes around.

Mike Sherman was named the next head coach at Texas A&M. Offensively this means the Aggies will go from a hybrid wishbone option attack to a pure West Coast game plan. That was exactly what McKinney, TX wide receiver Jeff Fuller needed to hear. The 6-4, 210 lb Boyd High standout switched his commitment from Oklahoma to Texas A&M.

Fuller's father, Jeff Fuller Sr, was a defensive back at Texas A&M in the early 80's and Pro Bowl player for the 49ers. Jeff Sr. had been worried about his son playing wideout in an offensive system like Franchione's. No worries now. How he ranks:

Rivals: #92 overall, #15 wide receiver
Scout: #35 wide receiver
ESPN: #25 wide receiver
Prepstar: #62 overall, #11 wide receiver

Fuller has ideal size for a pass catcher. The great thing about his size is that he is much faster than he seems. He is deceptively fast with better straight line speed and open field agility that perceived. He is good at getting off the line-of-scrimmage and will not get jammed easily. Shows flashes of being a go-to red zone target. He also has the potential to return kicks.

He will need work on his route running and mental acumen. He is great on deep routes and underneath stuff but needs to learn how to work zones and manipulate defenders. That will come with sound coaching.

Being the son of a pro or college athlete can never be underestimated. Just like coaches' sons, players' kids have been around the game of football for most of their lives.

How many team meetings will it take before young Jeff Fuller will have to reenact his father's sweet jam?

Markelle Martin first to jump Aggie ship

According to SoonerScoop.com and ESPN.com, the highly ranked safety prospect Markelle Martin has de-committed from Texas A&M and joined the Oklahoma Sooners. How Martin Ranks:

Rivals: #12 safety in nation
ESPN: #11 safety in nation
Scout: Unranked wide receiver

The Rider High (Wichita Falls, TX) product is listed at 6-2, 190 lbs. Martin plays with reckless abandon. He announces his presence at the ball carrier. He has no regard for his bodily safety. Once he reads run, he is flying past blockers to the ball.

He is very strong at reading the play when sitting back in a zone scheme. He is fundamentally sound when it comes to turning his hips and staying low as he turns to run. He has great ball skills and has no problem going up and fighting for the pass.

This is a kid who uses his superior diagnostic skills to mask the lack of overall speed and athleticism. He is quicker than he is fast.

The real question is how many kids jump ship? Some are nervous and some are excited. The quick coaching turn-around will help continuity. However, new coach Mike Sherman will be building a staff and recruiting kids all while he does this little thing called coaching in the NFL. It will be tough.

Texas A&M only has two out-of-state commits though so it should be easy for Sherman, who is with the Houston Texans, to visit kids and calm their nerves. It will also help if he keeps some of the coaches from Fran's staff. It always helps the recruiting class if former coaches are kept.

Losing Martin is a big hit though. If they lose kids like Sedrick Johnson it will not be pretty. Especially if those kids go to divisional foes.