A&M poised for recruiting victory over Texas this week Posted: 7:06 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014 Email 0Facebook 6Twitter 0ShareThis 6 BY DAVE BEHR - AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF The Texas Longhorns might have had the last laugh on the field against their rivals from College Station, but recently Texas A&M is winning its fair share against UT on the state’s recruiting trails. In this year’s Lone Star State recruiting race, the early returns held through a wild final month of the 2014 cycle: The Aggies will be this year’s winner Wednesday on national signing day. Related Gallery Final 2014 Fab 55 gallery Final 2014 Fab 55 The American-Statesman’s final 2014 Fabulous 55 list of the state’s top recruits has been released, and the Aggies boast the most recruits overall (13), the most in the top 20 (six) and the No. 1 overall recruit (Arlington Martin defensive end Myles Garrett). Texas will finish with nine pledges in the Fab 55. A&M got momentum early in the 2014 cycle with the pledges of players such as Lake Travis running back Shaun Nixon (No. 20 in the Fab 55) and Richmond Travis defensive back Nick Harvey (No. 10) during their junior seasons. The Aggies also finished strong by landing late-blooming Houston Westside wide receiver Frank Iheanacho and two former Texas pledges, defensive tackle Zaycoven Henderson and linebacker Otaro Alaka, in the final month. Those three ranked 12th, 32nd and 22nd, respectively. Our final Fabulous 55: Where the state’s top talent is heading “The really good thing (Texas A&M) did this year was identify guys early that I think are going to be really good players,” Jeff Howe, recruiting analyst for 247Sports, said. “The thing that ties it all together for them is getting Myles Garrett.” Combining the attention A&M has received after its move to the SEC with former quarterback Johnny Manziel winning the 2012 Heisman Trophy and the on-field slide the Longhorns have experienced over the past four seasons, the tea leaves have been foreshadowing this momentum switch for a few years. Longhorns faithful hope the arrival of Charlie Strong will soon make things right again. But Texas is in a position it hasn’t seen since the ’90s — a clear-cut second to the Aggies. Related Gallery 2014 UT Commitments gallery 2014 UT Commitments With only nine recruits on each of the past two Fab 55 lists, it’s hard not to notice the downward trend after 17 consecutive years of double-digit recruits and 18 straight years of having at least one of the top five players in the state. Denton Guyer quarterback Jerrod Heard is UT’s top pledge, at No. 9. It’s not all bad for the Longhorns. Being second in Texas, a state that annually produces the most BCS recruits in the country, still leaves room for signing some very good players. The Longhorns have the top quarterback in Heard; the No. 3 defensive end, Derrick Roberson of San Antonio Brennan; and five other players ranked in the top 30 in the state. Nine wide receivers made this year’s Fab 55, and the Longhorns will sign three — No. 19 Armanti Foreman, No. 25 Lorenzo Joe and No. 53 Dorian Leonard. “What last year’s class lacked, I think, is the strength of this year’s class,” Howe said, alluding to the number of playmakers Texas will sign this year after going heavy on the offensive line in 2013. Next year’s class will be the first credited to Strong. With the NCAA dead period lasting until Jan. 16, the new Texas coach had only three weeks to make adjustments to this year’s haul after his Jan. 6 hiring. Strong’s biggest achievement in the 2014 class was holding on to Heard, Roberson and the top in-state players as well as adding Arlington Bowie linebacker Edwin Freeman, the state’s 18th-ranked player. Some of the guys Strong was able to keep on board will make a big impact during their time in Austin, but signing day will have a “what if?” feel to it in Austin. This year’s class was chock full of blue-chip defensive backs. Five of the top 10 players in the state are DBs, and 14 total made the Fab 55, by far the most of any position. Texas landed only Houston Lamar’s John Bonney, No. 26 overall. “There’s no way to sugarcoat that,” Howe said. “That hurts.” Another reason for UT’s struggles has been the recent rise of the Baylor Bears. Baylor, which will pull in the third-best class of Texans, continues to gain steam on the trail. The Bears landed six of the top 55 players, including two in the top 10 — K.D. Cannon, the state’s No. 1 receiver, and Davion Hall, the top athlete. In terms of the Fab 55, this 2014 haul, coming on the heels of Baylor’s first football conference championship in 20 years, is poised to be the best the Bears have had since the turn of the century. “Recruiting momentum can be created,” Howe said. “The best way to create it and keep it rolling is win football games.” Not by coincidence, schools from outside Texas’ borders that are used to cherry-picking the state are now struggling to pull in elite Texas talent with Baylor on the upswing. Oklahoma has only two pledges on this year’s list, its lowest total since 1999. The SEC has yet to make the major inroads in the state many people expected when A&M switched conferences. Outside of the Aggies, the SEC landed only five players between Alabama, LSU and Arkansas. Three of the five, however, rank in the top eight in the state. Meanwhile the Pac-12 has four players committed, and it will probably get a fifth on national signing day as the state’s No. 3 overall recruit, Coppell defensive end Solomon Thomas, is expected by many to sign with Stanford. “The bottom line is Texas’ piece of the pie is much smaller than it was five or six years ago,” Howe said. COMING THIS WEEK National signing day is Wednesday. Follow our daylong reporting online through our Bevo Beat and Dotted Line blogs. On Thursday, get comprehensive national coverage with a special online six-page edition. FAB 55 DESTINATIONS How the Fabulous 55 recruits are grouped, by schools/commitments: 13: Texas A&M 9: Texas 6: Baylor 4: Oklahoma State 3: LSU 2: Oklahoma, TCU, Texas Tech 1: Alabama, Arkansas, Boise State, Florida State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC Note: Three Fab 55 recruits are uncommitted. STATE RANKINGS How the state’s major programs’ recruiting classes are ranked nationally, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings of the nation’s leading recruiting services: School;Rank;Commits;5-stars;4-stars Texas A&M;3rd;21;3;12 Texas;12th;21;0;7 Baylor;24th;28;1;3 Texas Tech;37th;26;0;0 TCU;46th;21;0;0
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 14:59:01 +0000