Texas A&M Football Recruiting: Aggies’ class still best in Texas

Texas A&M football recruiting has led the state from wire to wire. The Jimbo Fisher effect is strong in Aggieland in 2019 and beyond.

Defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal was awarded a fifth star in the 247 Sports recruiting ranks in early December. The bump up in the ranking of Texas A&M’s prized defensive commit was part of the regular recalibration of the rankings that occur frequently during the year. Normally it’s not much of an event, but this time was different.

Leal’s boost and the movement of the rest of the top recruits secured the Aggies’ place in front of the Texas Longhorns and just about everyone else with precious days remaining in before the Early Signing Period begins on December 19.

Texas A&M has more 5-stars than Texas (two vs zero), more total commits (23 vs 21), a higher recruiting composite score (285.19 vs 267.44) and a higher average recruiting score (91.46 vs 91.12). The Aggies have the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation whereas the Longhorns check in at No. 6. It doesn’t matter which way you slice it, the Aggies have the better class and more talent coming in.

Does this mean a changing of the guard in the Lone Star State? Texas stole the show last spring with the state’s best class as preeminent rivals Texas A&M and Oklahoma both broke in new head coaches. Both the Sooners and the Aggies have more top end talent than the Longhorns this year, making it seem like Tom Herman’s control over the state may have been short-lived.

One recruiting class won’t shift the balance of power indefinitely, but the Longhorns should be wear of what Jimbo Fisher is assembling in College Station. A Top 2 class is reserved for the likes of Alabama, Georgia and Clemson — the same names that seem to find themselves in the College Football Playoff hunt every year.