Texas A&M Football: Aggies’ recruiting unfazed by Texas’ SEC move
Texas A&M football fans weren’t happy to hear Texas had made plans to follow them to the SEC, but it doesn’t appear to have hindered the Aggies on the recruiting trail.
No sooner had the news leaked that Texas was making a bid to join the SEC than was Texas A&M Athletic Director Ross Bjork in front of a microphone. “We love being the only school in the state of Texas in the SEC,” Bjork declared with vigor.
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At the end of the day, money overruled Bjorks’ emphatic pleas. Texas was officially accepted into the SEC on July 29. But the jolt of SEC-flavored recruiting power did not transpire as quickly as the Longhorns might have liked — far from it actually.
Bryce Anderson the No. 6 safety in the 2022 recruiting class and the No. 64-ranked recruit in the nation was on campus that very weekend in Austin when Texas was formally accepted. Less than a week later, he announced his commitment to Texas A&M, picking the maroon and white over the burnt orange contingent, regardless of their conference affiliation.
One recruit isn’t proof in itself that the Aggies will be completely insulated from the Longhorns’ awaited recruiting leap.
But it does speak to what Texas A&M has built during its near-decade-long membership in the SEC. Texas A&M has a brand of its own. A brand that can and has frequently gone toe-to-toe with Texas on the recruiting trail and walked away victorious.
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There a countless recruiting battles to come. No, Texas A&M football will not win all of them. But Anderson’s commitment could point to a shift in the balance of power between these two programs since they last shared a conference. It’s a new playing field and Texas A&M has thrown the first punch.