The latest on Texas A&M and Jaden Rashada, plus other 2023 QB recruits

Can Texas A&M football land Jaden Rashada? Plus other info on 2023 QB recruits such as Arch Manning and Avery Johnson. 

The quarterback carousel of college football recruiting continues to turn and sometime this month, a really big name is going to get off and that’s Jaden Rashada.

Rashada is no longer ranked as a five-star recruit according to the 247 sports composite rankings after they were updated to include the On3 consensus, however, Rashada is still a top-100 recruit (53rd overall) and is seventh among quarterbacks in the 2023 recruiting class.

And Rashada’s recruitment has been all over the map.

Ole Miss was viewed as a strong contender and even the favorite at one point, but Oregon football also surged into the lead, and most recently, according to the On3.com prediction machine, Florida is the top bet to win his commitment.

Reading between the lines, it seems like Oregon is fading a little bit (more on that later), and with official visits set for three SEC schools (Texas A&M football, LSU, and Florida) the last two weeks before he decides on June 18 are going to be fascinating.

It’s clear that the Gators are a strong contender now and the official visit will be key for Florida to try and lock things down. It also makes you wonder how big of a move Texas A&M football made over the weekend as it hosted Rashada for an official visit.

There was a picture of Rashada with Jonny Manziel’s Heisman Trophy and there’s no doubt that if NIL is a big factor, Texas A&M football should have the edge. Jimbo Fisher is also a national-championship winning coach and has a program poised to win big in College Station.

Fisher also coached former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston and has plenty to sell to Rashada. Miami is also a factor and Ole Miss did just take his brother as a junior college transfer, but the Rebels already have a commitment from Marcel Reed in the 2023 class.

Florida, A&M, and Miami are probably the top three teams in the mix with Oregon and LSU right on the edge. The Ducks could land his commitment too but they are also after the commitment of four-star Avery Johnson, which is where it gets dicey.

We’ll see what the buzz is after Rashada’s visit to Texas A&M football but with Dante Moore also expected to visit unofficially this month, it will be interesting to see how things develop.

Moore would be on campus during Rashada’s window and that makes you think maybe the Aggies aren’t feeling that confident. It could be also why UF is trending up.

Now, let’s talk about Oregon football, Jaden Rashada, Avery Johnson, and Dante Moore.

What is Oregon football going to do at QB?

The Ducks are another fascinating team to watch in terms of 2023 QB recruiting because their decisions will have a major impact on other recruitments especially since Oregon football is heavily involved with Rasada, Dante Moore, and Avery Johnson.

At one time or another, Oregon has been viewed as the leader for all three. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Ducks had a nearly 60 percent chance of getting Rashada according to the On3 prediction machine but now that has dropped to 22 percent and the Ducks are behind Florida and just ahead of A&M.

Oregon is also a top contender for Moore who took an official visit there and said really good things. However, another name to know is that of Johnson, a four-star QB ranked 192 overall by the 247 sports composite rankings and 10th among QBs.

He’s out of Kansas and Kansas State has the only crystal ball projection. The Wildcats are also the current leader according to the On3 prediction machine but things are shifting. Washington hosted Johnson for an official visit this weekend and Oregon is set to do the same in two weeks.

That’s the same weekend Rashada is expected to commit and Moore is supposed to be in College Station to see the Texas A&M football program.

Scoop Duck’s Justin Hopkins, is predicting that Johnson will be the Ducks QB commit in 2023. That won’t eliminate Oregon from trying to land Moore down the road, but I don’t see Moore or Rashada committing to a class with a quarterback already in it.

It’s also hard to see Johnson taking a visit to Oregon later in June if the Ducks are taking the commitment of Rashada that weekend, so if Avery Johnson’s visit to Eugene is still a go, that will be a telltale sign that’s he likely headed to Oregon, while Moore and Rashada won’t be.

Arch Manning and some others

Maybe the biggest question about quarterback recruiting this weekend centers around five-star Arch Manning, the top-ranked overall prospect in the 2023 class.

Manning took an official visit to Georgia and put on the all-white uniforms that the defending national champions revealed. At this point, it feels things are down to Georgia and Texas as far as Arch Manning’s commitment is concerned and that’s reflected in the On3 prediction machine which gives Texas a slight edge at 52-46 percent.

Alabama dropped way off after it took the commitment of another top-100 QB in the 2023 class, Eli Holstein, but after hosting four-star Dylan Lonergan for an official visit this weekend, it seems like the Tide are serious about taking more than one QB.

Lonergan is still projected to land with South Carolina as we predicted here when he released his cut list. He’s going to visit the Gamecocks officially this month following a trip to Stanford.

But would Arch Manning join a two-QB class or would another high-profile QB like Holstein stick with his commitment if Arch was on board? It seems unlikely.

Texas is the leader but Georgia always felt like the safest bet to me. Yet, Manning would get more credit if he went to Texas and won a national title, at least compared to Georgia since the Bulldogs just won one last year and should contend for another in 2022.

There is still no word on a decision date for Arch Manning but the race is just heating up.