Whatever inroads
Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong made into the in-state dominance by the Texas A&M Aggies in March has now withered away like the bluebonnets that once lined Texas roadways this spring.
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Commitments from safety/outside linebacker DeShon Elliott from a supposed Texas A&M stronghold of Rockwall-Heath that had produced three commits and signees combined in the 2013 and 2015 classes was a major step forward and so was landing Houston Westfield offensive tackle Toby Weathersby, a high-upside target of both schools.
Add in the decommitment of Katy running back Rodney Anderson and suddenly there was some positive Texas momentum in battles that hardly seem like they are hotly contested at this time with the Aggie dominance rendering Horns resistance nearly obsolete.
In the last week, three prospects with offers from Texas committed to A&M -- five-star quarterback Kyler Murray from Allen, four-star wide receiver Kemah Siverand from Cypress Ridge, and three-star defensive tackle Kingsley Keke from George Ranch.
In all, that runs the head-to-head battle between the two schools to 10-to-2 in favor of the Aggies. As A&M fans and recruits are fond of saying right now, that's not just winning, that's dominating. Count former offensive tackle commit Connor Lanfear among those:
It's overwhelming.
And it's hard to argue with the assessment of the Aggies ruling the state, because while the commitment of the Aggie legacy Murray was hardly a surprise, the loss of Siverand was a significant blow because the expected Texas-Texas A&M battle for his services never really happened, as the list that he released early on the day that Murray committed had the Horns sitting in fifth place.
Having a quarterback committed in the class helped A&M secure Siverand and it could help land a number of other players. Not to mention the fact that five-star Gladewater defensive tackle Daylon Mack canceled his summer visits at that time, as well.
The most recent pledge, Keke, was considered a Texas lean after receiving his offer in April. In fact, he told GigEm247 that he always
envisioned himself as a Longhorn, but thought the Aggies were a better fit. Not only that, but his commitment came the day after two A&M players were dismissed from the team after being charged with three counts each of aggravated robbery -- if there were any concerns about the
discipline in the program, it wasn't enough to keep Keke from drawing a "#YESSIR" tweet from head coach Kevin Sumlin.
Texas now has only two in-state defensive tackle offers out at what continues to be a need position having lost two players to the Aggies. And the Horns haven't been considered one of the favorites for Dallas Bishop Dunne's Darrion Daniels at any point in his recruitment, though the news is better with former Sooners commit Du'Vonta Lampkin, a Cypress Falls product.
Ultimately, what happens during the fall will have a tremendous impact on whether the Horns can catch up in recruitments like those of five-star Mesquite Poteet linebacker Malik Jefferson and five-star Fort Bend Marshall cornerback Kendall Sheffield. The problem is that short of a successful season or some type of massive continued implosion with the A&M football program, Texas will likely have another lost class bereft of many of the state's top players.
There's also former perceived Longhorn lean Damarkus Lodge, the breakout Cedar Hill star who looks destined to commit to A&M later this month and follow Murray.
No matter how well Strong develops the talent currently on hand and the talent that he does end up landing in the 2015 class, failing to secure signatures from the top players in the state will have a significant impact on the program's future upside -- it's hard to underestimate how much of a problem this is and what a massive shift has happened in the state since Sumlin was hired and the Aggies made the move to the SEC.
Think we started noticing it last yr round game 5-6 that no one tried Darby which is crazy to me me cause dudes technique looks bad compared to PJ but PJ is more press than him. No one last yr talked about how the DBs shut Watkins down. Even that TD he had was tough. Emptiest 8 for 68 I've ever seen
) and the loss of Watkins, Boyd, and Bryant.
