Texas A&M’s summer buzz is coming from two very different places right now: the recruiting trail and the diamond.
The biggest concern for Aggie fans is the latest movement around 5-star running back Landen Williams-Callis. Texas A&M has been pursuing the Richmond Randle standout for a long time, and Trooper Taylor has been the key figure in that chase.
But the prediction board has started to tilt in an uncomfortable direction. Two predictions for Williams-Callis to land with Texas came in on June 23, and another followed yesterday.
That said, the shift has been limited so far to Texas beat writers. National writers still have their picks on Texas A&M, though those projections were last made in October. For now, the question is whether the Longhorns are actually building momentum or whether the recent calls are getting ahead of the story.
On the baseball side, Nico Partida just picked up a major honor after a strong season for Texas A&M. Even though his year was interrupted by injury, he still posted some of the best numbers on the roster and showed real pop at the plate. That performance earned him a spot on USA Baseball’s Collegiate Team.
Partida joins a loaded group, and the roster has a heavy SEC flavor to it, with more than half the players coming from the conference. The team will represent the United States in the first-ever World Collegiate Baseball Championship, and Partida is expected to play a significant role.
There’s also reason for optimism at wide receiver. Texas A&M has started to reshape a position group that had spent years searching for traction. The Aggies were recently ranked among the nation’s most impressive wide receiver commitment classes after landing Eric McFarland, and the group looks like it has more room to grow.
That momentum isn’t limited to the future, either. Texas A&M’s receiver room from last season was already one of the most exciting in the country, and it’s expected to stay that way heading into the upcoming year.
In Other News...
Aggies Transfer Suddenly Looks Like More Than Linebacker Insurance
After Texas A&Ms College Football Playoff loss, Mike Elko and his staff went to work in the transfer portal, bringing in 17 newcomers to help reshape the roster. One of the additions, Tulsa linebacker Ray Coney, looked like a straightforward depth move at the time, a piece meant to help stabilize a defense that needed bodies and experience after a busy offseason.
Coney is starting to look like more than insurance. With veteran linebacker Taurean York gone and Daymion Sanford sidelined by injury, the Aggies need immediate answers in the middle of the defense, and Coney has drawn positive reviews for both his athleticism and his play. Alongside sophomore Noah Mikhail, he is now in line to carry a much bigger load than originally expected, which makes his transition one of the more important developments to watch as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&Ms Playoff Hopes May Hinge On One Unexpected Offensive Piece
Rueben Owens is positioned to become the centerpiece of Texas A&Ms ground game this fall, and that matters because the Aggies are trying to replace a lot of production around him. Under Mike Elko and newly promoted offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins, the offense is expected to lean on the run as it reshapes itself after key departures elsewhere, and Owens already showed he can handle a meaningful workload with 639 rushing yards and five touchdowns last season.
Owens now enters the season as the back most likely to carry that burden, working alongside Marcel Reed in an offense that will need stability early. The Aggies do not need him to be flashy so much as dependable, because if the run game holds together, it gives the rest of the offense a chance to settle in while the new pieces around him sort themselves out. [Read more 🡒]