Mike Elko’s Texas A&M run is starting to look a lot different from the last time the Aggies sat atop a recruiting ranking.
That comparison is impossible to avoid. Texas A&M is once again being talked about as a heavyweight on the trail, with a reported $10 million tied to its No. 1-ranked 2027 recruiting class. And for anyone who remembers the 2022 class, the flash of that number brings back old memories fast.
That earlier haul was one of the first true NIL-era recruiting classes, and Texas A&M went big, landing a record nine five-star prospects in one cycle. At the time, that kind of class felt like a direct line to a national title window. It looked like Jimbo Fisher had finally found the kind of roster talent that could change everything.
Instead, it marked the start of the end. Fisher’s celebrated class never lived up to the hype, with behavioral issues affecting some of the top names and others leaving College Station quickly through the transfer portal.
Now the Aggies are back in the same neighborhood, but the people around the sport don’t all see this as a rerun. Texas A&M is coming off the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance, and Elko currently has the runaway top-ranked class, one that includes six five-star prospects.
Rival fans may be ready to point at 2022 and call it history repeating itself, but one SEC general manager told ON3’s Pete Nakos that this version of Texas A&M feels different.
“They got some really good players,” an anonymous SEC general manager said of Texas A&M. “Rankings aside, we liked a lot of the guys they’re taking.
They took some freaking great players. Elko’s a damn good coach.
This isn’t going to be Jimbo Fisher all over again. Not that Jimbo isn’t a good coach.
Elko’s at a different point in his career.”
ON3 national analyst Ari Wasserman made a similar point, arguing that this isn’t the old Texas A&M approach of simply loading up on stars and hoping for the best.
“This isn’t about spraying dollar bills into the air at a nightclub and hoping it makes a difference,” Wasserman writes. “This is calculated, well-allocated spending commensurate with what it takes to be competitive in this market.
Yes, Texas A&M has always had the funds. It has never spent them properly.”
Whether the Aggies are finally spending that money the right way is something only time will answer. But after the first two years of Elko’s tenure, one thing is clear: Texas A&M is not leaning on cash alone anymore.
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Texas A&M May Be Closing In On Another Priority Defender
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One of the names drawing the most attention is a four-star linebacker the Aggies have treated as a top priority, particularly after missing on a cornerback target elsewhere in the cycle. The pursuit has only grown more interesting after a recent official visit to College Station, and while Texas A&M remains firmly in the mix, there is still another major challenger in the picture as the recruitment moves toward its next key decision point. [Read more 🡒]