Texas A&M still sits alone at the top of the 2027 class rankings after Rivals’ latest re-rank, and the Aggies’ class remains loaded. Mike Elko and his staff have landed a group that has checked just about every box, piling up elite commitments and building what looks like a finished product already.
But the new Rivals update also gave Aggie fans plenty to gripe about.
The biggest issue is how many Texas A&M players Rivals is currently classifying as five-stars. The Aggies have five five-star players in Rivals’ Industry rankings, six in 247’s composite, and eight total who are listed as five-stars by at least one service. Rivals’ newest board, though, only gives Texas A&M two.
That gap is hard to miss, especially when several of the Aggies’ biggest names landed just outside the cutoff. Kaden Henderson checks in at No. 25 nationally.
JayQuan Snell and Raylaun Henry are close behind. Kennedy Brown’s slide is the one that really jumps off the page, with Rivals placing him near 50 even though ESPN has him as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country.
There was at least one major win for the Aggies in the update. Mark Matthews got a deserved bump to No. 2 overall, and Rivals clearly sees him as one of the most dominant tackle prospects in a long time. He could still make a run at the top spot before everything is finalized.
The most puzzling call may be Zyron Forstall. Rivals has him all the way down at No. 147, while the other two major services have him inside the top 30. That kind of split is hard to ignore, and it stands out even more given how highly he’s regarded elsewhere.
Rivals did move Errol Kerns and Aston Whiteside into the top 300 for the first time this cycle, so Texas A&M did get some positive movement in the update. Still, the larger concern for Aggie fans is obvious: when public perception is tied so closely to five-star counts, trimming that number on a class like this changes the way people see just how strong Texas A&M’s haul really is.
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Texas A&Ms offseason attention has naturally centered on the headline names, but the pieces that often decide a season are the players who fill in the gaps when the games get tight. A Memphis running back who showed enough last year to earn a larger look, a College Station native back home after time at UTSA, and a Chula Vista safety coming off a productive season all fit that mold. None arrives with the kind of spotlight that follows the stars, but each has a path to meaningful snaps in a program trying to find out how far Mike Elko can push it.
For the Aggies, the intrigue is less about whether these players can flash and more about how quickly they can become reliable parts of the rotation. The backfield picture still has room for one more voice, the tight end room could use a steady target who understands the system, and the secondary needs a safety who can tackle and hold up in coverage. If those roles settle the right way, Texas A&M gets more than depth. It gets the kind of under-the-radar contributors that can quietly shape a season. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Elko May Have Finally Solved Texas A&Ms Biggest Weak Spot
Texas A&Ms offseason turnover hit the defensive backfield especially hard, with 10 players headed to the NFL Draft and cornerback Will Lee III among the departures. For Mike Elko and his staff, that left a clear area to attack, and they have spent the spring and summer trying to rebuild the secondary with a mix of transfers and incoming talent.
The Aggies are banking on those additions to steady a unit that needed help fast, with the coaching staff leaning on both the portal and the latest recruiting class to patch the holes. If those pieces come together quickly, it could go a long way toward solving one of the biggest concerns on a roster that otherwise has plenty of reasons for optimism. [Read more 🡒]
