Mikahi Allen took a big swing out of the 2027 recruiting board over the weekend, and Texas A&M came away with the prize.
The four-star linebacker from Ramsey, New Jersey, announced Saturday that he is headed to the Aggies, picking Texas A&M over Texas and South Carolina in a heated SEC battle. Allen is ranked as the No. 17 linebacker, the No. 5 prospect in New Jersey and the No. 201 overall player in Rivals’ 2027 industry rankings.
At 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds, Allen brings a rare blend of size and versatility to the position. He’s still relatively new to linebacker after previously lining up at safety for Don Bosco Prep, but the production jumped off the page in his junior season: 58 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two pass breakups, three interceptions with one returned for a touchdown, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Allen’s profile got even more national exposure after that season, when he took part in the 2026 Under Armour All-America Game. He also adds another layer to his athletic résumé on the track and field team at Don Bosco, where he runs the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash and competes in the long jump.
That athleticism shows up in the way evaluators see him. Andrew Ivins of 247Sports wrote in a June scouting report that Allen "can do a little bit of everything as he can attack the corner while playing on the ball, shoot gaps when positioned off the ball and impact passing lanes in coverage".
For Texas A&M, the commitment only adds to an already loaded 2027 class. Before Allen joined the fold, the Aggies already held the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. Of their 26 commitments, 17 are blue-chip prospects, and six of those blue-chip pledges are five-stars.
Allen is also the third linebacker to commit to Texas A&M in the cycle. Three-star Aston Whiteside got the ball rolling on June 1, and five-star Kaden Henderson followed on June 18 to deepen the group.
The miss stings for both of Allen’s other finalists, though South Carolina at least already has one linebacker in the class. Jackson Ross, the No. 56 linebacker in the 2027 cycle, committed to the Gamecocks on June 28.
As things stand, it looks unlikely that either South Carolina or Texas will land a blue-chip linebacker unless the board changes in the coming months. The only uncommitted blue-chip linebacker left in the 2027 class is four-star Brayton Feister, and he is leaning heavily toward Oregon.
Texas has been here before, landing top-three linebacker recruits in back-to-back classes with Elijah Barnes and Tyler Atkinson, though Barnes transferred to Kentucky in January. Right now, Cade Haug appears to be the Longhorns’ best shot at the position this cycle. The three-star is ranked No. 44 among linebackers.
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Some names fit the promise, others never quite did, and a few sit in the middle because the production was real even if the relationship with the fan base was complicated. Evan Stewart belongs in that conversation after finishing among A&Ms top three receivers in back-to-back seasons, while the broader ranking also reflects how much the program has asked of its biggest recruiting wins and how often the results have been uneven. [Read more 🡒]