Texas A&M heads into the 2026 season with talent everywhere, and the Aggies’ freshman class has a few names worth learning now before the games start to matter.
Mike Elko enters his third year in College Station with momentum from the 2025 season, and he’s built this roster in more than one way. Texas A&M has leaned on traditional high school recruiting, but it has also used the transfer portal to bring in players who can help right away.
That mix has the Aggies sitting on big expectations, with veteran pieces expected to carry most of the load. Still, there’s real young talent on the roster, and three freshmen stand out as players who could carve out roles early.
The headliner is five-star cornerback Brandon Arrington, the highest-rated commit Texas A&M landed in the 2026 class. Rivals had him as the No. 1 cornerback in the country and the No. 8 overall player nationally. At around six-foot-two, Arrington has the kind of size that fits the modern game, and he brings enough talent that keeping him off the field may be tough even with a crowded depth chart ahead of him.
That cornerback room is no joke. Dezz Ricks and newcomer Rickey Gibson III are the likely outside starters, while Adonyss Currie and Jamar Beal-Goines - both four-star cornerbacks from the 2025 class - redshirted as freshmen and are still in the mix. Even with that traffic, Arrington has a path to helping the defense in some capacity.
Texas A&M also added a disruptive piece up front in four-star defensive lineman Bryce Perry-Wright. The Buford, Georgia product checks in at six-foot-two and 250 pounds, and Rivals ranked him as the No. 12 player at his position and the No. 8 player in Georgia. His final high school season was loaded: 106 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hurries, seven sacks and three forced fumbles.
The Aggies are looking for a new pass-rush answer, with transfer Anto Saka expected to get that shot. But Perry-Wright could be part of the solution too, especially if he translates that production into College Station quickly.
In the backfield, freshman KJ Edwards is another name to watch. Texas A&M will need someone to step into the offense’s bell-cow role, and while Rueben Owens II is the likely favorite, Edwards should get a chance to make noise. Rivals rated him the No. 3 running back in the 2026 class and the No. 6 player in Texas.
Edwards was a machine at Carthage High School, finishing his final season with 2,085 rushing yards and 31 touchdowns on 13.8 yards per carry. That kind of production gives him a real chance to offer something different in the Aggies’ backfield from day one.
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