Mike Elko and his staff at Texas A&M are taking aim at a truly elite recruiting class in 2027, and the Aggies are off to a heck of a start. With Monday’s Rivals300 rankings refresh and an update to the Rivals Industry Ranking — an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services — A&M is the only school in the country with three five-star commitments thus far. The Aggies currently hold the No. 1 class nationally and also have the second-highest average rating per commitment behind Texas Tech.
It’s a group headlined by five-star safety Kamarui Dorsey out of Hampton (Ga.) and five-star edge rusher Zyron Forstall, by way of New Orleans and now IMG Academy in Florida. Both were previously tabbed as five-stars, But with the rankings now expanding to give that designation to the top 32 players in the country, St. Frances Academy (Md.) cornerback Raylaun Henry also checks in with that status now.
Henry pledged to Texas A&M back in November and has remained rock-solid thus far, despite plenty of interest from other schools. Along with Dorsey, he leads an elite defensive back class early in the cycle fo the Aggies. On top of the two five-stars, A&M also has a commitment from elite safety JayQuan Snell, who ranks as the No. 40 prospect in the cycle.
San Antonio-area cornerback Hakim Frampton, another borderline four-star, rounds out the class currently. Of the Aggies now-12 commitments, 11 are ranked as blue-chip prospects in the industry rankings — yet another sign of how they’re prioritizing quality and evaluations over sheer numbers. Aggies hunting for more 5-starsThe pursuit of elite difference-makers is far from done, though.
A&M’s infamous 2022 class under Jimbo Fisher featured nine five-stars, but ultimately many of those didn’t pan out. They’ll be in the mix for a similar number of top-32 players this cycle, with hopefully better results down the road. Among the top remaining targets for Elko and Co. is five-star offensive tackle Kennedy Brown out of the Houston area.
Brown has been on campus multiple times this spring, and both Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman and Steve Wiltfong logged picks over the weekend in favor of A&M to ultimately land him. “Texas A&M has been setting the pace in Brown’s recruitment and continued to pad that lead after sitting in position meetings with Adam Cushing this spring,” Spiegelman wrote Monday. “I love where the Aggies are positioned right now as Brown embarks on official visits.
My prediction is on Texas A&M to eventually add Brown to this star-studded 2027 class. Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong has gathered similar intel pointing to the Aggies as the team to beat as well.”The Aggies are also considered the leaders for five-stars Eric McFarland, John Meredith, Oluwasemilore Olubobola, Kaden Henderson, and Albert Simien, according to the Rivals Prediction Machine.