Is Texas A&M A Top-Five Program Entering 2022?
It would be best not to consider Texas A&M as a "rebuilding team" in 2022. Despite sending nine players to the NFL draft in April, the Aggies are reloading on talent, not replacing it.
A&M is coming off its best offseason in the Jimbo Fisher. The Aggies finished with the consensus No. 1 recruiting class for the first time in modern recruiting history. The team also is confident in its quarterback room with veterans Haynes King and Max Johnson to go along with freshman Conner Weigman.
Fox Sports recently released its way-too-early Top 25 rankings entering spring. The Aggies didn't take the top spot, but they did grab the silver medal, sliding into No. 2 behind only Alabama.
The Aggies move up to No. 2 in the spring ranking on the strength of their record-setting 2022 recruiting class. Even more impressive is that Jimbo Fisher’s A&M put together a class made almost exclusively from the high school ranks in an era when many recruiting classes are 50 percent (or more) transfers.
With additions such as five-star defensive lineman Shemar Stewart, former Ole Miss defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and former LSU quarterback Max Johnson, A&M fans are looking forward to what could be their best season since the invention of sliced bread. - R.J. Young
The Aggies are crossing the middle-tier class of the SEC to top contenders along with Georgia and Alabama. Both programs could make a case on records alone to be the best in the nation. In January, Georgia ended its 41-year drought by defeating the Crimson Tide in Indianapolis.
The Crimson Tide has won six titles since the arrival of Nick Saban in 2007.
Recruiting speaks volumes for A&M entering 2022. Weigman was one of the marquee prospects added to the roster, but the Aggies brought in 13 players from SI99's list, including receiver Evan Stewart, defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, defensive back Denver Harris and Walter Nolen, the top defensive player in the nation.
The harsh reality is while the pieces are in place, the Aggies still have much work to accomplish. Fisher is entering his fifth season and has yet to tally a double-digit win season. Although A&M capitalized in a COVID-19 season, it regressed a year later, going from a 9-1 record to 8-4.
Offensively, the Aggies were limited at both receiver and quarterback due to inconsistent play from Zach Calzada. Fisher so far has been content with the way the younger players have adapted to college practices in a short time.
“I always think defenses come together quicker than offenses do. That’s just the nature of the beast and how you do things,” Fisher said Thursday. “But offense, I have been pleased. We’ve got some new guys up front working hard, playing well."
The Aggies were one of six SEC schools to make Fox Sports' list. Following the top two, Georgia ranked No. 4, Arkansas ranked No. 6, Ole Miss ranked No. 9 and Kentucky rounded out the group at No. 23.
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