Texas A&M Building the Trenches with Huge Transfer Commit from LSU

Texas A&M is doing it again folks. Their success with the transfer portal is Elite.

Head Coach Mike Elko is not going to settle for average with his program. He understands the chess match that college football has become and will fight to keep the trajectory of Aggie football parallel to SEC success standards.

The offensive line is beefing up because Elko knows what is most important. How will we know Marcel Reed has developed going into 2026 if his front five holds him back?

Marcel Reed was sacked a combined 13 times in the two losses to close out the 2025 season. Elko knows this can't continue or it does a disservice to every other commitment they make to the program going forward. This move to grab a major piece for the offensive line after re-signing Reed proves that Elko is on a mission.

6'4 315lbs OL Coen Echols has transferred from LSU and officially committed to Texas A&M today per. Hayes Fawcett (On3Sports). Echols has three years of eligibility remaining.

Echols was a four-star recruit coming out of Katy, Texas. There is no surprise he is coming back near home to play in College Station.

The Aggies are getting a dawg

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko takes the field prior to the game against the Miami Hurricanes | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Echols is not the tallest prospect when it comes to dominant offensive lineman play on paper. He is a rare hybrid breed with insane strength and reach.

247Sports scout Gabe Brooks analyzed Echols coming out of high school and said, "potential to become an NFL Draft prospect on the interior O-line."

Echols' reach is plus-6 to his height, which makes his intangibles for interior trench play ideal. The Aggies could play around with him at the center position. He could be a dominant center.

The sneaky power is off the charts with Echols. An important fact about him is that he knows how to use his arm reach effectively. As a dual-sport athlete at Katy, he posted a 51-5 shot put in track and field. Harnessing power with your arm length to maximize performance in shot-put shows he has potential to master that trait of his game.

Any time a college football program has the chance to score a guy with NFL Draft potential, the sky is the limit. Echols with three years of eligibility remaining means he still has time to develop under the Aggies coaching staff.

Whether he is ready to come in and dominate the interior OL or needs time to develop his raw talent, Echols is a massive score for Texas A&M.

With the success of the Aggies showing signs of exponential growth, pieces to protect Reed like Echols could be the difference in 2026.

If Reed is protected, the pieces are there for him to flourish. Watch out for Elko's Aggies.