New A&M QB Commitment Maddox to 'Take the Game to a Whole Other Level'
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The Texas A&M Aggies have their next quarterback recruit.
On Monday evening, Hattiesburg (Miss.) Oak Grove High School star Anthony Maddox Jr. announced his verbal commitment to Jimbo Fisher, Bobby Petrino and the Aggies over finalists Alabama and Penn State.
The rise of the 2024 recruit, fresh off of his first season as a varsity starter, has been a quick one. Anthony Maddox Sr., who played in the NFL and in Canada before becoming a prep coach, has long seen the potential of his eldest boy.
"He's always been a special kid," Maddox Sr. said. "I bought him his first ball, a baseball when he was two or three years old. He could throw it across the yard, and we were on an acre, but he could slang it.
"His love for the game always showed he would be a special kid one day."
The A&M offer to Maddox was the last brought in by the junior quarterback, who has accelerated his recruitment since. The young passer told All Aggies he knew Texas A&M was the place for him 48 hours after the January 30 offer came in. A trip to College Station last fall for the Florida game helped to round out the angle of the newest extension.
It's part of the reason a decision came in so fast.
"He's been a professional for a long time," Maddox Sr. said. "What I mean by that is understanding to take care of his body, to understand sleep, to understand exercise. Knowing when to do it, when not to do it. So many things that my family has done over the years to prepare them for this.
Anthony Maddox at a recent camp performance.
Courtesy of Anthony Maddox Sr.
"He bought into it early, he took the stick and ran with it. It's exciting to be able to see things come into existence, things we thought could and would happen."
Maddox Sr. doesn't sell his son as a ready-made collegiate prospect. Junior's three-sport status in high school only points to the more physical and technical upside as time rolls on.
"He's about 6-2, 175, it's basketball season so he can't gain anything (laughing)," Maddox Sr. said. "He's playing baseball, too, starting shortstop and leadoff hitter. To me, he was a better baseball player but when you get that football family, that football love, it's a different game."
Baseball being the new Aggie pledge's first sport, and perhaps his best even at this time is something the TAMU coaching staff bought into as a quarterback projection.
"That's one of the things that Jimbo (Fisher) and (Bobby) Petrino liked, especially Jimbo," he said. "He was like, 'he plays shortstop? That means in the RPO game he can get the ball out of his hands quicker, like turning a double play.'
Anthony Maddox Jr.
Courtesy of Anthony Maddox Sr.
"That was a big sell, something that was impressive to him."
When Maddox Jr. isn't rotating between all three varsity sports, the football training has become more intense with area coaches beyond the Oak Grove coaching staff. There has been an emphasis on the mental elements of the game that separate the best quarterback talents from the bunch.
"We're trying to take the game to a whole other level," Maddox Sr. said. "Pre-snap reads, understanding defenses better, setting the blocking schemes, and seeing things before they happen.
"What to do and what not to do at times."
While the focus seems on the future, of course, a rising-senior passer at a storied program led by his father is the more immediate setting to accomplish the next round of goals -- especially with the recruiting process behind the family.
Many saw glimpses of Maddox Jr.'s potential in 2022, as he led the program to double-digit wins and a playoff run despite it being his initial varsity campaign.
"He was consistent, the completion percentage was good, but if it's not 100 percent then it's not where you need to be," Maddox Sr. said. "The more you know, the faster you're able to play, so that's where we're trying to get with him."
Maddox Jr. is the fourth quarterback commitment early on in the Texas A&M class of 2024.
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