Texas A&M Aggies

When it comes to freshmen, Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin has never been shy about putting them on the field.

Going back to his time at Houston, Sumlin has long been a "best players play" coach, regardless of age or experience. If a player can help his team win and does the right things, that player will see the field.

Last season, Texas A&M had several true freshman either start or contribute to the Aggies memorable 11-2 season. Cornerback De'Vante Harris and defensive end Julien Obioha both started large portions of the year. Others found themselves in the two-deep as contributors or spot starters, like receiver Thomas Johnson, defensive tackle Alonzo Williams and running back Trey Williams.

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M kicked off spring practice for the 2013 season on Saturday and with it comes new players in new roles, new expectations and plenty of other changes.

Many of those changes could be seen on the initial 2013 depth chart released by head coach Kevin Sumlin. There are some absent names because of injuries and there's a long way to go before definitive statements can be made, but it certainly gives us some players and things to keep an eye on moving forward. Among them:

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When it comes to defensive backs, the class of 2014 is a strong one in the Lone Star State.

And Texas A&M is doing quite a job locking down several as commitments, adding two more to their 2014 haul on Saturday in the form of ESPN Watch List safety Dylan Sumner-Gardner and Forney (Texas) North Forney athlete Armani Watts.

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Having the same combination of players in the secondary from week to week wasn't a common occurrence for Texas A&M in 2012.

Whether it was an injury or simply trying fit the right pieces into the right places, the defensive backfield was an area where the Aggies moved a lot of pieces.

The unit had its ups and downs but returns plenty of experience for 2013.

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Team needs: There are three key need areas for Texas A&M in this recruiting class: defensive tackles, linebackers and receivers. The defensive tackle need stems from the Aggies' scheme switch. The 2010 and 2011 seasons were spent in a 3-4 alignment, and recruiting was tailored to that. Once Kevin Sumlin arrived and hired Mark Snyder as his defensive coordinator, the Aggies switched to a 4-3, meaning another defensive tackle on the field, meaning more were needed. At linebacker, the Aggies say goodbye to a pair of senior leaders, Sean Porter and Jonathan Stewart, both of whom were starters. The other starting linebacker, Steven Jenkins, will be a senior this season. At receiver there are several contributors leaving as well. Ryan Swope, Uzoma Nwachukwu and Kenric McNeal were all seniors. Thomas Johnson, a true freshman who appeared in 10 games and was one of the gems of the 2012 recruiting class, withdrew from school and might not return. There's another scholarship spot at the position in the form of Brandal Jackson, who was on scholarship but not part of the 105-man roster at the start of fall camp.

Help is on the way: At defensive tackle, A&M scored commitments from ESPN 150 defensive tackle Justin Manning and ESPN 300 defensive tackle Isaiah Golden. Three-star prospect Hardreck Walker and three-star Jordan Points (who is already on campus) round out that group. There are six linebackers in the class, led by ESPN 300 ILB Jordan Mastrogiovanni. Three are already on campus and enrolled: Brett Wade, Reggie Chevis and Tommy Sanders. At receiver, the Aggies have plenty. Ricky Seals-Jones tops the list, prep school standout Ja'Quay Williams is already in school, and there's a pair of three-star receivers as well. Not to mention, No. 1 tight end prospect Derrick Griffin would be a receiver at A&M if he makes it in, and athlete LaQuvionte Gonzalez likely would be an inside receiver.

Other key commits: A pair of Under Armour All-Americans, guard Joas Aguilar and cornerback Noel Ellis, plus a U.S. Army All-American, safety Kameron Miles, round out a group 10 prospects that are among ESPN's top 300. Two quarterbacks are in the class (Kohl Stewart and Kenny Hill), but it's worth keeping an eye on them as Stewart is a potential high MLB draft pick and Hill took official visits to Baylor and Kansas State. Eight early enrollees in the class are already on campus (Chevis, Points, Sanders, Wade, Williams, Cameron Clear, Alex Sezer and Jeremiah Stuckey), and there are plenty of promising three-star commits, including guys like cornerback Tavares Garner and outside linebacker Darian Claiborne.

Other key targets: There aren't a ton of targets left for the Aggies at this point. Their focus is on a small handful of guys. Adding a defensive end would be ideal for the Aggies, and they're pursuing Washington commit Daeshon Hall and USC commit Torrodney Prevot in that regard. Hall visited recently, and Prevot could soon. They are also still looking at another receiver. Former USC commit Sebastian LaRue is one of those targets, and he was in on an official visit recently. They are also looking at Florida State commit Levonte Whitfield, who said he plans to officially visit Feb. 1.

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"Introducing the class" is a series in which GigEmNation conducts a Q&A session with each of the incoming recruits in Texas A&M's 2013 class to give readers a closer look at each recruit individually. Today, we visit with Orange (Texas) Little Cypress-Mauriceville running back Alex Sezer.

Sezer is a 5-foot-10, 170-pound three-star prospect who will play cornerback for Texas A&M. As a running back, he ranked 67th nationally at the position and had a productive senior season for LC-M, compiling 1,286 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on 210 carries.

Also a track star in high school, Sezer is known for his speed. He is one of nine Aggies who are mid-year additions to the program. He is one of four high school prospects who graduated in December in order to enroll for classes in January. Here's our Q&A with Sezer, who committed to the Aggies on June 18, 2012:

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Some people might not believe it, but Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin says he knows the rules.

As the Aggies' recruiting class swells on the heels of its first year as a Southeastern Conference member -- an 11-2 campaign capped by a 41-13 whipping of Oklahoma in the AT&T Cotton Bowl on Saturday -- observers continue to ask how the Aggies can have so many players in their 2013 recruiting class.

Currently, Texas A&M has 35 commitments in the class, picking up two over the weekend in the form of ESPN 300 receiver Tony Stevens, who announced on Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl that he was A&M-bound, and ESPN 300 inside linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni, who was committed to Oklahoma since June before flipping to the Aggies on Sunday night.

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While on his official visit to Texas A&M during the weekend, Kennedale (Texas) High School linebacker Brett Wade got a glimpse into what the on-field future will be for him.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound, four-star inside linebacker, who is ranked 14th nationally at his position, got a chance to sit down with defensive coordinator Mark Snyder and go over the Aggies' defense and how he'll fit in when he arrives.

Wade, who is one of five high school commitments in Texas A&M's 2013 class that will enroll in time for January classes, enjoyed the opportunity to get an up-close look at the scheme and spend that time with Snyder.

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Now that Texas A&M's regular season is complete, coach Kevin Sumlin and his staff have turned their full attention to recruiting, closing out the 2013 class and building on their 2014 haul, which already has begun with three commitments in the books.

With 31 commitments for the Class of 2013, the Aggies currently lead the nation in total commitments. And they're not finished yet, still in the hunt for some of their top remaining targets. Among the players the Aggies are still pursuing:

" ATH Ricky Seals-Jones, Sealy (Texas) High School: The No. 13 player in the ESPN 150 and the nation's No. 1 athlete is down to LSU and Texas A&M. He recently took an unofficial visit to Texas A&M for the Missouri game and was visited by LSU special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey. Seals-Jones said he plans to take official visits to both schools but is mum on a decision timeline or even if a decision could come before or after said officials.

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GigEmNation is taking a weekly position-by-position look at the 2014 recruiting class as it relates to Texas A&M, who the Aggies are targeting, as well as 2013 commits and who on the roster will graduate. Today, we look at the running backs:

2013 commits: James White (Pearland, Texas/Dawson), Alex Sezer (Orange, Texas/Little Cypress-Mauriceville). Notably, Sezer will likely move to cornerback when he arrives at Texas A&M.

Running backs who will graduate: Christine Michael

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Each week GigEmNation takes a look some of the top performances from Texas A&M 2013 commits on the field from the previous weekend's action. Here's a glance at some of the best performances from the weekend of Nov. 1-3:

Kohl Stewart, Houston St. Pius X: The quarterback had another strong performance, going 23-of-28 passing for a whopping 462 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in a 49-20 win over Tomball (Texas) Concordia Lutheran. On the ground he ran for 26 yards and a touchdown on two carries to help lift the Panthers to 8-1 on the year.

James White, Pearland (Texas) Dawson: The running back went over the 200-yard mark for the fourth consecutive week, netting 244 yards and four touchdowns on just 14 carries. On the night, White averaged 17.4 yards a carry in 56-0 win over Galveston (Texas) Ball.

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Each week GigEmNation takes a look some of the top performances from Texas A&M 2013 commits on the field from the previous weekend's action. Here's a glance at some of the best performances from the weekend of Oct. 25-27:

James White, Pearland (Texas) Dawson: The running back had his third-consecutive 200-yard rushing performance, carrying 35 times for 203 yards and four touchdowns in the Eagles' 42-33 win over Friendswood (Texas) High School. White's squad is 8-0 and remains the state's no. 1 ranked team in Class 4A.

Kohl Stewart, Houston St. Pius X: The quarterback was nearly flawless on Friday in a 63-13 win over Beaumont (Texas) Kelly Catholic, going 18-of-26 passing for 374 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Stewart also ran for two touchdowns in the victory.

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