Texas A&M Aggies

HOUSTON -- For the last two weeks, ESPN 300 defensive end Torrodney Prevot has kept everyone guessing.

College coaches. The media. Even his own high school coaches and teammates. Prevot has been the silent star, at least when it came to his recruitment.

Wednesday, the silence was broken. Prevot is headed to Oregon.

The former USC commitment from Houston Alief Taylor ended his recruitment in dramatic fashion, announcing that he's signing with the Ducks in front of family, friends, coaches and teammates during a ceremony at Alief Taylor High School.

Prevot said that he changed his mind even today and that he considered signing with each of his three finalists: USC, where he has been committed since July, Texas A&M and Oregon.

"When I woke up this morning, I just kept praying," Prevot said. "I honestly didn't know what to do."

Prevot, who is the No. 236 player in the ESPN 300 and the 19th-ranked defensive end in the country, took an official visit to Oregon on the weekend of Jan. 18. His final visit was on the weekend of Jan. 25 to Texas A&M.

The four-star prospect was to visit Notre Dame on the final weekend before signing day, but canceled the trip. He had seen enough. Some thought Prevot would wind up with the Aggies, since that was his last visit. He was among those that thought that.

"Today I thought I was going to A&M," Prevot said. "Today I thought I was going to USC, today I thought I was going to Oregon."

It was an emotional day for Prevot, who had tears in his eyes after announcing his decision. He said that even as he walked down the hallway at Alief Taylor to the theatre, where the signing ceremony was taking place with four other teammates who were signing with BCS conference schools: Duke Ejiofor (Wake Forest), Trevorris Johnson (TCU), Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (Oklahoma) and Jonathan Wiggins (Texas A&M).

Even with the coaching change at Oregon, Prevot said he has confidence that things will be good in Eugene. He said he got a good vibe from fellow Ducks when he went on his official visit.

"Just the players and the people around me, I felt comfortable with them," Prevot said. "Bralon Addison, Chance Allen, I just felt comfortable with them. I felt like everything was right."

Prevot said he sat down with his family on Tuesday night and scored how he felt about several aspects of each of his three finalists, giving a three for the one he liked the best and a one for the least. At the end of tallying, all three schools were tied at 28.

In the end, Prevot said he wanted to be different and not follow a crowd.

"I don't like following a crowd because it's not cool," Prevot said. "I don't want to just be another guy in the crowd. I want to step away and be different."

“What is the impact of Prevot’s decision?”

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Midway through a signing-day presentation that included 11 players, four-star defensive end Daeshon Hall (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster) verbally committed to Texas A&M, switching from Washington.

Hall, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound end, committed to Washington on June 29 but wavered with his commitment.

Hall, who originally is from Seattle, ultimately chose Texas A&M over Washington and TCU. He was once committed to Texas earlier in his process.

What is the impact of Hall's decision?

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

In a year's time, things have changed quite a bit for Texas A&M. Look no further than national signing day as evidence.

In 2012, much of the attention and concern regarding the Aggies' recruiting class heading into signing day was on whether the Aggies could hold on to one of their most notable commitments, ESPN 150 receiver Bralon Addison.

It didn't happen, as Addison flipped to Oregon and signed with the Ducks.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Mesquite (Texas) West Mesquite safety Dylan Sumner-Gardner was one of a dozen prospects who attended Texas A&M's junior day on Sunday, and all indications are the trip was a positive experience for the ESPN Watch List prospect.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Four-star defensive end Daeshon Hall (Lancaster, Texas/Lancaster), despite being a Washington commit, is considered one of the hottest targets as national signing day approaches.

Hall has announced that he will choose either Washington, Texas A&M or TCU on signing day. In a last-chance effort, Hall is hosting all three schools via in-home visits this week. Texas A&M visited on Tuesday, and the 6-foot-6, 235-pound end was visited by wide receivers coach David Beaty and defensive line coach Terry Price.

“Everything was good [Tuesday],” Hall said. “It was pretty much the same old, same old. They told me that they think I can come in and play in the SEC. Coach Price said he would be excited to work with me. They also talked about academics, which was big.”

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

Washington defensive end commitment Daeshon Hall has been one of the quietest prospects out there even as he has been exploring options aside from the school he has been committed to since the summer.

The Huskies have plenty of competition when it comes to keeping four-star defensive end's pledge and the drama and intrigue will continue all the way until national signing day.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

There will be no shortage of recruits on the Texas A&M campus this weekend.

From longtime commits who are finally taking their official visits, to one visitor from the class of 2013 who is committed elsewhere and several notable members of the 2014 class.

One of the notable names that will visit is expected in town today: 2014 offensive tackle Braden Smith.

The ESPN Watch List prospect from Olathe (Kan.) South High School will be touring the campus today in advance of Mondo Challenge college track and field meet taking place on campus. Smith's sister, Megan, is a thrower for TCU which is competing in the event.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

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.

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider

While most college football teams are practicing for bowl games and getting ready for a brief break for Christmas, high school football teams in Texas are preparing for the University Interscholastic League state championships.

The finals begin today at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas and over the next three days, there will be several players to watch who are either committed to Texas A&M or that the Aggies have interest in. Here's a glance at the games and players to watch for Aggies fans this weekend at JerryWorld:

Friday, Dec. 21

To continue reading this article you must be an Insider