Texas A&M Aggies

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Former Texas A&M left tackle Luke Joeckel's name could be the first called when the NFL draft begins on Thursday.

If it does play out that way, it would be the latest in a long line of landmark events that have occurred since the start of last football season that have raised Texas A&M's profile and, as a result, helped the Aggies in recruiting.

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Texas A&M has three commits in the 2014 ESPN 150, which was released today. Here's a look at the Aggies' top 10 targets in the ESPN 150, listed from highest to lowest ranked:

1. CB Adoree' Jackson (Gardena, Calif./Junipero Serra)
5-foot-11, 183 pounds
ESPN 150 Rank: 5

Why they want him: Speed and athleticism. Jackson has most of what coaches want in a cornerback. His fluid hips, foot quickness and natural athleticism make him an elite prospect. Could wind up on the offensive side of the ball and said some schools are recruiting him as a receiver.

Who else wants him: Plenty of power programs have offered Jackson, including Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon and USC.

Odds they get him: Jackson said he intends to visit Texas A&M this summer, so the Aggies will have their chance to impress the five-star prospect. USC and UCLA are also schools that the Illinois native is interested in but Aggies' secondary coach Marcel Yates has experience recruiting the West Coast from his days at Boise State and landed 2013 ESPN 150 receiver Sebastian LaRue for the Aggies earlier this year.

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Throughout their successful 2012 season, the buzz around Texas A&M football built each week. It crescendoed after the Aggies defeated Alabama and peaked when the Aggies' quarterback, Johnny Manziel, won the Heisman Trophy. They kept that buzz going with a resounding win over Oklahoma in the AT&T Cotton Bowl.

That buzz has had a clear affect on Texas A&M recruiting and Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies' staff is doing what they can to ensure the buzz continues. In some instances, it's tricks or tactics that the Aggies use themselves, like when they trotted out a live disc jockey for the "Friday Night Lights" scrimmage last week.

In other instances, like Saturday for the Maroon-and-White spring football game, the buzz comes as a result of the 2012 success. The Aggies will experience a first in program history when the spring game is broadcast live nationally on ESPN. While there are plenty of positives that come along with that for the university -- not just the football program -- it can do nothing but help recruiting.

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COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M has been busy working the last five weeks, participating in spring football with 13 practices under their belt. The 14th is today and the 15th is on Saturday: the Maroon-and-White spring game, which is at 2 p.m. CT at Kyle Field. There's much to know and watch for this weekend. Here are five storylines to keep an eye on:

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ALLEN, Texas -- The 2013 Nike Football Training Camp tour continued in the Dallas area on Sunday as several top prospects from Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana showcased their skills at the brand new Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas. The defensive back group was as loaded as expected, and several players earned invitations to The Opening.

Recruiting Nation’s Max Olson attended the camp. Here’s what he learned:

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The Nike Football Training Camp series will continue outside of Dallas on Sunday. Athletes will trek to Allen, Texas, the home of one of the most impressive high school stadiums in the country. Allen Eagles Stadium, a $60-million facility, opened last year and featured nearly 22,000 fans watching Texas powers Allen and Southlake Carroll clash.

Here are five storylines to watch on Sunday.

Talented DBs aplenty

It’s been said on multiple occasions that the 2014 class may be one of the strongest in years at producing big-time defensive backs in the region. The battle for defensive back MVP has the potential of being extremely competitive with players such as Laurence Jones (Monroe, La./Neville), Jamal Adams (Lewisville, Texas/Hebron), Tony Brown (Beaumont, Texas/Ozen), Steven Parker (Jenks, Okla./Jenks) and Arrion Springs (San Antonio/Roosevelt) expected to be in attendance. Chris Hardeman (Houston/Alief Taylor) has committed to LSU, while Dylan Sumner-Gardner (Mesquite, Texas/West Mesquite) and Armani Watts (Forney, Texas/North Forney) have pledged to Texas A&M. Deionte Thompson (Orange, Texas/West Orange-Stark), a 2015 prospect, has verbally committed to Alabama. All of the DBs will have their shots in one-on-one drills against equally talented ESPN Watch List receivers such as Malachi Dupre (River Ridge, La./John Curtis), K.D. Cannon (Mount Pleasant, Texas/Mount Pleasant) and Texas commit Lorenzo Joe (Abilene, Texas/Cooper).

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ESPN Watch List safety Jamal Adams (Carrollton, Texas/Hebron) has a dozen offers, and every offer makes him smile, but even he had to admit there was something a little different after picking up an offer from Ohio State on Thursday.

Adams’ 12^th offer came after speaking with Buckeyes offensive coordinator Tom Herman. Adams adds the Ohio State offer with ones from Florida, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M and several other heavyweight programs.

“It’s big,” Adams said of his latest offer. “It’s a big program, like Florida or Alabama, and it’s a great D-1 school that I’m very interested in. I think it can put me where my dreams want me to go."

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Oklahoma and Texas A&M are getting awfully familiar with each other here lately. The Aggies broke the hearts of Sooners fans by landing the commitment of ESPN 150 defensive tackle Justin Manning (Dallas/Kimball) two weeks ago.

OU returned the favor by getting three-star defensive tackle Kerrick Huggins (Dallas/Skyline) to flip to the Sooners from the Aggies.

OU basketball got a leg up on A&M with a 64-54 win in Oklahoma City last weekend. Oh yeah, there’s also the Cotton Bowl coming up Jan. 4 at Cowboys Stadium.

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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, whom the Aggies are targeting, as well as 2013 commits and who on the roster will graduate. Today, we look at the safety position.

2013 commits: Victor Davis, Rosenberg (Texas) Terry; Shaan Washington, Alexandria (La.) High School; Jonathan Wiggins, Houston Alief Taylor.

Safeties who'll graduate: Steven Campbell, Steven Terrell, C.J. Jones.

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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Don’t get it twisted.

Class of 2014 safety Edwin Freeman (Arlington, Texas/Bowie) will seldom ever talk your ear off. Cross him on a football field, though, and he’ll gladly take your head off.

The Longhorns have seen him do enough of that in his two years of high school that they offered him a scholarship on Aug. 2. Freeman, 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, was one of two safeties Texas offered that day along with Jamal Adams (Lewisville, Texas/ Hebron). In 2011 he had four interceptions, one sack, two forced fumbles and took two fumbles back for touchdowns; one was from 40 yards out and the other was a 30-yard return.

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