Texas A&M Aggies

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.

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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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"Coach's take" is a series which allows GigEmNation to offer readers a closer look at the incoming recruits in Texas A&M's 2013 class by visiting with someone who coached the player or coached against him. Today, we take a look at ESPN 150 guard and Under Armour All-American Joas Aguilar of North Richland Hills (Texas) Birdville by visiting with his head coach, Jim Skinner.

The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Aguilar recently returned from a week in Orlando, Fla., at the Under Armour All-America game. The four-star prospect is ranked as the No. 109 player in the ESPN 150 and is rated the fourth best offensive guard in the country.

He played left tackle for Birdville but spent his week at the Under Armour game working at guard, the position he will likely play at Texas A&M. Here's Skinner's take on Aguilar:

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SEALY, Texas -- Life has been pretty good for Texas A&M lately.

The Aggies concluded a 10-2 regular season, their first in the Southeastern Conference, on Nov. 24 and finished the regular season ranked in the top 10. They earned a berth in the AT&T Cotton Bowl to play Oklahoma. Since the season ended, they scored commitments from the state's No. 1 defensive tackle (Justin Manning), a standout prep school receiver (Ja'Quay Williams), a junior college tight end (Cameron Clear) and two 2014 ESPN Watch List prospects (Nick Harvey and Shaun Nixon).

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Landing Dallas Kimball defensive tackle Justin Manning is hardly the start of a wave of momentum for Texas A&M on the recruiting trail, but it is without question one of the biggest signs of it.

Whatever a recruit has on a list of wants in a football program, chances are the Aggies can fulfill it. With a winning season in the country's premier football conference, the possibilities seem endless. The energy Kevin Sumlin, Johnny Manziel and the Southeastern Conference membership has injected into the program has the Aggies thinking big and it's catching the attention of the top recruits around the state of Texas, with Manning being the latest to jump on board.

The ESPN 150 defensive tackle, who is ranked eighth at his position in the country and is the 12th-best prospect in the state, committed to Texas A&M during a ceremony on Thursday afternoon at Kimball High School. The four-star prospect is the No. 88 player in the ESPN 150 and is the fifth player in the ESPN 150 to commit to Texas A&M.

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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 offensive linemen:

2013 commits: OG Joas Aguilar (North Richland Hills/Birdville), OT J.J. Gustafson (Dallas/Jesuit), OT Ishmael Wilson (Dallas/Bishop Dunne).

Offensive linemen who will graduate: Patrick Lewis and Allen Woodum. Also, keep an eye on junior tackles Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews, both of whom will be likely NFL draft prospects.

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The most notable movement in the ESPN 300 from a Texas A&M perspective is the entry of one of the Aggies' commits into the ESPN 300. Carthage (Texas) High School defensive tackle Isaiah Golden, the nation's 29th-ranked defensive tackle, moved up to No. 229 overall.

There are five other Texas A&M commits in the updated rankings.

Tight end Derrick Griffin (Rosenberg, Texas/Terry) jumped up four spots to No. 25, quarterback Kohl Stewart (Houston, Texas/St. Pius X) remains at No. 91, guard Joas Aguilar (North Richland Hills, Texas/Birdville) dropped three spots to No. 109, athlete LaQuvionte Gonzalez (Cedar Hill, Texas/Cedar Hill) holds strong at No. 117 and cornerback Noel Ellis (New Orleans/Edna Karr) is just outside the ESPN 150 at No. 162.

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Plenty of eyes from around the country will be on College Station, Texas on Saturday afternoon as Texas A&M begins its first Southeastern Conference campaign against Florida.

Not only is the game of interest to college football fans, it's also going to be a hot spot for recruits who will be visiting Kyle Field and taking in the game.

Here's a list of recruits that are expected to be in attendance for the game on Saturday. As the week goes on and we confirm more visitors, we'll update the list. So far, here's who has been confirmed by RecruitingNation:

• 2013 WR Quincy Adeboyejo, Cedar Hill (Texas): No. 77 WR; Texas A&M commit
• 2013 OG Joas Aguilar, North Richland Hills (Texas) Birdville: No. 106 in ESPN 150; Texas A&M commit

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As fall practice and the 2012 season approaches, GigEmNation will take a look at where the Aggies stand currently and in the future at each position group. Today, we glance at the offensive line:

Current starters: Jarvis Harrison, Luke Joeckel, Patrick Lewis, Jake Matthews, Cedric Ogbuehi

This crop should be among the strongest starting offensive lines nationally, particularly at tackle with the combination of Joeckel and Matthews, a pair of future NFL draft picks. All five have starting experience and only one (Lewis) is a senior. The quintet has started a combined 92 games, with Lewis leading the way (35 consecutive starts). Ogbuehi had a good redshirt freshman season at right guard but missed some time because of injuries. Harrison started five games as a redshirt freshman last year, four of which came in place of an injured Ogbuehi.

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