Texas A&M Aggies

Several of RecruitingNation's SEC sites will look this week at the players headed to the NFL combine, which begins Friday in Indianapolis, and other predraft camps. Today: Offensive linemen.

Texas A&M Aggies

Texas A&M could have sent two tackles into the draft and both would have probably ended up as first-round picks. Luke Joeckel chose to declare, but Jake Matthews chose to return to Aggieland for another year. Joeckel, the Outland Trophy winner this year, will be rewarded as a possible top-five selection -- and possibly No.1 overall.

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LA PORTE, Texas -- La Porte (Texas) High School linebacker Hoza Scott hasn't been secretive about the school he likes the most and where his future lies. From the moment he stepped onto the Texas A&M campus in July for the Texas state 7-on-7 championships wearing an A&M snapback, the Aggies were the team to beat. He has been all but committed to Texas A&M for some time now.

On Wednesday at Bulldog Stadium the ESPN Watch List linebacker made it official, announcing his intentions to join the Aggies' 2014 recruiting class.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound prospect is one of the most coveted 2014 prospects in Texas. In addition to Texas A&M, he held offers from Alabama, LSU and Texas. The Longhorns were his No. 2 with LSU as his No. 3 since this summer and that hasn't changed.

The letters come to La Porte's field house in droves and Scott now leaves every couple of days with shoeboxes full of letters from schools across the country, but his heart has been set on Texas A&M for awhile.

Recruited by Texas A&M recruiting coordinator and running backs coach Clarence McKinney, Scott said he loves the atmosphere in College Station, Texas.

"They have the best community ever out there," he said after La Porte's season finale, a playoff loss to Katy (Texas) High School on Dec. 1. "And when I walk around there, everybody around there knows me. They say, 'Hey Hoza,' this and that. It makes me feel good. And it's close to home."

Scott, whose first name is pronounced like "Jose," said his relationship with McKinney was also a big reason for his comfort level. McKinney made an impression this season when showed up in a maroon helicopter, just the way McKinney and head coach Kevin Sumlin did for Ricky Seals-Jones, to watch Scott play against Houston North Shore on Nov. 2.

"[My relationship with him] has meant a lot," Scott said. "He's a real cool guy, he's chill, he knows how to make you laugh. He's just cool to be around."

Scott is the fifth commitment in the 2014 class for the Aggies, joining Cedric Collins, Nick Harvey, Shaun Nixon and Josh Walker. Scott is the fourth ESPN Watch List member to commit to the Aggies.

He projects as an outside linebacker but said that the Aggies are open to the possibility of playing him inside linebacker.

GigEmNation is counting down the top five moments of Texas A&M’s 2012 season this week. No. 3 ...

There were a lot of plays that Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel made this season that made fans and observers drop their jaws. One of those came in the biggest game of the season -- at Alabama.

It went in the box score as a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Swope, but there's a lot more to it than that.

With the Aggies deep in Alabama territory on their second possession of the afternoon and already holding a 7-0 lead, Texas A&M faced a third-and-goal at the 10.

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Texas A&M redshirt freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel has been the subject of high praise throughout the season but particularly of late in the aftermath of the Aggies' 29-24 win over then-No. 1 Alabama on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Grantland.com's Michael Weinreb takes a look back at the memorable Saturday win for Texas A&M and the quarterback they call "Johnny Football."

Read the full story in Grantland

Down goes No. 1.

The defending BCS champions and the nation's top-ranked team, the Alabama Crimson Tide were upset by No. 15 Texas A&M 29-24 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Aggies jumped out to a 20-0 lead behind their high-powered, up-tempo offense and a strong defensive start and hung on in the second half, never relinquishing the lead even when it appeared the Crimson Tide were on the verge of going ahead. Let's take a look at the high points from the thriller:

It was over when: Alabama linebacker Tyler Hayes committed a neutral-zone infraction when the Aggies were lining up to punt it away to the Crimson Tide with 40 seconds left. The penalty gave Texas A&M a first down and the Aggies took a knee to seal the win, as the Crimson Tide had no timeouts to stop the clock.

Game ball goes to: Johnny Manziel. Really, you could give it to a lot of guys (the Aggies' offensive line, senior receiver Ryan Swope and the defense made some big plays) but Manziel is the straw that stirred Texas A&M's drink -- and has all season. He finished 24-of-31 passing for 253 yards, 2 touchdowns and, most importantly, zero interceptions. He also made plays with his feet, rushing for 92 yards on 18 carries (he has now surpassed 1,000 rushing yards on the season). He took care of the ball, made good throws, extended plays and played about as well as you can expect a redshirt freshman to in that environment.

Key stat: 3-0. The turnover margin. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron threw two interceptions, including one on the Crimson Tide's final offensive drive, and the Tide also fumbled once when T.J. Yeldon coughed it up at the Aggies' 38, killing a potential scoring drive. The Aggies scored on the ensuing drive to take a 29-17 lead. The Aggies' loss to LSU on Oct. 29 was marred by five turnovers. This time, they flipped the script.

Key play: Sophomore cornerback Deshazor Everett's interception with 1:36 to go. On fourth-and-goal from the 2 and needing a touchdown, McCarron tried to hit receiver Kenny Bell on a short out route near the pylon, but Everett stepped in front of Bell and intercepted the pass to get the ball back for the Aggies and kill the Crimson Tide's drive.

What it means: The Crimson Tide's (9-1, 6-1 SEC) BCS Championship Game hopes took a huge hit with this loss. Three teams -- Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame -- could remain undefeated after their games on Saturday night and jump Alabama in the BCS standings. And on the flip side: Welcome to the SEC, Texas A&M. Many wondered whether the Aggies could compete in the SEC when they made the move to the country's premier football league. Not only have the Aggies (8-2, 5-2) shown they can compete, they've shown they can beat the best teams the league has to offer. Kevin Sumlin has this team peaking, and it could jump into the top 10 with this win. It's definitely a new era in College Station, Texas.

And this could also be a formal introduction into the Heisman Trophy race for Manziel.

GigEmNation writer Sam Khan Jr. chatted with readers on Friday about Texas A&M football and recruiting. Here's the full transcript of the chat. The Aggies have a showdown with No. 1 Alabama on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Here's a sampling from the chat:

Josh (DFW): Chances the Ags pull off the upset tomorrow? If they play all out for all four quarters (especially the D), keep their foot on the gas, and play relatively mistake-free football, I like their chances.
Sam Khan Jr.: The key term in your prediction is "mistake-free." That's what they have to be. They could have beaten LSU if not for the turnovers. In some instances, LSU had something to do with that, but there were also some unforced errors by the Aggies. I think they have a decent chance. If I was putting an arbitrary number on it, I'd say 35 percent. They have to be able to run the football, hit some pass plays downfield and not turn it over. On the flip side, they'll have to be like they have been all year on third down and get off the field and that means that defensive front is going to have to shoot the gaps and not let the Alabama O-line dominate. But I wouldn't rule out their chances. The Aggies are a pretty good team.

Evan (CS): Outside of Johnny, who will need to have a big game for the Ags to pull off the upset?
Sam Khan Jr.: I think the interior offensive linemen: Patrick Lewis, Jarvis Harrison and Cedric Ogbuehi. The Aggies have to be able to run the ball to keep the Crimson Tide honest. They don't have to be great and run for 200 yards necessarily, but enough to where they can move the chains and keep the offense going. The Tide defensive line is big and strong and it's going to be up to those guys to win some battles up front and help find some running room for Ben Malena and Christine Michael.

Rene (College Station): Why doesn't Johnny get more run in the Heisman talk? He is the most exciting player in the country and is putting up stats better than most of the other competition in the SEC no less.
Sam Khan Jr.: Raif, probably because he doesn't have a signature win yet. He has some great plays and some amazing statistics but against the Aggies' two toughest opponents (Florida and LSU) that didn't happen and the team lost both games. Wins, and more importantly signature wins, matter. The way he can get more run is to beat Alabama this week and have a good game in the process. If that were to happen, he'd probably be at or near the top of the conversation.

Garett (Houston): How many big-time recruits do you think we can convince to come to Aggieland if we win tomorrow?
Sam Khan Jr.: Garett, I don't think recruits necessarily make decisions based on a team winning or losing a single game. That being said, an A&M win would go a long way in changing the way the public (recruits included) perceive the Aggies. It would send a message that they're immediate contenders now and potential SEC champions in years to come. That would be huge in recruiting.