March 29, 2026, 2:02 p.m. CT<\/p>\n
Texas A&M’s<\/a> 2026 recruiting class was built on the national stage, headlined by landing a commitment from five-star California-based cornerback Brandon Arrington<\/a>, who, before considering the Aggies, dreamed of playing for the USC Trojans.<\/p>\n Within the 2026 cycle, three of the program’s top-ranked signees were out-of-state recruits, including four-star wide receiver Aaron Gregory (Buford, Ga.) and four-star defensive lineman Bryce Perry-Wright (Douglasville, Ga), who are both on track to earn key rotational spots after impressing the coaching staff so far this spring.<\/p>\n Other than five-star running back KJ Edwards, Texas A&M’s focus on landing prospects outside of the Lone Star State was “by design,” according to Texas A&M recruiting general manager Derek Miller, who spoke with Rivals’ Adam Gorney<\/a> this week. While recruiting the state is still the priority, Miller’s national strategy has continued to pay off.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all starts just with looking at year-over-year the NFL Draft numbers,\u201d\u00a0Derek Miller\u00a0stated. \u201cIf you take a five-year, a 10-year (approach) and what starts to come out from all the numbers is that Texas, Georgia, Florida, California reign supreme in terms of the amount of draft picks.<\/p>\n Coach Mike Elko’s focus on landing prospects with NFL potential led to a nation-high 13 players being invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine this offseason, and after five spring practices, several freshmen from the 2026 class have already shown immense promise.<\/p>\n Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n Still, in-state recruiting, given the NFL talent Texas continues to produce across the state, will continue to build out every future recruiting cycle, and in the 2026 class, Miller referenced four-star safety Chance Collins and four-star offensive lineman Nelson McGuire as two players expected to become future stars.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are blessed to be in one of the states that produces the most and has the most Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees. You have to be thorough in-state. The evaluation process is constant. There are guys who get graded really high early on and then there are guys who start to be late bloomers.\u201d<\/p>\n With just nine of the 27 signees in the cycle being from Texas, Miller’s strategy is beginning to pay off, as sophomore edge Marco Jones and sophomore linebacker Noah Mikail<\/a>, both California natives, are slated to compete for starting or key rotational jobs this season.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the approach. It\u2019s to make sure you\u2019re aware of everyone in Texas who has traits and some tools to be an NFL player and be thorough about that but then go win the Marco Joneses and Noah Mikhails of the world, Aaron Gregory, Bryce Perry-Wright and then try to get them to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact\/Follow us\u00a0@AggiesWire<\/a>\u00a0on X\u00a0(formerly Twitter) and like our page on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions.\u00a0Follow Cameron on X:\u00a0@CameronOhnysty<\/a>.<\/p>\n