Texas A&M recruiting class jumps to No. 3 after Nolen, Marshall commitments

Saturday was one of the best days in Texas A&M‘s recent recruiting history.

Over the span of 20 minutes, the Aggies received commitments from two top-100 players Powell (Tenn.) High five-star defensive lineman Walter Nolen committed to the Aggies on Instagram Live about 30 minutes before the Texas A&M kicked off against Auburn.

Then On3’s Hayes Fawcett broke the news that Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend four-star wide receiver Chris Marshall would be spending his college years in College Station, Texas.

The two commitments jumped Texas A&M from No. 9 in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking to No. 3. The top three recruiting classes in the 2022 are now occupied by SEC schools. Alabama is No. 1 and Georgia is No. 2.

The Crimson Tide and the Bulldogs are also the top two teams in the College Football Playoff rankings.

The Aggies jumped over Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Penn State and in-state rival Texas in the recruiting rankings.

What makes Texas A&M’s recruiting class a top three group in the country?

Evaluating any recruiting class starts at the top, and Texas A&M has three five-star recruits. Only Alabama has more with four.

With his commitment Saturday, Nolen is the headliner of the class. Nolen is one of four Five Star Plus+ prospects in the 2022 class, which means he is ranked by all four major recruiting media companies as a five star.

Nolen is also the No. 2 overall recruit in the nation, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He will join fellow five-star commits Beaumont (Texas) West Brook athlete Bryce Anderson and Cypress (Texas) Bridgeland quarterback Conner Weigman at Texas A&M next year.

But the Aggies class is not top-heavy. It is very deep. There are 16 commits in the class. Three are five stars and 12 are four stars.

The only three-star commit is kicker Ethan Moczulski. Moczulski is the No. 1 kicker in the country according to Chris Sailer and a top-10 kicker according to Kohl’s Professional Camps

In addition to the three five-stars, four other players rank inside the top 100. Marshall, the 79th recruit in the country, is one of them.

Texas A&M has four-stars commits at every position except running back.

Who else is on the Aggies radar?

The Texas A&M class is not done either. They are in the mix on many top recruits still uncommitted. One of them, Five Star Plus+ wide receiver Evan Stewart of Frisco, Texas, is in College Station, Texas, this weekend.

The Aggies are also considered among the favorites for fellow top-10 recruits Opa Locka (Fla.) Monsignor Pace defensive lineman Shemar Stewart and Cypress (Texas) Cy Park linebacker Harold Perkins.

Duncanville (Texas) four-star EDGE Omari Abor and Humble (Texas) Atascocita four-star offensive tackle Kam Dewberry are two top-100 recruits at Kyle Field for the Auburn game who are also heavily considering the Aggies.