Harold Perkins commitment moves Texas A&M even closer to confirming No. 1 class

Texas A&M’s lead might be too large for any team to pass.

The Aggies entered Sunday as the No. 1 team in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings and they will end the day in that spot as well.

But their advantage over No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Georgia grew significantly as the program picked up a commitment from Cypress (Texas) Cy Park Five-Star Plus+ linebacker Harold Perkins.

Perkins announced Sunday at the Under Armour All-America Game that he is heading to College Station, Texas, to join Texas A&M.

His commitment moved the Aggies score in the recruiting rankings from 95.430 to 95.739. That is nearly one point higher than the Crimson Tide.

It also gave Texas A&M its seventh five-star commit in the class.

Perkins is the No. 3 prospect in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He is one of five Five-Star Plus+ prospects in the country with Suwanee (Ga.) Collins Hill athlete Travis Hunter, Powell (Tenn.) High defensive lineman Walter Nolen, Frisco (Texas) Liberty wide receiver Evan Stewart and Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei cornerback Domani Jackson.

Three of them — Perkins, Nolen and Stewart — are committed to Texas A&M.

Georgia is the only other school to have more than three five-star recruits in the class.

Harold Perkins is a dynamic addition to the A&M class

Texas A&M has a recruiting class of 28 commits now with seven five-stars, 20 four-stars and one three-star prospect.

The Aggies now have three linebacker commits with The Woodlands (Texas) four-star Martrell Harris and Pilot Point (Texas) four-star Ish Harris. Perkins joins the group as not only a leader but a playmaker.

The elite athlete had a memorable career at Cy Park, where he was a star in all three phases of the game.

Despite being the nation’s best linebacker and a finalist for the 2021 High School Butkus Award, Perkins had more impact this season on the offensive side of the ball.

Perkins was a nearly-unstoppable running back, rushing the ball 67 times for 1194 yards. That’s a 17.8 yard per carry average. He also scored 18 touchdowns, many of them from far distances away.

In his final high school game in the state playoffs, Perkins ran the ball 11 times for 158 yards and three touchdowns — including a 63-yard scamper.