Impact of Eli Holstein's Decommitment from Texas A&M

Texas A&M lost their quarterback commit in the 2023 class on Friday as Zachary (La.) High four-star quarterback Eli Holstein announced he’d be backing off his pledge to the Aggies, following recent interest from some schools like Alabama, Oregon and in-state LSU, among others.

With Holstein no longer in the fold, the Aggies are back in search of a quarterback in the 2023 cycle. Though they don’t necessarily need an elite signal-caller in the class with Haynes King, Max Johnson and Conner Weigman on campus, Texas A&M does need to add at least one quarterback since the aforementioned King, Johnson and Weigman are the only three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

Holstein’s decommitment impacts the Aggies in multiple ways.

For one, the loss of a blue-chip talent like Holstein shouldn’t be understated, even with the quarterbacks on the roster. Holstein is without a doubt one of the top quarterbacks in the country in the 2023 cycle and paired with a relatively weak cycle in-state at the position, there’s no single slam-dunk name the Aggies can add in replacement. The staff has a couple options, whether that’s flipping an in-state quarterback like Oklahoma commit Jackson Arnold or Baylor commit Austin Novosad, or entering/re-entering the picture for elite out-of-state talent like five-star Long Beach Poly (Cali.) High Nico Iamaleava, four-star Detroit (Mich.) King Dante Moore or Birmingham (Ala.) Briarwood Christian four-star Christopher Vizzina. Iamaleava appears to be a Tennessee lean, with schools like Oregon and Alabama still in the mix, while Notre Dame appears to be the school to beat for Moore, with schools like Florida, Michigan, Miami and others still in the running. Vizzina’s recruitment is a little more open and the Aggies could emerge as a major contender for him if they were to get involved.

Holstein’s decommitment also impacts Texas A&M’s efforts in Louisiana, most notably with Holstein’s teammate, four-star safety Kylin Jackson. Holstein had been in Jackson’s ear about joining him in College Station and there was some serious mutual interest between the Aggies and the four-star safety. Jackson will likely still consider the Aggies, but losing Holstein as a peer recruiter in his recruitment hurts, especially with schools like LSU and Alabama, two schools Holstein could wind up at, heavily in the mix for Jackson as well. The Aggies remain involved with Louisiana products like Baton Rouge Liberty Magnet four-star running back Kaleb Jackson, Farmerville Union Parish four-star running back Trey Holly, Baton Rouge Woodlawn four-star defensive back Jordan Matthews and New Iberia Westgate four-star safety Derek Williams. The Aggies have some work to do to land any of the names listed and losing Holstein as a peer recruiter in the Bayou doesn’t help. Holstein’s efforts as a peer recruiter had been praised by fellow commits and targets alike.

Finally, while there’s no need to panic this early in the cycle, the loss of Holstein is a step in the wrong direction in terms of momentum on the recruiting trail. The Aggies have not landed a commit in the 2023 class since December. Texas, Oklahoma and LSU have renewed momentum on the trail, with the Tigers and Sooners specifically experiencing a bit of a jumpstart thanks to coaching changes. Coming off a historic 2022 cycle, the Aggies have every reason to be confident on the trail, and will have a chance to really pick up some momentum next month with some major recruiting events, most notably the Maroon & White Game, which is expected to be loaded with visitors all over the country. That being said, it’s hard to ignore the current state of the program on the recruiting trail.