Three thoughts from Texas spring football wrap-up

On3 National Recruiting Analyst Sam Spiegelman navigated through parts of North and East Texas this week to check in with some of the top players in the On300 in 2024, in 2025 and beyond.

With stops all across the Lone Star State and surrounding areas this spring, here are three final takeaways from the end of the spring evaluation period.

Russell is in rarified air entering Year 2 as QB1

For those outside of the Dallas Metroplex, 2025 QB Keelon Russell was etched as a household name in and around the state and put himself on the national radar after a statement performance inside AT&T Stadium last December. As a sophomore, Russell was efficient, meticulous and brought another big-play threat to the Duncanville (Texas) High offense — from behind center.

The last time that Duncanville’s quarterback was drawing this many eyes of college coaches was almost a half-decade ago when Ja’Quinden Jackson was captaining the offense. Jackson, who inked with the Longhorns and is now at Utah, paved the way for this dominant and immensely successful high school football program — but there is a lot of optimism about Russell entering his second year as the starter.

In talking to one source that was on staff for Jackson and also Russell, there’s a sense that Russell already brought this program to heights his predecessor didn’t. From a development standpoint, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound Russell is also “way ahead.”

From this analyst’s view, Russell is well ahead of the curve with his decision-making and ability to take over a game, which he did only six months ago against the state’s other best defense in Jerry’s World. His game resembles former TCU and UNLV QB Justin Rogers — who was dynamic in multiple facets and always showed a strong command of his offenses.

TCU has built a strong foundation with the hometown product, but Oregon, Ole Miss, LSU and Oklahoma are all schools gunning for summer visits. He’s set to visit Baton Rouge on June 7 and is sure to get to Ole Miss, his mother’s alma mater.

A five-star freshman to know

Rarely does an underclassman catch your eye when navigating town to town spending time around and evaluating On300 juniors and seniors. Consider 2027 ATH JayQuan Snell the exception.

Snell is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound rising freshman at Waxahachie (Texas) High School. The 14-year-old clocked an 11-second 100-meter time earlier this spring and can already throw it down on the basketball court. If the last name is ringing a bell — Snell’s older brother former TCU and Texas A&M Commerce running back Kenedy Snell — and coaches in the program believe he’ll be even better.

As a freshman, Snell is expected to get snaps on both sides of the ball. That includes at the top of the defense at free safety as well as multiple spots on offense, including out wide at receiver and some snaps at quarterback. Snell has already secured early overtures from Auburn, UTSA and Missouri, and more programs wanted to.

They’ll be back in September for Snell.

Bounce-back year for the Aggies?

Much of the nation’s focus was on Jimbo Fisher’s Aggies last season after his program inked the No. 1 signing class in 2022. Texas A&M followed that with a dropoff last year, but finished on a very high note with key additions in RB Rueben Owens, DL David Hicks and DB Dalton Brooks from in-state.

After finishing No. 15 last cycle, the arrow is trending upward for the Aggies to rebound in 2024, particularly with some of the bigger in-state dominoes still on the board.

Texas A&M holds six commitments with the No. 16 class headlined by East Texas top-20 DL Dealyn Evans. The Aggies are trending on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine with two of the state’s top five recruits, including top-20 ATH Terry Bussey and top-25 OT Weston Davis. Elsewhere in the top five, the Aggies have come on strong for Five-Star Plus+ EDGE Colin Simmons. The same can be said about five-star WR Micah Hudson.

Elsewhere, keep an eye on Texas A&M with five-star CB Kobe Black and On300 DL Nigel Smith II. The Aggies are positioned well with both blue-chippers, especially with the emergence of DC D.J. Durkin on the recruiting trail. They could very well land three of Texas’ top-five recruits and be poised for a major bounce-back year on the field and on the trail.