Week 10 recruiting winners and losers: Texas A&M has weekend to remember

Recruits normally don’t make decisions based on a one-game performance or solely on one visit. But make no mistake, Saturday’s games will have an impact on the recruiting trail. That’s why Texas A&M, Alabama, Oregon and Purdue are the recruiting winners for Week 10 of the college football season. It’s also why Minnesota and Texas are the biggest losers of the week.

RECRUITING WINNER: TEXAS A&M

We knew coming into Saturday it was going to be a five-star weekend in College Station, with an elite crop of prospects coming to town for the game of the week against Auburn. And nobody could have written a more perfect recruiting script for the Aggies.

The Aggies’ defense came to play in a 20-3 victory over Auburn. But the headline of the day was not just one but two massive commitments.

First came the news that five-star defensive lineman Walter Nolen of Powell (Tenn.) High had committed to Texas A&M while in College Station. That was followed up almost simultaneously with the news that Missouri City (Texas) Fort Bend four-star wide receiver Chris Marshall also had committed.

The On3 Consensus – a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies – rates Nolen as the No. 2 prospect in the nation. He is also the country’s top overall defensive lineman. Marshall is the No. 79 overall player in the 2022 class in the On3 Consensus. On3 ranks him even higher as the No. 64 prospect in the 2022 On300 rankings.

The commitments of Marshall and Nolen, who is a Five Star Plus+ prospect, marks one of the top single-day recruiting coups this cycle. It is not every day you get one top-100 commitments, let alone two.

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

The big weekend means the Aggies now have a clear path to their first-ever No. 1 class, said On3 National Analyst Gerry Hamilton.

WINNER: ALABAMA

No. 2 Alabama (8-1, 5-1 in the SEC) struggled offensively but did just enough to beat LSU 20-14, knocking down a Tigers pass in the end zone on the final play.

A long list of blue-chip recruits visiting got exactly what they wanted to see – a great atmosphere and a competitive game with plenty of NFL-bound players making big plays all over the place.

Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage five-star EDGE Marvin Jones Jr. had high praise for his official visit to the Capstone.

On300 five-star defensive lineman Anthony Lucas of Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral called the visit “amazing.” Lucas raved about the atmosphere and how the fans were into the game the entire time.

Greenwood (Ind.) Center Grove four-star defensive lineman Caden Curry and Jones’ teammate, four-star cornerback Earl Little Jr., also gushed about everything Alabama.

While the weekend didn’t produce any new commitments – yet – it was a productive 48 hours that could pay dividends down the road and help the Tide cement another No. 1-ranked recruiting class.

WINNER: OREGON

No. 4 Oregon (8-1, 5-1 in the Pac-12) rode a powerful rushing attack to a 26-16 victory at Washington in the rain, the Ducks’ 15th win in their past 17 meetings with the Huskies.

While it was the Huskies hosting prospects on campus for the game, there were plenty of recruits both programs are targeting in the stands watching.

With the win, the Ducks can use another victory over their rivals to sell recruits in the Pacific Northwest that they are the top program in the region. They can also use it to walk into high schools in Seattle – an underappreciated recruiting territory – and recruit against the Huskies in their own backyard.

WINNER: PURDUE

For the second time this season, the Purdue Boilermakers upset a top three-team. Purdue beat Michigan State 40-29 on Saturday. They previously beat then-No. 2 Iowa 24-7 after the Hawkeyes had beaten previously unbeaten Penn State.

The victory sends a resounding message to prospects that you can win big games and do big things at Purdue.

The Boilermakers have the No. 46 class in the country and already 18 commitments, so there’s not a lot left on the board for the 2022 class. But this is the type of win that can help coach Jeff Brohm gain momentum with top 2023 and 2024 prospects throughout the Midwest.

RECRUITING LOSER: TEXAS

After falling 30-7 to Iowa State, Texas has lost four in a row. What momentum they had in recruiting seems long gone after this bleak streak.

That’s especially true after the Aggies’ turned in a weekend to remember on the trail. A&M has regained control of the narrative of “Who is the best program in the Lone Star State?” and recruits in the 2023 and 2024 classes also are paying attention.

Texas still has a top-10 class, with a lot of quality commitments to get Longhorn fans excited. But before the losing streak started, there were dreams of a potential No. 1 class and multiple five-star prospects coming UT’s way.

It could still happen. But Steve Sarkisian is going to have to work some recruiting voodoo to flip the script with less than 40 days left until the start of the early signing period.

LOSER: MINNESOTA

Minnesota had the inside track in the Big Ten West and was sitting in first place after a four-game winning streak. But that all changed with a dismal 14-6 loss to Illinois, who was a 15-point underdog.

With tough road games at Iowa and Indiana on the schedule and a streaking Wisconsin coming to town on Nov. 27, a loss to the Illini is a bitter pill to swallow. It’s not completely out of the question that Minnesota will win the West, but there is no margin for error now.

And if the Gophers don’t win the West, it’ll feel like a major missed opportunity.

P.J. Fleck’s program sits at No. 53 in the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking. The Gophers have added only two commitments (unranked RB Max Grand and Consensus three-star TE Nathan Jones) since the end of summer.

Playing on the Big Ten’s biggest stage in the league title game would give the Gophers an opportunity to showcase their program on a national stage and maybe kick-start recruiting down the stretch. Or maybe at least give them a head start with momentum for the 2023 class.