Four-star EDGE Anthony James backs off Texas A&M commitment

2023 Wylie (Tex.) East four-star defensive lineman Anthony James announced he would be backing off his commitment to Texas A&M on Sunday.

“I am grateful for the love that I’ve received in College Station from Texas A&M staff and fans alike, so l do not take this decision lightly, but at this time I wish to withdraw my commitment,” he said in a statement. “There are no assumptions to be made and no conclusions to be drawn, I will spend the summer traveling the country and exploring the vast opportunities afforded to me in this once in a lifetime process. When a decision has been made, I will again make an announcement.”

James was the first to commit to the Aggies in the 2023 class, committing back in February 2021. After committing, the four-star continued to explore all his options, making visits to Texas, Washington, Michigan, Oklahoma State and Miami, in addition to multiple stops through College Station in the last year.

The four-star had scheduled official visits to Washington and Florida ahead of decommitting, but will now likely use all five of his official visits and likely some unofficial visits as well, as he hits the reset button on his recruitment. Florida is a school to keep an eye on as the new staff has made the four-star a priority since offering him in late March.

Washington picked up some momentum in the recruitment of James since the arrival of Director of Player Personnel Courtney Morgan, who was previously recruiting James to Michigan. The Huskies previously had James out on a visit in late April and are set to get him back on campus for an official visit June 24th.

At one point, Michigan was the biggest threat to flipping James away from Texas A&M but interest has slowed on both sides in recent months. With the four-star back on the open market, interest from both Michigan and Michigan State could pick up, as James originally hails from the state and still has family ties in the region.

Another SEC school to keep an eye on is Auburn, as the Tigers offered James late last week. The Aggies could get the former commit back on campus in the summer and/or fall, but the Aggies’ EDGE board has changed immensely since James initially committed over a year ago and the staff could opt to move on to other targets.

Where Texas A&M goes from here

With the loss of James’ commitment, the Aggies no longer hold a single EDGE commit in the 2023 cycle. The Aggies did land eight defensive linemen in the 2022 cycle, including prospects like five-star Shemar Stewart, four-star Enai White, four-star Anthony Lucas and four-star Malick Sylla, who best project to the edge position in the Aggies’ scheme. Texas A&M is also involved in the recruitment of some of the top EDGE prospects in the country in the 2023 class.

2023 Platte County (Mo.) High four-star Chandavian Bradley is a key target for the Aggies and recently got the No. 5 EDGE in the country on campus last month for his first visit to College Station. Texas A&M has skyrocketed in Bradley’s recruitment since offering just a couple months ago and are in his top group alongside Tennessee, USC, Miami, Oregon and others.

2023 Montgomery (Ala.) Carver five-star Qua Russaw is another key target or the Aggies at the position. Russaw recently visited Texas A&M alongside fellow five-star defensive linemen and high school teammate James Smith, and the two left impressed with what the Aggies have to offer. Russaw had an insightful conversation with Jimbo Fisher while on his visit in which Fisher reportedly “hit the nail on the head” in terms of the role Russaw would play in the Aggies’ defense. That being said, Texas A&M feels like a dark horse here, with Alabama and Georgia as the two schools most-often linked to Russaw and Smith, who will look to play their college ball together. The Aggies will continue to push, but pulling the two out of the region will prove difficult.

Other prospects to know include Austin (Tex.) Westlake four-star EDGE Colton Vasek, Pittsburgh (Penn.) Brashear four-star Ta’Mere Robinson and Marlin (Tex.) High four-star Derion Gullette, the latter two having flexibility between EDGE and linebacker. The Aggies recently offered Venice (Fla.) High four-star EDGE Damon Wilson, and things could progress between the two parties if Wilson makes it down to campus this summer. The Aggies are also monitoring Friendswood (Tex.) High four-star Braylan Shelby and could make up some ground on USC, Tennessee and Texas, if they offer in the near future.