Texas A&M in rare recruiting air after landing fifth 5-star commitment this cycle

Texas A&M has a stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings for the 2027 cycle.

Arguably the Aggies’ biggest recruiting win of the Mike Elko era went public on Friday as Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas Five-Star Plus+ offensive tackle Mark Matthews is set to head to College Station.

Matthews, the No. 6 overall prospect and top-ranked tackle in the nation — according to the Rivals Industry Ranking — chose the Aggies over Miami, LSU and Georgia. He now headlines an elite class that features 14 commits, eight of whom are top-100 recruits.

Matthews becomes the fifth five-star to join the fold, and while there’s still plenty of rankings updates to come until the December signing period, owning a quintet of five-star pledges is usually a good sign that you’ll sign the No. 1 class.

The last time a program signed at least five five-stars and didn’t finish atop the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings was Ohio State in the 2021 cycle. The Buckeyes inked seven five-stars but still finished at No. 2 behind Alabama, which signed five of its own.

A&M of course put together a landmark No. 1 class in the 2022 cycle, signing nine five-stars. Alabama (2023), Georgia (2024) and Texas (2025) are other schools that have recently signed five or more five-stars in a cycle.

Looking at A&M’s 2027 haul

The Aggies really got the ball rolling during its 2025 season. November brought commitments from a pair of elite defensive backs.

On Nov. 1, Hampton (Ga.) safety Kamarui Dorsey jumped in the boat. Two weeks later, Baltimore St. Frances Academy cornerback Raylaun Henry did the same. Both were four-stars upon committing but have since acquired five-star status.

Dorsey is now the No. 11 overall prospect and top-ranked safety in the nation. Henry is the No. 30 recruit and No. 5 corner. On day after Henry, Waxahachie (Texas) four-star safety JayQuan Snell also committed. He’s on the cusp of becoming a five-star, now checking in as the No. 40 recruit and No. 2 safety.

December brought a couple commitments, too. A&M has recruited the Golden State well under Elko and Los Angeles Inglewood four-star defensive lineman Myels Smith, the No. 4 DL in the nation, is the latest that’s set to head east to College Station at the next level.

Momentum hasn’t let up this spring. At the end of March, IMG Academy (Fla.) five-star EDGE Zyron Forstall opted not to waste anymore time and committed to the Aggies. April has now brought commitments from Matthews, Houston Kingwood five-star interior offensive lineman Kennedy Brown and Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County four-star wide receiver Jaden Upshaw.

Forstall is the No. 19 prospect and No. 2 EDGE in the nation, while Brown is the No. 15 recruit and No. 3 IOL overall. Upshaw is an outlier in the Rivals300, now ranking No. 38 overall and No. 5 at the WR position.

The class is so loaded that the likes of Valdosta (Ga.) Lowndes four-star quarterback Jayce Johnson, Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside four-star defensive lineman Elijah Patmon and Houston Cy Falls four-star EDGE Kaden McCarty are toward the bottom of the pledge list despite being top-200 recruits.

With just 14 commits in the class, A&M still has plenty more to add and things will continue to pick up on the trail during official visit season this summer. The Aggies will be tough to topple in the team rankings if they are able to hold onto all of their commitments.