Recruiting Country: The latest recruiting news surrounding the Maroon & White

TexAgs' recruiting analyst Ryan Brauninger joined TexAgs Radio on Wednesday morning for another edition of Recruiting Country, highlighting the latest news and notes from the recruiting and transfer portal trail surrounding Texas A&M.

Key notes from Recruiting Country

• Deyjhon Pettaway‍ is a kid that, obviously, the A&M staff has known about for a long time, and has been familiar with it because his brother, Daymion Sanford, was recruited here and came here. Deyjhon has been coming to A&M camps since Mike Elko was on staff. The Aggies were one of his first offers. Through the transition, the Aggies have done a great job of staying in communication. Deyjhon was a kid who started out a very high priority almost immediately when looking at the 2025 cycle. 
   
• You had all things going right with Deyjhon. It's not just his brother being Daymion. You signed David Hicks. There's a proximity factor. I would bet he has made 10-15 trips to A&M over the last three years. What that does, to me, is amplify the pressure to land him. All these big-time powers are recruiting him, but you need to win that one. It was important that Mike Elko & Co. get that one over the line.
   
• You need to start landing elite football players, and that is what he is. He is a more advanced version of Tyreek Chappell coming out of high school, in my opinion. You watch their tape and see how they are built. There are a lot of similarities in the overall athletics profile, but I think Deyjhon is a level above Tyreek when coming out of high school.
   
• I talked to Katy Paetow's head coach David Hicks Sr., David Hicks’ dad, and he talked about his overall physicality and willingness to play against the run. He has also made strides in terms of his maturity. He played a little bit of safety out of need last year. It brought more versatility to his game. The Aggies are getting one of the premier cover guys and defensive backs in the state of Texas. It is a great marker for you in the greater Houston area because Deyjhon is a respected, well-known kid. 
   
• There are similarities between him in Houston and Kelvion Riggins‍ in Dallas. 
   
• Riggins is going to be one of Tommy Moffitt's favorites. He does not miss workouts, and he takes it really seriously. When you watch the tape, it's really, really good. Once he sees what is happening in front of him, it's like firing a gun. He explodes through the line of scrimmage and makes tackles. Jason Howell has seen him more than anybody, and he does well in coverage. He is well-rounded. 
   
• Riggins started at South Oak Cliff and moved to Forney. The defensive style changed. He was a standup edge player to an on-the-ball linebacker. You will only see him get better. 
   
• A&M has only had a great presence in Houston. Where they fell off was in the Metroplex. Before this cycle began, we felt like there were two tactical decisions Elko and his staff needed to make to get the ball rolling in that direction.
   
• Number one was they had to go mend fences within the Texas High School Football coaching community. It was getting to the point where it was going to be a debilitating hurdle to get over. Elko has done that. The second thing was to reestablish themselves, and have a recognized presence in Dallas-Fort Worth.
   
• One of the first commitments they get is an outgoing and infectious personality in Kelvion, but also one of the best players in the region early on in the cycle. That is huge. This was a good flag in the ground in the Metroplex.
   
• Elko and his staff are in Dallas again today. They are making it a priority to reestablish A&M up there. 
   
• I talked to two of the trainers out of greater Houston who are on campus with players at Junior Day. They said there was a new vibe and a fresh energy. There was something different happening at A&M. I talked to Pettaway, and he echoed the same things.
   
• I don't want to sound like I am talking bad about the previous staff, but it is very different. It is almost night and day in terms of organization and structure. We have not heard one story about a kid feeling like they are neglected.
   
• We have seen them diversify the recruiting staff. The people within the recruiting machine have been very efficient in how they operate in their realm. There is specificity in what each person does. Their approach is very efficient and very well-rounded. 
   
• It was so valuable that for four years, every day, Elko got to sit here and go, "This place has everything, but I would do this differently. I might change this." How invaluable is that to him right now? I don't know, but it seems like having a background at this place helps. 
   
• As of this morning, Terry Bussey‍ has arrived at LSU for a final visit in Baton Rouge before National Signing Day. We fully anticipate him here this weekend for his second official visit to Texas A&M. That has long been scheduled. The last in-home visit Elko did where they brought, I believe, several members of the staff in-home with Terry, from then to now, we have felt very confident in A&M's standing and ability to hold him and sign him. 
   
• Even after an official visit to Georgia last weekend, we have heard nothing that would indicate otherwise for A&M with Terry. They will have to survive the visit to LSU. The Tigers have been A&M's biggest nemesis. We think A&M can do this and hold on. If they are able to hold onto him, that would be the biggest recruiting job by Mike Elko since he has been the head man.
   
• Coach Ish Aristide and Holmon Wiggins going to visit Terry signify their willingness to play him on either side of the ball. When you see the impact he has had offensively, it's hard to believe he can just be used at corner. I don't think you pigeonhole him on one side of the ball. Let him come here and see where it works.
   
• He is one of the top players in the state of Texas, no matter where he comes from. He is legitimately a five-star player. 
   
• Stay tuned for the National Signing Day show. We are tracking some stuff behind the scenes. 
   
• You don't slam dunk anything in recruiting. It seems to be a necessity that you recruit at a top-six or seven level. I don't think that is going anywhere, but you can supplement so much with the portal. With as much talent in this 2025 class, I have a hard time believing they won't sign a top-10 2025 class.