Eight players signed their National Letter of Intent with Texas A&M on Wednesday as part of the NCAA’s new Early Signing Period.
The Aggies 2018 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 18 according to 247sports.com.
Headlining the class was four-star defensive end Max Wright (6-4, 270) from Katy, and is the Aggies’ highest-rated signee. Wright suffered a torn ACL in late September and had surgery in early October, forcing him to miss the remainder of his senior season.
Four-star offensive tackle Luke Matthews (6-4, 305) followed his family’s footsteps to Aggieland, becoming the fourth Matthews to sign with A&M. His three older brothers – Kevin, Jake and Mike – played for A&M. His father Bruce is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Luke, from Missouri City, was the first commit in the Aggies’ 2018 class, pledging to A&M as a sophomore on Feb. 23, 2016.
Jordan Moore (5-11, 180) was the highest-rated skill player signed by A&M on Wednesday. The four-star safety from Yoakum was named to the APSE 3A First Team All-State Team on Monday with six interceptions and 10 pass breakups this season. Jordan is the twin brother of four-star receiver Josh Moore (6-1, 170), who has been a long-time Aggie target and decommitted from Nebraska on Dec. 10. In April, Jordan tweeted that he and his brother would play together in college.
Towering wide receiver Caleb Chapman (6-5, 205) of Friendswood signed just after noon. Chapman totaled 64 receptions for 1,049 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior. The Aggies also inked three-star wide receiver Montel Parker (6-2, 185) from Dickinson and kicker Seth Small (5-11, 190) from Katy, who was named 19-6A Special Teams Player of the Year.
Burly offensive tackle Colten Blanton (6-7, 285) was A&M’s first signee of the day. Blanton is a four-star prospect from Cypress.
New A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher signed his first Aggie commit Jace Sternberger (6-4, 240). The JUCO product from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M was the No. 2 tight end in the class of 2018, and had previously played at Kansas. Sternberger was pursued by new tight ends coach Tim Brewster.
The Early Signing Period runs through Friday, and the Aggies will be on high alert for the announcement of five-star wide receiver Terrace Marshall from Bossier City, Louisiana. Marshall is the No. 1 receiver in the nation and will be deciding between A&M and home-state recruiting power LSU on Friday morning.
It would not be the first time the Aggies nabbed an elite receiver from the Pelican State over division foe LSU, as former five-star Speedy Noil signed with A&M in 2014.
Also notable was Texas defensive tackle commit Keondre Coburn’s announcement on Tuesday that he would not be faxing in his NLI during the Early Signing Period as he originally planned. The four-star prospect from Spring was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Houston, which Fisher was in attendance for. Coburn is also the only defensive lineman committed in Texas’ 2018 class.
Another key signing postponement was three-star athlete Vernon Jackson (6-3, 240) from Boling, who is committed to Alabama.
The Aggies are still in the hunt for a quarterback after lone signal-caller commit Cade Fortin from Georgia decommitted earlier this month and signed with North Carolina Wednesday morning. Fisher had recently offered the nation’s top player and quarterback, Justin Fields from Georgia, but Fields ultimately chose home-state Georgia on Wednesday.
*** All rankings are from 247sports.com ***