Texas A&M football and coach Mike Elko finished the 2024 regular season with an 8-4 record. While Elko is now the head man in College Station, the foundation of his team was made up of players recruited by former Aggie coach Jimbo Fisher, including Fisher’s historic 2022 high school recruiting class.

According to 247Sports, A&M not only managed to secure the No. 1 class in the country that year, but the highest-ranked class since 247 began tracking recruitment rankings in 1999. The Aggies and Fisher surpassed Alabama and then-coach Nick Saban’s 2021 recruiting class, with composite scores of 333.13 and 327.8, respectively.

It’s well known that after landing the historic class, Fisher proceeded to go 11-11 before being fired late in the 2023 season. The Aggies’ failure to capitalize on their highly-touted recruiting class is proof that sometimes, recruiting stars isn’t everything.

Now it’s time to look back at the major pieces of the “greatest recruiting class of all time.”

A&M signed a then-record eight five-star recruits according to 247Sports, which stood until Alabama signed nine in 2023. Defensive linemen Walter Nolen was the highest-ranked recruit to sign for the Maroon and White, as the No. 2 prospect nationally and the No. 1 DL.

Nolen had two underwhelming seasons in Aggieland, accumulating just five sacks and 11 tackles for loss before transferring to Ole Miss following coach Fisher’s departure. Nolen recorded 14 TFLs along with 6.5 sacks in his lone season in Oxford, Mississippi and could potentially have his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The second recruit, five-star wide receiver Evan Stewart, was the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 6 player nationally. Producing just 1,163 receiving yards and six touchdowns through two seasons, Stewart believed poor quarterback play was holding him back, so he transferred to Oregon for the 2024 season. The Frisco native had similar production with just 613 yards and five touchdowns his first season as a Duck, but will look to get his feathers together in 2025.

The third-ranked player was five-star DL Shemar Stewart, who was the No. 3 DL and No. 9 player nationally. He excelled while starting as a true freshman in 2022, but had a sophomore slump in 2023. Stewart’s decision to stick around for the Elko era paid off; while his stats didn’t spike, his NFL Draft stock did. Despite producing just 12 TFLs and 4.5 sacks in 37 games, the athletic freak is a no-doubt first-round selection.

The 6-foot-6, 290-pound Miami native, will be the only five-star recruit from the 2022 class to spend the entirety of his career with the Maroon and White as the remaining top prospects no longer reside in Aggieland.

One of the other former five stars is DL Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, who was the No. 4 DL and No. 11 overall. He appeared in just eight games through three seasons, only recording three TFLs and 0.5 sacks before transferring to South Carolina on Dec. 18, 2024.

Another five star on the defensive line was DL LT Overton, who was the No. 6 DL and No. 17 overall ranked recruit. He had a decent freshman season with 31 combined tackles, three TFLs and one sack, but took a big step back as a sophomore failing to record any sacks or TFLs before transferring to Alabama. He bounced back with 42 combined tackles to go alongside three TFLs and two sacks and projects to be a late first-round pick in the NFL Draft. 

Next was quarterback Conner Weigman from Cypress, Texas. The Bridgeland High School product was the No. 3 QB and the No. 22 prospect nationally. Weigman began his freshman year as the third-string QB, until injuries to Haynes King and Max Johnson launched him into the starting role.

Weigman looked sharp throwing eight touchdowns and no interceptions in his short five-game stint and carried that momentum into the 2023 season, beating Johnson for the starting job in spring practice. However a season-ending foot injury against Auburn cut his promising sophomore campaign short after four games with a 69% completion percentage and 10 total touchdowns.

Coming into the 2024 season with first-round hype, the sky was the limit for Weigman, but an injury suffered in the season opener against Notre Dame derailed his entire season with a lingering AC joint injury. The injury showed as the Cypress native appeared in just six games throwing five interceptions to just three touchdowns.

Redshirt sophomore Marcel Reed stepped up in his absence, forcing the former starting quarterback to transfer after only playing 15 games in three seasons. Weigman will rep the red and white of the Houston Cougars in 2025 under coach Willie Fritz.

WR Chris Marshall was the seventh five star, as the No. 3 WR and No. 24 overall recruit. He appeared in just games, recording 108 receiving yards before being suspended indefinitely for violating team rules along with fellow freshman recruits defensive back Denver Harris and offensive lineman PJ Williams.

Marshall was also a coveted basketball recruit and planned to play for then-A&M-coach Buzz Williams. However, he was left off the roster following his suspension from the football program. Eventually transferring to Ole Miss, his troubles followed, as he was dismissed from the team during spring practice.

Marshall spent the 2023 season at Kilgore College, with 449 receiving yards and five touchdowns in only six games, before transferring to Boise State. He missed a majority of the 2024 season injured, but returns to the Broncos in 2025.

The final five star, DL Anthony Lucas, was the No. 32 recruit nationally and No. 8 DL. He struggled to find the field as a freshman at A&M appearing just seven games, transferring to USC for a bigger role. After two seasons in Los Angeles, Lucas has still failed to become a difference maker recording just 26 combined tackles, four TFLs and no sacks, with hopes of finally taking a big step up in 2025.

The Aggies also amassed 19 four-star recruits, of which only six remain on the roster ahead of the annual spring Maroon and White Game. Along with two incoming transfers, a total of 30 players made up the recruiting class, but just 24% stayed in Aggieland. 

Lack of longevity and long-term impact from the “22 class” can be attributed to two factors. First and foremost, all the illustrious recruits were never bound to stay, especially in the new NIL-fueled landscape of college football. Finally, there is no escaping Battered Aggie Syndrome, no matter how much money you have.