This could be the best signing day for Texas A&M in recent memory...or maybe the worst.

“The early signing period will de-emphasize National Signing Day,” they said. “It will take out all of the drama,” they said.

They were wrong.

Here we are less than 48 hours away from National Signing Day, and the Texas A&M

Aggies have arguably never had this much uncertainty about a class this late in the game. The current commit list sits at 14 recruits (four of which have not yet signed a letter of intent), which is good for 35th in the country according to 247 Sports. If you’re a bit scared by that ranking, you’re not alone. If it holds, it would be the Aggies’ worst recruiting class ranking in more than a decade (just ahead of Sherman’s transition class following the end of the Dennis Francione era). The good is is that the ranking is very likely to go up, as A&M seems likely to add as many as 10 additional recruits to this year’s class. How high that ranking rises greatly depends on who those 10 players are, and therein lies the uncertainty.

There are more than a dozen players (either uncommitted or committed elsewhere) that are rumored to be strongly considering A&M, a number almost unheard of this close to signing day. Whether good or bad, you normally know what your recruiting class is this close to signing day, with a focus on just a handful of players making a signing day decision. But A&M is looking at wild swings in the fate of this class based on the next few days, and as always seems to be the case in recruiting today, the decisions of a select few could have major implications for others. The drama (supposedly) begins today with the commitment announcement of Cy Springs safety Leon O’Neal. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he initially committed to A&M back in June. O’Neal opened up his recruitment following the firing of Kevin Sumlin in December, but the Aggies remain the odds-on favorite to regain his verbal commitment. If A&M can get the four-star safety back in the fold, it could help them land several other recruits currently on the fence (UPDATE: O’Neal has re-committed to A&M). That list includes (among others):

• WR Jaylen Waddle (TX) (uncommitted)
• DT Bobby Brown (TX) (Alabama commit)
• DE Jeremiah Martin (CA) (uncommitted)
• RB Jashaun Corbin (FL) (uncommitted)
• ATH Vernon Jackson (TX) (Alabama commit)
• DE Dorian Gerald (SC) (uncommitted)
• TE Glenn Beal (LA) (uncommitted)
• RB Charles Strong (FL) (uncommitted)
• QB Brock Purdy (AZ) (uncommitted)
• LB Umstead Sanders (FL) (uncommitted) (yet to receive scholarship offer)

If the Aggies can land half of these players, they’ll have the makings of a solid class. A good enough effort in a transition year made even more difficult by rival schools locking up their class during the early signing period. If they get the majority of them, you’re talking about a national ranking in the top 15, and a joyous flurry of signing day commitments sure to make even the most anti-recruiting curmudgeon smile. But the possibility still exists that a lot of these battles don’t go A&M’s way, especially with several head-to-head battles with Alabama (O’Neal, Brown, Jackson) and other SEC schools (LSU for Beal, Ole Miss for Strong, Florida for Gerald). If that happens, this could be a class we talk about for years to come, and not in a good way. A&M fans have seen what happens when you have playmakers at key spots but no team depth. If Jimbo Fisher wants to turn the Aggies into an SEC contender, closing strong with this class would be a great start.

Buckle up, and we’ll see in two days whether we need to start drinking, or start drinking faster.