2021 North Shore WR Shadrach Banks commits to Texas A&M

Signing day for the recruiting class of 2021 may be more than 16 months away, but the significance of the verbal commitment the Texas A&M Aggies just got from four-star wide receiver Shadrach Banks is hard to overstate. In a live-streamed hat ceremony, Banks had hats from Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma and Alabama on the table, but pulled an A&M hat from under the table when he made his commitment. He said his choice ultimately came down to the Aggies, LSU Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners.

At 6’0” and 207 pounds, Banks is rated as the #60 player in the 2021 class nationally and the #10 player in Texas. He joins Denton Guyer QB Eli Stowers as the only A&M commits so far in the 2021 class.

Banks plays for North Shore High School, a Houston football powerhouse (they’re the reigining 6A Division I state champion), but have been a notorious black hole for Texas A&M recruiting (with LSU often being the beneficiary). A&M hasn’t had a player from North Shore since Eric Crutchfield in 2000(!), including some very high profile misses, but that seems to have changed today.

The Aggies are also heavily pursuing 2020 North Shore running back Zachary Evans, a five star recruit who is the top player in Texas and the top running back in the country (also Zachary Evans has to be one of the most Aggie names of all time). While it’s impossible to know whether Banks’ decision affects where Evans will go, it certainly can’t hurt, and re-opening the North Shore pipeline is surely a priority for Jimbo Fisher and his staff.