There’s no way around it, Texas A&M football recruiting has gotten off to a slow start in 2023 if you judge it solely based on commits. Partially because of three decommitments (QB Eli Holstein and DL Anthony James/Johnny Bowens), and partially because most of their top targets have not yet committed, the Aggies currently sit with only six commitments while most other major programs have 15 or more. As a result, A&M’s class is currently ranked outside the top 50 nationally. But the good news is that that may be about to change.

The Ags already got a bit of momentum last weekend with the commitment of national top 100 OL Chase Bistonis, and they’ll look to build upon that with a monster recruiting event this weekend affectionately referred to as “the pool party.” This is the one weekend in the middle of an extended dead period where recruits are allowed to take visits (albeit unofficial ones), and the Aggie staff is looking to take full advantage of this short window of time to make a big impression. A&M held a similar event in 2021, and while it didn’t produce many instantaneous commitments, it’s largely credited with being the seminal moment that led to Jimbo Fisher and his coaching staff assembling the highest-rated recruiting class of all time in 2022. Aggie fans hope this year’s event can be a similar catalyst that will send A&M rocketing up the recruiting rankings between now and December. The event has already made headlines, as news broke that the No. 2 recruit in the country, USC QB commit Malachi Nelson, is in College Station for the weekend.

Nelson may still be locked in as a USC commit, but when you consider the fact that five-star WR (and fellow USC commit) Zachariah Branch also visited College Station back in June, it’s not unreasonable to think there might be just a little bit of fire creating that smoke. We shall see, but either way, simply getting Nelson on campus is a big accomplishment.

So who else might be there?

The exact list of attendees is still in flux (as is always the case with the plans of high school athletes), but it is likely that most of the current 2023 commits will be there. If you’re looking for “flash,” these are the current five-star recruits that A&M has seemed to recruit heavily who could potentially be on campus:

• WR Zachariah Branch (USC commit)
• DL David Hicks
• LB Anthony Hill
• RB Rueben Owens (Louisville commit)
• WR Hykeem Williams
• CB Tony Mitchell (Alabama commit)

A&M also has a ton of high four-star players they’re looking to convince to sign with the Aggies. This includes:

• CB Javien Toviano
• S Peyton Bowen (Notre Dame commit)
• RB Cedric Baxter
• RB Jeremiyah Love
• S Dalton Brooks
• LB Derion Gullette
• OL T.J. Shanahan
• QB Austin Novosad (Baylor commit)
• S Kylin Jackson
• WR Adam Hopkins
• OL Miles McVay

Will all of these players make it to the pool party? Of course not. But I think many will, in addition to a slew of 2024 and younger prospects that the Aggies already have their eye on for future years.

The A&M staff appears to be once again banking on this event to make a major impact on those who attend, and based on the fact that Jimbo has never signed a class at A&M ranked outside the top 10, he’s given us very little reason not to trust the process he and his staff have in place.