USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school football recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond
It’s not how you start a race; it’s how you finish. We got a reminder of that this week as Texas A&M finally got into the mix with their recruiting class of 2023. After lagging behind other big schools for several months, the Aggies scored two big recruits this week…
On Tuesday, four-star La Grange (Texas) cornerback Bravion Rogers decided to recommit to Texas A&M after decommitting last month.
Rogers (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) is ranked as the seventh-best player in the state and is No. 4 at his position by 247Sports. He also had interest from Alabama, Baylor and Georgia.
In addition to his defensive work, Rogers is a productive running back. During his junior year, he totaled 1,006 yards and 15 touchdowns on just 105 carries. On the other side of the ball, he posted two interceptions and only allowed a 38.1% completion rate.
That same day Texas A&M got another big commitment to bolster their 2023 offensive line. Five-star Westlake (Texas) guard TJ Shanahan Jr. has also committed to Jimbo Fisher’s team. Shanahan (6-foot-4, 310 pounds) is considered one of the most powerful linemen in his class and is ranked No. 150 nationally. The Aggies still have work to do, though. Shanahan is only their 11th recruit overall.
These moves helped propel Texas A&M up several spots in the 2023 recruiting rankings: after leap-frogging over Washington, Northwestern, TCU and Iowa, among others, they’re up to No. 24.
Texas targets TE, UCF after 'Honeycomb'
While the Aggies are beginning to catch up to the top of the pack, they’ve been building a powerhouse 2023 recruiting class a couple of hours west. Texas has already secured the now-No. 2 quarterback (according to ESPN) in this class in Arch Manning and the second-best running back.
The Longhorns will try to lay another big brick by hosting five-star Pinnacle (Ariz.) tight end Duce Robinson for a visit this weekend. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder is the No. 1 tight end in this class and the best player in the state. The two-sport athlete has interest from Alabama and Georgia, but USC is considered the favorite for now.
Texas is currently ranked second in this recruiting class, trailing only Alabama.
Another school that hosted an enticing recruit this week was UCF, hosting Cayden “Honeycomb” Lee for a visit. Lee shared a few updates from his visit on social media.
👀🎥😵🎬 @Coach_Grisham @CoachVenables @CoachStreeter @SorrellsJordan @ClemsonFB @TEwracademy @CFravel247 @Keith247Sports @ChadSimmons_ pic.twitter.com/5NS2tmYsc0
— Cayden Lee (@Cayden_X_Lee) June 8, 2021
A three-star wide receiver for Kennesaw Mountain (Ga.), Lee helped boost his profile by a strong showing at Cam Newton’s 7 on 7 tournament in Atlanta earlier this year. Last year at Hillgrove (Ga.), he totaled 54 catches, 1,014 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns. This season he’s already scored five times in three games.
Lee also has offers on the table from 28 other schools, including Auburn, Florida State, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Georgia and Georgia Tech. Ole Miss is favored to get his commitment, though.
UCF currently ranks No. 46 in the class of 2023.
This 4-star Athlete might reclassify
Junipero Serra (Calif.) athlete Jason Mitchell was supposed to be one of the top recruits in the class of 2024. However, Mitchell broke the news on Twitter that he’s worked hard in the classroom to get the opportunity to reclassify as a 2023 graduate and he says he’s leaning in that direction.
Because I’ve worked so hard in the classroom, I have the opportunity to reclassify as a 2023 graduate. I’m am strongly leaning in that direction @GregBiggins @adamgorney
— Jason Mitchell II (@eazycallj) September 6, 2022
Mitchell (6-foot-4, 185 pounds) has played a variety of different positions over the last couple of seasons, and right now, he’s starting at quarterback. In college, he’s expected to play the role of an athletic, long and lanky cornerback ala Ahmad Gardner or Tariq Woolen.
USC is in the lead, but since sharing the tweet, Mitchell says schools that he’s never even heard of have been showing interest, per 247Sports.
“It has been crazy since I put out that tweet. Schools I never heard from before were suddenly hitting me up and showing interest. Right now, I’m just going to play this process out, pray about it with my family and see where things are at in a few months but I’m giving it a lot of thought right now.”
Mitchell says his ultimate goal is to play in the NFL.
More recruiting news from around the USA TODAY Sports college wires
Longhorns Wire:
Highlights from Arch Manning and Texas’ 2023 class over the weekend
Sooners Wire:
Oklahoma commit Jackson Arnold electric in Guyer’s 50-27 win
Vols Wire:
Max Gilbert commits to Tennessee
Nittany Lions Wire:
Big Ten football Class of 2023 rankings as season begins
Gators Wire:
Florida leads pack for this top 2024 EDGE recruit
Ducks Wire:
