College Football

Texas A&M Recruiting: Get to Know the Aggies' 2017 Offensive Recruits

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 7:43 p.m. ET

Fansided, Matthew Bartlett/FanSided via Gig Em Gazette

Oct 8, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Two F/A-18 jets fly over Kyle Field before the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Tennessee Volunteers. The Aggies defeat the Volunteers 45-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

With National Signing Day in the books it’s time to get to know the 14 offensive players in the 2017 Texas A&M recruiting class.

Wide Receiver

The 2017 Texas A&M recruiting class is headlined with four talented wide receivers: Jhamon Ausbon, Hezekiah Jones, Roshauud Paul and Camron Buckley. With the departures of Josh Reynolds, Ricky Seals-Jones, and Speedy Noil the Aggies will be looking at these new faces to make an immediate impact in 2017.

Reynolds and Noil vacate spots on the outside, look for Ausbon to compete immediately with redshirt freshman Quartney Davis and senior Damion Ratley from day one. Playing time will be harder to come by in the slot, but the Aggies do a good job of utilizing six or seven wide receivers in a typical game. Regardless of who is starting come September, expect all of these guys to play a part in the offense as early as next season. Or Christian Kirk could just do it all… Hmm.

Running Back

After Travis Etienne reopened his recruitment in August, the Aggies had just one running back in the 2017 class. Etienne has since signed with Clemson, and Jacob Kibodi remains the lone ball carrier signed by the Aggies this year.

Kibodi averaged 120 yards per game his senior season and will join a crowded backfield alongside Trayveon Williams, Keith Ford, and Kendall Bussey. Junior back James White announced he will transfer to Lamar this week, but that won’t do much to boost Kibodi up on the depth chart. He doesn’t factor to make an immediate impact this year.

Sep 10, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Keith Ford (7) celebrates with tight end Kalvin Cline (89) after scoring a touchdown during the first quarter against the Prairie View A&M Panthers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Tight End

It’s a bird! A plane? It’s a … tight end? That’s right. The 2017 Texas A&M recruiting class has not one, but two tight ends. Camron Horry, a product of Katy Taylor High School checks in a 6’5″, 261 pounds. Also in this class is Port Neches-Groves standout Keynel McZeal at 6’3″, 224 pounds.

For those that weren’t aware, the Aggies had tight ends on the roster in 2016. The position group totaled two receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown. Yes, that was the combined production of Virginia Tech transfer Kalvin Cline and junior Tanner Schorp. The team had the benefit of Ricky Seals-Jones in the slot, who profiles closer to a tight end than a wide receiver.

When current Texas A&M offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone was at UCLA he utilized senior tight end Joseph Fauria extensively. Fauria caught 46 passes and 12 touchdowns in 2012, Mazzone’s first year at UCLA. Contrasted with the Aggie tight end production there seems to be some remove for improvement.

Want your voice heard? Join the Gig Em Gazette team!

Offensive Line

Sharing the spots on the line next to the tight ends will be the offensive lineman in this class. This position group was an emphasis this year and is the biggest group of the offensive class with five signees: Jared Hocker, Grayson Reed, Adrian Wolford, Dan Moore, and Carson Green.

The preferred approach to offensive lineman development in the SEC is to give each class a year or two to bulk up and learn before throwing them into the fire. That said, of the Aggies five offensive lineman in the 2016 class several saw playing time due to injuries last season.

One did more than just filling in. Colton Prater would start more than half of the Aggies games before suffering an injury late in the season. You just never know which one of these guys will be thrust into significant playing time first.

Aug 27, 2016; Loganville, GA, USA; IMG Academy quarterback Kellen Mond (11) runs against the Grayson Rams during the second half in a high school football duel of top ranked teams at Grayson Community Stadium. IMG Academy defeated the Grayson Rams 26-7. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterback

Trevor Knight was a godsend for this program last season. After the departures of Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray the Aggies needed someone to fill the gap. Knight did that for Kevin Sumlin last year, but someone else is going to have to step up in 2017.

Two candidates intend to throw their hats in the ring from the 2017 class: Connor Blumrick and Kellen Mond. Though each man took a different road to College Station, they’ll both be on level ground heading into spring workouts in March.

Blumrick is a three star, pro style quarterback, out of Pearland High School in Houston, Texas. He’s flying a bit under the radar as he lacks the star power of a guy like Mond.

More from Gig Em Gazette

Blumrick committed to Texas A&M before Mond did and he’s had since last summer to consider going somewhere else with an easier path to a starting job. But he didn’t shy away from the competition. That focus, along with a powerful arm, make him an interesting wild card in the QB race going forward.

If a freshman does win the starting job next season, the odds on favorite will be the former IMG Academy signal caller Kellen Mond. Mond ran circles around his opponents at the Under Armour All-American Game. He’s already gotten some Aggie fans thinking of another shifty quarterback that wore number two a few years ago.

Mond is the focal point of an offensive class that answers every need the Aggies had this offseason. In the SEC, have quality starting-caliber depth is a must. The Aggies have found that out the hard way the last few seasons when the injury bug bit the team in November.

It’s way too early to tell how these 14 players will impact the team going forward. But we do know that this offensive class was a step towards making an already good offensive better.

***Rankings from 247 Sports, Stats from Sports Reference***