Sponsored by Brent Campbell, Fighting Texas Aggie Class of 1998. Brent is a Commercial Real Estate Broker, serving all of Central Texas and specializing in sales, leasing & development. He leads a retail acquisition and sales team and was recognized by the Austin Business Journal as a Commercial Real Estate Heavy Hitter in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020 & 2023.

In the last 22 years, he has closed deals with a total transactional value of over $375 million and has leased more than 4.5 million square feet. Brent currently serves as the president of the board of directors for Habitat Homes, Inc. and Pathways Youth and Family Services. He is a former president of the Heart of Round Rock Neighborhood Association and a former member of the Round Rock Zoning Advisory Committee, the Round Rock Business and Retention Committee, and the City of Round Rock Ethics Commission, which has led him to begin developing in Williamson and Travis County.

An Austin native, Brent lives in Round Rock where he and his wife have raised four boys. Brent works for Don Quick and Associates, Inc. in Round Rock, TX and can be reached at brent@donquick.com.

1. For a long time, Texas A&M’s handling of athletics has frequently been subpar to outright incompetent, but one thing the athletic department and the 12th Man Foundation deserve a lot of credit for is being ahead of the curve when it comes to NIL and paying players.

Former AD Ross Bjork was one of the first ADs in the nation to recognize the coming storm and put the pieces in place for a funding mechanism three years ago. The NCAA fought it tooth and nail, but the framework that A&M put out has largely been adopted across college sports and was basically codified by the House v. NCAA settlement. Current AD Trev Alberts has done a good job of overseeing the expansion of NIL efforts while being a key part of bringing the House settlement to a conclusion. He’s also been one of the big players in working with members of Congress on trying to come up with a federal framework for handling NIL, something that remains elusive if not impossible.

Aggies can gripe about a lot of things in the handling of athletics, going back decades. But in this case, A&M has done an excellent job of perceiving coming change and managing it.

2. I saw another one of those top 10 lists that has the Aggie offensive line highly ranked (in this case, fourth). Coach Mike Elko has compared the line to the 2020 group, which was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. If that’s what A&M really gets out of this group, coupled with a stacked backfield, this team can be extremely tough to deal with.

3. One of the greatest adversaries for the Aggie football program in recent years has returned, and that foe is expectations. Multiple publications, including ESPN, have the Aggies in the top four teams in the SEC. In some CFP scenarios, that would mean the Aggies are in the playoff. But preseason expectations have never been this program’s problem; meeting them has. And you can be sure Elko and company are beating the message that it’s time to meet expectations into players every single day — as they should.

4. As expected, Jace LaViolette is turning pro and will be part of the MLB Draft next month (coincidentally, it’s being held in Atlanta the same time as SEC Media Days). While we don’t know where he’s going yet, we can certainly start to assess his position in the pantheon of great Aggie baseball players. He’s easily the best power hitter in program history and is likely, at worst, in the top three position players. We were fortunate to be around to see him play.

5. This weekend will, once again, be a big one as far as official visits go. There are several players that seem to have their lists narrowed down to a couple of teams with the Aggies still in the hunt. One of them is Jamarion Carlton, who seems like an A&M-Texas battle. Texas was way out in front for a long time, but A&M appeared to have taken the lead before his official visit to Austin last weekend. But the Aggies get the last shot at him as he comes to town Friday. He is scheduled to announce a commitment July 10.

6. A&M has shot to really put the finishing touches on an outstanding recruiting rally with the official visit of 5-star WR Ethan "Boobie" Feaster this weekend. This time a year ago, the Aggies weren’t even a factor for the then-2027, but already in demand, prospect. It looked like Texas was the team to beat. Then it was LSU. But A&M just kept coming, and now they’re the team to beat, with Alabama being the major competition.

7. If the Aggies do land Feaster, along with 4-stars Aaron Gregory, Madden Williams and Mike Brown, WR coach Holmon Wiggins should get serious run for the recruiter of the year. And, don’t forget that they’re still in it for 5-star and current LSU commit Tristen Keys.

8. I said this in Monday Thoughts yesterday (that’s a plug for you non-subscribers), but A&M’s biggest competitor on the recruiting front for 2026 is not Texas, it’s LSU and Alabama. One of the big battles with LSU is for 5-star DT Lamar Brown, and he’s one of the key visitors this weekend. In spite of his being from Baton Rouge and literally going to high school on LSU’s campus, the Aggies have positioned themselves very well for him. This is their big shot to seal the deal — he commits July 10 — and it’s imperative that they stick the landing this weekend.

9. Four-star safety Tylan Wilson of Pascagoula, Miss., will also visit this weekend. The Aggies are in it for a few other safety prospects, but I don’t think they lead for any of them at this point. They have, however, been consistently after Wilson, who is right at the top of their board. This trip could be an opportunity to separate from in-state Ole Miss, who I think is the primary opposition in this one.

10. A&M’s off to a pretty slow start on the offensive line front recuiting-wise, but I’m honestly not overly concerned about that. They’ll have their shot at 4-star OT Avery Morcho, 4-star OT Aaron Thomas and 4-star guard Drew Evers here in the coming weeks. I think they'll get some, of not all, of that trio.

Still, -- and is just me talking -- I think they need to go out and look for some veterans in the portal for next year.

Here’s why: Chase Bisontis and Mark Nabou are, at this point, the only two experienced linemen returning for 2026 — and they’re both draft eligible. So that leaves the Aggies with:

OT Robert Bourdon

OT Lamont Rogers

OT Jonte Newman

OG Nelson McGuire

OG Tyler Thomas

OG Blake Ivy

OG Papa Ahfua

OG/C Ashton Funk

OT/OG Marcus Garcia

C Josh Moses

That list constitutes precisely zero starts and only a handful of appearances. With this veteran line in 2025, they’re probably not going to get much more playing time unless there’s some serious injuries. Talent will not be the necessity for 2026; experience will be.