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A&M's hot streak in recruiting continues

AggieYell.com's look at Texas A&M's newest commit for the 2023 class is brought to you by Branch & Dhillon, P.C.!

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Sometimes, it doesn't take long to decide on where to commit.

2023 Atascocita defensive Samu Taumanupepe was offered during Texas A&M's pool party over the weekend and took a little time to think things over.

Very little.

Taumanupepe committed to the Aggies Monday night, picking A&M over Texas, Oregon, TCU and Colorado, among others. He's the second head-to-head win for the Aggies over Texas in as many days, following 2024 DE Dealyn Evans, who committed Sunday night.

Taumanupepe keeps a pipeline that has been very good to the Aggies open. He's the third Atascocita prospect to commit to the Aggies in recent years, following in the footsteps of 5-star OL Kenyon Green (now with the Houston Texans) and 2022 OL signee Kam Dewberry.

Dewberry made a point of mentioning A&M's success recruiting Atascocita in a Twitter post shortly after Taumanupepe committed.

Analysis of A&M's newest commit

There aren't many players around like Taumanupepe. When you look at the Aggies, you may be looking back at someone like Sam Adams when he comes to sheer size in the middle. This guy is absolutely massive.

But there's a difference between being big and being big with talent. Taumanupepe is definitely the latter. He's not just a bull in a China shop, he's knocking down all the doors on the way out. He's immovable at the point of attack and unstoppable once he gets moving.

Taumanupepe is somewhere between 360 and 390 pounds, but it's not like it's all in his gut. He has tremendous lower body strength, and that allows him to just bully opposing linemen. At the high school level (a 6A playoff team), he's unblockable. He shreds double teams and pushes his way back into the backfield.

If Taumanupepe gets leverage, it's over. He's either going through the opponent or the's not being moved. He's just took big and too strong.

There's not much subtlety to his game, even though he has a good swim move. He's just going to take up blockers and, frequently, consume them. He's got a lot of technical things to work on and he'll probably slim down 20 to 30 pounds once he gets to campus, but when you put him in the middle next to someone like Shemar Turner or Walter Nolen, try running up the gut. Please. Players like Taumanupepe are extremely unique and are a great antidote to the SEC running game.

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