Texas A&M only landed two more players on National Signing Day, but both are 5-star recruits. The last of the group was safety Jacoby Mathews, who spurned in-state LSU for the Aggies.
Mathews, a native of Ponchatoula, La., is one of the nation's top defensive backs and had been a target of the Aggies and Tigers for a long time. In fact, he was committed to LSU for more than three months before de-committing on July 30, 2021.
Even though most observers expected Mathews to rejoin the LSU recruiting class, Texas A&M swooped in and put on the full-court press. By November, it seemed very possible, and maybe even probable, that he would be an Aggie when it was all said and done.
Then Mathews decided not to sign in the early signing period, and put off making his announcement at the Under Armour All-American game -- an opportunity new LSU coach Brian Kelly didn't let pass. Kelly and his staff came after Mathews in a big way, getting him on campus for the final recruiting weekend before signing day for an official visit.
Just when LSU felt at their most confident, something changed. On Tuesday, rumors began to circulate that Mathews had had another change of heart and was leaning back A&M's way. By Tuesday night, it seemed likely that was the case, and coach Jimbo Fisher would only smile when asked if A&M was done in his later afternoon press conference.
While A&M wins out on an elite talent at a need position and hurts their nemesis on the process, LSU was far from the only team in the hunt for Mathews. He took a serious look at Florida and also had offers from Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Texas, among others.
The addition of Mathews pushes the Aggies past Alabama and ensures A&M's first-ever victory in the Rivals.com recruiting rankings.
A look at A&M's newest commit (and signee)
A complete safety, with a tendency towards aggression. He's big, fast and physical.
Mathews is now said to be around 210 pounds, which makes him about the size of current Seattle Seahawk Jamal Adams. And, like Adams, he doesn't mind playing up near the line of scrimmage. He seems to crave the opportunity to blitz and attack running backs or quarterbacks in the backfield. And he has the speed to come from a significant distance and track them down.
In spite of near linebacker size, he can also cover extremely well. In some cases, he was left in man coverage and could not only bump and run with receivers, but did a better job finding the ball in the air, got the angle for the pass and picked it off. He's highly instinctive in pass coverage -- and really, all facets of the game.
One of the few remaining areas where the Aggies needed help was at safety, as they had lost Leon O'Neal, Keldrick Carper, Brian Williams and Erick Young. They went out and got Mathews, who may best the best safety in the nation. When you've got linebacker size and corner skills, you're going to be a great addition to Demani Richardson and Antonio Johnson in the defensive backfield.
