Texas A&M needed some good news and got it Sunday afternoon, when Katy Tompkins OL Ashton Funk committed to the class of 2024. Your report on A&M's newest commit is brought to you by Branch & Dhillon, P.C.!
The Aggies targeted the 6-foot-6, 275-pound offensive tackle early on in the process, inviting him to their elite junior day this January and offering him in April. Penn State offered him two days earlier, and with the Aggie offer, his stock skyrocketed.
Funk picked up offers from Michigan, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State and Colorado in a little more than 24 hours in early May, and added offers from Oklahoma and USC on May 12. The SEC would get involved heavily in June, with Funk picking up offers from LSU, Alabama and Tennessee. Even though Auburn and Florida would throw their hats in the ring later, A&M always seemed to have the upper hand in his commitment, with Alabama also receiving a visit.
Today, Funk decided to end his recruitment and became the second member of the 2024 class.
Analysis of A&M's newest commit
Funk has been on my radar as a possible commit for several months now, and I think he's underrated as a 3-star. Yesterday, we saw the need for quickness at the tackle position when Haynes King got obliterated on a game-changing sack when Princely Umanmeilen was essentially untouched. Funk, for young man with a year-plus of high school left, is very quick on his feet for his size.
If you watch his film, you can see that he's very quick off the snap and takes advantage of his prototype offensive tackle size. He's got long arms and engages quickly, wiping out defensive linemen in the run game and handles opponents well in pass protection. In one play, he stones current A&M DE Malick Sylla.
But it's the quickness, and the quality of the footwork, that is most impressive. At about 56 seconds, in what appears to be a game against Katy, the defense overloads his side on a blitz. He seamlessly slows up the defensive end, then switches to move the blitzer out of the play. For a young offensive lineman, that's top-notch stuff.
As you'd expect from a recruit with his level of offers, he's strong, physical and plays with a chip on his shoulder. But it's the quickness that he has that sets him apart. If he can keep that ability as he grows to about 300 pounds, he definitely be a starting left tackle in the SEC.
