Lockhart, from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, picked the Aggies over not only USC, but Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama and Tennessee, among others. He had originally committed to Ole Miss in January 2022, but decided to de-commit in March of this year after more than 14 months.

In the end, it really came down to the Trojans and Aggies. A&M hosted Lockhart on his first official visit earlier this month, and he was scheduled to visit USC before making his decision at the end of June. On Wednesday night, however, he announced that he was moving up his timeframe and making a decision before his scheduled official to USC.

Lockhart is the ninth commit for A&M and the second linebacker, joining Tristan Jernigan of Tupelo (Miss.). He is the seventh commit from out of state, a remarkable note for A&M.

The Aggies now have seven 4-star commits and four commits on the defensive side of the ball. A&M now has commits from Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, California and two from Mississippi.

Lockhart is A&M's second commit on Thursday, joining 4-star tight end Eric Karner of Elmhurst (Ill.) Immaculate Conception, who committed earlier in the day.

The Aggies need aggressive linebackers, and they got one in Lockhart. He's got great vision, exceptional instincts and great speed.

A lot of linebackers know how to pursue and look explosive when they're untouched, but Lockhart is shedding blocks or avoiding cuts repeatedly and still makes the play. That shows not only impressive instinct, but anticipation as well. He knows the block is coming, knows how to shed it and still be in a position to make the play.

If he is left in open space, look out when he gets going downhill. His acceleration is extremely impressive and he covers a lot of ground without expending (it appears) a lot of effort. And he can definitely hit someone.

Lockhart also shows that he can cover. He drops well, anticipates the throw well and can go down the field if he needs to.

Keep in mind that St. John Bosco is one of the best programs in the nation. Actually, the best, according to some outlets, as they went 13-1 last year. Some of Lockhart's highlights are against Mater Dei, another L.A. area school with a ton of Power 5 talent. Bosco lost to Mater Dei in the regular season, but beat them for the state title.

That's a long way of saying that Lockhart is dominating play at an elite high school level. Physically speaking, it doesn't look like he's got a lot of developing that he still needs to do. A little more refinement and a quick adjustment to the bigger and faster SEC and he should be ready to contribute, maybe as soon as next fall.