AMs first commit keeping tabs on class
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Killeen Shoemaker quarterback Jameill Showers was the first commitment in Texas A&M's class of 2010, pledging his services last November. Since then, he has been able to relax and focus on football. However, that does not mean he still does not have recruiting somewhat in mind.
It is not his own recruitment that he is concerned with, though. Instead, he has been observing as the Aggies have added 19 other commitments since his, including seven four-star prospects and several players with offers from the top programs in the country.
"My dad, he keeps me updated," said the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Showers. "My computer is broken right now, but my parents get on Rivals quite a bit so he keeps me updated.
"He said that we only have a couple spots left. He told me we got Corey Nelson from Skyline, we got Jake Matthews and he told me about Jarrett Fobbs. He's told about all those, the newer guys."
Showers says that is has come as somewhat of a surprise to him that A&M has been able to secure such a strong recruiting class after a 4-8 season a year ago. However, he can see why other players would choose to join him.
"It is sort of surprising that we're able to beat Texas, OU, LSU and USC for these guys," he said. "I didn't really expect a lot of people to want to commit because of how the season turned out last year. I guess everybody is starting to realize the type of athletes we're going to get."
Perhaps the one area of the class that most excites Showers is the offensive line. There are currently five commits, all of which stand at least 6-foot-5.
"That's something that I wish I could see this year at Shoemaker," Showers said laughing. "I'm bigger than all my linemen right now. It's a relief whenever you get to see stuff like (the A&M offensive line commits). I'm only 6-foot-1 or 6-foot-2 and everybody else is like 6-foot-6, so at least I know I'll be protected.
"I met them all at the last minicamp I went to. Standing next to them, I just felt protected. They're huge. They're all real good guys, too."
After being the first commit in the class, Showers has somewhat taken a leadership role among his peers already. He keeps up with most of the current pledges as well as several incoming freshmen.
"I talk to Domonique Patterson, Clay (Honeycutt), Nehemiah (Hicks) and I'm trying to get a couple more guys' numbers," he said. "I haven't talked to Ben Malena. I don't think anybody has, really, except for Domonique Patterson since they live up there.
"I also talk to a lot of guys who are already up there. I talk to EZ (Nwachukwu), Sean Porter, Patrick Lewis and Rhontae (Scales). They say it's a lot of work, but that's kind of what I expected. They said it's a lot of fun, though. They say classes are a lot harder than they were in high school, too."
Shoemaker made a surprising playoff run in 2008, but Showers says it could be a lot tougher his senior year. The Grey Wolves have a young squad returning and, because the school sits next to Fort Hood, many of the players are military kids and are on the move quite often. In fact, Showers is expecting to lose a lot of players off the team I the near future.
"It hasn't happened yet, but I think the 4th ID or somebody was supposed to come back from combat and they're going ship all of them out," he said. "I think they are going to Colorado.
"That's like half our football team, almost. We're already young and then ¾ of my team is military so you never know who is going to leave. Nobody has left yet but, as soon as we're about to play our first game, I guarantee you that's when they're going to take them."