Nate Boerkircher

Amari Niblack

Micah Riley and Theo Ohrstrom will both be draft eligible

Two.

A&M wants to have five or six tight ends on the roster and, with the sudden departure of Eric Karner after spring practice, the Aggies would be shorthanded at the position next year. Tafua is more of a receiver than a blocker, so they could certainly use someone with more bulk, be it through the portal or the 2026 class.

Sorensen's recruitment has exploded over the past couple of months and his official visit list is long: Wisconsin, Penn State, Miami, Texas, A&M, UCLA and Nebraska. He does not have one scheduled for USC at this point, but he lives just down the road and the Trojans may have an edge as a result.

A&M is also getting an official from Jacobson, a ridiculously tall but athletic tight end from Iowa. But I think that they're also trailing Notre Dame and probably others at this point.

Jensen may be the top target for the Aggies still on the board, and he's making a trip to Aggieland in late June. The question is whether he'll want to leave the Midwest, and Iowa State and Missouri are also getting officials. He also lives just down the road from Nebraska, another program that is interested.

Briggs is an extremely athletic receiver who was committed to Arizona State until last week. As soon as he de-committed, A&M shot right to the top of his list and he'll make an official visit June 20. Miami and LSU will also get officials.

One thing that stands out is Tafua and all four of the big targets remaining are tall, thin, catch-first tight ends. They all have frames where you can project them adding size, but I don't know if they'll be able to replicate the freakishness of Kiotti Armstrong (6-foot-6, 265 pounds as a true freshman). Odds are they can't, so if they're looking for a block-first tight, they're likely going into the portal again.

I get this sense A&M is looking for another weapon in the passing game more than another blocker when it comes to the class of 2026. The question is, can they get one? Briggs seems to be the most likely at this point, but they're certainly making a push for Jensen as well. He was in a couple of weeks ago, so he's definitely taking A&M seriously.

Sorensen may be the biggest get amongst the four, but he's also got the most competition. Jacobson appears to be a tough pull at this point, but all four are taking officials, so a lot can change between now and then.

The goal appears to be to keep Tafua happy and add another tall, quick receiver type who can play in the slot or play as an in-line tight end. It certainly seems like they'd rather develop those kind of players internally, but haven't been able to yet under Mike Elko. Maybe Armstrong is the first of that group.