Where does Texas A&M place in ESPN's updated 2026 college football recruiting rankings?

When athletic director Trev Alberts hired Mike Elko to become the new head coach of Texas A&M on November 27, 2023, every member of the Maroon and White faithful knew the Aggies had hauled in one of college football's top recruiters.

After leading the program to its first eight-win season since 2021, the second-year head coach from South Brunswick, New Jersey, quickly hit the recruiting trail during the offseason and landed the No. 16 transfer portal class in the nation.

Elko and his coaching staff's work in the transfer portal has been great, but their work recruiting some of the most talented high school prospects from the 2026 class has been even more impressive. Halfway through the summer, Texas A&M received a massive boost up the rankings by landing five-star cornerback prospect Brandon Arrington, alongside four-stars like running back KJ Edwards, Bryce-Perry Wright, EDGE Tristian Givens and many more.

While none of those commits are officially locked in until the pen meets paper in December, Elko has proven that he can go toe-to-toe with the SEC's best recruiting head coaches like Kirby Smart and Steve Sarkisian. All of the impressive accolades on the recruiting trail landed Texas A&M a top-three ranking for its 2026 athletes, according to ESPN's latest list of the top-25 recruiting classes in college football.

There is still much ground to cover on the trail and many more potential commitments to be made, but here is what national recruiting analyst Craig Haubert said about the Aggies' 2026 class in his updated recruiting rankings via ESPN:

Ranking and projections

Previous ranking: 3

ESPN Top 300 commits: 15

Top offensive prospect: KJ Edwards

Top defensive prospect: ATH Brandon Arrington

Out-of-state recruiting success

"Mike Elko has quickly proved he can identify and recruit at a high level. He has worked fertile recruiting grounds outside his home territory, including Georgia, Florida, California. He went out west to land the nation's No. 1-ranked athlete Brandon Arrington, whose speed could allow him to have an impact on either side of the ball, though he projects to corner in College Station. He pulled out Georgia ESPN 300 DLs Jordan Carter and Bryce Perry-Wright as well as landing fellow four-star defensive tackle Jermaine Kinsler out of New Jersey."

Aggies on the ground

"The Aggies bolstered their rushing attack with a pair of in-state running backs in K.J. Edwards and Jonathan Hatton, who has an excellent blend of size (200 pounds) and speed (he was measured hitting 21 mph on film). Edwards has been very productive in high school, rushing for 1,700 yards in each of his last two seasons."

Elko's talent from unlikely places

"Elko has also been able to unearth talent from more unlikely places, such as quarterback Helaman Casuga out of Utah. Casuga is not a big, physical prospect at roughly 6 feet, but he has a live arm and can get the ball out quickly. Victor Singleton, one of the top prospects in Ohio, was a nice flip from Illinois. He has clocked a 21-mph max speed and has the type of quickness and excellent feet to thrive in man coverage at corner."

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Where does Texas A&M place in ESPN's updated 2026 recruiting rankings?