Texas A&M remains in prime position to land elite 2027 5-star OT

The top-ranked offensive tackle in the 2027 recruiting class, five-star Mark Matthews, announced on Monday that he will make his decision on Friday, May 15, choosing between LSU, Georgia, Miami, and Texas A&M. This announcement was surprising for most of us, given Matthew's recent statement that he would take all of his official visits before announcing his choice.

However, decisions change on a dime in today's recruiting landscape, and while NIL opportunities barely differ when comparing all four of Matthews' finalists, the fact that Texas A&M OL coach Adam Cushing developed four 2025 starting offensive linemen that were all selected in the 2026 NFL Draft is quite the sell for a prospect who could start during his freshman season.

Still, Miami's success last season, becoming the national runner-up after Indiana won the 2025 National Championship, has also helped shape the Hurricanes' impressive 2027 recruiting class, and they are looking to land the blue-chip OL after seeing former starting guard Francis Mauigoa get selected 10th overall by the New York Giants.

Still, as I noted on Tuesday, nearly every recruiting expert, including On3's Steve Wiltfong, remains confident that Matthews' three-day visit to College Station during the Maroon & White Game, combined with Elko and Cushing's plan for the five-star recruit to potentially start as a freshman, continued to play a significant role in the Aggies landing the priority target on Friday.

"Miami is coming off a huge flip of five-star cornerback Donte Wright from Georgia. We’ll see if the Hurricanes can turn the momentum back to them for Matthews. Right now I like Texas A&M."