QB Tate Martell Decommits from Texas A&M Leading to Bad Night for Aggies on Recruiting Trail

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

No one likes to be spurned for another opportunity. The void creates some frustration and resentment, even to the best of us. On Wednesday night, Bishop Gorman dual-threat quarterback Tate Martell opened his recruiting back up decommitting from Texas A&M setting off a chain of events that placed the Aggies’ football program under an even brighter spotlight.

In late August of 2015, Martell verbally committed to the Aggies giving the program another top dual-threat quarterback expected to follow in the footsteps of Heisman Trophy Award winner Johnny Manziel and then-Class of 2015 Texas high school football legend Kyler Murray. Head coach Kevin Sumlin already had prized quarterback Kyle Allen on campus putting the program’s future in very talented and capable hands for years to come.

The 2015 season came and went with a series of explosive events following on the heels of quarterback Kenny Hill leaving the program for TCU at the end of the 2014 schedule. Allen and Murray would follow Hill’s lead leaving the program for Houston and Oklahoma respectively. The loss of offensive coordinator Jake Spavital in the offseason showed that there was more going on in College Station than the general public really knew about, but how bad are the current state of affairs?

After winning 11 games in 2012, the Aggies have started a slow slide in the wrong direction winning nine games in 2013 followed by back-to-back eight-win campaigns. With the offseason deflections, Sumlin could ill afford any further bad attention brought his way or to the program.

At around 8:00 p.m. PT, Martell made his announcement via Twitter posting, “After talking with my family about what is best for my future, I have decided to reopen my recruiting process.” The statement did not necessarily say Texas A&M was out of the mix but that did not stop Aggies’ wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead from adding his two cents.

Moorehead posted a series of tweets, with a couple deleted after the fact:

The thoughts expressed and shared did not sit well with other recruits. Another top recruit, four-star wide receiver Mannie Netherly (Crosby, TX) who committed to Texas A&M on Nov. 22, 2015, expressed his opinion about Moorehead’s thoughts adding:

That reaction led to four-star wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey (Corona, CA) posting his thoughts on the matter reading, “I would like to say thank you to TAMU & fans but due to some tweets subtweeted towards my brother, I will no longer be looking at A&M.”

In fairness to Coach Moorehead, chances are Lindsey was no longer looking at the Aggies. Before Martell’s announcement Lindsey posted, “Remember that news I was talking about? Oh yeah be ready… IT’S COMING.” That was followed by a simple tweet reading “BOOM” and a copied tweet to Martell’s decommitment with Lindsey adding, “News I’ve been waiting for… lets continue our duo #T2T BOOOMMMMMM.”

Coach Moorehead may or may not have cost the Aggies Netherly’s commitment but at the very least gave him a platform to decommit with reason. Moorehead certainly brought more negative attention to the Aggies with his series of tweets, regardless if one agrees with him or not, which is not something the Texas A&M program nor Sumlin needs going into what should be a pivotal season for that staff remaining in College Station beyond 2016.

Texas A&M now has five verbal commitments to their 2017 recruiting class. The last verbal commitment to the class was Carson Green on April 15.

Texas A&M 2017 Verbal Commitment List

DB Devin Morris, 6-0, 175, Caldwell HS, Caldwell, TX

CB Myles Jones, 6-4, 175, Magnolia West HS, Magnolia, TX

OT Carson Green, 6-5, 250, Southlake Carrol HS, Southlake, TX

OT Grayson Reed, 6-5, 295, Cypress Creek HS, Houston, TX

QB/ATH Roshauud Paul, 6-0, 170, Bremond HS, Bremond, TX

Decommitted

QB Tate Martell, 5-11, 200, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas, NV

WR Mannie Netherly, 6-2, 172, Crosby HS, Crosby, TX

 

Photo credit: digitalsports.com; No. 18 Tate Martell rolls out to pass.

Photo credit: kbtx.com; Coach Aaron Moorehead instructs at an Aggies practice.