It’s not how you start a race, it’s how you finish.
USA TODAY High School Sports‘ Friday Night Notes is a weekly high school football recruiting recap that looks at the latest news from around the country—from the Class of 2023 to ’24 and beyond
It’s not how you start a race; it’s how you finish. We got a reminder of that this week as Texas A&M finally got into the mix with their recruiting class of 2023. After lagging behind other big schools for several months, the Aggies scored two big recruits this week…
John Gutierrez/Special to American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
On Tuesday, four-star La Grange (Texas) cornerback Bravion Rogers decided to recommit to Texas A&M after decommitting last month.
Rogers (5-foot-10, 185 pounds) is ranked as the seventh-best player in the state and is No. 4 at his position by 247Sports. He also had interest from Alabama, Baylor and Georgia.
In addition to his defensive work, Rogers is a productive running back. During his junior year, he totaled 1,006 yards and 15 touchdowns on just 105 carries. On the other side of the ball, he posted two interceptions and only allowed a 38.1% completion rate.
That same day Texas A&M got another big commitment to bolster their 2023 offensive line. Five-star Westlake (Texas) guard TJ Shanahan Jr. has also committed to Jimbo Fisher’s team. Shanahan (6-foot-4, 310 pounds) is considered one of the most powerful linemen in his class and is ranked No. 150 nationally. The Aggies still have work to do, though. Shanahan is only their 11th recruit overall.
These moves helped propel Texas A&M up several spots in the 2023 recruiting rankings: after leap-frogging over Washington, Northwestern, TCU and Iowa, among others, they’re up to No. 24.
Oklahoma isn’t wasting any time responding to fill the expected vacancy that would be left by freshman wide receiver Mario Williams if he does in fact transfer to USC.
Since announcing he was entering the transfer portal on Jan. 8, Lacy has also received offers from the likes of Auburn, Houston, Ole Miss, LSU and UCF.
Lee is ranked as a four-star recruit by Rivals and ESPN. 247Sports and On3 list Lee as a three-star prospect. The 5-foot-11, 180 pound receiver is ranked highest by ESPN where Lee is regarded as the nation’s No. 219 player overall in the 2023 class and the nation’s 31st-best wide receiver.
The Powder Springs, Ga., product holds offers from Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Oregon, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and UCF.
Of course, Lacy would be another immediate addition out of the transfer portal if he chooses Oklahoma.
Lacy would join UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Cal offensive lineman McKade Mettauer, Missouri tight end Daniel Parker Jr., Hawaii defensive lineman Jonah Laulu and Appalachian State linebacker T.D. Roof. Here’s a look at SoonerWire’s full transfer portal tracker.
If Lee commits to Oklahoma, he would join four-star wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. out of Los Alamitos, Calif., and three-star interior offensive lineman Joshua Bates out of Durango, Colo., as a member in OU’s 2023 recruiting class.
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The Clemson Insider checked back in with this talented Peach State four-star wide receiver after he attended the Clemson-Georgia game as a guest of the Tigers. Powder Springs (GA.) Hillgrove High School’s Cayden Lee immediately heard from Clemson …
The Clemson Insider checked back in with this talented Peach State four-star wide receiver after he attended the Clemson-Georgia game as a guest of the Tigers.
Powder Springs (GA.) Hillgrove High School’s Cayden Lee immediately heard from Clemson and wide receivers coach Tyler Grisham when coaching staffs were cleared to start initiating contact with players in the Class of 2023 (high school juniors).
“They hit me up right at 12:01. So right when midnight struck, they hit me up,” Lee said. “So, that meant a lot to me. They were one of the first people to reach out, so that went really well with me.”
Then, he was in the stands in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium for the Duke’s Mayo Classic, three days later.
“That game was so exciting. The fans, they have some really, really true fans that travel from far and wide to come to that game,” he said. “That game was really awesome.”
It “meant everything” for Lee to be invited to the Tigers’ season-opening marquee matchup, he added.
As of now, Clemson has only offered two wide receivers in the 2023 class — Brandon Inniss and Nathaniel Joseph — both of whom hail from the Sunshine State. Joseph, of course, verbally committed to Clemson last Friday, making him the first member of the Tigers’ 2023 recruiting class.
“Clemson, as you know, they don’t offer a whole lot of people. I think they have only offered a couple of receivers in my class,” Lee said. “I think it could possibly come, but I’m just gonna wait on it.”
Still, Lee continues to strengthen his relationship with Grisham.
“Me and him have been talking a lot recently. We talked a lot after the game and he asked how I was liking it and I told him how I felt,” he said. “And then he was like, ‘We just have to get you for a home game,’ and I agreed. We’ve just been talking about a lot of stuff.”
“I think it’s really, really good,” Lee added when asked to describe his relationship with Grisham. “I talk to him a lot. We can talk about anything. He talks to my mom a lot. They have a really good relationship. So, I think it’s sitting really well with my family right now.”
Lee would like to check out a couple of other schools — Florida and Georgia — but indicated that he would like to make it to a home game at Memorial Stadium sometime this season.
As far as a school at the next level is concerned, Lee has already outlined some of the more important factors he’s looking for.
“I want to go somewhere where I can contribute to the team early and somewhere that’s gonna have a winning environment and a good fan culture,” Lee said. “And then somewhere that I can grow, because you don’t want to go somewhere and stay the same that you were in high school. You want to be able to develop that stuff really well.”
Cayden Lee Powder Springs (Ga.) Hillgrove 2023 4-star WR works out during Dabo Swinney’s football camp Saturday, June 5, 2021. Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider
Lee is a fan of the way Clemson utilizes its receivers.
“I like how they use the receivers in a lot of different ways,” he said. “They can put their receivers in the slot, outside, sometimes they’ll motion them. They just do a lot of different stuff, so you never know where they’re going to be on the field.”
Lee would prefer to play the outside receiver position, but he feels there is enough balance and versatility to his game that he can play all three receiver positions.
With that being said, what does Grisham like about Lee’s game?
“He’s told me that he likes how I can move around a lot,” Lee added. “He said that he likes my route running and my hands. He just thinks I can develop and be a very good player.”
Lee ranks as the No. 33 wide receiver and No. 26 prospect in the state of Georgia for the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite.
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