Tag: Jaden Platt

Texas A&M sophomore TE has entered the transfer portal

Sophomore tight end Jaden Platt has entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Texas A&M

Texas A&M’s 2024 season ended at a disappointing 8-4 and 5-3 in SEC play after losing three out of their last four games, including the season finale 17-7 loss to rival Texas in the revival of the Lone Star Showdown.

With Early Signing Day on Wednesday, Elko and his staff are on fire recruiting-wise. They have landed three commitment flips, including former Missouri commits, led by five-star OL Lamont Rogers and four-star athlete/running back Jamarion Morrow.

However, the transfer portal activity has been busy for the Aggies, as five more players entered their names, including wide receiver Cyrus Allen and two quarterbacks: Redshirt sophomore Conner Weigman and junior Jaylen Henderson.

No. 6 was sophomore TE Jaden Platt a former 4-star product out of Haslet, TX flipped from Stanford to A&M under Jimbo Fisher in 2023. Platt saw limited action in his time in Aggieland with his most memorable play coming in the bowl game against Oklahoma State on a long catch and run for a touchdown.

A stacked TE room severely hindered his ability to see the field only seeing the field once in the 2024 season. It’s not for the lack of ability but with a new coaching staff, Platt has decided to enter the transfer portal to see if he can land on a team with a heavy need for tight ends. We wish him luck on his journey wherever he ends up.

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Texas A&M redshirt freshman tight end Jaden Platt returning for 2024 season

Following several of his teammates, incoming Texas A&M sophomore TE Jaden Platt will officially return for the 2024 season.

Texas A&M redshirt freshman tight end Jaden Platt will return to Bryan-College Station for the first season under head coach Mike Elko next year.

According to Texas Aggies United, the official name, image & likeness partner of Texas A&M Athletics, Platt is back for more action on the Aggies.

The 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end appeared in two games for Texas A&M during his redshirt season in 2023. He made the most of his opportunities, catching one pass for a 13-yard touchdown during a 38-10 win against Abilene Christian on Nov. 18.

Platt was a 4-star recruit coming out of Eaton High School in Haslet, Texas earlier this year. During his time playing for the Eagles, he caught 54 passes for 919 yards and 10 touchdowns. He earned a UIL 6-A honorable mention following his junior campaign.

Platt originally committed to Stanford in 2021. However, after receiving other offers from prominent institutions like Texas A&M, Oregon and LSU, he ultimately switched his commitment to the Aggies.

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Despite Donovan Green’s season ending injury, Texas A&M’s tight end room is in relatively good shape

Texas A&M’s tight end Donovan Green’s season ending injury means that Texas A&M’s deep TE room has bee thrust into the spotlight

On Sunday night, news broke that ascending Texas A&M tight end Donovan Green, who was set to enter his sophomore season, reportedly tore his ACL during the Aggies’ Saturday afternoon scrimmage, which Head Coach Jimbo Fisher confirmed on Monday.

Standing at an impressive 6-4 and 245 pounds, Donovan Green led all tight ends last season with 22 receptions for 233 yards and two touchdowns while appearing in 10 games with four starts.

Overall, Green is the complete package at the position due to his blocking ability in tandem with route running and impressive downfield speed. Still, everything we expected to see from the rising star this season will now have to wait until 2024, and if it weren’t for the Aggies’ impressive depth at the position, things would look much worse with less than three weeks before the Sept. 2 season opener.

So, who will lead the way in Green’s absence? To start, the bench is deep, yet senior tight end Max Wright, who is entering his 6th season with the program after switching positions from defensive end, has only 13 catches for 194 yards and two touchdowns in 40 career games.

As a skilled blocker and reliable pass catcher, Wright’s injury history has hindered his consistency in the past two seasons. Still, through a healthy offseason, the hope is that his final season in Aggieland will be his most productive yet.

Second in line, sophomore Jake Johnson, who missed the bulk of last season due to injury, had only one reception for 2 yards. Ranked as the No.3 tight end in A&M’s historic 2022 cycle possesses by far the highest ceiling as a player, standing at an impressive 6-6 and 240 pounds; he has already turned heads with his fluidity and route-running in fall camp. Due to his build and wide receiver-like qualities, I’d expect Fisher and new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino to split him out wide while Max Wright remains the primary inline blocker.

In contrast, sophomores Fernando Garza III and Theo Melin Öhrsrtöm have yet to record a reception and were primarily active in special teams, as Öhrström has reportedly stood out the most this fall according to senior strong safety Demani Richardson:

“He’s getting stronger. He’s already built like Thor. He’s Getting Strong. He’s fast. He’s getting the playbook. He’s learning.”

Lastly, former four-star freshman tight end Jaden Platt might not see the field in large doses this season but has already shown why he was ranked as the No.4 TE prospect in the 2023 cycle after several impressive practices.

All in all, we’ll have to wait to see how things develop this season, but I’ll go ahead and place my trust in tight ends coach James Coley’s ability to get the most out of the talent he has at his disposal. Oh, and expect Donovan Green to be a constant presence in the postion room all season long.

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Florida still pushing for this 4-star Stanford tight end commit

The recruiting calendar is close to shifting back into a dead period, but Florida is still pushing hard to flip four-star tight end Jaden Platt.

The Florida Gators hosted four-star tight end [autotag]Jaden Platt[/autotag] over the weekend and the team met with him one final time Thursday before the dead period goes into effect, according to Gators Online

Florida tight ends coach [autotag]William Peagler[/autotag] has visited four-star tight end Jaden Platt’s area each week of the current contact period, so he was of course the man to stop by on Thursday. Platt is a Stanford commit but coaching changes might have him backing off that pledge in the near future. It’s not just the recent attention that’s drawing him to Florida either.

“People talk about having the visit high or coming off a visit and you really like a school, but they’ve really had my interest before everything went down with Stanford,” Platt said to Gators Online. “I’ve kept them in the back of my head if something were to happen.”

Platt understands that he’s a priority target for Florida, a team that has yet to land a tight end in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Peagler leaving the team during bowl preparation reinforced the seriousness of Florida’s attempts, too.

Playing time could be easy to come by and his parents enjoyed the trip to the Swamp, so all that’s left is for Platt to pull the trigger and flip his commitment. That’s easier said than done though with Texas A&M also hot on his trail and a new Stanford staff that’s desperately trying to retain him.

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Tracking Florida’s big recruiting weekend ahead of the early signing period

The Gators are hosting a ton of recruits on official visits this weekend. Here are the ones who have checked in from the Swamp.

The Florida Gators are hosting a ton of official visitors over what will be the final big recruiting weekend ahead of the 2023 cycle’s early signing period.

UF’s selection to the Las Vegas Bowl, which takes place on Dec. 17, forced Billy Napier’s staff to adjust, but the list of visitors in the Swamp this weekend is still very impressive.

Headlining it is five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Samson Okunlola[/autotag] out of Massachusetts. The Gators are working hard to beat out the Miami Hurricanes for him, and he’d likely help Florida break back into the top 10 as the team’s only five-star commit in the cycle. Getting the last word could be crucial in his decision.

The Gators are also looking to flip a few players as well, and a late official visit could help push them to make the leap and bolster an already powerful class. Plenty of commits are in town too to help recruit and take their own official visits.

Here’s a look at every recruiting target that’s checked in from the Swamp over the weekend.

4-star tight end to visit Florida this weekend, per 247Sports

247Sports is reporting that Stanford commit Jaden Platt will be in Gainesville this weekend on an official visit. He is a 4-star prospect.

A current Stanford commit will be in Gainesville this weekend, according to 247Sports.

Blake Alderman is reporting that [autotag]Jaden Platt[/autotag], a four-star tight-end prospect from Haslet, Texas, will be taking an official visit this weekend. This signals a change from the Gators’ recruiting strategy for the 2023 class. Before, it appeared that the Florida staff was not prioritizing bringing in a high school tight-end prospect. That philosophy has changed, apparently.

The 6-foot-4.5-inch, 235-pound prospect received an offer from the Gators back in March, despite being already committed to Stanford at the time. This weekend’s visit will be Platt’s first trip to Gainesville. His recruitment is being spearheaded by tight ends coach William Peagler.

It seems that David Shaw stepping down as Stanford’s head coach has Platt rethinking his options. In addition to this weekend’s visit to Florida, he will be taking an official visit to Texas A&M the week after.

According to the 247Sports composite, Platt is considered a top 250 player in the country. He is also the No. 13 tight end in the country and the No. 41 player in the state of Texas.

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Florida checking in on these 3 Texas-based tight end targets

Florida sent tight ends coach William Peagler to Texas to check in on three tight ends targets this week.

Florida football quickly scrambled and put together a board of potential tight end prospects after a couple of its players suffered injuries during spring practice. The injuries left the Gators with only one healthy scholarship player in [autotag]Keon Zipperer[/autotag].

Head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and tight ends coach [autotag]William Peagler[/autotag] are targeting three from the state of Texas: three-star Clemson commit [autotag]Reid Mikeska[/autotag], four-star Stanford commit [autotag]Jaden Platt[/autotag] and three-star [autotag]Lafayette Kaiuway[/autotag]. Peagler flew out to Texas to visit the trio, according to Swamp247.

So far this cycle, Florida has only hosted Mikeska out of the three. The Gators got him to the Swamp on April 2 where he got to check out spring practices under Napier. However, he committed to the Tigers on April 13. Peagler stopped by Mikeska’s practice on Wednesday.

Peagler is set to visit Platt and Kaiuway on Thursday.

The Gators running backs coach [autotag]Jabbar Juluke[/autotag] extended an offer to Platt back toward the end of March. He has still been communicating with Peagler despite his commitment to the Cardinals. Platt hasn’t visited the Swamp but expressed his interest in doing so after he received the offer. He said his commitment to Stanford is solid but hasn’t shut down his recruitment yet.

Peagler will also visit Kaiuway in Arlington, Texas. Florida also extended an offer to him late in March. He hasn’t visited Florida, either but wants to see Peagler and Napier in Gainesville.

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