What REALLY Happened to Texas A&M’s “Greatest Class Ever”?

AtoZ Sports

What happened to Texas A&M football's 2022 recruiting class—the “greatest of all time”? In this episode, Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts dive into the rise and fall of Jimbo Fisher’s historic class. From 5-star talents like Walter Nolen, Denver Harris, and Shemar Stewart to locker room drama and transfers, we uncover the truth behind Texas A&M’s football downfall. Don’t miss the inside story on what went wrong with the 2022 class and where these players are now.

Transcript

00:00Texas A&M's 2022 class was supposed to change everything. Instead, it completely unraveled.

00:06Where did all those stars go? This breakdown might shock you.

00:14Ryan, back in 2022, Texas A&M and Jimbo Fisher hauled in the greatest recruiting class that

00:20we've ever seen. It was loaded with five stars at every single position. You keep going down

00:26the list and it's just another five star after another five star. But this was almost the

00:30beginning of the end for Jimbo Fisher because a lot of these guys didn't pan out. And more

00:34importantly, a lot of them didn't even stick at Texas A&M. Well, it's funny to look back at and

00:39just kind of see where some of these guys have come in because there's several first round players

00:43that came out of this class, Joe, or will come out of this class. But ultimately, it was spoiled by a

00:48bad culture, a bad coach, and ultimately unraveled and became one of the more just like shocking

00:55absent classes that we have ever seen. And the ability for them to be able to compete those

01:01players and have the impact in College Station has been just one of the weirdest things to be

01:06able to evaluate of just how this class has fully become full circle at this point.

01:10Let's start with the guy that at one point was the highest rated recruit in the class and also

01:14went on to be the highest drafted. Walter Nolan, who was the number one prospect in 2022,

01:20the number one defensive lineman. He ended up transferring out of Texas A&M and heading to Ole Miss

01:25in 2024. And while there were super high expectations for what he could do, didn't

01:29exactly hit those, but still had a very promising season for the Ole Miss Rebels in which he finished

01:36the year with 14 tackles for loss and six and a half sacks. That performance was enough for him

01:42to go on to be drafted 16th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.

01:49We will find out if he ends up living up to that hype as that star rating seemingly has carried him

01:55this far in his career. Arguably the most important signee at the time was cornerback

02:00Connor Wegman, who his first two years showed a ton of promise with the Texas A&M program.

02:05Only two interceptions to 18 total touchdowns. If you think back to the preseason prior to the 2024

02:12season, a lot of people were hyping up Wegman as a potential huge riser in the 2025 NFL draft class.

02:19For people that were close to the situation, you know that that unraveled quickly. He only threw

02:24three touchdowns to five interceptions, eventually lost his starting spot after another injury to

02:29quarterback Marcel Reed. Following the 2024 season, Wegman now has a new home. He's going to be the

02:35starting quarterback going into next year for the Houston Cougars. A very tough maturation from a once

02:43promising quarterback recruit to now a reclamation project with the Houston program.

02:47Shamar Stewart was technically the only success story in terms of the fact that he stayed at Texas

02:53A&M and then went on to be a first round pick. He was the number three defensive lineman, the number

02:59seven prospect in this 2022 class. And after sticking it through with the Aggies, he ends up being the

03:0517th overall pick for the Cincinnati Bengals. Through his career, he had 35 tackles, four and a half sacks,

03:12only one and a half sacks and six tackles for loss in 2024. Some have questioned if he's lived up to

03:19what a lot of people expected from him because he didn't actually produce, but he could make up for

03:24that with a successful career in the NFL. Another five-star in that class was wide receiver Evan

03:31Stewart, who had two promising years with Texas A&M, but also did deal with injury during those two

03:36seasons. Following the 2023 season, he ended up transferring to Oregon, where he, along with

03:41Tez Johnson, developed into one of the better wide receiver rooms in college football. Through

03:46three years, 139 receptions for 1,776 yards, 11 touchdowns. Although it didn't work out fully

03:53with the Aggies, he was expected to be the mainstay and the number one target for the Ducks,

03:58heading to a very important 2025 season as they break in new starting quarterback, Dante Moore.

04:03Another five-star defensive lineman that transferred away was LT Overton. Lots of flashes on the tape,

04:10but he left along with Walter Nolan. Instead, he went to Alabama, where he was one of the better

04:16defensive linemen for the Crimson Tide in 2024. His overall production in his career hasn't been

04:20anything sexy. 90 tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks. And in 2024, he had 42 tackles,

04:27three tackles for loss, and two sacks. But many believe if he can improve, be a little bit more

04:32disruptive as a pass rusher. He could be a first rounder in the 2026 NFL draft.

04:37Lo and behold, another five-star defensive lineman in this class, Gabriel Brownlow Dindy,

04:42did not live up to expectation for the Aggies after being the number five overall defensive

04:47lineman, number 13 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class. In three seasons with the Aggies,

04:54managed to just total four total tackles, three tackles for loss, and a half a sack. He will be

05:00spending the 2025 season with the South Carolina Gamecocks in hope to be able to revitalize his

05:06career from a once promising recruits to an absolute nothing burger in three years with the

05:11Aggies. Former five-star cornerback Denver Harris, number three in the class, number 23 overall prospect

05:17from 2022. He's become the perfect picture for what modern day college football is like as he is

05:25transferred to four different schools. He started out at Texas A&M, goes to LSU, bumpy time in his

05:31time with the Tigers, doesn't really get onto the field, goes to UTSA, and is now expected to play

05:36for UNLV this upcoming season. Zero career interceptions, and Harris will remain one of the

05:43biggest, most massive what-ifs in college football because the potential was there, but the production and

05:49success has not even come close to what everyone thought he could be. Perhaps the most puzzling

05:55career so far of the 2022 recruiting class for the Aggies, safety Jacoby Matthews, who was considered

06:01the number two overall safety in the 2020 class, number 32 overall player, and a five-star on the

06:08composite ranking, left after only two seasons with the Aggies following the 2023 season, and has not

06:17playing college football anymore. Where has Matthews gone? I can't really find an answer for

06:21that one, but to say the least, he is a bust of busts in a once very well-thought class for the

06:28Aggies. Matthews is the perfect way to round out this class because he quite literally feels like he

06:35disappeared. Now, if anyone knows what happened to him, we'd love to know in the comments below, but

06:40he encapsulates what we're talking about here of just what if after what if a kid almost seemingly fell

06:46off the face of the earth and has not transferred or gone to play anywhere else? Folks, also let us

06:52know in the comments below, who do you think has been the most successful and will go on to be the

06:56most successful from this Texas A&M class? Do you think that this team, how they would have played

07:01if they had played to their expectation? All that in the comments below. Hit the like button and

07:05subscribe. We'll talk to you later.

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