Chalk up another commitment for the Aggies, this one in part to the Johnny Manziel effect, after 2013 Sealy (TX) athlete Ricky Seals-Jones committed to Texas A&M on Monday morning in an announcement at his high school.
Ricky Seals-Jones commits to Texas A&M over LSU
The star Sealy (TX) athlete, rated by recruiting services as this year’s No. 1 wide receiver, opted to become give his pledge to the Aggies on Monday morning.
The 6-5, 230-pound jumbo athlete chose A&M over his other finalist, the LSU Tigers. Seals-Jones had received offers from programs all over the country during the course of his recruitment, including Auburn, Notre Dame, and Oregon, among others.
The Monday decision was not, however, his first pledge, as the do-everything player in high school had committed to Texas in February before opening up his recruitment in June. In September, the Longhorns opted to end their recruitment of Seals-Jones.
A consensus five-star prospect, Seals-Jones made three visits to the Texas A&M campus this fall, while only making it to Baton Rouge once. Given that discrepancy, his desire to play in a high-octane offense like the modified Airraid attack run by the Aggies, his relationship with Heisman-winning quarterback Johnny Manziel, and the burgeoning appeal of playing for the rising A&M program, RSJ’s decision on Monday morning was hardly a surprising one.
And, in a sense, the decision from Seals-Jones was as unprecedented as Manziel's Heisman. After all, never before has a top skill position prospect had the opportunity to commit to a program and guarantee three seasons playing with a Heisman-trophy winning quarterback, an advantage that had already played out in recent weeks, before Manziel won the college football's most prestigious award, as A&M had stolen prep receiver JaQuay Williams away from Georgia.
In large part because of Manziel, RSJ believes there are big things brewing in College Station:
"A lot of talent is starting to come there. Hopefully we can bring a national championship to A&M." -Seals-Jones
— Sam Khan Jr. (@skhanjr) December 10, 2012
And that statement is probably enough to draw a chorus of YESSIRs from the Aggie faithful.
Seals-Jones will join a receiving corps that is losing two significant contributors in Ryan Swope and Uzoma Nwachuku. Still a raw prospect as a receiver after spending little time there during his high school career, Seals-Jones has elite speed for his size, the strength to out-muscle defensive backs, and the leaping ability honed on the basketball court to high-point the football in traffic. Throw in the feet and lateral quickness of a much smaller player and it becomes obvious why RSJ is considered such an elite prospect.
Some in the industry have questioned how natural of a pass-catcher he is, but Seals-Jones did not have issues in that regard at The Opening in several days of action and though he doesn't always attack the football, he does appear more natural in that regard than the big, eilte wide receiver in last year's class, Dorial Green-Beckham.
There’s also the chance that the jumbo athlete could continue develop in the Texas A&M strength and conditioning program -- he is already 230 chiseled pounds. But one notable NFL observer at The Opening favorably compared Seals-Jones to another massive wide receiver Calvin Johnson. The Sealy prospect wants to play wide receiver and may be athletic enough to stay that position even if he eventually closes in an 250 pounds.
The Aggies now have 34 committed players in the class of 2013, a number A&M will be able to achieve by counting as many as 10 players against the 2011 class and because several prospects currently committed are not expected to qualify academically.
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