Justin Manning ready to decide between OU, TCU, Texas A&M

The Texas A&M Aggies need defensive tackles to compete in the SEC and added a big one on Wednesday with the pledge of Dallas (Texas) Kimball’s Justin Manning, who signed and faxed in his letter of intent.

A 2013 US Army All-American, Manning committed to the Aggies despite the fact that his older brother, Demarcus Granger, played defensive tackle for the Sooners, causing many to believe that Manning was all but a lock for Oklahoma early in the process.

A consensus four-star prospect considered one of the top defensive tackles in the country, Manning had narrowed choices to Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and TCU in recent days. The 6-3, 275-pounder had held offers from many major programs, but LSU notably fell out of the race after taking two defensive tackle commitments in November.

Justin Manning discusses commitment (via Taylor Hamm)

Now that the senior season for 2013 Dallas (TX) Kimball defensive tackle Justin Manning is over, he’s ready to choose between his three finalists -- Oklahoma, TCU, and Texas A&M.

The announcement will come on December 7th ($) in a ceremony that may take place at his high school at the end of the school day. The specific details do not appear to be finalized.

Having reduced his list to those schools some weeks ago, Seals-Jones does not appear close to a decision, but he has said in the past that playing a high-powered offense is his preference. Right now, with the LSU passing attack struggling and the new A&M Airraid offense led by the redshirt freshman known as Johnny Football lighting up scoreboards, A&M appears to have the advantage there. Proximity is also working in favor of the Aggies.

But Seals-Jones isn’t the only high-profile visitor for the high-profile contest. Plano (TX) Prestonwood Christian linebacker Mike Mitchell will be in attendance as the Aggies try to sway him in his relatively wide-open recruitment, one that has been hard to gauge because he rarely gives interviews. Ohio State may still be the favorite with the uber-athletic linebacker, but there were some rumblings during the spring that Mitchell’s father wants his son to stay in Texas for college. If so, Texas A&M may have the advantage.

The younger brother of former Oklahoma defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger, Manning was widely expected to already be in the fold for the Sooners, but a delay in his offer has extended his recruitment. Manning will also take official visits to Texas A&M, TCU, LSU, and USC, though the latter date has not yet been set.

But even though the slow offer process by Bob Stoops and staff kept Manning from committing early, he still has strong feelings for the Sooners ($):

The somewhat surprising inclusion on this list is Texas, as Manning has been lukewarm in his reception to the Longhorns throughout the process and had a public Twitter feud with Texas signee Peter Jinkens that included Manning tweeting Jinkens his address if he wanted to come over and fight.

For those into parsing the most minute details of such tweets, the capital letters and exclamation points involving Texas at the end could be a sign, but contact between Manning and the Texas coaching staff has been minimal throughout the spring and he has not been on campus since attending the first Junior Day in early February.