Following the dramatic decommitment of Alvin (TX) Manvel cornerback Tavares Garner that included comments about how much he couldn't wait to drop his pledge to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the prospect who has seen his stock explode recently found a new home on Thursday -- Texas A&M.
Manvel (TX) CB Tavares Garner Commits To The Texas A&M Aggies
A wild week for a fast-rising cornerback has ended with another commitment.
It's been a big week for Aggie recruiting efforts after landing Sharpstown (TX) linebacker Reggie Chevis on Tuesday and receiving a visit from former Texas commitment Ricky Seals-Jones of Sealy (TX) on Wednesday, though there is a black mark on the week after Dallas (TX) Jesuit linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni spurned his former leader for the Oklahoma Sooners.
The week for A&M hasn’t been as wild as it was for Garner, who received some notoriety in recruiting circles over the last week or so after the former Red Raider commit was quoted by TigerBait.com as saying this ($):
I’m still a Texas Tech commitment but I’m looking forward to de-committing soon.
Understandably, the quote didn’t play well with Texas Tech fans recently burned by a decommitment from another defensive back, Cibolo (TX) Steele safety Jordan Sterns, who is now committed to Oklahoma State. However, Garner did claim in a later interview with ESPN ($) that he was “misunderstood.” After that, his relationship his Texas Tech recruiter deteriorated quickly:
I decommitted because words were said in a message he sent to me that were kind of rude and hurt my feelings. He messaged me and said be a man about it and decommit now and I’ll go find another cornerback. So I gave him a call and told him I was decommitting. He was OK with that.
Garner camped at LSU, Texas A&M, and Texas in recent days, but did not receive offers from LSU or Texas, with both schools telling him that they would continue to evaluate him through the summer. Garner had said during the aforementioned ESPN interview that he would become a Longhorn on the spot if offered.
Now sitting at 19 commitments in the 2013 class, Garner is the first cornerback to pledge his intent to become an Aggie next February. A four-star prospect by Rivals, the 5-11, 165-pound Garner is graded as a three-star recruit by Scout and 247Sports and saw his stock rise significantly during the spring evaluation period.
The Manvel cornerback impressed at a recent 7on7 event ($):
Garner has very good size for a cornerback and is not afraid to be physical at the line of scrimmage. He also has good speed and is able to run with most receivers downfield. He turns his hips well when reacting to the ball and did a good job of limiting yards after the catch when covering a receiver on a crossing route. His stock should soar even more during the season.
