DESOTO, Texas -- One of the top offensive lineman in attendance at the Dallas Nike Football Training Camp last Saturday at Eagle Stadium was Rockwall (Texas) Heath product Trevor Elbert.
Texas A&M’s move to SEC caught OT commit Trevor Elbert’s attention
The presence of two former teammates in College Station didn’t hurt either.
Eager to show out and compete against the top prospects from the region, the consensus four-star prospect took some time to talk with SB Nation Recruiting before the event got underway.
Despite offers from some of the top programs in the country, including Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Oklahoma, and Texas, Elbert ended his recruitment in late January in favor of the Texas A&M Aggies.
“I felt really comfortable around them,” he said of Texas A&M. “I can see myself doing really well there and they’re going to help me achieve my goal of going to the pros.”
The Aggies are quickly developing a reputation as a school cable of putting out top offensive linemen with the recent success of Luke Joeckel, Jake Matthews, and Cedric Ogbuehi. That fact did not escape Elbert when he was making his decision.
“A lot,” he said when asked of the impact of those players’ success. “They have had two first-round draft picks the last couple of years and will have another next year. That’s definitely part of the reason why I chose them.”
Elbert hasn’t really had a chance to develop a relationship with those players, but he was able to talk to Ogbuehi when he was in College Station.
A more important relationship is the one that Elbert has with former Rockwall Heath defensive end Jay Arnold, who redshirted last season after signing with the 2013 Aggie recruiting class, along with another Rockwall-Heath product in defensive end Jordan Points.
“Quite a bit,” he said when asked if it influenced him. “Just having someone down there so I don’t have to be like a loner. Me and Jake are pretty cool and he’s been showing me around. I just feel really comfortable there.”
But it took the change in conferences to really pique Elbert’s interest, as has been the case with a great deal of A&M commits over the last several years.
“I started paying more attention to them when they started playing in the SEC.”
And the renovations currently happening at Kyle Field also provides some excitement moving forward.
“They’re amazing,” he said of the updates. “I can’t wait to play in it.”
And even for a prospect rated 96 by 247Sports, there’s still room for improvement. In that regard, Elbert has a couple of goals for this spring.
“I need to develop my run-blocking a little bit more and keep my hips down low. Just be a little bit quicker off the ball.”
If Elbert is able to accomplish those refinements in technique, he could compete for early playing time in the new Kyle Field, playing in the nation’s toughest conference.
