How Kyler Murray's Decision to Stick with Texas A&M Impacts Other Recruits

With one late-night tweet, Texas 5-star quarterback Kyler Murray did his part in silencing the college football recruiting world.

Murray, the nation's top-rated dual-threat quarterback, announced that he is sticking with his commitment to Texas A&M after taking a visit to Texas last week. The tweet, which happened mere minutes before midnight in Texas, gave Aggies fans life, crushed the dreams of overly optimistic Longhorns fans and, more importantly, set the record straight as national signing day rapidly approaches.

And now that Murray's future is set, what's next? Or who's next?

Murray's decision has a direct (or indirect, depending on the player) effect on a few players still making final decisions before Feb. 4. Those considering Texas A&M have to be happy that Murray will sign with the Aggies. But there are other options for several of the Aggies' top targets.

Murray went 42-0 as a high school quarterback. He won three consecutive state championships at Texas high school football's highest level. Is he enough of a reason for some to choose the Aggies on signing day? And for other recruits, what does his decision mean in an effort to help Texas with other targets?

Here are five athletes who may be impacted by Murray's decision in one way or another.

5-Star DT Daylon Mack

With Murray's decision on lock, Texas A&M fans are now focusing their attention on Kevin Sumlin's efforts to land Daylon Mack once again. Mack committed to the Aggies in October 2013 but reopened his recruiting last month.

Texas A&M, Texas and TCU are Mack's top three, and he's scheduled in-home visits with all three schools, the most recent being the Horned Frogs on Thursday. Texas A&M was in on Wednesday, and Texas was at his home on Tuesday.

Mack and Murray have built a tight relationship during the recruiting process, but Murray is also tight with 5-star linebacker Malik Jefferson, who is an early enrollee at Texas. If Mack's decision were to come down to playing with friends, Texas fans feel strongly about what would happen.

Don't expect Mack to choose a school because of who's there already. Look for him to choose wisely, using playing time, comfort with the coaching staff, academics and overall gut feeling as his reasons.

4-Star WR DaMarkus Lodge

Murray and DaMarkus Lodge put the recruiting world on its ear last week when they took a midweek visit to Texas—and then tweeted out jersey pics.

Murray and Lodge have talked about being college teammates for quite some time. With Murray solid with the Aggies, the question now involves whether or not that becomes true. Lodge committed to Texas A&M in June but decommitted from the Aggies in September to explore other options.

If Lodge doesn't follow Murray, look for him to take his talents to Ole Miss. Lodge is from Mississippi and moved to Cedar Hill, Texas, at the start of his high school career. He took an official visit to Ole Miss last week and doesn't have plans for a final official visit this weekend.

The Aggies are hoping he and Murray can make for a nice offensive tandem, but the Rebels would prefer Lodge to come home.

4-Star QB Kai Locksley

Murray sticking with Texas A&M means the Longhorns are still looking for a quarterback commit. Kai Locksley is one of three quarterbacks committed to Florida State.

De'Andre Johnson, a 3-star quarterback, is already on the Florida State campus as an early enrollee. Deondre Francois is a 4-star quarterback who on Thursday was thought to be a Seminoles decommit, only to find out, according to him, he was a victim of getting hacked on Twitter.

If Locksley wants to compete for immediate playing time, entering a 2015 class with no quarterbacks would make sense. Locksley loves Florida State, but he took an official visit to Texas and had a great experience. And when 4-star receiver John Burt, Locksley's good friend, recommitted to Texas on Monday, he made it known that he wanted Locksley as a teammate.

Per Chris Nee of 247Sports, Locksley had an in-home visit with Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher and co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Randy Sanders on Wednesday. Locksley has an in-home visit set up with Texas on Friday, and that can help him clear up any confusion in what has become an interesting battle between the Seminoles and the Longhorns.

4-Star RB Kirk Merritt

Murray's decision makes Kirk Merritt even more of a wild card for the Aggies. The 4-star all-purpose back recently announced his top four to Rivals analyst Jason Howell, and he is expected to make his decision on national signing day.

Merritt has taken official visits to Auburn, Texas A&M and Oregon, all in October. Oregon has the advantage of being the last official visit taken. The idea of playing in the same backfield as Murray, however, is something Merritt has said he's thought about.

According to Brian Perroni of 247Sports, the Aggies have a way to go to make up recruiting ground on Oregon in the Merritt sweepstakes. The 247Sports Crystal Ball has Oregon at 64 percent and Texas A&M at 20 percent.

Can Murray's reassurance to Texas A&M prove to be enough? Look for Merritt to address that on Feb. 4.

3-Star QB Matthew Merrick

Murray's choice to stay with Texas A&M and not flip to Texas could be a blessing in disguise for 3-star quarterback Matthew Merrick. The Longhorns don't have a quarterback committed to a full scholarship, but Merrick is committed as a grayshirt. This could give Merrick the chance to obtain a full ride—assuming that's what Strong and Co. want to do.

If Merrick gets the scholarship, you can believe one of his biggest fans will be Murray. The two quarterbacks trained under Murray's father Kevin, who is selective about praising quarterbacks but speaks very highly about Merrick. At Cistercian Prep, a small school in Irving, Texas, Merrick threw for more than 2,400 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior.

Jerrod Heard will enter the season as a redshirt quarterback for the Longhorns, but Merrick has the potential to be the type of quarterback Strong wants long term. He's an athletic quarterback who could be a college football sleeper.

Damon Sayles is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. All player ratings are courtesy of 247Sports' composite ratings. Follow Damon via Twitter: @DamonSayles.