Texas A&M Recruiting: Kevin Sumlin and Aggies Address Need with Surprise Recruit

It is early in the morning on national signing day and already Kevin Sumlin and the Aggie coaching staff have provided a pleasant signing day surprise.

In the Southeastern Conference, you need to be three deep at every position. The SEC is the most physical league in the country and you are going to suffer injuries every week.You need to have three players ready to go at every position in order to compete in that league on a weekly basis.

The Aggies graduated two starting defensive linemen off the 2011 squad. With the move to Mark Snyder's 4-3 base defense, the Ags have even a greater need at defensive line than normal.

The Aggies have struggled to land true inside defensive line prospects in this class. They have two defensive linemen committed in Polo Manukainiu and Alonzo Williams, who project as likely defensive tackles. They had no one committed who projected as a nose tackle until this morning.

The Aggies signed Edmund Ray, a defensive tackle from Ritenour (MO) High School. At 6'5" and 290 pounds, Ray has the size to compete for playing time on the interior defensive line right away.

Ray was previously committed to the Missouri Tigers. Flipping him is a nice way for Kevin Sumlin to welcome their fellow first-year SEC members to the league.

Ray is ranked by Rivals as the No. 9 recruit in Missouri. He had 74 tackles and eight sacks from his DT position as a senior.

This is one of the most important signees of the Aggies class simply because of the tremendous need at the position.

At nose tackle, you are looking at Ben Compton and Kirby Ennis in the two deep for the Aggies. Compton showed flashes of power as a true freshman. Ennis is a little undersized for the position but can give you quality minutes as a backup.

Ray should be able to step into the rotation immediately and see some playing time as the third option at nose tackle.

Aggie fans have to be happy with Kevin Sumlin's willingness to keep fighting to address a major need and land an prospect who can help right away. This off-the-radar signee may be the first to see the field for the Aggies in 2012.