Texas vs. Texas A&M: Which Rival Will Finish with Better 2015 Recruiting Class?

Texas and Texas A&M may have cancelled their rivalry on the gridiron, but the battle between the two Lone Star State powers is still raging on the recruiting trail.

The arrival of Charlie Strong in Austin has brought the Longhorns some much-need momentum, as the ‘Horns have 24 commitments and a class currently ranked No. 12 in the country.

Meanwhile, Kevin Sumlin’s Aggies have 23 pledges and the No. 8 group nationally.

But with both schools battling for a few prospects down the stretch, which school will get the upper hand on national signing day?

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A handful of head-to-head battles are likely to determine which school will earn the higher-rated class.

Texas' chances likely hinge on pulling players out of A&M’s clutch, such as 5-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack, 5-star quarterback and current Aggies pledge Kyler Murray and 4-star receiver Damarkus Lodge.

According to Bobby Burton of Horns247, Murray took a surprise visit to Austin last week and appears to be taking the Longhorns seriously in his process of finalizing his decision.

Mack and Lodge were once A&M commits who re-opened their recruitments, but both are still seriously considering landing in College Station when all is said an done.

However, both players have left the door open for the Longhorns.

Lodge accompanied Murray on his Texas visit. As Jeff Howe of Horns247 notes, the 6’3”, 190-pounder’s recruitment has been tough to read, but he could eventually land wherever Murray decides to go.

Mack visited Texas last weekend, where he was wooed by friend and 5-star linebacker Malik Jefferson—who has already enrolled at Texas.

Regardless of where those prospects land, the Longhorns are in a strong position with 4-star corners Kris Boyd and Holton Hill, plus a pair of stud running backs in 5-star Soso Jamabo and 4-star Chris Warren.

Finishing with just that group would be more than enough to vault the 'Horns inside the Top 10 of the class rankings, as noted by Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports.

Wiltfong also outlined the jump Texas would take if it was able to land Lodge, Mack and Murray.

However, Sumlin and his staff are hoping the legwork they did early in the recruitment of that trio is enough to win out and bring them to College Station.

All three of those standouts were on visits to Texas A&M’s campus over the weekend of Jan. 19, where they fit in seamlessly with several of the Aggies commitments, as noted by Brian Perroni of GigEm247.

Despite their struggles this season, the Aggies offense is still a potent unit that presents a great fit for Murray and Lodge at the next level.

With the new addition of defensive coordinator John Chavis, Mack—who was considering Chavis’ former school, LSU, earlier in the process—can point to his arrival as a sign that the Aggies defense is on track to get things turned around.

The Longhorns struck a huge blow when Jefferson selected them over the Aggies in December.

That makes closing out the class and winning the head-to-head battles over the ‘Horns a must for Sumlin and his staff.

As Bleacher Report’s Lars Anderson recently chronicled, Murray is the wild card in the latest saga between the two Lone Star State rivals.

Given the present momentum of both classes, the Longhorns seem to have the inside track on jumping their rivals when the dust settles on signing day.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow @SanjayKirpalani