How Crazy Recruiting Run Is Making Life Difficult for Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M

Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin made just over $5 million last year, according to the USA Today coaching salary database, and is suffering from "rich man's problems."

Literally and figuratively.

Sumlin saw two of his Aggies leave the football program this week, according to Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle—linebacker Jordan Mastrogiovanni and wide receiver Kyrion Parker.

Mastrogiovanni started seven games in 2014, but injuries forced him to take a backseat as several players, including Otaro Alaka, emerged in the Aggies linebacking corps. According to Zwerneman, he will stay at A&M and get his degree.

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Parker, on the other hand, was a victim of Sumlin's recruiting success.

The 6'2", 200-pounder, a former 4-star prospect from Manvel (Texas) High School, had the size to become one of the great possession receivers in College Station, but found a traffic jam when he got there. 

Parker was one of eight wide receivers who signed out of the 2013 class, and Sumlin added four more in the 2014 class, including last year's leading receiver Josh Reynolds (842 yards, 13 touchdowns) and the ultra-electric Speedy Noil.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

In 2015, it was more of the same, as 5-star early enrollee Christian Kirk headlined a class that included three more receivers and one versatile athlete.

Nine of Texas A&M's top 10 receivers from last year will be back in 2015, which leaves no room for Parker. 

But wide receivers aren't the only victims of Sumlin's recruiting success. 

Kenny Hill beat out hotshot true freshman Kyle Allen for the starting quarterback spot last summer and promptly threw 23 touchdowns in eight games. That wasn't good enough.

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Allen replaced Hill, threw 13 touchdowns over the last five games of the season and forced Hill to look elsewhere for a place to play college football, according to ESPN.com.

Thanks to another terrific recruiting class this year that includes 5-star dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray, Allen has evolved from the hunter to the hunted. Murray, who is also a top-tier Major League Baseball prospect and could be drafted this year, never lost as a starter and earned three straight state titles for Allen (Texas) High School.

As Billy Liucci of TexAgs.com notes, Sumlin craves that competition on his roster.

Texas A&M has recruited like an SEC big boy over the last three seasons and has brought SEC-like roster attrition with it. That also has increased expectations for a program that has seen its place in the SEC West standings drop every year since finishing third in the division in 2012.

As Travis Haney of ESPN.com notes, now's the time for Sumlin to step up to the big boy table—not just on the recruiting table, but within the SEC West.

He's certainly made the right changes this offseason.

Former defensive coordinator Mark Snyder made $708,000 last year, according to USA Today, and clearly wasn't worth that kind of money. Snyder's defenses finished last in the SEC in each of the last two seasons and were the primary hurdle that prevented Texas A&M from contending for the division title. 

Enter new defensive coordinator John Chavis and his $1.7 million-per-year contract to fix the glitch.

Texas A&M's recruiting success has paid off and has come with an increased focus on high-priced assistants and facilities upgrades.

The only thing left is success in the win column, which has been the 900-pound gorilla in the room over the last couple of years.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.