Texas A&M Recruiting: Kevin Sumlin Deals First Blow to SEC

Texas A&M's new head football coach Kevin Sumlin served notice to the rest of the Southeastern Conference today when he landed the signature of junior college defensive back Otis Jacobs.

Jacobs is a midterm graduate and will be able to start classes at A&M in January and participate in spring practice. Jacobs was a long-term commitment to the Ags but began to waver after Mike Sherman was fired.

Jacobs did not want to establish a relationship with a new coaching staff, so he made a verbal commitment to Tennessee whose staff had been recruiting him alongside the Aggies.

A&M defensive line coach Terrell Williams and Kevin Sumlin kept after him, and he signed his letter of intent with the Aggies this morning. He will join incoming high school recruits Matt Davis and Kenneth Marshall as January enrollees.

The Aggies graduate both of their starting cornerbacks and one of their starting safeties. They have a huge need in the secondary, and Jacobs should be able to step in immediately and help at corner.

While Jacobs did sign with A&M, the Aggies were not able to ink any junior college defensive linemen today. They are in need of immediate help on the defensive line as they enter their first year in the SEC.

Look for Kevin Sumlin to target high school DL Tomme Mark, Javontee Magee and Polo Manukainiu to try to fill that void. It will be interesting to see if Sumlin and Williams can identify any other junior college defensive linemen that deserve scholarship offers between now and signing day in February.

The Aggies still have concerns on the DL, but for today anyways, Sumlin served notice to the rest of the SEC that the Aggies are going to be a force on the recruiting trail in their new conference.