Why this A&M spending spree actually feels different this time

Money has never been Texas A&M’s problem.

Texas A&M has one of the biggest stadiums in the country, a fan base that opens its checkbook without blinking and a recruiting footprint covering the most talent-loaded state in America.

The Aggies have always had the resources to run with anyone.

What they haven’t always had is the right person deciding how to use them.

That backdrop matters right now because, as On3’s Ari Wasserman reports, A&M is once again the biggest spender in high school football recruiting.

Their 2027 class sits at No. 1 in the Rivals Industry Ranking with six five-star commitments already locked in, including five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas, the No. 5 overall player and top-ranked offensive tackle in the cycle.

Seven Power Four general managers told Wasserman’s colleague Pete Nakos the total class investment could top $10 million.

One SEC general manager confirmed it plainly.

“Texas A&M is spending a shit ton, easily $10 million,” he told On3 while putting his own program at “probably anywhere from $5 to $7 million.”

Sound familiar? It should.

The 2022 class under Jimbo Fisher had eight five-star prospects and 18 players ranked inside the top 125 nationally.

It completely fell apart in College Station. Players underperformed, ran into trouble and left the program.

After Fisher was fired, The Athletic published a detailed account pointing to a staff more focused on how a class looked on paper than whether the players were the right fits or the right characters.

Skepticism is earned, not given

That history is why Aggies fans struggle to get too carried away.

The boom-and-bust cycle became so predictable that most of college football adopted it as conventional wisdom — A&M spends big and nothing meaningful follows.

But Mike Elko isn’t repeating that pattern.

He’s a program builder who cares about culture and locker room fit more than recruiting website rankings. Since his arrival, the Aggies have improved steadily rather than lurching forward in dramatic bursts.

When A&M pushed Fisher out with a record buyout, it could’ve chased a big name. Instead, it made a practical hire — a good football coach — and let him work.

The results have backed it up. A&M went 10-0 in 2025, made the program’s first College Football Playoff appearance and pushed the eventual national runner-up to the final drive at Kyle Field.

Rivals are talking and that matters

The most telling detail in Wasserman’s piece isn’t the dollar amounts — it’s what opposing evaluators think.

“They got some really good players,” a second SEC general manager told On3’s Nakos, “Rankings aside, we liked a lot of the guys they’re taking. Elko’s a damn good coach.

“This isn’t going to be Jimbo Fisher all over again. Elko’s at a different point in his career.”

Rivals don’t hand out compliments. When they do, pay attention.

Heading into 2026, the Aggies return quarterback Marcel Reed as an established starter and carry real CFP experience into every recruiting living room they enter.

History gives fans every right to feel cautious. The argument that big spending in College Station always ends in disappointment is getting harder to make with a straight face.

The money was always there. Now there’s a sharp coach deciding how to spend it.

Full credit to Ari Wasserman at On3 for the reporting behind this column.

Key takeaways

• A&M’s 2027 recruiting class is ranked No. 1 nationally with six five-star commits and rival program evaluators estimate the total investment could top $10 million
• The 2022 class under Jimbo Fisher was historically decorated and historically unsuccessful, giving outside skeptics a reasonable foundation for doubting the program’s latest spending surge
• Mike Elko’s culture-first approach — backed by a 10-0 start and a CFP appearance in 2025 — has rival coaches publicly acknowledging the Aggies are operating differently than they did in the Fisher era