Forget going on autopilot mode on the recruiting trail. The college football programs are actually living in the future. For instance, Billy Napier and the Florida Gators have already locked in their 2027 commitment, 4-star athlete Tramond Collins. The same goes for the Michigan Wolverines. Sherrone Moore landed the commitment of Louis Esposito, the son of their defensive line coach, Lou Esposito. But turns out that these programs still might be losing their goodnight’s sleep. Why though?

College football programs are now seeing what Mike Elko and Texas A&M are going through. They celebrated early. Like others, Elko, too, might have been on cloud nine after the Aggies locked in a 4-star wide receiver commit, who has been the only one for the 2027 class. That’s none other than George Lamons. But poor Elko. He could not hold on to Lamons for long. 

On July 21, CFB insider Hayes Fawcett posted on IG, “BREAKING: Four-Star WR George Lamons (2027) has Decommitted from Texas A&M, he tells me for @rivals.ig.” Elko had held the commitment of the 6-foot-4, 215-pound WR from Quitman, Georgia, since April 2025. He had successfully beaten South Carolina, Alabama, UCF, and numerous other programs to woo the 4-star recruit. However, Lamons has now reopened his recruitment. 

This comes after Elko’s A&M went full-on turbo mode in July. They landed their fifth commitment for the 2026 class on June 16 with 4-star Samuel Roseborough. They have also made it to the top 5 when it comes to the 2026 recruiting class. Elko’s Texas A&M now stands at No.5 with 26 recruits locked in. But who would have thought that they would be handed a big heartbreak?

Going by the buzz, the home-state school has been pushing harder lately. Maybe Elko failed to beat the feeling, as Lamons might be feeling the push to stay close to home. Right now, the young chap holds over 25 offers, with two schools emerging as frontrunners in his recruitment. In an interview with Rivals, the 2027 recruit shared, “I just want to slow my process down. I want to look hard and navigate the process better. Right now, LSU and Georgia Tech. Alex Mathis from Georgia Tech has been calling me. Also, when I took the visit to LSU, it really made me think about my next steps. I like how they plan on using me in the offense.” This has indeed been a costly loss for Elko. 

After all, Lamons is currently positioned as the No. 29 prospect in the 2027 class, the No. 6 athlete nationally, and the No. 5 player in Georgia. He holds a strong resume of 1,340 yards and 20 touchdowns while showcasing his versatility at both tight end and wide receiver. Tough times loom for Elko’s Texas A&M, as if a disappointing prediction for the 2025 was not enough woes.

A looming déjà vu prediction for Mike Elko’s Texas A&M

Coach Elko is carrying the burden of an 86-year National Championship title drought on his shoulders. Analysts Dan Wetzel, Pat Forde, and Ross Dellenger came together for the Yahoo! Sports podcast. That’s when Forde reminded us how Texas A&M did not think twice before getting rid of their former head coach, Jimbo Fisher, paying him $76 million as a buyout. Wetzel did not mince his words as he said, “There’s a lot of good things happening, but you’re just not probably gonna win the national title this year. Oh, well, like when did you win the National Title?” 

Well, Elko and the Aggies seemed to be making it to the 2024 playoffs or at least showed calibre to have a College Football Playoff berth. Things went well till November. But we know what the result was. During the USC Trojans vs Texas A&M face-off, Elko’s boys took a 24-7 lead in the third quarter. But then they lost all control. The Trojans scored four touchdowns over the final 10 minutes of the game. Before that, Elko’s team’s playoff hopes vanished after their heartbreaking 17-7 loss to the Texas Longhorns in November.

Turns out that the 2025 season is going to be the repeat telecast for Elko. Analyst Brad Crawford made a bold prediction for Texas A&M: “Mike Elko’s team finishes the season unranked.” Crawford is still not sold even after Elko’s transfer portal haul. He thinks that they are yet to fill the gaps of the ones that they lost to the NFL – Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart, and Shemar Turner.

Crawford said, “Following that strong debut and another top-tier transfer portal class, optimism is high in College Station, but challenges remain. The Aggies must replace three NFL Draft picks along the defensive line, rebuild a wide receiver room that needs to gel quickly, and navigate a schedule that could feature as many as five top-20 opponents. By the program’s emerging standards under Elko, anything short of SEC title contention could be viewed as an underachievement.” The 2027 commit loss can wait. Right now, Mike Elko’s mission is to stop 2025 from becoming a sequel to the 2024 letdown.