Texas A&M recruiting: Aggies add to top-five class for 2026 with commitment from five-star Brandon Arrington

Texas A&M bolstered an already stout 2026 recruiting class with its first five-star commitment of the cycle Thursday as athlete Brandon Arrington selected the Aggies over Oregon. Arrington, the No. 10 overall player and top-ranked athlete in the 247Sports Composite rankings, took a string of official visits this spring and pledged to Texas A&M ahead of this weekend's scheduled trip to College Station. With his addition to the haul, coach Mike Elko now boasts the No. 2 class in the country, behind only USC.

Arrington visited Penn State, Washington, Oregon and Alabama over the last three weeks and narrowed his options to the Ducks and Aggies. Texas A&M was an early player in his recruitment and became one of the first schools to extend a scholarship offer in January 2024, shortly after Elko arrived as the program's coach.

While Arrington excels on both sides of the ball at Spring Valley (Calif.) Mount Miguel, all indications point toward him playing defense for Texas A&M. Co-defensive coordinator Jordan Peterson and nickelback coach Bryant Gross-Armiento served as his primary and secondary recruiters, respectively. Arrington plays both cornerback and wide receiver but, per 247Sports national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins, indicated that corner is his desired position.

In his junior season at Mount Miguel, Arrington logged 26 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception across 10 games on defense. At the receiver spot, he accumulated 57 catches for 527 yards and five touchdowns. That campaign precipitated a significant climb in 247Sports' player rankings as Arrington leaped from No. 75 overall to as high as No. 23.

Arrington is a supreme athlete who has the upside to be one of college football's fastest players. He is a state champion sprinter in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, and he set a meet record as a junior at the Arcadia Invitational that was previously held by Olympian Noah Lyles.

Texas A&M picked up its 16th Composite blue-chip prospect in the loaded recruiting class. The Aggies saw a flurry of commitments this week to send them upwards on the national leaderboard and squarely in position to compete for the 2026 recruiting championship. Elko has long been regarded as a plus recruiter and is off to a strong start to his Texas A&M tenure with what appears destined to be his second top-10 class in as many years.