National Signing Day 2013 Should be Considered Anything but Successful for Texas A&M

The Texas A&M Aggies have a terrific 2013 recruiting class, but National Signing Day 2013 could have gone much better from a recruiting standpoint for Kevin Sumlin and his crew.

Early in the morning, Mackensie Alexander announced his commitment to the University of Clemson. Alexander was one of the best recruits in the class, earning a top 10 ranking from just about every single recruiting website worth its salt. He would have solidified an otherwise average secondary on a defense that ranked 88th against the pass last season. He had Texas A&M in his top list of schools down to the wire.

As the day progressed, fans began to worry about the absence of top recruit Derrick Griffin (Wide Receiver/Tight End) from the list of signed recruits. Apparently he is having trouble with his grades and announced (via Twitter) he would not be attending Texas A&M next season. He later retracted that statement, realizing he could wait to sign later, provided he got his grades up and scores well on the ACT.

I just figured out I don’t have to sign to day imma TWO SPORTS ATHLETE IMMA SIGN ANOTHER DAY!!!

— Derrick Griffin (@DRABB23) February 6, 2013

They call it a student-athlete and not an athlete-student for a reason. He’s got to get accepted to the university first before he can play. If he does not, he’ll likely attend junior college for one year.

He is a two-sport athlete and ranked in the top 100 for basketball as well, meaning he can wait until signing day for basketball recruits to sign a different letter of intent, giving him time to shape up. The Aggies are supporting him in this ordeal, but they will not lower their academic standards for Griffin. This is a potentially devastating loss as Griffin was a top 50 recruit and the best to give a verbal commitment to the Aggies.

In briefly checking out his Twitter account (@Drabb23), he seems committed to A&M and to doing whatever it takes to be there in 2013. Hopefully it’s not just talk.

It was not all bad for the 12th Man. Four-star defensive end Daeshon Hall de-committed from Washington to sign with A&M. The Aggies thought they might have landed both him and USC de-commit Torrodney Prevot (also a four-star defensive end), but the commitment of Hall to A&M seems to have pushed Prevot to choose Oregon.

While the class is still a top 10 class, today could have gone better for the Aggies.

Jeff Shull is a featured writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.