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Commitment Breakdown: Texas A&M lands Tennessee LB Chris Russell

THE SITUATION

Texas A&M added the final piece to its 2019 recruiting class when three-star Tennessee linebacker Chris Russell made his commitment to the Aggies on Wednesday evening. Russell, a one-time Memphis commit who saw his recruitment take off in December and January, chose the Aggies over Auburn, Arkansas and Tennessee. Russell was the Aggies No. 1 linebacker target over the past month after missing on some other players at the position during the early signing period.

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WHY IT'S BIG FOR TEXAS A&M

The Aggies were in need of depth at the linebacker position and Russell fills a key hole in the school's class. Taking him away from SEC foes like Tennessee and divisional opponents Arkansas and Auburn makes landing him that much sweet for the Aggies. As far as Russell as a player, he has good size and speed, perfect for covering space in what is becoming an increasingly wide open offense centric SEC. Assuming he can come in and add some bulk to his frame without losing much quickness, he could be a contributor for the school before long.

WHY IT HURTS FOR ARKANSAS AND TENNESSEE

It was a rough day for the Razorbacks on the linebacker front, first missing out on longtime lean Lakia Henry and then striking out on Russell to close out the day. When he initially de-committed from Memphis it looked like it was an Arkansas vs. Tennessee race, but in the end both fell behind a hard charge from Texas A&M. Tennessee can take solace in the fact that while they missed on in-state player Russell, they still pulled one of the day's biggest surprises in landing Rivals100 linebacker Henry To'oto'o.

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