All the signs were there for Erick Young.

He was fresh off of an official visit to USC, released a Top 3 that excluded Texas A&M, and he even tweeted directly at LeBron James after it was announced he had signed with the Lakers. How could he be anything other than a Trojan when he made his commitment on the Fourth of July?

Then Young threw a filthier curveball than were thrown in any backyard whiffle ball games that afternoon and committed to the Aggies after all. While he left no doubt that he was easily one of, if not the top defender at The Opening Finals this week, he was trying to create as much uncertainty as possible as to which program he was committing to.

“It was all part of the plan,” he said. “It was a little too obvious at first, so I had to do some things to keep everyone on their toes … Everyone [at The Opening] had been saying I was looking like I was going to USC or Ohio State for some reason.”

Although Young knew in his head that A&M was feeling like the move for him, the race between the Aggies and Trojans was much closer than many may have thought. Despite A&M being the presumptive leader for much of his recruitment, that recent official visit to USC definitely made the decision that much more difficult.

“[USC] an A&M are basically the same,” he said. “I felt the same about them, but it came down to the distance.”

That’s not to say that he didn’t have enough reason to choose the Aggies on their own merit. Young said that from the start of his recruitment by the new staff, he got the feeling that he was a top priority and there was already a vision for what role he could play in A&M’s new-look defense.

“Literally the first day that Jimbo (Fisher) got to A&M, he re-offered me,” he said. “Coach (Tim) Brewster called me and put Coach Fisher on the phone and since that day, they’ve just been on me – literally every day – I fill a need over there, and if they need you they’re going to play you.”

Young said that even more so than his official visit back in the spring during the Aggies spring game, his first unofficial to meet the new staff was the most pivotal moment in its recruitment of him. Since then, he credited his relationship with Maurice Linguist as one of the best he’s had through the process and said it just felt natural for him to be his position coach.

Joining Young as a big-time secondary commitment for A&M this week was four-star cornerback Bobby Wolfe. For months, the pair have been openly discussing their desire to play on the same team in college, and even though there were moments where it looked as though that might have no longer been the case, they were ultimately able to make good on their plans.

“It was real important,” Young said of Wolfe’s A&M commitment. “Watching him getting those offers – and he liked Arkansas – but I wasn’t going there. We got to the point where we got comfortable [with A&M] and we just want to keep working together.”

Young said that he would still like to take official visits to Ohio State and Oklahoma if all parties sign off on that but also said that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Buckeyes and Sooners choose to move on. In the meantime, he also has plans to get back to A&M again before the season and attend every home game.

As Fisher and company continue to stockpile talent in this year’s recruiting class – and next – Young said that he expects to find himself getting playing time early on. He’s optimistic that the new regime will bring with it more wins, but he's already received word from one of the Aggies’ top signees in 2018 that he’d better be ready to get to work from Day 1.

“I don’t know if it will be quick, it might take some time,” he said. “Maybe in my sophomore year we’ll be out doing those big things, but I talked to Leon (O’Neal) and he said that I can get in there with some of the cornerbacks that they have already. He said Coach Jimbo is changing the mindset out there and they’re coming out expecting to win.”