Texas A&M Football Falls Short in Battle for Five-Star Defensive Tackle Lamar Brown to SEC Foe LSU Tigers originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
After starting a rise on social media among Texas A&M football fans, a highly coveted five-star defensive tackle swerved away from the Aggies in his final decision.
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Head coach Mike Elko’s impressive defensive recruitment didn’t hold up against an SEC foe that offered one thing College Station couldn’t: being at home.
Texas A&M football head coach Mike Elko reacts mid-game.Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
Lamar Brown, the No. 1 defensive lineman and No. 5 overall recruit from Baton Rouge, La., announced his commitment to LSU on Thursday, July 10. He’s also the No. 1 class of 2026 recruit from Louisiana.
Leading up to his decision, though, Brown teased fans on social media. He wrote in a post reacting to Bryce Perry-Wright’s Texas A&M commitment, “Let’s team up and run the SEC,” and tagged other members from the Aggies’ class of 2026.
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Brown had four schools in his list of finalists: Texas A&M, LSU, Texas, and Miami. Out of the four, it the Tigers had a slight edge on the rest, especially with home-state advantage. However, given the rising senior’s post, the Aggies couldn’t be ruled out. It was a tight race between the two, up until Wednesday night, but ultimately LSU’s proximity kept its hold on Brown.
“It’s something not a lot of kids from Baton Rouge get to do, honestly,” Brown said to ESPN. “Everyone wants to play at Tiger Stadium. I’m blessed to be going to play there.”
It wasn’t until Thursday morning when Brown informed both teams of his decision that Texas A&M knew it lost the battle. This is a major loss for the Aggies regardless of who is or isn’t in their 2026 recruitment class. A player like Brown is elite, and whichever team landed him is a threat. Unfortunately for Elko, that team is in his conference.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 11, 2025, where it first appeared.