It's fairly public knowledge, at least in these 11W circles we run in, that Tate Martell and Kellen Mond were both QBs that tOSU staff was looking to add in the 2017 recruiting class.
I'd venture to say that it's also public knowledge that Tate Martell is currently committed to tOSU which means that Kellen Mond is still a student-athlete looking for a university to commit to. You can officially mark that item off Kellen's list of things to do:
Blessed to announce that I have COMMITTED to Texas A&M University!#GigEmGang17 pic.twitter.com/qLuehUXWZQ
— KELLEN (@TheKellenMond) June 28, 2016
Now one might ask why this is recruiting news here at 11W and I'd say that's a fair question and here's your answer. It's how Tate handled Kellen's commitment to Texas A&M, the very school that Tate decommitted from not very long ago that is the focus of this post. Take a look at Tate's response for yourself:
Congrats bro! It's a great school, you are going to love it there! https://t.co/f4k1MeHIU7
— Tate Martell (@TheTateMartell) June 28, 2016
Tate Martell’s decommitment from Texas A&M was one of the biggest storylines of the college football offseason. The four-star QB’s decision to decommit from the program prompted an Aggies’ assistant coach to trash him on Twitter. The coach later apologized.
Texas A&M’s future quarterback depth took a hit with Martell’s decommitment, but the Aggies got good news last night when Kellen Mond committed to Texas A&M.
Tate could have taken any number of other paths when he responded to the news of Mond's commitment but he chose the high road and it speaks volumes about Tate and the way he approaches the game. The fallout between Tate and Texas A&M was not one for the weak of heart, as their receivers coach took to Twitter to lambaste a number of recruits and actually ended up costing the school another WR recruit and WR target:
Late last night, Aggies receivers coach Aaron Moorehead had a string of subtweets following the decommitment of blue chip quarterback Tate Martell, calling into question the player’s loyalty. After being called out on it, he denied it was about Martell, but then doubled down on the sentiment. After the tweets, receiver recruit Mannie Netherly also decommitted from A&M, citing Moorehead’s handling of the Martell situation. Another wide receiver recruit, five-star Tyjon Lindsley, has dropped the Aggiesfrom his recruitment.
Now, Moorehead has issued a statement, apologizing for the things he said on Twitter.
All things being equal, Texas A&M fans were very supportive of Martell when news broke of Mond's commitment and Martell's response to it:
@TheTateMartell @TheKellenMond @IMGAFootball @HamiltonESPN Very classy. Good luck at OSU!
— Michael Crow (@mlcrow1981) June 28, 2016
@TheTateMartell classy tweet. Glad you didn't let a few tasteless fans' tweets ruin your opinion of Aggieland. Good luck at tOSU.
— Jason S. (@aggieman) June 28, 2016
Here's a link for the short read if you're interested.
Good for both Mond, Martell and the Texas A&M fan base.
Oh, and I'd say tOSU got themselves one hell of a QB too!