Temple (Texas) linebacker Taurean York has committed to Texas A&M, he announced via Twitter on Monday night, as the Aggies add a third linebacker in their 2023 class.
For York, who only received the offer last week after decommitting from Baylor, the opportunity to play at Texas A&M overweighed any outside doubt about the state of the program.
“I’m not worried about what anyone has to say about the season, the coaching issues, this or that,” York said. “I don’t care about how late the offer came, I have the same offer as Bravion Rogers, Rueben Owens and those guys. We all have the same committable offer to A&M, and we’re all going to A&M for a reason and that’s playing with the best.”
Staying in-state was a big reason for heading east to College Station as well as he sees an opportunity to play alongside the state’s best talent.
“The best in Texas stay in Texas, and when I look at who is in front of me on the defensive line and who’s behind me in the secondary, I feel like we have the opportunity to be one of the best defenses in the country,” he said.
Duke was a program that was expected to flip York after his decommitment from Baylor last week, but once the Aggies offered, the opportunity to play in the SEC trumped any previous feelings about where he wanted to go.
“SEC is different competition,” he said. “That’s what I saw firsthand this weekend as well. The competition in the SEC is ridiculous. This is the best possible decision I could’ve made to see where my game is at and propel me to the next level.”
Despite the offer coming late in the process for York, linebackers coach Tyler Santucci has developed this relationship for years going back to when the Central Texas product was a young freshman starting on varsity.
“I feel like Coach Santucci is a different coach than most,” he said. “He’s a smart guy and he’s been on me for years. He followed me as a freshman and I woke up to it. He always stayed in contact. (The offer) wasn’t out of the blue when I decommitted, he’s been on me. He was the first coach to reach out to me when I announced my decommitment from Baylor.”
As for looking forward, York knows that the talent in College Station will be stiff and that he will have to work to see the field early on as an Aggie.
“I want to go in there and earn it,” he said.
At 6-foot-0, 217 pounds, York is the No. 21 ranked inside linebacker in the country and the No. 80 recruit from the state of Texas for the class of 2023, according to Rivals.
