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Aggies Land Commitment From 2026 4-Star Safety Markel Ford

The Texas A&M Aggies have landed their first 2026 commitment in the form of four-star safety Markel Ford.

Matt Galatzan

Markel Ford
Markel Ford /
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The Texas A&M Aggies have been on a roll in the 2025 recruiting cycle.

But on Thursday, the focus was on 2026, with the Aggies landing their first commitment of the class in four-star Horn (Mesquite, TX) safety Markel Ford.

Ford made the announcement via his personal X account, picking the Aggies over SMU, Oklahoma, Texas, LSU, Oregon and USC.

Ford also held offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Colorado, Houston, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Utah and Wisconsin.

So why the Aggies? According to Ford, his relationship with head coach Mike Elko and defensive backs coach Ishmael Aristide played a big role.

"Coach Elko and Coach [Ishmael] Aristide, they were talking to me like I was a player on campus," Ford told 247Sports after his visit in January. "They treated me like I was already enrolled there. They were family-oriented."

Last season with Horn, Ford finished his sophomore campaign with 56 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, four interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

He is currently rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, who ranks him as The No. 180 player in the country, the No. 14 safety and the No. 22 player in Texas.

He is also rated as a three star recruit, as well as the No. 336 player in the country, the No. 31 safety and the No. 41 player in Texas per the On3 Industry Ranking, which is a composite ranking of the four major recruiting services.

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Matt Galatzan

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and MizzouSportsTalk.com, as well as the Editor-In-Chief of InsideTheBears.com, TheGroveReport.com, RamDigest.com, AllSeahawks.com, and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels. For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com

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