Texas A&M football DL commit is criminally underrated by recruiting services

Texas A&M football commit Landon Rink criminally underrated by national services; Could he see his stock rise this fall?

When Texas A&M football picked up the commitment of four-star defensive lineman Landon Rink, it was definitely a point of excitement for Aggie fans. Rink had long been one of the top targets for this Aggie staff, and getting him in the boat was therefore a huge deal for the Ags.

That said, I still feel like this is a pickup that is being undersold. I think this is the case primarily due to his composite star rating.

In the 247Sports composite, Rink comes in at #276. That's good for 32nd at his position overall and 44th out of all recruits in the state of Texas. He's not even ranked nationally in their in-house ratings. The On3 Industry ratings, the other system that combines several services, has him at 314 overall, 28th among defensive linemen, and 51st in the state of Texas. He is also unranked nationally in their in-house ratings.

This, to me, is outrageously underrating Rink, who is one of the most ferocious and productive defensive linemen in the nation. In 2023, on a team that competes at the highest level of Texas high school football, Rink notched a whopping 30 TFLs and 15 sacks. Those are eye-popping numbers! Consider the following ranking from a service specifically dedicated to ranking recruits in the state of Texas:

As a rule of thumb, I tend to more so trust local recruiting services like this one in this kind of case. The guy is insanely productive and leaps off the tape, yet he is inexplicably rated like a player of a far lower caliber; services with boots on the ground, attending games rather than just camps, have a better bead on a guy like Rink.

The knock on him has been his size, at 6'2", 280 LBs. Understand that this comparison I'm about to make is not a projection, but Aaron Donald only stands at 6'1", 280. Measurements aren't everything—sometimes it's about how productive you can be!

Rink doesn't project as a guy who will grow into some sort of massive, prototypical frame. He is rather a player who is a game-wrecker at the highest level of high school football despite not having the build of a Shemar Stewart. I personally think Rink will thrive at the next level—whether the recruiting services recognize that same thing is another question.