Aggie Recruits Perform Well At State 7-On-7 Tournament

Two Texas A&M recruits, Arlington QB Matt Joeckel and Cedar Hill RB Ben Malena, performed well in College Station in the State 7-On-7 Tournament, per Barton Simmons of Rivals.com. Simmons had nice things to say about Joeckel, Malena, and many other players. On Joeckel:

Arlington High School had one of the top performances of the weekend and a big reason for that was the play of its quarterback Matt Joeckel. Joeckel showed very good decision making in picking apart defenses in the pass-game setting. His accuracy and limited mistakes made him one of the top senior quarterbacks in attendance.

It is nice to hear that Joeckel performed well, although I'm not sure how much you can read into "picking apart a defense" in 7-on-7 play. You're basically lauding the QB for performing well in a skeleton drill.

Malena apparently looked good coming out of the backfield and in the slot.

Based strictly on his body type and build, Ben Malena does not look like the type of back that would excel in a 7-on-7 setting, but the stocky back can really do it all out of the backfield. Malena showed soft hands from his running back position and out of the slot and even was seen at times playing cornerback. His deceptive versatility is a great asset considering how good he already is as a between the tackles running back.

It is nice to hear Malena has good hands, because he appears to fit the bill for a West Coast Offense running back, the scheme Sherman ultimately wants to run.

A player who looks intriguing is Lufkin WR Quinn Trimble, who really impressed Simmons.

Trimble was maybe the best overall performer at the entire event. He has the complete package as a wide receiver and put that tool set to work in a big way on Friday and Saturday. Trimble has very good size, he is physical and he repeatedly found a way to get behind the defense. Once behind the secondary, Trimble showed phenomenal hands and leaping ability. He caught everything he touched – many for touchdowns – and many of those catches were in spectacular fashion.

At 6'2, 180 lbs, and a high 4.5 in the forty, Trimble looks to have the size and speed to be a good college WR. Rivals has his only current offer as being from UTEP, which makes me wonder if there is some other issue going on with Trimble that is curtailing his recruitment, like academic concerns. Lufkin runs the spread offense, and he seems like he would be a natural fit for a program like Texas Tech or Oklahoma State, teams who aren't afraid to take on academic risks (if that indeed is the issue with Trimble) and who run wide-open offenses.