Texas A&M’s 2015 recruiting class has already drawn plenty of attention. There’s intrigue surrounding five-star quarterback Kyler Murray and his possible future in baseball, while early enrollee wide receiver Christian Kirk, another five-star prospect, put on a show in spring practice.

John Chavis has brought attention to the Aggies defense — the good kind — as he retools a talented front seven and tries to restock the secondary. While Myles Garrett and his defensive line mates draw the headlines, there is a new enrollee at the back of the defense who provides one of the biggest glimmers of hope for a quick turnaround.

Justin Evans enrolled at Texas A&M in January, following his transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. The staff wanted to get him as many reps as possible this spring to help get him acclimated, and he’s done plenty with those opportunities.

“Justin is really athletic, has a lot of range,” Sumlin told 247sports a few weeks ago. “He’s new and needs as many reps as he can get but he’s gotten plenty this spring. He needs to clear it out, go into the summer, and have a good summer strength and conditioning wise.”

Evans is one of several new players in the secondary that will be on hand this fall. Larry Pryor and Justin Dunning are both four-star signees set to enroll this fall and, as Sumlin mentioned this spring, they’ll provide plenty of competition alongside Evans and returnees Armani Watts and Donovan Wilson.

Texas A&M has lacked at safety as the defense fell to the bottom of the conference the last two years. Watts has sky-high potential, and he began to scratch the surface of it last fall. Evans will not only partner with Watts to make the rising sophomore better, but has the tools to emerge as a star in his own right.

Coaches have told the media this spring that Evans’ aggression is a big plus. Chavis has held to the notion that a good defense is an aggressive one, and he’ll look to the JUCO transfer to supply some of that. Last year, Aggies defensive backs weren’t exactly willing tacklers; often, they sat back and waited until a ball carrier was on them before making a tackle instead of taking a good angle of pursuit.

Evans sounds like a remedy to that. He’s an aggressive tackler who doesn’t shy away from contact, per practice reports, and he has more polish than the rest of his secondary mates in practice this spring. As the top JUCO safety in the nation from last year, he has the experience to be an impact player from the jump.

It’s been a good while since Texas A&M has produced a standout safety. The last time an Aggie safety was chosen in the NFL draft was all the way back in 2003, when Terrence Kiel was a second round pick. That’s not to say either way whether Evans is a surefire star or that Watts will live up to his lofty pedigree, but it’s been a while since the Aggies have had a safety rotation this talented.

With Chavis now in charge, Evans flying around the secondary will be a major part of the Aggies improvement on defense this fall.