We’re inside of 24 hours until ink hits paper in college football, the most important day of the offseason in the SEC as touted prep seniors sign binding letters of intent. National Signing Day has become a February spectacle we’re all interested in as football fiends, one that breeds anticipation at every major program in the country.

Former starters Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray have played their last games for Texas A&M, but quarterback isn’t the only position that needs to be filled in College Station. The Aggies will lose at least nine starters from last season, and several position battles should unfold in spring camp.

Oklahoma graduate transfer Trevor Knight and returning backup Jake Hubenak are expected to compete for the starting QB job. The lone QB in A&M’s 2016 class is pro-style prospect Nick Starkel out of Argyle, Texas.

Unfortunately for the Aggies, longtime Texas A&M recruit Mark Jackson Jr. of Cibolo, Texas, flipped his commitment to Oklahoma on Monday after making an official visit to Norman over the weekend. The 6-4, 221-pounder is the No. 200 player in the 2016 class and the 14th-ranked weakside defensive end, according to 247 Sports.

In addition to losing seven graduating seniors and its former starting QBs to transfers, Texas A&M is also losing offensive lineman Germain Ifedi as an early departure to the NFL. But there’s good balance in the Bulldogs’ 2016 recruiting class, with 12 offensive commits and six defensive ones. Three of the five four-star prospects are on defense.

While the Aggies are doing just fine on the home front, having locked up 14 players from the Lone Star State, three states are represented in this year’s class, including a three-star prospect from as far as Tennessee.

TEXAS A&M 2016 RECRUITING CLASS

  • National rank: 20
  • SEC rank: 7
  • Commitments: 18
  • Commitments by rating: 6 four-stars, 12 three-stars

Top incoming offensive players: Four-star OT Kellen Diesch, Four-star WR Clyde Chriss, Four-star APB Trayveon Williams.

Top incoming defensive players: Four-star DE Justin Madubuike, Four-star CB Travon Fuller, Four-star CB Charles Oliver.

Primary remaining targets: Five-star CB Jack Jones, four-star S Brandon Jones.

Best-case scenario: Both Joneses would be nice additions to John Chavis’ defense, but linebacker seems to be a more apparent need. With Tyrel Dodson (Franklin, Tenn.) the only current linebacker recruit in the class, landing Aaron Hansford out of Washington, D.C., could potentially go a long way toward addressing the Aggies’ depth at the position.

VERBAL COMMITS

  • Justin Madubuike, DE, four-star
  • Kellen Diesch, OT, four-star
  • Clyde Leflore-Chriss, WR, four-star
  • Travon Fuller, CB, four-star
  • Charles Oliver, CB, four-star
  • Tyrel Dodson, LB, three-star
  • Austin Anderson, OT, three-star
  • Ikenna Okeke, S, three-star
  • Rakeem Boyd, RB, three-star
  • Kendrick Rogers, WR, three-star
  • Alton Robinson, DE, three-star
  • Nick Starkel, QB, three-star
  • Moses Reynolds, ATH, three-star
  • Riley Anderson, OT, three-star
  • Ryan McCollum, OT, three-star

CURRENT CLASS

  • Trayveon Williams, APB, four-star (early enrollee)
  • Colton Prater, OG, three-star (early enrollee)
  • Braden Mann, K, three-star (early enrollee)

Editor’s note: Saturday Down South’s references to recruiting rankings are to the 247Sports.com industry composite ranking.