Jimbo Fisher’s crew is ready to hit the field for the start of spring camp in College Station this week but during his first media availability of the spring, the Aggie coach revealed some news that’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Unfortunately for Texas A&M, five-star early enrollee DeMarvin Leal will be out for the spring due to recent surgery. The 6-foot-4, 289-pound Leal signed with the Aggies from Judson High School out of Converse, Texas and was rated as the nation’s No. 3 overall prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle. The anticipation following his signing was that he would contribute immediately for the Aggies in 2019.

While that’s the bad news, the good news is the surgery was done for the longterm health of Leal and he is expected to be a full-go in time for fall camp. This is what Fisher offered up on his five-star freshman during his Thursday media availability.

“He will not be in for spring. He had a slight tear in his cartilage but they can sew it,” Fisher revealed. “By sewing it, they keep him out longer, that way you don’t ever lose the cartilage. He will miss the spring but he will be — ready for (fall) camp. If he had clipped it, if it had been one that was clipped, he would have been back in two weeks but we elected to sew it.”

Typical recovery time for this type of procedure is 2-3 months, meaning Fisher is correct when he suggests Leal should be fully ready for fall camp, if not months before during summer conditioning. While the Aggies would obviously like to have Leal suited up for spring camp, getting the freshmen better prepared for the rigors of the SEC is the right move — for both the Ags and Leal.