When we released our top running backs in the Class of 2010 last month, Cedar Hill's Ben Malena found just one other player in front of him -- Flower Mound Marcus' Stephen Hopkins, who has an offer from the Aggies.
But on Monday, Malena took the Aggies and their recruiting a step further when he orally committed to play football for Texas A&M, as he told The Dallas Morning News. Oral commitments are, of course, non-binding. The first day a player in the Class of 2010 can sign a national letter of intent is Feb. 3, 2010.
Malena was the offensive key that kept the Longhorns' machine running last season. The 5 foot 10 inch, 210-pound multi-purpose back led Cedar Hill to the state semifinals and a 12-2 record as a junior with 2,202 rushing yards and 35 touchdowns to go with more than 300 receiving yards and two more scores.
Malena had accumulated handfuls of offers from all over the college football spectrum, including Texas Tech, UNLV, Wisconsin, Tulsa, Baylor, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State and Minnesota, but he ultimately chose the Aggies to stay closer to home, as he told the Morning News.
"I've always been a fan of the school, and I liked it on my first trip there," Malena told the Morning News. "I just wanted to weigh my options."
He's also listed at No. 44 in the Texas Top 125 for 2010ers, which is the top 125 players in the state, regardless of position.
Adam Boedeker is a staff writer/blogger for the Denton Record-Chronicle. A good batch of Fish & Chips rocks his world.
