Texas increasingly has chance to flip Texas A&M TE commit Irvin Smith

Flipping prospects from the Texas A&M Aggies has not been an easy task for the Texas Longhorns since the former on-field rival moved to the SEC, but the Horns now appear to have a strong shot at doing exactly that with New Orleans (La.) Brother Martin tight Irvin Smith.

The teammate of Texas tight end commit Peyton Aucoin committed to Texas A&M back in June while on an unofficial visit over an offer from the Horns. At the time, Aucoin was not yet a member of the Texas recruiting class, making his own decision about five weeks later.

Now the 6'4, 230-pound Smith is listed as a soft commit on his 247Sports profile page after taking an official visit to Austin last weekend. Getting the pass-catching specialist who complements Aucoin's blocking ability at Brother Martin on campus was not only an extremely important development for the Longhorns, but the timing was also fortuitous in regards to the Aggies.

Speculation about the future of Texas A&M offensive coordinator Jake Spavital helped create an opportunity for Texas and tight ends coach Jeff Traylor to make a serious move in his recruitment. And the quarterback issues that resulted in the departure of former five-star prospect Kyle Allen and the potential departure of another former five-star quarterback in Kyler Murray only make things look worse for head coach Kevin Sumlin.

A headline from GigEm247 says it all -- "Uncertainty at A&M causing Smith to waiver." Even without pulling any of the specific information from behind the paywall, it's not hard to make out what the article is about and what it means for Texas. Now the question is whether anything less than the termination of Spavital would result in a flip from Smith.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns finally appear to be trending in the right direction with the exciting hire of new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert at Tulsa. Keep in mind that Smith is being recruited by Traylor, the emerging rainmaker on the staff. Throw in Aucoin's relationship with Smith and Horns247 publisher Bobby Burton has now put in a flip prediction for Smith from A&M to Texas, the first in Smith's Crystal Ball.

With the report that 2015 tight end signee Devonaire Clarington and Texas are now headed in different directions, finding a pure pass-catching tight end in the 2016 class remains a huge priority for Traylor and the situation in College Station has now

Smith is a consensus three-star prospect ranked as the No. 519 player nationally, the No. 21 tight end, and the No. 25 player in the state of Louisiana, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. During his senior season, Smith recorded 31 catches for 558 yards and four touchdowns.