By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
With Baylor’s bowl game the day after the early signing period followed by the postgame fallout, there really was not much of an opportunity to offer some perspective of the recently signed 2023 class.
With the late signing period of Feb. 1 still to come, there is the opportunity for Dave Aranda’s program to add more pieces. However, that’s likely going to be on the portal side rather than from the high school side. The portal period concludes on Jan. 18.
>Numbers Game: Baylor finished 26th overall in the Rivals Team Rankings with its 20 signings. In the summer, the class was ranked as high as No. 16. League City Clear Falls linebacker Corey Kelly told SicEmSports he plans on signing with his teammates on Feb. 1. The class ranked fifth in the Big 12 behind Texas, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas Tech.
>Portal Infusion: To this point, Baylor has added four, the largest haul that the program ever had in the portal era. That includes BYU offensive linemen transfers, brothers Clark and Campbell Barrington, Arkansas wide receiver Ketron Jackson and Oklahoma State running back Dominic Richardson. There is the thinking that Baylor could add a couple of more before the portal period ends. Keep an eye on Texas A&M defensive back Jaylon Jones.
>Where this class was helped I: The tight end class of Houston Stratford’s Hawkins Polley and Phoenix’s Matthew Klopfenstein should add to a tight end tradition that’s growing and becoming more and more productive. Each has a great set of hands and are capable of being solid blockers. They likely need a full redshirt year so they will be ready to contribute in 2024. Have some good vibes with the defensive line class led by Fort Bend Ridge Point’s DK Kalu. Finding good nose tackle is really hard. Have to hope Jerrell Boykins can be serviceable.
>Where this class was helped II: The defensive back group of Caden Jenkins, Tay’Shawn Wilson, DJ Coleman, Carl Williams IV and LeVar Thornton Jr. has some upside to it. Thornton’s length is a great weapon since Baylor likes him at safety. Williams has a chance to be a ball hawk. And pay attention to the Bears using Coleman on special teams. He blocked five punts this year. The disappointing part is we didn’t get to see Wilson who missed most of 2022 with a dislocated kneecap. But he is fully recovered and will be going through the track season.
>Where this class was hurt I: We’ll start with the obvious with losing Austin Novosad at the last minute to Oregon. With the Baylor QB room in the state that it is, that exposed the problem even more. Novosad was going to arrive in January and possibly compete for the starting job. Now, Baylor is left to scramble through the second and third tier of QBs in the portal. There is no depth at that position.
>Where this class was hurt II: Presuming Kelly signs on Feb. 1, that will save a linebacker class that was gutted with the losses of Christian Brathwaite (flipped to LSU) and Taurean York (flipped to Texas A&M). The current BU locker room isn’t in the same position as the QB room, of course. However, a portal addition may have to serve as the bridge.
Final assessment: This is a very solid class. Please don’t misunderstand that. When you finish in the 20s, you did something right. Secondary needs along with additions for both the offensive and defensive lines were addressed. What soured everything was the poor finishing highlighted by the Novosad defection.
Publisher
With Baylor’s bowl game the day after the early signing period followed by the postgame fallout, there really was not much of an opportunity to offer some perspective of the recently signed 2023 class.
With the late signing period of Feb. 1 still to come, there is the opportunity for Dave Aranda’s program to add more pieces. However, that’s likely going to be on the portal side rather than from the high school side. The portal period concludes on Jan. 18.
>Numbers Game: Baylor finished 26th overall in the Rivals Team Rankings with its 20 signings. In the summer, the class was ranked as high as No. 16. League City Clear Falls linebacker Corey Kelly told SicEmSports he plans on signing with his teammates on Feb. 1. The class ranked fifth in the Big 12 behind Texas, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas Tech.
>Portal Infusion: To this point, Baylor has added four, the largest haul that the program ever had in the portal era. That includes BYU offensive linemen transfers, brothers Clark and Campbell Barrington, Arkansas wide receiver Ketron Jackson and Oklahoma State running back Dominic Richardson. There is the thinking that Baylor could add a couple of more before the portal period ends. Keep an eye on Texas A&M defensive back Jaylon Jones.
>Where this class was helped I: The tight end class of Houston Stratford’s Hawkins Polley and Phoenix’s Matthew Klopfenstein should add to a tight end tradition that’s growing and becoming more and more productive. Each has a great set of hands and are capable of being solid blockers. They likely need a full redshirt year so they will be ready to contribute in 2024. Have some good vibes with the defensive line class led by Fort Bend Ridge Point’s DK Kalu. Finding good nose tackle is really hard. Have to hope Jerrell Boykins can be serviceable.
>Where this class was helped II: The defensive back group of Caden Jenkins, Tay’Shawn Wilson, DJ Coleman, Carl Williams IV and LeVar Thornton Jr. has some upside to it. Thornton’s length is a great weapon since Baylor likes him at safety. Williams has a chance to be a ball hawk. And pay attention to the Bears using Coleman on special teams. He blocked five punts this year. The disappointing part is we didn’t get to see Wilson who missed most of 2022 with a dislocated kneecap. But he is fully recovered and will be going through the track season.
>Where this class was hurt I: We’ll start with the obvious with losing Austin Novosad at the last minute to Oregon. With the Baylor QB room in the state that it is, that exposed the problem even more. Novosad was going to arrive in January and possibly compete for the starting job. Now, Baylor is left to scramble through the second and third tier of QBs in the portal. There is no depth at that position.
>Where this class was hurt II: Presuming Kelly signs on Feb. 1, that will save a linebacker class that was gutted with the losses of Christian Brathwaite (flipped to LSU) and Taurean York (flipped to Texas A&M). The current BU locker room isn’t in the same position as the QB room, of course. However, a portal addition may have to serve as the bridge.
Final assessment: This is a very solid class. Please don’t misunderstand that. When you finish in the 20s, you did something right. Secondary needs along with additions for both the offensive and defensive lines were addressed. What soured everything was the poor finishing highlighted by the Novosad defection.
