By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Matt Rhule will welcome most of his fourth recruiting class at Baylor on Wednesday with the early national signing period that runs through Friday.
Baylor has 15 present commitments, but it’s not a guarantee that the Bears will be announcing all 15. It could number more if a few signing day decisions fall their way. It may number less.
There is some movement involved as several are not expected to sign until Feb. 5. Those would include Cecilia (LA) defensive back Jalen Celestine, Lawton (OK) athlete Chateau Reed and Lancaster defensive back Theron Stroops.
At this point, it’s unclear if Pfugerville Connally defensive Jahdae Barron will sign with Baylor. Recently, he said he was. Then rumblings surfaced earlier in the week that he may not. Barron did not return a SicEmSports message seeking comment on his signing situation.
Baylor is tight on numbers. With Celestine, Reed and Stroops not expected to sign and if there are no other NSD day decisions that go the Bears’ way, that leaves the 2020 class with officially 12. If Barron doesn’t, it would be 11.
The NSD decisions are the following with a bit of analysis:
>Albuquerque (NM) wide receiver Connor O’Toole: He was in Waco over the weekend for his official visit. But the latest shows everything going to Utah.
>Copiah-Lincoln CC LB Tyrus Wheat: The Mississippi State commit was also in town for an official visit. But at this point it doesn’t appear that Baylor did enough to overcome the Bulldogs.
>Baton Rouge (LA) defensive end Jonathan Horton: This is the coin flip. Baylor made up some ground and appeared to be in a good position with his official visit. Fingers are crossed. This could come at the last minute.
The Bears, though, added two important flips between Lexington (KY) safety Devin Neal Jr. (flipped from Cincinnati Sunday) and Cy Ranch tight end Drake Dabney (flipped from Arizona Tuesday).
By adding those two along with Lamar Consolidating running back Taye McWilliams being bumped up to a 4-star prospect raised Baylor in the team rankings to No. 58.
However, Baylor is firmly in the mix for several that won’t make their decisions until January or when the second signing period begins on Feb. 5.
Those include Cedar Creek and Rivals No. 150 defensive end Alfred Collins, Manor 4-star defensive end Princely Umanmielen, who de-committed from Texas in late October, and Fort Bend Marshall quarterback Malik Hornsby.
Rhule’s program could also add a transfer or two that would impact those numbers.
NOTE: Signings can start coming in at 7:00 a.m. central. However, with Lexington, KY on eastern time, Baylor could announce Neal before then. That's something to watch. Neal is the only eastern time commit.
Publisher
Matt Rhule will welcome most of his fourth recruiting class at Baylor on Wednesday with the early national signing period that runs through Friday.
Baylor has 15 present commitments, but it’s not a guarantee that the Bears will be announcing all 15. It could number more if a few signing day decisions fall their way. It may number less.
There is some movement involved as several are not expected to sign until Feb. 5. Those would include Cecilia (LA) defensive back Jalen Celestine, Lawton (OK) athlete Chateau Reed and Lancaster defensive back Theron Stroops.
At this point, it’s unclear if Pfugerville Connally defensive Jahdae Barron will sign with Baylor. Recently, he said he was. Then rumblings surfaced earlier in the week that he may not. Barron did not return a SicEmSports message seeking comment on his signing situation.
Baylor is tight on numbers. With Celestine, Reed and Stroops not expected to sign and if there are no other NSD day decisions that go the Bears’ way, that leaves the 2020 class with officially 12. If Barron doesn’t, it would be 11.
The NSD decisions are the following with a bit of analysis:
>Albuquerque (NM) wide receiver Connor O’Toole: He was in Waco over the weekend for his official visit. But the latest shows everything going to Utah.
>Copiah-Lincoln CC LB Tyrus Wheat: The Mississippi State commit was also in town for an official visit. But at this point it doesn’t appear that Baylor did enough to overcome the Bulldogs.
>Baton Rouge (LA) defensive end Jonathan Horton: This is the coin flip. Baylor made up some ground and appeared to be in a good position with his official visit. Fingers are crossed. This could come at the last minute.
The Bears, though, added two important flips between Lexington (KY) safety Devin Neal Jr. (flipped from Cincinnati Sunday) and Cy Ranch tight end Drake Dabney (flipped from Arizona Tuesday).
By adding those two along with Lamar Consolidating running back Taye McWilliams being bumped up to a 4-star prospect raised Baylor in the team rankings to No. 58.
However, Baylor is firmly in the mix for several that won’t make their decisions until January or when the second signing period begins on Feb. 5.
Those include Cedar Creek and Rivals No. 150 defensive end Alfred Collins, Manor 4-star defensive end Princely Umanmielen, who de-committed from Texas in late October, and Fort Bend Marshall quarterback Malik Hornsby.
Rhule’s program could also add a transfer or two that would impact those numbers.
NOTE: Signings can start coming in at 7:00 a.m. central. However, with Lexington, KY on eastern time, Baylor could announce Neal before then. That's something to watch. Neal is the only eastern time commit.
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