NOTE: The content on the Baylor Blitz is solely meant for the subscribers of SicEmSports. Let's all please make sure that whatever is written here stays here. We appreciate you all helping us with this. Now, let's all take a look at Baylor recruiting and what else is going on involving the Bears.
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NOTE I: As SicEmSports reported Monday, there is still hope for Baylor’s 2016 opener overseas to occur. However, the latest is that we have learned the fate of the game could be known within the next several days. Momentum is building for the game but there are still many logistics that need to be solved first. We reported last month that the game would be played in Sydney against California of the PAC 12.
SicEmSports will continue to update this story as developments warrant.
NOTE II: Baylor holds its final summer camp from 3:00-6:00 pm Friday at Houston’s Bellaire Episcopal High School. Rather than hold it on the Baylor campus, there appears to be a couple of good reasons for this move. First, the greater Houston area has a great collection of 2016, 2017 and 2018 prospects. Consider that three of Baylor’s 2017 five commitments are from the Houston area in Stafford WR Hezekiah Jones, St. Thomas WR Jhamon Ausbon and Bellaire S Donovan Stiner. Second, the Texas High School Coaches Association Coaching School begins this weekend in Houston. Call it a marketing tool for other coaches to watch how the staff teaches and works with players. We’ll see in future years how Baylor will handle this lone July camp.
Matt Clare will be covering Friday afternoon’s session.
NOTE III: Baylor basketball coaches are in the second of three evaluation weekend periods. They are traveling all over the country at NCAA-sanctioned events in Chicago, Atlanta, Duncanville (The Great American Shootout) and Indianapolis. This is where the staff can make deeper inroads into 2016 and 2017.
As we mentioned, the 2016 class is looking at a signing group of about four.
McGusty knows Baylor well
It’s only been a few days since Katy Seven Lakes combo guard Kameron McGusty picked up his offer from Baylor. But he already knows Baylor pretty well.
McGusty (6-5, 170) has been talking with the Baylor coaching staff for about a year. So he correctly presumed that his offer eventually would happen. The No. 36 player in the 2016 Rivals 150, McGusty had a strong weekend for his AAU team, Houston Defenders. That gave the Baylor coaches enough to extend.
“I figured it would because I’ve gotten to know them pretty well,’’ McGusty said. “There two things I want in a school. I want a place where the school develops its guards and where the education really stands out. Baylor has both of those.’’
All McGusty has known throughout his basketball life is he’s played with the ball in his hands. He’s been an inside-out type of offensive player. His first instinct is to drive the ball to the goal. When it comes to shooting, he’s been more comfortable shooting off the dribble than from the catch-and-shoot situation.
“I think I’m a good shooter, and my 3-ball is getting better,’’ McGusty said. “But I’ve always played with the ball in my hands so catching and shooting is something that I’ve never really done. I know that’s something that I have to do.’’
McGusty has been talking with the Baylor coaches about a possible on-site visit. That’s either going to be in August or perhaps during the football season. It’s too early to say if it will mean an official visit. At this point, it’s unclear if he would sign in November or in the spring of 2016.
“The main thing I don’t want to do is force a team to offer me,’’ McGusty said. “That wasn’t it with Baylor. I’m definitely interested in Baylor. I know they give their guards a lot of freedom. I know a lot about them and how they could help my game.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
VIDEO GALLERY
Matt Clare spoke with both 2017 WR Commit Hezekiah Jones and 2017 QB Commit Kellen Mond recently the Prime21 Event.
Clare with Jones
Clare with Mond
LINEBACKER THURSDAY
Hines returns and will return
On the heels of a landmark recruiting day for 2017 with three commitments on Wednesday, Plano East linebacker Anthony Hines made the second of what should be three summer visits on Thursday.
Hines, No. 143 in the Rivals250, also visited Baylor on May 31 when the camp season opened. However, he did not participate because he was preparing to attend the Rivals 5-star camp in Baltimore.
“It was an awesome visit,’’ Hines said about Thursday. “I had a great time. I got to hang out with some of the players and that was a really cool experience.’’
Baylor didn’t offer Hines until the summer of the 2014. However, it’s becoming more and more apparent that the staff is making up for lost time. Hines said he plans on returning to Baylor to watch the Bears go through their first practice on Aug. 4.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Browning true to his word
Baylor became the first school to offer Kennedale linebacker Baron Browning in June of last year. The 2017 standout made another visit to Baylor on Thursday.
“It went great,’’ Browning said.
Browning’s stock has climbed considerably since that offer. He broke into the Rivals100 last week as the No. 90 prospect. It’s been a steady rise in his recruitment as his offer list has grown to at least 24 that includes Alabama and Ohio State.
-Kevin Lonnquist
HOUSTON CAMP PREVIEW
Linebacker has a lot to prove
Baylor is possibly done at linebacker for the 2016 class with the commitment of Plano Prestonwood’s Deonte Williams. However, it never hurts to take another look at somebody who could help elsewhere.
That’s where Galena Park North Shore’s Maciah Long becomes an option. The dual-threat quarterback doesn’t project as the same in college. That would be at linebacker. Long (6-2, 230) already has offers from Ohio State, Missouri, Arizona State, Kansas and UCLA among his eight.
But those schools are projecting what they think they would see at linebacker. Long has never played a down on defense because of his value running the offense. When he works out with Baylor Friday at its camp, it will be at linebacker.
This will be his second opportunity to get in front of the Baylor coaches. He couldn’t work out June 1 in Cy Falls because of a left hamstring injury. While he still feels the twinge, it’s not restricting him from pushing forward.
“I’m very flexible and can move in any direction in a short amount of time,’’ said Long who said he’s been talking with Baylor DB coach Carlton Buckels. “All of the schools are looking at me at linebacker but it’s hard to show more schools what you can do when you don’t have any film playing linebacker. That’s why I’m going to these camps…to show them. If I was playing linebacker, I feel like I’d have more offers.’’
Beyond his flexibility lies his athleticism. Even if Baylor doesn’t project him at linebacker, it could view him in another unnamed capacity. After all, when you’re a 3-star prospect, there is something you can offer.
Long’s strength isn’t an issue. He can power clean 300, squat 585 and max at 405 on the bench. Playing quarterback may still work to his advantage. Because he is a dual-threat, he is in many one-on-one situations in space. Programs can evaluate what he has done on offense and project it to the other side.
“I feel like I’m close to an offer from Baylor,’’ Long said. “But I’m focused. I’m already mentally ready to work. I’m going to do whatever it takes to show the Baylor coaches what I can do. They wouldn’t be taking a big risk.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
Before Baylor was better
K’Lavon Chaisson has seen Baylor when the program was it depths of frustration. His father Kelvin played linebacker for Kevin Steele in the early 2000s.
Even after his father had left, K’Lavon still tracked the program. Yet he still considered Baylor one of his favorite schools. Another was and still is Oregon. Now, that the Bears are competing for Big 12 championships, his interest has only grown.
The Galena Park North Shore defensive end (6-3, 210) is expected to camp with Baylor on Friday. An offer could be coming. After all, he’s already drawn offers from LSU, Colorado and Houston.
“Really, this is going to be the first time for me to work out in front of them,’’ Chaisson said. “They came to watch me in spring for a little bit. But I didn’t go to their first camp. So they asked me to come to this camp.’’
Chaisson expects to work out at both defensive end and linebacker. This spring and summer have served as a refresher for him. He only played basketball during his sophomore year at small and power forward. Yet he realized that he missed the game and returned this spring.
The North Shore coaches immediate wanted him on defense. Chaisson is considered a raw but powerful pass rusher. Basketball has helped him develop and refine his first step off the line of scrimmage.
That’s exactly what Baylor wants to see.
“When I talked with [Carlton] Buckels, he told me they really like me and want to offer me,’’ Chaisson said “But they want to see me one more time. I feel like I’m really athletic and have amazing feet. There’s nothing specific they want to see. I just have to go out and work hard.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
Little has a new view of Baylor
This Wednesday was another huge day for the Baylor coaches with 2017 recruiting and three new commitments. The seemingly endless amount of commitment updates from the day understandably hogged the spotlight, but there were a handful of other impressive underclassmen prospects on campus this week as well.
Houston (Texas) Episcopal offensive tackle Walker Little unofficially visited Baylor this week and shared his thoughts about the trip to Waco.
“We started with a tour of all the facilities and everything there is pretty brand new,” Little said. “The coaches showed us their new office area and the new facility for the athletes. They are going to have chefs cooking meals for the players, a barber shop upstairs and a lounge with video games. It’s very nice and right there on the water like all of the other new facilities.”
Baylor safeties coach and area recruiter Cris Dishman is the main recruiter for Little, but the standout prospect spent most of the day with Baylor offensive line coach Randy Clements.
“Coach Dishman is my main contact from Baylor, but my family and I spent most of the day with Coach Clements because I was the only offensive lineman there,” Little said. “I’m also friends with Blake Blackmar and he joined us for a while as well. He’s from Clear Lake and that’s where I grew up before attending Episcopal for high school.
“Coach Clements talked about some of the things they do with the offensive line within their offense and we were able to talk about the offense as a whole. He told me that I was one of only four linemen they have offered in my class, so they think very highly of me. We watched the quarterbacks and receivers go through some shell drills, then coach would talk with us about the play and what the line would have done.”
Little and Clements had connected before, but this week was the first time the standout prospect met the Baylor offensive line coach in person.
“I really like Coach Clements a lot,” Little said. “He’s very serious and very knowledgeable. He might not be the most outgoing coach, but he is very experienced and seems like a good coach. I know he has a few linemen headed to the league and another few up for the Outland Award this season.”
After the tour and watching the players go through some drills, Walker and his family met with Baylor head coach Art Briles.
“At the very end, my parents and I sat down in Coach Briles’ office and we all talked,” Little said. “He told me what to expect if I chose Baylor and answered some of our questions. He’s a cool guy, very funny and I liked him a lot.
“I thought he would be a hard-nosed guy, very serious about things, but I was surprised by how funny and laid back he really is. I could tell how much he loves the game and could really tell that he loves Baylor.”
In terms of ‘what to expect’ if he chose Baylor, Little went on to explain what the Bears head coach had to say about that.
“He just talked about the student life at Baylor and what kind of players they are bringing in there,” Little said. “They want high character kids that are serious about football and want to create a very competitive environment. Coach Briles told me they are trying to win a national championship and that you have to earn your spot.
“Their recent success is a big part of their recruitment. Baylor is winning the Big12 conference and competing for a spot in the college football playoff right now. It’s a winning environment and that was appealing.”
The 6-foot-7, 295-pound prospect is a busy man this off-season and will be taking several other trips over the next month.
“I camped at Alabama and received an offer from them this past month,” Little said. “I plan on stopping by the Baylor camp at Episcopal on Friday night to say hello to the coaches, I’m going to the Under The Lights camp at Texas this weekend, and then I’m going to visit Texas A&M next week. After that, I’m going to visit USC and then camping at Stanford in the next two weeks. We start two-a-days at Episcopal when I get back and that will be all the visits for a while.”
Rated a four-star prospect, Little is rated as the No. 83 player in the latest Rivals250 national rankings and the No. 11 player on the Rivals.com Texas Initial Top 80 for the 2017 class.
-Matt Clare
Baylor in Nixon’s Top 4
DeSoto 2017 wide receiver K.D. Nixon camped with the Baylor coaches in Waco this past month and had great things to say about the Bears’ program from the state 7-on-7 tournament this past weekend.
“I really haven’t been focused on recruiting this summer, I’m mostly work hard for the season,” Nixon said. “I camped with Baylor this summer and enjoyed spending time around the coaches. I connect with Coach (Jeff) Lebby and Coach (Tate) Wallis from Baylor, plus K.D. Cannon talks with me too. He really wants me up there to join them.
“I like Baylor because they are recruiting me as an athlete and that’s really what they do at Baylor, let athletes make plays. Speed kills, and you cannot tackle what you cannot catch. That’s how we do it here at DeSoto and that’s how they do it at Baylor too.”
Nixon mentioned a current Top 4 list of schools, including Baylor, Ohio State, TCU and Oregon. Baylor has not offered at this point.
“Baylor is in my Top 4,” Nixon said. “My top schools are Baylor, TCU, Oregon and Ohio State. I have visited Ohio State and Baylor, but I’m waiting to setup visits to the others and I’m still talking to all of the schools that recruit me. Arizona State and Houston are a few schools that talk with me a lot right now as well.”
So what does the Rivals250 standout like so much about the Baylor program?
“I feel like I can have the best career of my life at Baylor,” Nixon said. “I could have 1,000 yards receiving, become a deep threat and accomplish all of my goals at Baylor.”
Rated a four-star prospect, the 5-foot-8, 181-pound receiver is the No. 186 player in the latest Rivals250 national rankings and the No. 27 player on the Rivals.com Texas Initial Top 80 for the 2017 class.
-Matt Clare
Emptying the Notebook
>Among several of the notables expected to be at Friday’s camp are 2016 NT commit Bravvion Roy (he may go through workouts), 2017 S commit Donovan Stiner (unclear if he will but he said he will be with safeties coach Cris Dishman for the session), 2017 George Ranch S Adam Beck, 2016 DB commit Grayland Arnold, 2017 Episcopal OL Walker Little, Galena Park North Shore WR Patrick Davis (watch him) and teammate, 2017 DB Kieston Roach (3-star recruit). As you may have seen, Matt Clare reported 2016 OL recruit Patrick Hudson should also be there.
>While the legal system can work according to its own calendar, we’re hearing something definitive could be known regarding the outcome/punishment for senior forward Rico Gathers. Battles was arrested in June at a local Wal-Mart for taking about $170 in merchandise. Head coach Scott Drew has said publicly that he will await this decision before he levies his own punishment.
>Miami (FL) transfer guard Manu Lecomte is having a great summer for the Belgian national team in the FIBA U20 European Games. He has scored 24, 32, and 14 points for his team against the likes of Croatia, Israel and Serbia. The tournament started last week. While Lecomte would have to sit out for the 2015-16 season, we’re aware that the Baylor coaching staff is watching to see if anything develops with a professional team pursuing Lecomte. Time will tell if this ever develops.
-SicEmSports
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