By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
The Topper
With the Big 12 announcing Baylor’s opponent (at Florida Jan. 25) for the Big 12/SEC challenge, Baylor has wrapped up it’s nonconference schedule. There was one more opponent (no one of significance) that had to get finalized with paperwork (that was a couple of weeks ago). Should the paperwork be completed, it shouldn’t be too long before Baylor announces its 2019-20 non-conference schedule.
Besides Florida, the other highlight games will be at Oregon, home to Arizona, home to Butler in the Big 12/Big East Challenge and competing in the Myrtle Beach Invitation. The Bears meet Ohio and then face the winner/loser of Utah-Coastal Carolina in the next round. Big East power Villanova is also in the tournament.
The last big weekend
Baylor is expected to host recruits on both Friday and Saturday. The Friday event is more of an informal situation. Saturday is the BBQ. Sunday caps everything off with the final camp of the summer on the BU campus. The dead period ended at midnight on Wednesday.
For Friday, Baylor is expected to host several top recruits from Galena Park North Shore. That should include:
This is what we understand will be the some of the favored targets for Saturday’s BBQ:
The members of the 2020 Class. However, we understand it's iffy that Lawton, OK athlete Chateau Reed can make it.
On O’Toole: In June, the Albuquerque wide receiver said then that he was planning on making his commitment decision during the season. However, the connection between himself and the staff has moved in a very positive direction. Time will tell if he’s willing to commit on Saturday or soon thereafter. Baylor does not have a wide receiver yet in the class.
“I’ve been talking with [James] Blanchard, [Omar] Hales and [Evan] Cooper a lot,’’ O’Toole said. “I feel like our relationship is growing stronger. If the fit feels right at the time then i’d definitely highly considering ending my recruitment.’’
On Jones: He is still planning on attending Texas A&M’s BBQ on Friday and then coming to Baylor on Saturday. While he announced that he would be making his commitment decision on Aug. 3, most the talk has settled in to him being a strong Baylor lean. Jones picked up his Baylor offer at the June 2 camp and has been a prized target ever since. While he camped at Texas A&M (worked out at both wide receiver and defensive back) and received an offer, there have been some questions on whether the Aggies would have room. This wouldn’t be a Baylor win because of Texas A&M numbers. This would be a Baylor win because the staff really did a great job establishing a relationship with him. The Bears were the first P5 school to offer.
On Alexander: There’s a chance he could commit. But then, there was that talk of him doing it when he returned for a camp in June and it didn’t happen. Don’t be surprised if it happens. It’s no secret that Baylor and Alexander have become pretty tight. This will be his fourth visit to the school during 2019. Anything is possible.
On Jeffrey: The Bears are going to be losing three seniors from the 2019 offensive line between center Jake Fruhmorgen, right guard Sam Tecklenburg and right tackle Joncarlo Valentin. There is going to be an immediate need. Baylor has a lot of under classman and little used offensive linemen on the roster. However, some of those have not panned out to this point. Should Baylor keep pushing and he becomes a Bear, it would be a situation that he could add some depth at the very least. Jeffrey visited Iowa State back in May. This will be an unofficial visit.
On Stroud: Baylor had to push the reset button on its pursuit of a QB for the 2020 class when it fell out of the race for Longview QB Haynes King (committed to Texas A&M). Stroud, who won the MVP at the Elite 11 QB camp at The Star in Frisco earlier this month, said that his relationship with the Baylor coaching staff has gained some momentum. This will be his first visit to Baylor but his second to Texas within a month. Baylor is hoping he gets to liking the Lone Star State.
https://twitter.com/CJ7STROUD/status/1154591161454977025?s=20
On Morton: This will be the Eastland 2021 QBs third visit to Baylor. As you know, he has a relationship developed with fellow Eastland native, Baylor Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB coach Glenn Thomas. Morton picked up his Baylor offer in the spring and has evolved into the one of the most highly sought QBs in the country for that class.
He had pretty active camp season this summer including one at Alabama back in June.
MBB: Bears in pursuit of 2021 high scoring guard
LADERA RANCH, Calif. – When Wade Taylor gets it rolling, he's as dangerous a scorer as anybody in the rising junior class and colleges are taking notice.
A high-scoring, 6-foot combo guard from Lancaster (Texas) High, Taylor has scored offers from programs such as Baylor, Florida State, North Texas, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M and UTEP, while North Carolina recently lobbed a phone call his way after watching him play with Urban DFW Elite at the adidas Summer Championships during July's live period. Explosive with the ball, Taylor doesn't really care how he's categorized.
“I would characterize myself as a point guard because I find my teammates," Taylor said. "But if we need a bucket, I will get one. They say that I have to play point because of my height, but position doesn’t define me. I just go out and play my best every game."
IN HIS OWN WORDS
While Taylor has wide-ranging interests, he recently visited A&M, hears heavily from SMU and is looking to check out Baylor soon. He discussed the three in-state programs.
Baylor: “I will try to take a visit to Baylor. They wanted me to come to their elite camp but we had a tournament going on. I talk to coach (Jerome) Tang. He came to our school and after we played South Garland he offered me. He’s been a great coach and calls me a lot and we talk about life.”
SMU: “I hear from SMU a lot. They came to see us play in Alabama and they stay in touch because they are close to home. I will hear from one coach one night, another the next.”
Texas A&M: “I took an unofficial like three weeks ago. I liked it. Coach Buzz (Williams), he’s a funny-caliber guy and he’s what you want to play for. He’s really glad to be back home and he knows if he gets a lot of Texas players he could build a nice program.”
WHAT'S NEXT?
Taylor stressed that he's looking forward to finishing up the summer and that he's more concerned about the older players on his team getting scholarship offers than he is about himself. He has several schools trying to get him on campus either officially or unofficially, but he's not near trying to make a decision.
"Everybody is really the same, since I’m so young," said Taylor. "I’ll really start thinking about that next year when I’m done with AAU.”
-Eric Bossi
Recruiting tidbits
>As you read earlier on Thursday, Baylor has some interest in Cedar Hill 2020 offensive lineman Courtland Ford. Ford was not expected to visit Baylor this coming weekend because of an unspecified family reason.
There have some quiet concerns about Ford’s knees. Our understanding is that Baylor is not as concerned about that issue as LSU, the program where Ford had been committed before he re-opened in the spring.
>It’s not a make or break moment that Henderson athlete Caleb Medford isn’t expected to attend this weekend. The TCU commit continues to talk with Baylor. But spots with Baylor could be coming at a premium if the Bears are able to reel in commitments from O’Toole and Jones. Baylor had been recruiting Medford as a wide receiver. So if the Bears land O'Toole and Jones, then Medford probably goes away.
>Rivals No. 120 and wide receiver Javian Hester from Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington is also not making the trip to Waco this weekend. However, he said he continues to visit with the Baylor coaching staff and is still considering the Bears. He would be the kind of player that if he wanted to commit to BU, the coaching staff would find room.
>Baylor’s either/or pursuit of a second running back still has some legs with Lancaster’s Kevontre Bradford. Bradford has been talking with the Bears coaching staff and says he remains interested. However, this could ultimately end up with Baylor making the decision how hard it wants to push. Bradford is regarded as the one RB it would be prefer among the rest that have been offered but not committed.
Emptying the Notebook
When Baylor starts 2019 fall camp next week, the depth chart revealed at QB at Big 12 media days is the way it’s actually going to look with junior Charlie Brewer as the starter and redshirt freshman Gerry Bohanon as the No. 2. As for 2019 signee Jacob Zeno, there is the thinking that Baylor would like to get a redshirt season from him. Of course, Zeno could appear in up to four games without losing that redshirt.
Publisher
The Topper
With the Big 12 announcing Baylor’s opponent (at Florida Jan. 25) for the Big 12/SEC challenge, Baylor has wrapped up it’s nonconference schedule. There was one more opponent (no one of significance) that had to get finalized with paperwork (that was a couple of weeks ago). Should the paperwork be completed, it shouldn’t be too long before Baylor announces its 2019-20 non-conference schedule.
Besides Florida, the other highlight games will be at Oregon, home to Arizona, home to Butler in the Big 12/Big East Challenge and competing in the Myrtle Beach Invitation. The Bears meet Ohio and then face the winner/loser of Utah-Coastal Carolina in the next round. Big East power Villanova is also in the tournament.
The last big weekend
Baylor is expected to host recruits on both Friday and Saturday. The Friday event is more of an informal situation. Saturday is the BBQ. Sunday caps everything off with the final camp of the summer on the BU campus. The dead period ended at midnight on Wednesday.
For Friday, Baylor is expected to host several top recruits from Galena Park North Shore. That should include:
This is what we understand will be the some of the favored targets for Saturday’s BBQ:
The members of the 2020 Class. However, we understand it's iffy that Lawton, OK athlete Chateau Reed can make it.
On O’Toole: In June, the Albuquerque wide receiver said then that he was planning on making his commitment decision during the season. However, the connection between himself and the staff has moved in a very positive direction. Time will tell if he’s willing to commit on Saturday or soon thereafter. Baylor does not have a wide receiver yet in the class.
“I’ve been talking with [James] Blanchard, [Omar] Hales and [Evan] Cooper a lot,’’ O’Toole said. “I feel like our relationship is growing stronger. If the fit feels right at the time then i’d definitely highly considering ending my recruitment.’’
On Jones: He is still planning on attending Texas A&M’s BBQ on Friday and then coming to Baylor on Saturday. While he announced that he would be making his commitment decision on Aug. 3, most the talk has settled in to him being a strong Baylor lean. Jones picked up his Baylor offer at the June 2 camp and has been a prized target ever since. While he camped at Texas A&M (worked out at both wide receiver and defensive back) and received an offer, there have been some questions on whether the Aggies would have room. This wouldn’t be a Baylor win because of Texas A&M numbers. This would be a Baylor win because the staff really did a great job establishing a relationship with him. The Bears were the first P5 school to offer.
On Alexander: There’s a chance he could commit. But then, there was that talk of him doing it when he returned for a camp in June and it didn’t happen. Don’t be surprised if it happens. It’s no secret that Baylor and Alexander have become pretty tight. This will be his fourth visit to the school during 2019. Anything is possible.
On Jeffrey: The Bears are going to be losing three seniors from the 2019 offensive line between center Jake Fruhmorgen, right guard Sam Tecklenburg and right tackle Joncarlo Valentin. There is going to be an immediate need. Baylor has a lot of under classman and little used offensive linemen on the roster. However, some of those have not panned out to this point. Should Baylor keep pushing and he becomes a Bear, it would be a situation that he could add some depth at the very least. Jeffrey visited Iowa State back in May. This will be an unofficial visit.
On Stroud: Baylor had to push the reset button on its pursuit of a QB for the 2020 class when it fell out of the race for Longview QB Haynes King (committed to Texas A&M). Stroud, who won the MVP at the Elite 11 QB camp at The Star in Frisco earlier this month, said that his relationship with the Baylor coaching staff has gained some momentum. This will be his first visit to Baylor but his second to Texas within a month. Baylor is hoping he gets to liking the Lone Star State.
https://twitter.com/CJ7STROUD/status/1154591161454977025?s=20
On Morton: This will be the Eastland 2021 QBs third visit to Baylor. As you know, he has a relationship developed with fellow Eastland native, Baylor Co-Offensive Coordinator/QB coach Glenn Thomas. Morton picked up his Baylor offer in the spring and has evolved into the one of the most highly sought QBs in the country for that class.
He had pretty active camp season this summer including one at Alabama back in June.
MBB: Bears in pursuit of 2021 high scoring guard
LADERA RANCH, Calif. – When Wade Taylor gets it rolling, he's as dangerous a scorer as anybody in the rising junior class and colleges are taking notice.
A high-scoring, 6-foot combo guard from Lancaster (Texas) High, Taylor has scored offers from programs such as Baylor, Florida State, North Texas, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas A&M and UTEP, while North Carolina recently lobbed a phone call his way after watching him play with Urban DFW Elite at the adidas Summer Championships during July's live period. Explosive with the ball, Taylor doesn't really care how he's categorized.
“I would characterize myself as a point guard because I find my teammates," Taylor said. "But if we need a bucket, I will get one. They say that I have to play point because of my height, but position doesn’t define me. I just go out and play my best every game."
IN HIS OWN WORDS
While Taylor has wide-ranging interests, he recently visited A&M, hears heavily from SMU and is looking to check out Baylor soon. He discussed the three in-state programs.
Baylor: “I will try to take a visit to Baylor. They wanted me to come to their elite camp but we had a tournament going on. I talk to coach (Jerome) Tang. He came to our school and after we played South Garland he offered me. He’s been a great coach and calls me a lot and we talk about life.”
SMU: “I hear from SMU a lot. They came to see us play in Alabama and they stay in touch because they are close to home. I will hear from one coach one night, another the next.”
Texas A&M: “I took an unofficial like three weeks ago. I liked it. Coach Buzz (Williams), he’s a funny-caliber guy and he’s what you want to play for. He’s really glad to be back home and he knows if he gets a lot of Texas players he could build a nice program.”
WHAT'S NEXT?
Taylor stressed that he's looking forward to finishing up the summer and that he's more concerned about the older players on his team getting scholarship offers than he is about himself. He has several schools trying to get him on campus either officially or unofficially, but he's not near trying to make a decision.
"Everybody is really the same, since I’m so young," said Taylor. "I’ll really start thinking about that next year when I’m done with AAU.”
-Eric Bossi
Recruiting tidbits
>As you read earlier on Thursday, Baylor has some interest in Cedar Hill 2020 offensive lineman Courtland Ford. Ford was not expected to visit Baylor this coming weekend because of an unspecified family reason.
There have some quiet concerns about Ford’s knees. Our understanding is that Baylor is not as concerned about that issue as LSU, the program where Ford had been committed before he re-opened in the spring.
>It’s not a make or break moment that Henderson athlete Caleb Medford isn’t expected to attend this weekend. The TCU commit continues to talk with Baylor. But spots with Baylor could be coming at a premium if the Bears are able to reel in commitments from O’Toole and Jones. Baylor had been recruiting Medford as a wide receiver. So if the Bears land O'Toole and Jones, then Medford probably goes away.
>Rivals No. 120 and wide receiver Javian Hester from Tulsa (OK) Booker T. Washington is also not making the trip to Waco this weekend. However, he said he continues to visit with the Baylor coaching staff and is still considering the Bears. He would be the kind of player that if he wanted to commit to BU, the coaching staff would find room.
>Baylor’s either/or pursuit of a second running back still has some legs with Lancaster’s Kevontre Bradford. Bradford has been talking with the Bears coaching staff and says he remains interested. However, this could ultimately end up with Baylor making the decision how hard it wants to push. Bradford is regarded as the one RB it would be prefer among the rest that have been offered but not committed.
Emptying the Notebook
When Baylor starts 2019 fall camp next week, the depth chart revealed at QB at Big 12 media days is the way it’s actually going to look with junior Charlie Brewer as the starter and redshirt freshman Gerry Bohanon as the No. 2. As for 2019 signee Jacob Zeno, there is the thinking that Baylor would like to get a redshirt season from him. Of course, Zeno could appear in up to four games without losing that redshirt.
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