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: We are hoping to have to a new update regarding the potential of Baylor’s 2016 season opener in Sydney, Australia by the weekend or sometime next week. One thing that we do know is that the bowl game in 2016 Down Under appears set. That would feature a team from the PAC 12 against a team from the Mountain West. And for what it’s worth California sites have also picked up on the Bears being the likely opponent for this game. As was reported in the June 19 Blitz and reaffirmed by Baylor AD Ian McCaw last week, Baylor is awaiting approval from the NCAA regarding a waiver. The waiver centers on playing the game earlier on the calendar.
Robinson intrigued by Baylor
Baylor is hoping that the rapport its building at McKinney Boyd will blossom in the coming years. The Bears landed defensive end Jamal Palmer in 2012. That relationship has been profitable as Palmer – despite a torn ACL in 2014 – has emerged as a contributor on the defensive line.
Now, the staff is hoping that will work on the other line with the recent offer to 2017 offensive lineman Tyrese Robinson. Rated No. 80 in the Rivals100, Robinson (6-4, 290) is about to enter his second year as the team’s starting right tackle.
Robinson has been developing his relationship with Baylor’s area coach in Jim Gush. Of course, Baylor isn’t the only one interested. He is fielding double digit offers including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and UCLA.
“I already have a good feeling about coach Gush,’’ Robinson said. “When he came to see me in the spring, we hit it off. I know Baylor has had some good players come down there like Jamal. And I have teammate Ross Matiscik who is walking on down there. So I know guys want to go there. They tell me it’s an awesome school and that I need to keep it mind.’’
Robinson said he plans to visit Baylor sometime during the 2015 football season. He’s done his homework on the program and its ability to put offensive linemen in the NFL. The most recent example was Cyril Richardson who went in the 5th round to Buffalo in the 2014 draft.
“I know they do a great job of getting guys ready, so that’s something I want to look at,’’ Robinson said. “Right now, I’m just keeping an open mind to everything to see what’s out there.’’
Robinson has drawn serious interest from Texas A&M and TCU. He did attend Oklahoma State’s camp in June in Lancaster. As a guard, he’s considered one of the most physical players in the country. He’s the No. 10 rater player in Texas.
But he’s also pretty swift on his feet. He played summer select basketball and was on a summer team that played in several tournaments. College football coaches, however, don’t have to worry about his allegiance. It’s to football.
“I just want to focus on using my strength and being more physical when I’m out there,’’ Robinson said. “I still need to work on my pass blocking. But anyone who knows me knows I am going to learning.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
VIDEO: Prince talks about Team USA
Our Stephen Cook took the video of Baylor senior guard Taurean Prince who talked about his experience of playing for Team USA at the recent Pan Am games. In the tournament, Prince started all five games and averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds.
More on Basketball visitor Khalid Lewis
Transfer guard Khalid Lewis from LaSalle is taking visits to TCU and Baylor in the coming days. He will visit TCU this weekend and then Baylor on Monday and Tuesday. He is immediately eligible for the 2015-16 season as he completed his degree at the Philadelphia-based school.
Lewis (6-3, 185) is a native of Trenton, NJ. While he did see significant playing time for the Explorers, he was not considered a scorer. That could change if he were to wind up coming to Baylor.
In his junior year, he averaged 6.0 points per game but did reach double figures on five different occasions. He did have a career-high 17 points against Villanova last December. He also averaged two rebounds and two assists per game. Lewis played his freshman year at Delaware (2011-13) before transferring to LaSalle.
It’s been no secret that Baylor has been in search for another guard to join the 2015-16 roster. It missed on a couple of major senior transfers including Villanova’s Dylan Ennis who wound up transferring to Oregon.
Baylor did add a transfer guard in Manu Lecomte Miami (Fl) who starred for the Belgium team this summer. Lecomte must sit out for 2015-16 and will be eligible for 2016-17.
It’s expected that a decision from Lewis should be coming fairly soon following these visits.
-Kevin Lonnquist
San Antonio product talks Baylor offer
Shortly before he played in his tournament in Kansas City last week, Baylor wound up offering San Antonio Churchill 2016 power forward Clevon Brown.
It’s a move that Baylor is hoping will continue to build the budding relationship between the two sides. Brown (6-8, 205) presents the frame that Baylor likes with its front court – long, lean and athletic.
“It was pretty exciting to get the Baylor offer,’’ Brown said. “I like the way they play. I’ve talked to them here and there and they said they think I would be a good fit for what they do with their system.’’
Brown had a first-hand look at the Ferrell Center in February when he came up for the West Virginia game, at 78-66 win on Feb. 28 (when Baylor had its blackout).
“You could tell that they like to push the ball and like to play at a fast pace,’’ Brown said. “Everybody was involved.’’
Brown had a strong performance at the Great American Shootout in Duncanville earlier this month. However, he suffered a bruised knee in Kansas City and wasn’t able to finish the tournament. The injury is not considered serious.
While most of his college career will probably be spent playing in the block, he isn’t bashful about stepping out and taking one beyond the arc. “If I’m open for a 3-pointer, I’ll take it,’’ he said.
The next few days should be important on where Brown wants to take his recruitment. He said he plans on narrowing his choices before setting up official visits. He wants to sign in November. At this point, it’s unclear where Baylor stands.
“For now, I’m just being more confident with what I’m doing and getting stronger,’’ Brown said. “I think I’m going to talk with my coaches and decide what’s best for me.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
The unexpected surprise
Rivals rates Alpharetta, GA 2016 point guard Kobi Simmons as its No. 8 player in the country. When Baylor coaches watched Starkville, MS smooth handler Tyson Carter go against him last week in Las Vegas, they liked what they saw.
Simmons dropped 25 points including several threes in that highly anticipate matchup. On Tuesday, Baylor offered.
“We were not expecting it, but we got a lot of calls when we got off the road,’’ said Carter’s father Greg who is also his coach at Starkville High School. “But right now, we’re pretty much open.’’
Time will tell how many other program will follow Baylor. Carter already has offers from Mississippi State, Iowa State, Memphis, Ole Miss, Miami (FL) and UNLV. But performances like the one against Simmons can change a lot of minds and open a lot of eyes.
Carter (6-4, 170) led Starkville to the Mississippi Class 6A state championship. He averaged 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. But his confidence and stock rose because of what he did this summer. He shot 48 percent from 3-point range and 56 percent for the season.
The relationship with Baylor is just beginning. But the one element that Baylor has going for it is that there is family nearby in Marlin.
“He’s always handled the ball really well growing up, but his shot has taken over the last year,’’ the elder Carter said. “That really showed up in July. We haven’t started narrowing anything down yet. But once we do, and if Tyson wants to take a visit [to Baylor], then we’ll definitely do it.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
Basketball notables
>Baylor is going head to head with Kansas for the likes of Katy Cy Lakes 2016 point guard De’Aaron Fox and Dallas Prime Prep 2016 shooting guard Terrance Ferguson. There has been some speculation that if Baylor can land Ferguson, Fox could join him. Fox is rated No. 9 and Ferguson is No. 11 in the Rivals 150.
>The Bears still appear to be in pretty good position to stay in the race for Austin St. Stephens Episcopal School power forward Jarrett Allen, No. 17 in the 2016 Rivals150. However, the emergence of Duke in DeSoto 2016 center Marques Bolden (No. 14) might have changed things.
>Baylor kept to the SEC theme with its non-conference schedule for 2015-16. The Bears are also playing Vanderbilt at the Ferrell Center (date unknown). This is basically the completion of a home-and-home (not really but the two sides decided to make seem like one) with the Commodores, who advanced to the NIT quarterfinals in 2014-15. Baylor won at Vanderbilt in the Big 12-SEC challenge. Baylor’s other SEC games are at Texas A&M in December and home against Georgia on Jan. 30 in the 2015-16 Big 12-SEC challenge. Baylor plays at Oregon on Nov. 16.
>We still expect everything involving the arrest of Rico Gathers to be solved in the coming weeks. Details are sketchy but the word we’re hearing is that this will be pleaded down. Baylor head coach Scott Drew has said he will await final word from judicial system before he hands down his own. Gathers was arrested in June for the stealing $170 worth of merchandise at a local Wal Mart.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Alexander back in the market
Lancaster athlete Tyrell Alexander decided to reopen his recruitment this past weekend and part ways with Oklahoma State.
“I just wanted to reopen things and look at all of my options,” Alexander said. “It’s only been a few days, but I have already started to hear from some coaches. Baylor, SMU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Houston, LSU and Tennessee have all reached out.
“Coach (Jeff) Lebby from Baylor reached out this week. He didn’t really keep in touch with me while I was committed, but wants to stay in touch.”
Alexander’s teammate at Lancaster, safety Kenan Ivy, is a Baylor commitment. Have the two discussed possibly playing together at Baylor?
“I mean, we are friends and have talked about playing together before, but not for a long time and not really about Baylor,” Alexander said. “I’m still wide open right now and looking at some schools that I might visit, but I would be interested if the Baylor coaches start to really recruit me.”
Listed as an athlete, Alexander plays both wide receiver and defensive back. Depending on the school, the standout prospect is being recruited at both positions.
“Yes, some schools see me playing wide receiver and some see me playing defensive back,” Alexander said. “Arkansas, Tulsa and West Virginia are a few schools recruiting me to play defensive back. I know that Texas Tech sees me playing wide receiver, but I’m not really sure where Baylor wants me to play though.”
Although it’s been less than a week since he reopened his recruitment, the 6-foot-1, 169-pound prospect does know of a few programs that he would like to visit.
“For now, I want to visit Arizona State, West Virginia and Texas Tech,” Alexander said. “My family doesn’t want me to go very far away for school, but if I have to, then I will.”
Rated a three-star prospect, Alexander is the No. 39 athlete in the nation and the No. 64 player on the Rivals.com Texas Spring Top 100 for the 2016 class.
-Matt Clare
Will Cleveland visit?
Houston Westfield wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland narrowed his options down to 10 programs earlier this summer, including Baylor among his top schools.
The standout receiver planned to visit Waco even more recently, but his travel plans fell through.
“I would like to visit Baylor, but my ride up there didn’t work out,” Cleveland said. “I ended up taking a visit to Arkansas last week instead. I’m going to Texas A&M this weekend and I’m planning a visit to Oklahoma before the season starts.”
Cleveland remains in touch with Baylor offensive coordinator Kendal Briles on a weekly basis and likes the message from the Bears play caller.
“The opportunity at Baylor is appealing because of their offense,” Cleveland said. “They are putting wide receivers into the league every year and the facts speak for themselves with their production at the position. I just need to figure out a day and time where I can get up there for a visit now.”
Whether before or during the season, Cleveland would like to narrow his options even further and release a Top 5 list of programs.
“I’m thinking about looking at things and releasing a Top 5,” Cleveland said. “I have an official visit setup to Arizona State, but the rest of my visits are still open right now. My main goals are to see which coaches really want me, what program I’m comfortable with and the city I want to spend the next 4-5 years in.”
Rated a four-star prospect, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound prospect is the No. 44 receiver in the nation, the No. 235 prospect in the latest Rivals250 rankings and the No. 32 player on the Rivals.com Texas Spring Top 100 for the 2016 class.
-Matt Clare
Allen DE update
Allen defensive end Levi Onwuzurike named Baylor among his top programs earlier this summer and remains interested in the Bears, but the standout prospect has yet to take a visit to Waco this off season.
“No, I haven’t visited this summer,” Onwuzurike said. “I just haven’t had the time and probably won’t be able to visit before the season starts. If the opportunity is there, then I will take a visit and check everything out.”
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound prospect does continue to connect with Baylor linebackers coach Jim Gush.
“Things are going good with Baylor,” Onwuzurike said. “I’m talking with Coach Gush every other day. He’s a funny, goofy guy who is very persistent, but not too pushy either. The Baylor coaches have definitely made themselves one of the top programs in the nation and that is certainly something to look at.”
Onwuzurike is done with visits this off-season, but does have a few official visits in mind for this fall.
“I’m probably done with visits for the summer now,” Onwuzurike said. “I haven’t setup any of my official visits, but I did tell the Michigan and Washington coaches that I would be visiting this fall. The others are still open right now and I will sit down with my parents to look at the others.”
Rated a three-star prospect, Onwuzurike is the No. 23 weakside defensive end in the nation and the No. 63 player on the Rivals.com Texas Spring Top 100 for the 2016 class.
-Matt Clare
Emptying the Notebook
>Baylor is not expecting to be hosting any football visitors this weekend.
>As for the next week, we’ll probably have to wait until early in the week to see who is coming. Plano East 2017 LB Anthony Hines has said he was coming Tuesday (Aug. 4). However, Baylor doesn’t start workouts until Thursday (Aug. 6). So we’ll figure out if he’s coming Thursday or next Friday (Aug. 7) like others are. One big name that may be on line to show up next Friday is Texarkana Liberty-Eylau 2017 DE and Rivals No. 113 LaGaryonn Carson. He did not make it to Baylor for the first big recruiting event on June 24.
>Still keep hearing Euless Trinity 2016 DT Chris Daniels is visiting this weekend. But also got word that it could get pushed back. Obviously, we’ll keep digging around to make sure.
>Duncanville 2016 defensive back Bailey Phillips has said that Baylor has shown some interest in him. However, he would appear to be a third or fourth option at this point if at all. If Baylor does show more interest in him, it likely will be after the 2015 season.
-SicEmSports
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