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: This is a little thin in the recruiting department from your publisher’s side. Obviously, I spent a lot of time working on the situation of Baylor playing its 2016 season opener in Sydney, Australia. We have some recruiting items. However, this is a time where the Baylor coaches are starting to take vacations so on-site visits are going to be hit and miss.
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SicEmSports reported Wednesday that negotiations for Baylor’s proposed 2016 season opener in Sydney, Australia are in the final stages.
However, this is a far different type of game than just setting up a home-and-home series between athletic directors. For this to work, there needs to be support and buy-in from several entities. This includes the conferences, television partners (FOX/ESPN) and the NCAA,
One of those final stages – one that could prolong the timeframe for making this happen – is receiving a waiver from the NCAA. At this point, we know the waiver issue has yet to be resolved.
A precedent that could come into play is what happened with the PAC 12’s recent announcement of the men’s college basketball game Nov. 13 in Shanghai, China between Washington and Texas. The PAC 12 found a corporate partner in the Alibaba Group. However, the game between the Huskies and Longhorns wasn’t packaged solely as an athletic event. There is also an educational angle.
In the PAC 12 release, the Alibaba Group created an academic program for the visiting student-athletes. While the game will be played in Shanghai, both teams will also travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou, China for an educational program there.
There is the possibility a similar academic program could be a part of this experience. That would mean that the teams could arrive in Sydney several days before the game for not only time adjustment but to participate in some educational exchange and then play.
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One of major driving forces for this game is PAC 12 commissioner Larry Scott. Since his arrival in 2009, Scott has been a visionary using the conference platform to advance the brand.
In 2013, Scott moved the PAC 12 postseason men’s basketball tournament to the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. At the end of this year’s tournament back in March, Scott announced the tournament was staying in Las Vegas as the agreement was extended to 2016.
Between the Washington-Texas men’s basketball game and the potential of playing this football game, the PAC 12’s short history of playing overseas is noteworthy is this piece released by the league.
Fast Facts about Pac-12 Globalization Initiative:
• Since starting the initiative in 2011, the Pac-12 has sent two men’s (UCLA, Arizona State) and the Cal women’s basketball teams, two all-star women’s volleyball teams, and one all-star men’s basketball team to compete in China.
• In the U.S., the Pac-12 has hosted three U.S.-China Symposiums on Collegiate Sports Development at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Pac-12 Basketball Tournaments.
• The Pac-12 has a key partnership with the Federation of University Sports of China (FUSC) for the Initiative. The FUSC is China’s national organization for university sports and operates under the Ministry of Education.
• Across Pac-12 institutions (undergrad and graduate), international students make up roughly 14 percent of the student body.
• More than 21,000 students (undergrad and grad) at Pac-12 institutions are from China.
• Basketball is the most popular sport in China with an estimated 300 million people playing the sport.
• 184 million Chinese viewers tuned into the Team China versus USA Dream Team Basketball Game during the Beijing Olympics.
This isn’t the first time the PAC 12 has looked at playing a football game in Australia. ESPN first that the PAC 12 and Mountain West Conferences have been in talks for several months about playing a bowl game in Melbourne in 2016.
In a press release on May 21 from Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium PR department: “While Etihad Stadium management is unable to be specific about a time for the event due to all the on-going logistics which need to be worked through, it believes the first game will take place during the Bowl season between mid-December, 2016 and mid-January, 2017.”
In May, Australian officials were in Phoenix for the PAC 12 and Mountain West Conference spring meetings. Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson told CBSSports.com then: “We have to get down to who’s going to give up what. You can’t on this one say, “What if we don’t have enough (bowl-eligible team),’ and then on Dec. 5 you send someone to Australia. You’re talking about 1,000 passports, 1,200 passports.’’
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As for locations in Sydney, HawkPeter laid out a choice in ANZ Stadium in his entry in main running thread.
To expand on that:
>ANZ Stadium was constructed in advance of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Its capacity is listed about 82,500 in an oval setting and 83,500 in a rectangular setting.
>Sydney Football Stadium, now known as Allianz Stadium, was built in 1988 and has a seating capacity of about 45,000. Its playing field is rectangular in shape and it has hosted rugby and soccer matches.
>Pirtek Stadium may get a courtesy look but that’s about it. While it hosts rugby matches, its seating capacity is only at 21,000.
So it would appear that if this game is going to materialize, ANZ has advantages over other venues. To stress again, no venue in Sydney has been selected.
But this the opportunity that Baylor and AD Ian McCaw have been waiting for and surely want to find a way to make this work. Consider on numerous occasions where McCaw has talked publicly about expanding the Baylor brand.
Baylor’s athletic success has triggered interest from recruits across the country. A chance to play what is believed to be the first college football game in this continent, would expand Baylor’s name to greater global heights.
This is a process. There are a lot of moving parts. Don’t pin Aug. 1 as an ironclad date, but it could be key time marker in terms of the game becoming reality.
We’ll keep you posted as developments warrant.
-Kevin Lonnquist
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2015 Recruiting Class: Who plays and who sits
With the start of fall camp six weeks away (Aug. 4), head coach Art Briles has never been shy to play freshmen. To name a few from the 2014 class, wide receivers KD Cannon and Davion Hall and defensive back Chance Waz played and contributed. Cannon wound up with a 1,000-yard season.
As for the 2015 class that’s at Baylor, this would be a good time to forecast who has the best opportunity of seeing the field. We’ll do this in alphabetical order.
>Henry Black, DB, Shreveport (LA) Woodlawn
Forecast: With a glut of youth in the secondary, Black would appear to be headed toward a redshirt. It would take an assortment of injuries and inconsistencies for Black to play.
>Riley Daniel, OL, Ringling, OK
Forecast: Redshirt
>Dominic Desouza, OL, City College of San Francisco
Forecast: He arrived in January as a December signee. He’s not on the current two-deep roster. But Baylor didn’t bring him here to sit either.
>Drew Galitz, P, Rowlett
Forecast: Baylor didn’t have a punter during spring workouts because Spencer Roth finished his career. Galitz is Baylor’s new punter.
>JaMycal Hasty, RB, Longview
Forecast: Baylor may treat him as a redshirt without ever publicly coming out and saying it. Hasty appears to be beyond his back issues. If he performs well in fall camp – maybe as a slot receiver – the coaching staff may be tempted to play him. It could be a week-by-week situation.
>Jameson Houston, DB, Austin St. Michael's
Forecast: Coming from private school football to Division I college football is quite the move. This should be a redshirt.
>Tyrone Hunt, DE, Arp
Forecast: Unknown because it isn’t known if he can get through the NCAA Clearinghouse
>Clay Johnston, Ath, Abilene Wylie
Forecast: Earlier this spring, Johnston shared with us that linebacker may not be his primary position. Baylor could look at him at several positions. This will be a fall camp to experiment. He should still redshirt.
>Lenoy Jones, LB, Waco Midway
Forecast: He wants to prove he can play at the P5 level. Baylor coaches likely want him to redshirt.
>J.W. Ketchum, Ath, Houston Lamar
Forecast: This is probably the X-factor of this group. He’s a tremendous athlete. There’s a chance he could see the field this year. If Baylor is in blowout situations in September, maybe you see him.
>Blake Lynch, WR, Gilmer
Forecast: He arrived in January. That would tell you that Baylor has something in mind. If Baylor ran its version of the Wildcat, would he be the one?
>Tony Nicholson, DB, South Grand Prairie
Forecast: Like Black, there really doesn’t seem to be a place for Nicholson. He’s not very big at 5-9 171. He could stand a redshirt and full calendar year in Kaz Kazadi’s strength and conditioning program.
>Eric Ogor, LB, Richmond Foster
Forecast: He’s likely a candidate to be a future Bear LB. But he’s not going to unseat Travon Blanchard and Patrick Levels.
>Maurice Porter, OL, Navarro
Forecast: He arrives on campus around July 9. Given Baylor’s depth concerns with the offensive line, it’s probably safe to assume the coaches want him to have a big fall camp so he figure into the two-deep. Porter doesn’t have to break into it in September. But October would be important.
>Jarrett Stidham, QB, Stephenville
Forecast: More than likely, he’s Seth Russell’s backup. Stidham’s playing time will just depend week to week. But expect to see him under center.
>Devontre Stricklin, WR, Waco Midway
Forecast: With the glut of talented young receivers on the roster, it’s hard to envision him seeing the field.
>Sam Tecklenburg, TE, Plano
Forecast: He came to Baylor as a tight end so it’s probably important for the coaching staff for Tecklenburg to become comfortable with the expectations of his new position. He played tight end at Plano. However, there’s an adjustment he has to make.
>Jordan Tolbert, DB, Fort Bend Ridge Point
Forecast: He’s back from the torn ACL he suffered in the spring of 2014. But look for Baylor’s training staff to take his recovery/rehab to a higher level.
>Jordan Williams, LB, Paris
Forecast: Should be a redshirt
-Kevin Lonnquist
Breakfast with McCaw
Baylor AD Ian McCaw was at a Baylor Bear Foundation Breakfast on Thursday in Dallas. Here were some of the items that he shared about the state of Baylor athletics as were told to SicEmSports.
>Baylor’s Athletic budget for 2015-2016 will be $92 million. That should fall somewhere in the middle of the conference budgets. When he took over in 2002, it was $26 million. Note: It is believed that Texas’ budget is at $180M, twice the size of Baylor.
>The Baylor Bear Foundation continues to grow. There are nearly 6,000 members. For the first time ever, the Foundation has raised enough to cover all student athlete scholarships for the upcoming school year. As of March, $2.25M had been raised through March. This is largest amount raised.
>The next new facility the school is raising money for is an on-campus golf practice facility. Once the athletic department has the fundraising commitments, it will be taken it to the board of regents.
>Football has a waiting list of about 9,000 seats. After re-seating, it’s expected to drop to about 5,000. It appears that Baylor will be 1,200 to non-renewal. Plus, there will be an opening of more seats that are typically held back in the first year due to construction, sight line impairment, etc. However, McLane Stadium should be full. There will be a wait list which is the first time that’s ever happened.
>The average student-athlete GPA for last semester was 3.25. In all sports Baylor is either #1 or #2 in the conference in GPA.
>If the game in 2016 can be resolved, the next non-conference game to be examined would be in 2019.
-SicEmSports
Obi Eboh moving on?
Southlake Carroll 2016 DB Obi Eboh picked up his 29th offer recently when Iowa State extended last week. But Baylor still hasn’t. At this point, that likely won’t be changing.
Eboh (6-2, 190) said he last spoke with Baylor linebackers coach Jim Gush before the June 5 camp at Richardson Pearce. Eboh had an invitation to visit with the staff. However, he had a conflict and could not attend.
Last year, Eboh went through camps in Waco and at Lake Highlands. Unless something were to drastically change, it appears there’s not going to be a connection between Baylor and Eboh.
“If Baylor offered, I would think about it and consider them,’’ Eboh said. “But I’m so far down the road, I’m really not sure how much it would affect my decision.’’
Eboh said he wants to make his commitment decision before the Dragons begin the 2015 season in late August.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Emptying the Notebook
>We mentioned Lancaster 2017 wide receiver Omar Manning from the June 7 camp at Baylor. The word we received is that Baylor came away very impressed with his performance and wants to watch him a little more during the 2015 season before it considers moving forward with an offer. However, if Manning’s performance in September is as good as what Baylor saw nearly two weeks ago, then an offer could be in his future. Manning is a big target at 6-3, 200.
>One 2017 DB Baylor wants to see more of is Port Arthur Memorial’s Kary Vincent (5-11, 155). The son of former Texas A&M wide receiver Kary Vincent, Vincent made news two weeks ago when he ran a 4.38 40 at Texas A&M’s camp. Vincent said Baylor wants to see him at the July 17 camp at Bellaire High School.
>New Orleans McDonogh 35 defensive tackle Stephon Taylor (6-5, 300) does have an offer from Baylor. However, he has had infrequent contact with the coaching staff.
>While Baylor has established a connection with Norman (OK) 2017 point guard Trae Young, don’t look for a summer visit from him yet. That may be in the fall. Baylor offered Young back in January.
-SicEmSports
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