By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
The Topper
A really cool note for Baylor 2023 offensive line commit Isaiah Robinson. The Arlington Lamar product is unclear if he will attend Baylor’s game on Saturday game against Texas State.
Why? He’s auditioning for all-state choir that morning. Hours after Lamar plays Mesquite Friday, Robinson must report by 7:15 a.m. He has no idea when he will be called.
Many of you recall his passion for the fine arts. Robinson is a baritone. The audition is for Bass 1 and Tenors 1 and 2. He said he can sing Bass 1 but will audition as a Tenor 2.
Recruiting notables
There’s nothing imminent from a commitment standpoint with these two 2024 prospects. This also doesn’t mean they will commit to Baylor. Having said that, I believe Baylor is in a really good position with two.
>Lucas Lovejoy linebacker Payton Pierce: I expect this recruiting scenario to move into 2023 and possibly through the spring for the Rivals No. 35 prospect. However, I do believe Baylor is sitting well based on the things I have picked up in the past few weeks. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Bears eventually make a finalist list and maybe go further than that. Then it comes down if the staff can get across the finish line with him.
>Forney defensive back Aaron Flowers: You know that he has been to Waco on several occasions and has developed a real strong bond with the staff. I feel a little stronger on his chances of committing to the Bears over Pierce just because of his affinity for Waco. Just speculation here, but I do think he could be a commitment like Austin Novosad was when Novosad committed to Baylor after the early signing period. Flowers is No. 197 in the Rivals 250.
>The list of notable Texas State attendees is below. However, the list for Oct. 1 against Oklahoma State should be huge with a lot of big names expected to come.
Texas State visitors
With an 11:00 a.m. kickoff and many players going through Saturday morning film session, that impacts things. But here’s the list of the notable prospects who told SicEmSports they plan to attend.
2023
Hawkins Polley, TE, Houston Stratford (Baylor commit)
Taurean York, LB, Temple (Baylor commit) – If film doesn’t run too long
LeVar Thornton, DB, Keller Timber Creek (Baylor commit)
Dawson Pendergrass, RB, Mineola (Baylor commit)
Trent Thomas, DE, Fort Bend Marshall (Baylor commit)
Wes Tucker, OL, Argyle (Baylor commit)
2024
Tucker Parks, QB, Klein Collins (Baylor interest)
Dozie Ezukanma, WR, Keller Timber Creek (Baylor interest)
Armstrong Nnodim, Ath, Mesquite Horn (Baylor interest)
Kristopher Wokomah, DB, Arlington Bowie (Baylor offer)
Max Wang, OL, Houston Memorial (Baylor interest)
Kewan Lacy, Ath, Lancaster (Baylor interest)
2025
Juan-Milleon Aguilar, DB, Dallas Bishop Dunne (Baylor interest)
Gracen Harris, WR, Ennis (Baylor offer)
Baylor talking Texas State
Baylor running back Sqwirl Williams gave his thoughts on what came out of BYU and what Baylor must do moving forward.
Sqwirl Williams
(What did it mean for you to be so involved in the running game?) You know, it meant a lot to me just to be able to go out there and help my team and be the best thing that I could just to put us in a position to win.
(Carried the ball 17 times, do you like that kind of workload?) I'm never gonna turn down any carries. We prepare every day just as [if] you're the starter, so when they call your number, you [are] ready to go out there and work, and that's what I was able to do.
(With Taye questionable, how much more does that put on the rest of you guys at that position?) Losing Taye, it hurts, but everybody in the room, they prepare like the starter. I'm sure everybody in the room is ready to go out there, and if their number’s called, they're ready to go out there and play.
(What do you see from Texas State's defense?) I think they're a really good defense. They got a couple guys returning, a couple guys that can really go, I’d like to see how we match up.
(What made you ready for that type of workload this year?) I would just say showing up every day, preparing myself, being in the treatment room working on my body, so when I get that opportunity to go out there and get more carries than I usually would receive that my body's ready to go and it’s able to handle it.
(Knee injuries motivated you to get back on the field?) Yes, I would say so. My health means everything to me and being able to stay healthy and stay on the field, it means a lot to me to be able to go out there and help my team.
(Are you strong, comfortable on that leg?) I went through rehab all last year. I did a lot of rehab this offseason. So, I feel like it's very strong and a lot more comfortable than I was last year.
(Can make cuts and stuff?) Yeah, I can make all the cuts that I need to make.
(What was that point where you felt fully comfortable again) It took a while to get back to that point, but I would say the spring game. It really showed me and gave me my confidence back to get me to the point where I felt like I was ready to go and be able to go out there and do those things that I was able to do before I had that injury.
(How do you improve yards per carry?) Being more intentional with our tracks, being more intentional with footwork. Going out there, we've been in meeting rooms getting things corrected so we're gonna go out there and fix those things and turn those two yards, three yards gains into six, seven and maybe even 40.
(On Qualan Jones) Qualan stepped up big time for us against BYU. He showed me a lot of things that a lot of guys in the room knew that he can do, but going out there and putting it on film really showed a lot to a lot of people
(Midfield, 4th and 6, did you want to go for it?) They [the coaches] have an analytics chart. They handle all of that. We're just players. If they call it on fourth-and-sixth and they hand you the ball off you just gotta go get it, it’s what it is.
SicEmSports Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports unveils its looks at the league who in its view deserves to be ranked where. Agree or disagree, here’s how they look.
1. Oklahoma – Sooners visit Nebraska in renewal of a one-time great rivalry
2. Baylor – Passing game has some work to do
3. Oklahoma State – The performance against Arizona State a better indication
4. Texas— Well, they look the part of a solid team
5. Iowa State – A huge road win at cross-state rival Iowa
6. Kansas State – Wildcats’ defense has been impressive
7. TCU – An embarrassing hype video was pulled from social media
8. Kansas – Couldn’t even tell you the last time the Jayhawks were here
9. Texas Tech – Joey McGuire’s first test is in the Carolinas
10. West Virginia – Will Neal Brown survive the season?
Big 12 Weekend
A look at the Big 12 schedule for the upcoming weekend. All games are Saturday unless otherwise listed. Rankings are from the coaches and AP polls. All times are central. TV is listed.
Texas State (1-1) at No. 17/19 Baylor (1-1); 11:00 a.m., McLane Stadium Waco (FS1)
Series: Baylor leads, 8-0
Notable: Family weekend at Baylor. Bears want mom and dad to have a nice weekend.
No. 6/6 Oklahoma (2-0) at Nebraska (1-2); 11:00 a.m., Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE (FOX)
Series: Oklahoma leads, 46-38-3
Notable: Brent Venables first road game as head coach but he and the Sooners travel to a site where the head coach Scott Frost was fired.
Towson (2-0) at West Virginia (0-2); Noon, Milan-Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV (ESPN+)
Series: West Virginia leads, 1-0
Notable: The Mountaineers need to feel good about themselves after losses to Pitt and Kansas last week were either suffered late in the fourth quarter or in overtime.
Ohio (1-1) at Iowa State (2-0); 1:00 p.m., Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA (ESPN+)
Series: Iowa State leads, 7-0
Notable: A lot of confidence from the Cyclones who found a way to win at Iowa City scoring just 10 points. Cyclone defense playing with a lot of confidence.
Tulane (2-0) at Kansas State (2-0); 2:00 p.m., Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS (ESPN+)
Series: Tulane, 1-0
Notable: The only meeting between these two was in 1988 when Kansas State was beyond horrible. KSU RB Deuce Vaughn averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
Kansas (2-0) at Houston (1-1); 3:00 p.m., TDECU Stadium, Houston (ESPNU)
Series: Kansas, 3-0
Notable: Jayhawks playing with a lot of confidence with their road overtime win at West Virginia. Houston’s first two games have gone to extra periods, a triple OT 37-35 win at UTSA and a double OT 33-30 loss at Texas Tech.
UAPB (2-0) at No. 8/7 Oklahoma State; 6:00 p.m., Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK (ESPN+)
Series: First meeting
Notable: Cowboys starters should be out of this guarantee game by halftime. QB Spencer Sanders near 800 total offensive yards through the first two games.
Texas Tech (2-0) at No. 16/12 NC State (2-0); 6:00 p.m., Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC (ESPN2)
Series: NC State leads, 4-1
Notable: Interesting QB battle. Texas Tech’s Donovan Smith has thrown for 559 yards and six scores. Wolfpack veteran QB Devin Leary has thrown for 449 yard and five TDs.
UTSA (1-1) at No. 21/20 Texas (1-1); 7:00 p.m. Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin (LHN)
Series: First meeting
Notable: The Road Runners have been involved in games decided by two and three points. Texas lost a heartbreaker to Alabama and is without QB Quinn Ewers at least through mid-October with a collarbone injury.
Publisher
The Topper
A really cool note for Baylor 2023 offensive line commit Isaiah Robinson. The Arlington Lamar product is unclear if he will attend Baylor’s game on Saturday game against Texas State.
Why? He’s auditioning for all-state choir that morning. Hours after Lamar plays Mesquite Friday, Robinson must report by 7:15 a.m. He has no idea when he will be called.
Many of you recall his passion for the fine arts. Robinson is a baritone. The audition is for Bass 1 and Tenors 1 and 2. He said he can sing Bass 1 but will audition as a Tenor 2.
Recruiting notables
There’s nothing imminent from a commitment standpoint with these two 2024 prospects. This also doesn’t mean they will commit to Baylor. Having said that, I believe Baylor is in a really good position with two.
>Lucas Lovejoy linebacker Payton Pierce: I expect this recruiting scenario to move into 2023 and possibly through the spring for the Rivals No. 35 prospect. However, I do believe Baylor is sitting well based on the things I have picked up in the past few weeks. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Bears eventually make a finalist list and maybe go further than that. Then it comes down if the staff can get across the finish line with him.
>Forney defensive back Aaron Flowers: You know that he has been to Waco on several occasions and has developed a real strong bond with the staff. I feel a little stronger on his chances of committing to the Bears over Pierce just because of his affinity for Waco. Just speculation here, but I do think he could be a commitment like Austin Novosad was when Novosad committed to Baylor after the early signing period. Flowers is No. 197 in the Rivals 250.
>The list of notable Texas State attendees is below. However, the list for Oct. 1 against Oklahoma State should be huge with a lot of big names expected to come.
Texas State visitors
With an 11:00 a.m. kickoff and many players going through Saturday morning film session, that impacts things. But here’s the list of the notable prospects who told SicEmSports they plan to attend.
2023
Hawkins Polley, TE, Houston Stratford (Baylor commit)
Taurean York, LB, Temple (Baylor commit) – If film doesn’t run too long
LeVar Thornton, DB, Keller Timber Creek (Baylor commit)
Dawson Pendergrass, RB, Mineola (Baylor commit)
Trent Thomas, DE, Fort Bend Marshall (Baylor commit)
Wes Tucker, OL, Argyle (Baylor commit)
2024
Tucker Parks, QB, Klein Collins (Baylor interest)
Dozie Ezukanma, WR, Keller Timber Creek (Baylor interest)
Armstrong Nnodim, Ath, Mesquite Horn (Baylor interest)
Kristopher Wokomah, DB, Arlington Bowie (Baylor offer)
Max Wang, OL, Houston Memorial (Baylor interest)
Kewan Lacy, Ath, Lancaster (Baylor interest)
2025
Juan-Milleon Aguilar, DB, Dallas Bishop Dunne (Baylor interest)
Gracen Harris, WR, Ennis (Baylor offer)
Baylor talking Texas State
Baylor running back Sqwirl Williams gave his thoughts on what came out of BYU and what Baylor must do moving forward.
Sqwirl Williams
(What did it mean for you to be so involved in the running game?) You know, it meant a lot to me just to be able to go out there and help my team and be the best thing that I could just to put us in a position to win.
(Carried the ball 17 times, do you like that kind of workload?) I'm never gonna turn down any carries. We prepare every day just as [if] you're the starter, so when they call your number, you [are] ready to go out there and work, and that's what I was able to do.
(With Taye questionable, how much more does that put on the rest of you guys at that position?) Losing Taye, it hurts, but everybody in the room, they prepare like the starter. I'm sure everybody in the room is ready to go out there, and if their number’s called, they're ready to go out there and play.
(What do you see from Texas State's defense?) I think they're a really good defense. They got a couple guys returning, a couple guys that can really go, I’d like to see how we match up.
(What made you ready for that type of workload this year?) I would just say showing up every day, preparing myself, being in the treatment room working on my body, so when I get that opportunity to go out there and get more carries than I usually would receive that my body's ready to go and it’s able to handle it.
(Knee injuries motivated you to get back on the field?) Yes, I would say so. My health means everything to me and being able to stay healthy and stay on the field, it means a lot to me to be able to go out there and help my team.
(Are you strong, comfortable on that leg?) I went through rehab all last year. I did a lot of rehab this offseason. So, I feel like it's very strong and a lot more comfortable than I was last year.
(Can make cuts and stuff?) Yeah, I can make all the cuts that I need to make.
(What was that point where you felt fully comfortable again) It took a while to get back to that point, but I would say the spring game. It really showed me and gave me my confidence back to get me to the point where I felt like I was ready to go and be able to go out there and do those things that I was able to do before I had that injury.
(How do you improve yards per carry?) Being more intentional with our tracks, being more intentional with footwork. Going out there, we've been in meeting rooms getting things corrected so we're gonna go out there and fix those things and turn those two yards, three yards gains into six, seven and maybe even 40.
(On Qualan Jones) Qualan stepped up big time for us against BYU. He showed me a lot of things that a lot of guys in the room knew that he can do, but going out there and putting it on film really showed a lot to a lot of people
(Midfield, 4th and 6, did you want to go for it?) They [the coaches] have an analytics chart. They handle all of that. We're just players. If they call it on fourth-and-sixth and they hand you the ball off you just gotta go get it, it’s what it is.
SicEmSports Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports unveils its looks at the league who in its view deserves to be ranked where. Agree or disagree, here’s how they look.
1. Oklahoma – Sooners visit Nebraska in renewal of a one-time great rivalry
2. Baylor – Passing game has some work to do
3. Oklahoma State – The performance against Arizona State a better indication
4. Texas— Well, they look the part of a solid team
5. Iowa State – A huge road win at cross-state rival Iowa
6. Kansas State – Wildcats’ defense has been impressive
7. TCU – An embarrassing hype video was pulled from social media
8. Kansas – Couldn’t even tell you the last time the Jayhawks were here
9. Texas Tech – Joey McGuire’s first test is in the Carolinas
10. West Virginia – Will Neal Brown survive the season?
Big 12 Weekend
A look at the Big 12 schedule for the upcoming weekend. All games are Saturday unless otherwise listed. Rankings are from the coaches and AP polls. All times are central. TV is listed.
Texas State (1-1) at No. 17/19 Baylor (1-1); 11:00 a.m., McLane Stadium Waco (FS1)
Series: Baylor leads, 8-0
Notable: Family weekend at Baylor. Bears want mom and dad to have a nice weekend.
No. 6/6 Oklahoma (2-0) at Nebraska (1-2); 11:00 a.m., Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE (FOX)
Series: Oklahoma leads, 46-38-3
Notable: Brent Venables first road game as head coach but he and the Sooners travel to a site where the head coach Scott Frost was fired.
Towson (2-0) at West Virginia (0-2); Noon, Milan-Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV (ESPN+)
Series: West Virginia leads, 1-0
Notable: The Mountaineers need to feel good about themselves after losses to Pitt and Kansas last week were either suffered late in the fourth quarter or in overtime.
Ohio (1-1) at Iowa State (2-0); 1:00 p.m., Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA (ESPN+)
Series: Iowa State leads, 7-0
Notable: A lot of confidence from the Cyclones who found a way to win at Iowa City scoring just 10 points. Cyclone defense playing with a lot of confidence.
Tulane (2-0) at Kansas State (2-0); 2:00 p.m., Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS (ESPN+)
Series: Tulane, 1-0
Notable: The only meeting between these two was in 1988 when Kansas State was beyond horrible. KSU RB Deuce Vaughn averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
Kansas (2-0) at Houston (1-1); 3:00 p.m., TDECU Stadium, Houston (ESPNU)
Series: Kansas, 3-0
Notable: Jayhawks playing with a lot of confidence with their road overtime win at West Virginia. Houston’s first two games have gone to extra periods, a triple OT 37-35 win at UTSA and a double OT 33-30 loss at Texas Tech.
UAPB (2-0) at No. 8/7 Oklahoma State; 6:00 p.m., Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK (ESPN+)
Series: First meeting
Notable: Cowboys starters should be out of this guarantee game by halftime. QB Spencer Sanders near 800 total offensive yards through the first two games.
Texas Tech (2-0) at No. 16/12 NC State (2-0); 6:00 p.m., Carter-Finley Stadium, Raleigh, NC (ESPN2)
Series: NC State leads, 4-1
Notable: Interesting QB battle. Texas Tech’s Donovan Smith has thrown for 559 yards and six scores. Wolfpack veteran QB Devin Leary has thrown for 449 yard and five TDs.
UTSA (1-1) at No. 21/20 Texas (1-1); 7:00 p.m. Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin (LHN)
Series: First meeting
Notable: The Road Runners have been involved in games decided by two and three points. Texas lost a heartbreaker to Alabama and is without QB Quinn Ewers at least through mid-October with a collarbone injury.
