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SicEmSports Mailbag

k lonnquist

Well-Known Member
Mar 10, 2009
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Matt Clare and I now answer your questions regarding Baylor recruiting. We look forward to doing more of these in the future.

Q:In terms of your best estimate, has the plan for 2016 for Baylor been to take 2 WRs? Given that we are very high on Duvernay and Dickson, we just offered Tyrie Cleveland who is an elite talent, and it appears Kendal is going to Florida this week to see Nate Craig and potentially Eli Stove....do you see a scenario whereby Baylor might take 3 WRs for 2016? Granted, I realize we aren't going to get each and every player we want at any position, but with so many quality options and very highly rated guys that we are in on, could taking 3 be a realistic option our coaches may seriously consider?

A: I can see a scenario where Baylor will take three. Time will tell if Baylor can reclaim Dickson and the more this drags on, the better I like Baylor’s chances. Consider some of the other de-commitments from 2015 and 2016. When they de-committed, they went elsewhere quickly. For instance, Keshawn Somerville switched to TCU within two weeks. John Humphrey switched to Oklahoma within a month. I think Dickson is now starting to see the whole world of recruiting. That’s fine. Going with my instincts, but I think he’s re-committing. While the odds of that happening are long, it’s also not unprecedented. I’m also not buying the talk about Duvernay no longer considering Baylor until he were to commit someone else. Baylor was one of the first to go after him and make an impression. He’s been down there several times. There’s too much equity built. If Baylor adds a third receiver, it may be an unknown. If it’s not Waco La Vega’s Brandon Benson, keep an eye on Temple’s Davion Curtis. He’s a 3-star receiver with an impressive growing offer list. Baylor came to see him last week and invited him to a camp.
-Kevin


Q: Kevin mentioned this week that Baylor went by Cedar Hill to watch 2017's Jaylon Jackson and others. Jaylon has camped with Baylor in the past and the Cedar Hill coaches are VERY high on Jaylon and his importance to Cedar Hill's team for these next two seasons. How close do you think Baylor is to offering Jaylon at this time? Will Jaylon likely have to wait until camp season this summer to show out again in front of our coaches before that offer comes his way?

A: I think the earliest Jackson is offered is during the camp season. But for some reason, I’m starting to look at his situation very similar to Southlake Carroll 2016 safety Obi Eboh. There’s no doubt there has been a lot of interest. There have been countless visits and interaction. And yet something is keeping Baylor from offering Eboh. They may never do that. Jackson has grown quite a bit since the last year and is filling out. But Baylor is being very selective with its 2017 offers at this time.
-Kevin

Q: Who are the Bears looking at for the Defensive Tackle position and how many will they take?

A:
It’s looking like Baylor wants to secure three defensive tackles. They’re losing Beau Blackshear, Suleiman Masumbuko and Trevor Clemons-Valdez after this season. Andrew Billings could declare for the 2016 draft. So the major targets are going to be previous commit Jordan Elliott, Spring’s Bravvion Roy, recent offer in Duncanville’s Marcel Southall who is not just erupting with offers. Baylor has eight known offers to 2016 recruits. I wouldn’t be surprised if they keep looking into the JUCO ranks for help.
-Kevin

Q: Rank our recruiters and any pattern to how they are assigned to recruits?

A:
In a very tight race, I think your top recruiter is Kendal Briles followed by Jim Gush and then Jeff Lebby, Randy Clements and Chris Achuff. But make no mistake, this group is really good at what it does. We’ve had all four of them in our Rivals all-Big 12 top recruiter awards based on who they landed. Gush and Lebby usually stay in DFW but will branch out to other top names. For instance, Gush is recruiting Dontavious Jackson and Jordan Carmouche pretty hard. Kendal Briles is usually in the Houston area, but he’s working on Devin Duvernay. Pretty easy to see why. You want the top position recruits to get to know the guy who will be coaching them for the next 4-5 years.
-Kevin

Q: Saban, Fisher, Meyer, Sumlin, Stoops, Strong, Mack Brown all have zero high school coaching experience. And they've been top recruiters everywhere, not just at the blue blood programs they lead now. Just how important do you think that factor is? Seems way overrated. Malzahn and Briles are about the only ones I can think of with any significant time in HS.


A: Hugh Freeze at Ole Miss has a high school background. So does SMU’s Chad Morris. I really believe it’s about your personality and how you can draw people to you and create that bond. As long as you can communicate your message and convince someone that he can be a part of this and use a language they will understand, that’s half the battle. Art’s high school background helped him immensely because he never left Texas when he went on to coach in college. Those relationships sustained over the years. All of those coaches have been pretty good communicators over the years. And they have a way of getting their kids to play hard for them.
-Kevin


Q: Call it right now: best WR we sign?

A:
Devin Duvernay
-Kevin


Q: You guys talk to recruits all the time. I'm trying to put myself in my 16 year old mindset and how the factors we read about all the time would influence me on college selection.

Program prestige and recent success: very very high
Chance at early playing time: very very high
Other likely signees at my position: very very high
Coaching staff, particularly position coach and coordinator: very high
Girlfriends opinion: very high
Other likely signees in my class: very high
Campus atmosphere: high
Facilities: high to medium
Academics: medium
Proximity to home: medium
Uniforms: medium
Living arrangements: medium to low
City attractiveness/things to do: low
Parents opinion: low to medium
High school friends opinion: low to zero
High school coach's opinion: low to zero

How do you think those factors, or others really rank, i.e. I don't think most of these kids really draw much distinction between Waco, Austin or Tuscaloosa at all.


A: This assessment is pretty fair. But I would rate academics, living arrangements and facilities higher. While it may be just a throwaway line that a recruit said he liked the facilities, the kids know college football is an arms race. The more big shiny toys they have at their disposal, the more that will appeal to them. Heck, Baylor is building a $6 million BANC for all of the student-athlete’s nutrition. Results will always win the day. But when you build on and add on to what you currently have, it shows the commitments. Keep in mind, Baylor has committed well over $300 million in athletic facilities and two Big 12 championships later…
-Kevin


Q: I know that the coaches are planning on somewhere around 18-22 for the class and have 8 so far. Therefore we have about 10-14 remaining. Could y'all do a rundown of each position, the remaining number of recruits projected to be signed, who the primary/secondary targets are, timeframe/likelihood of visits?

A: Yes, the coaches are taking a somewhat smaller class, but have already addressed several needs early in the process for 2016.

QB and RB are both taken care of with solid commitments, and with nationally ranked prospects. The two OL commits are also both solid bookends at the tackle position. All in all, the offensive side of the ball is already looking very promising early on for this 2016 class and is allowing the coaching staff to be very picky when it comes to WR prospects.

The coaches have four defensive backs committed on the defensive side of the ball and several additional offers out to other 2016 prospects. The LB and DL positions both need to be addressed moving forward. The coaches should look at add at least 3-4 LB and DL prospects to this class.

I will hold back on the primary/secondary targets list for now because I’m still in the process of putting together a ‘hot board’ for this 2016 class that will answer all of those questions.
-Matt


Q: What are your thoughts on recruiting athletes as early as their freshman or sophomore years in high school when many don't physically mature until much later?

A: I think that it’s simply where recruiting is now days. Whenever there are 6-foot-6+ and 300-pound+ underclassmen at that age, then you can guarantee college coaches are going to take notice. I actually just got home from watching Houston (TX) Episcopal practice today and their head coach pointed out a soon to be sophomore slot receiver that just qualified for the state finals in the 100m.
-Matt


Q: In your opinion, what makes the greater difference in the preparation of a student athlete, playing in a high level, competitive district or working with a quality high school coaching staff?

A: I would say it always depend on the kid, competitive district or not. A quality coaching staff will always have more bearing on whether or not the kid develops on the field, but playing in a competitive district is overrated in my opinion. Players can player and fast players are fast, etc/etc.
-Matt


Q: How much do you think variances in student athlete cash stipends will impact recruiting?

I think it would be foolish to say that these new cash stipends will not have some sort of an effect on recruiting, but in the big picture they really shouldn’t make a big difference. Most of the student athletes will continue to gravitate towards the ‘blue bloods’ and national programs, making their decisions based on a wide variety of things and weighing all of their options.

A: After covering college football recruiting for a while now, I can honestly say that relationships and the overall plan win out with recruits more than anything else. Even before the cash stipends were announced, everything from the facilities to the academic support and so on at major college football programs was always geared and designed to ‘wow’ the players themselves. This is just a ‘bonus’ now.
-Matt
 
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