NOTE: Longview 2015 running back JaMycal Hasty reconfirmed Thursday that he will be coming to Baylor and visit on Saturday. He wouldn't disclose anything specific, but he said there were still a few more things he needed to know about Baylor on this trip.

While there had been speculation that he was a Texas A&M lean, that talk might have cooled because the Aggies already have two running back commitments from Katy's Rodney Anderson and Splendora's Jay Bradford.

Hasty is a low-to-the-ground type of athlete who is very physical in his upper body. It's hard to say if he would commit to Baylor on this visit. If anything, the Bears coaching staff will continue to build equity. Don't count out the idea that if Hasty were to commit to Baylor, he could be a running back or athlete. He's that versatile.

Hasty did not attend last week's junior day because of a track meet. This is his second known visit to Baylor.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Football notes

Just to catch you up on some happenings as we wind toward the home stretch of the spring football season. Don't forget the controlled scrimmage (spring football game) is April 5 at the Highers Complex.


>Freshman WR Davion Hall (shoulder) likely won't return for the rest of the spring football season.

>LaQuan McGowan appears to be the starting left guard at this point. He's been in on most of the snaps with the first team. Obviously, there were high hopes for JUCO transfer Jarell Broxton to immediately step in and do it. But it sounds like we'll probably know where this is going when fall camp begins in August. Kyle Fuller still seems to have the inside track as the starting center.

>About DE Javonte Magee - the start San Antonio product has delivered a pretty good effort and his execution on plays has been pretty solid since the spring started. His attitude has been good. But that doesn't assure anything that he's back on the 2-deep. We'll just have to see how the final spring evaluations go before the roster is released. But he is on the right track.

>The word on JUCO college transfer LB Grant Campbell is that he's still dealing with a huge learning curve to the Division I game. But don't be alarmed by that. Remember, he's really spent only three weeks learning what his role is. By comparison, Eddie Lackey was in the same spot when he arrived two years ago. That seemed to work out fine.

>Is this the season where sophomore LB Aiavion Edwards takes his game to another level? Well, it would appear that Edwards, a native of Stephenville, has taken some very encouraging steps toward becoming an integral part of the defense. It's still a process but if his fall camp is even better than what he's showing in the spring (instincts, lateral movement) then he's on the right track.

>If the season were to start today, the secondary would comprise of Xavien Howard and Ryan Reid at corner and Terrence Singleton and Orion Stewart at safety. Remember Terrell Burt is out with a shoulder injury. Singleton has had an impressive camp so far. JUCO transfers Tion Wright and Chris Sanders are currently working second team. But given that Baylor likes to use a lot of players, those two will get plenty of playing time.

-SicEmSports



Baylor basketball: Time to reload

It's been said over and over again, but Scott Drew really performed a miracle turning the Baylor basketball team around. And I'm not talking about his first revival, the one he engineered after taking the Baylor job. It's the most recent one: Not giving up on his team after a 2-8 start to conference play, transforming the next-to-last place team in the Big 12 into the conference tournament runner-up and one of the final 16 teams alive in the NCAA tournament.


No matter what the preseason expectations were, the 2013-14 season should be considered a success. Just think about programs like Kansas, Duke and even Wichita State -- none of them made it as far as the Bears. Once given up for dead, the team found a way to right the ship, finish conference play 7-1, and play its best basketball in the month of March.


The ending against Wisconsin was anticlimactic, of course, but it shouldn't be the lasting image of this year's team.


But where does Drew go from here? He loses three seniors, two of them (Cory Jefferson and Brady Heslip) who have been key components for the program going back a few seasons. Sophomore Isaiah Austin also has a decision to make, and he'll most likely head to the NBA. Baylor has a four-deep 2014 class so far but is still looking at at least one more piece (more on that later). As for the roster, I see it shaping up like this:


PG: Kenny Chery, Lester Medford (JUCO signee)

SG: Royce O'Neale, Al Freeman (2013-14 redshirt), Damiyne Durham (2014 signee), Kobie Eubanks (2014 commitment)

SF: Taurean Prince, Ish Wainright

F: Rico Gathers, Chad Rhykhoek

F: Jonathan Motley (2013-14 redshirt), TJ Maston (2014 signee)


The backcourt has a ton of options. Gone is the shooting threat of Heslip, but there is a lot of athleticism and potential scoring from a young group of guards. Notice I have O'Neale moving to guard; I put him there because I think Prince will work his way into the lineup as well, and playing Prince at PF instead would give Baylor a very small front court. I see O'Neale and Prince potentially starting together, unless one of the young guards steps up and wins the SG job, pushing O'Neale to SF.

The front court will be the biggest challenge to replace, especially if Austin goes pro. If he doesn't, this team looks pretty good on paper, with Austin at center and Gathers at PF. But that seems unlikely, forcing Baylor to become a guard-oriented team.


The one thing that could really help the front court? Read below as Baylor is still looking for one more big for this class.

-Jake Shaw



Bears eyeing JUCO post

With a small, inexperienced front court confronting Baylor's 2014-15 season, the solution to this potential problem could come from the JUCO ranks. Specifically, it could come from Lee College's Deng Deng, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward whom the Bears have not offered but are expected to do so soon.


His head coach, Roy Champagne, confirmed the interest on Deng's part.


"Deng is one of the top recruits in the country and Baylor has shown interest in him from the get go," he said. "It's one of his top choices."


Champagne didn't want to talk about Deng's recruitment much -- who his leaders were, who he felt like was doing the best job -- but he was effusive in praising Deng, an Australian native.


"He's a special player," Champagne said. "A versatile player is best way to describe him. He's 6-8. You can call him a point forward or a post. He plays outside, he bangs inside. He's great above the rim. He's a great passer and loves to block shots. He might not be great in one thing, but he's unbelievably good at all things."


Champagne did say that he expects Deng to start the decision-making process after the Final Four. Baylor should get an official visit out of him. He said Baylor's track record with foreign players shouldn't have an impact. The school that gets him will be one "that understands his game and doesn't make him something he's not."


What a program will get, he said, was a player that just keeps getting better.


"European style players tend to not want to bang and they tend to want to hang around outside and shoot set shots, so that's something that we worked on with Deng," Champagne said. "The way it's played here is physical. You can't just shoot set shots. He's a hard worker and has a lot or pride in himself and has been very open to coaching."

-Jake Shaw



Making the journey to Waco - Part 1

Bossier City (LA) Parkway 2016 DB C.J. Morgan and his father Courtney visited Baylor on Tuesday and spent a few hours taking in the campus and visiting with the coaching staff.

"We spent most of the morning in Coach [Phil] Bennett's office,'' Courtney said. "He didn't know about the stadium but has been very aware of the school with its academic reputation. We were very impressed with what we saw. It's a really beautiful school.''

Viewed as a pressing corner, Morgan visited Texas A&M on Monday and checked in at 5-10, 180. His father said the biggest thing that his son has to deal with is letting his aggressiveness work against him.

Baylor hasn't offered, but the older Morgan said they believe an offer could be coming in the near future. That could be weeks or maybe in the spring. Baylor is expected to visit.

"Coach Bennett and coach Buckels really like him,'' Courtney said. "They've been keeping an eye on him since [the Marshall camp last June] and look at him as a corner all the way.''

Morgan has offers from UCLA, UL-Lafayette, Mississippi State and San Diego State.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Making the journey to Waco - Part 2

Morgan's teammate, 2015 offensive lineman Kameron Eloph (6-3, 275) joined him on the visit and met with offensive line coach Randy Clements and got the same tour of the campus and other athletic facilities.

Like Morgan, Baylor has not offered but will use the spring to evaluate Eloph even more to see how and if he could be an offer candidate.

"They really really like me,'' Eloph said. "I like the facilities and how fast they came to get to know me. They said they are coming to my spring practices.''

Eloph said he believes his agility and ability to get to the next level throughout an entire game is very important. But he said he said he needs to keep his hips a little more square when it comes to pass protection.

Eloph already has offers from Georgia Tech, Louisville, Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Baseball Bears at West Virginia

Coming off a tough midweek 14-3 loss at UT-Arlington, the Bears make their first Big 12 roadtrip as they play at West Virginia with a 3-game series Friday-Sunday. All of the games are afternoon starts. Friday is at 1:00 p.m. Saturday is at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday (televised by FOX Sports 1) is at 12:30 p.m.

This will be West Virginia's (13-8) first Big 12 series. The Bears (13-11, 4-2 in Big 12) won the inaugural series in Waco last year two games to one.

Left-hander Brad Kuntz (4-0, 1.64 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday. Right-hander Austin Stone (3-1, 0.97) starts Saturday. Right-hander Dillon Newman (2-1, 2.86) will start Sunday.

For this team, it's always going to have to be about the pitching. Through the first 24 games, the leader in home runs is Sheppard Porter with two. The RBI leader is Mitch Price with 13.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Emptying the notebook

>Converse Judson 2015 3-star DB Keivon Ramsey said he was hoping to come up to Baylor and visit Saturday. The same is true for Manvel 2015 DB Gary Haynes (5-9, 159). Haynes said he has spoken a lot with Baylor but the staff has not been offered.


>While Baylor has secured 16 slips for sailgating near McLane Stadium none have been assigned yet, athletic director Ian McCaw said.


>South Grand Prairie athlete Tony Nicholson said earlier this week that Baylor remains very high on his list of schools he's considering.


>There were no known recruits visiting Thursday's practice.


>Don't forget the No. 2 seed Lady Bears (31-4) will take on No. 3 seed Kentucky (26-8) in the South Bend Regional Semifinal at 11:00 a.m. Saturday. The game will be on ESPN. Remember, these teams met Dec. 6 at Cowboys Stadium. Kentucky won the epic four overtime thriller, 133-130.

-SicEmSports

NOTE I: Mesquite Poteet linebacker Malik Jefferson, the Rivals No. 22 national recruit, is expected to take an unofficial visit to Baylor Friday afternoon. This would be at least the second unofficial visit for Jefferson. His last known visit was last July as he was traveling to the Leander for the state 7-on-7 tournament.





Jefferson could not be reached for comment, but in the past he has spoken highly of the Baylor football program. He has already collected 22 offers from some of the nation's top program. Our plan is to provide some reaction from Jefferson following his visit.




-SicEmSports






NOTE II: SicEmSports has learned that everything seems to be a go for Abilene Cooper LB/S Cordell Dorsey to come to Baylor. He is expected to arrive in June. Now, this is the tricky part. Because this remains a numbers game, it's probably going to take some roster attrition to get him to the campus. But there's typically been about five-six players who have moved on after the spring semester.





Dorsey, who could not be reached for comment, was arrested on a sexual assault charge in September, 2013. However, he was no-billed by a grand jury on Feb. 20 and cleared of that charge.





We reported last month that the Baylor coaching staff had to do some due diligence to make sure it was comfortable with continuing its recruitment. That appears to be settled. Dorsey has been biding his time in the interim working out and maintaining his conditioning. He graduated from Cooper back in December.





In an unrelated note, there is no change in Wylie LB/S TK Rockwell's status. Rockwell is still trying to collect a qualifying test score. He committed to Baylor but did not sign on Feb. 5. We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.




-SicEmSports






Second Junior Day is Saturday




As we have reported, Baylor's second junior day is set for March 22. Unlike other junior days, this one is considered a little more an invitation-type of setting. But this will still be a day filled with 2015 and 2016 star power.





Here is the list of prospects SicEmSports knows plan to attend.





>Ryan Newsome, Ath, Aledo


>Richard Moore, LB, Cedar Hill

>Billy McCrary III, Ath, Leander




>Jalen Guyton, WR, Allen





>Greg Little, OL, Allen (2016)


>James Lockhart, DE, Ennis

>Jordan Tolbert, DB, Fort Bend Ridge Point




>Jaylon Jones, DB, Allen (2016)





>JaMycal Hasty, RB, Longview





>DaMarkus Lodge, WR, Cedar Hill (that's really still iffy but we'll put him down for now)





>Chad President, Ath, Temple





>Blake Lynch, Ath, Troup





>Jared Mayden, DB, Sachse (2016)





>John Humphrey Jr, Ath, League City Clear Falls





>Connor Dyer, OT, Mesquite Horn




-Kevin Lonnquist










Three questions about Nebraska




Predicted to finish last by some writers and publications, Nebraska stunned the Big 10, finishing fourth in the league thanks to a hot streak to end the season. That earned the Huskers (19-12/11-7 Big 10; RPI 48) an 11 seed in the NCAA tournament and a date with 6th-seeded Baylor on Friday at 11:40 a.m. in San Antonio. To get more background on the Huskers, we posed three questions to Robin Washut, the primary basketball beat writer for Husker Online.





SicEmSports: How much experience does Nebraska have against teams primarily zone defenses, and how have the Huskers fared?




Washut: It's funny, because even teams that aren't generally zone oriented have gone out of their way to play as much zone as possible against Nebraska this year. That's really been the recipe to beating the Huskers this season: pack the paint and force NU to beat you with perimeter shots. If those jumpers don't fall early, Nebraska has a tendency to get frustrated and get away from its offensive game plan. Tim Miles feels good about his plans to attack Baylor's 1-3-1, but it's going to come down to how well the players stay patient and continue to attack the lane with the ball. Getting Baylor's bigs into early foul trouble would be huge.





SicEmSports: Nebraska wasn't quite the same team on the road as at home ? how much of an issue could that be on Friday?




Washut: Nebraska was 15-1 at home this season and just 4-10 away from Pinnacle Bank Arena, and the Huskers have been a fairly emotional team on both ends of the spectrum. When the home crowd rallied behind them, which it did as well as any fan base in the Big Ten this season, the players stepped their game up to a whole new level. When adversity hit them on the road, though, they let their emotions get the best of them and got frazzled and frustrated. To their credit, they've won three of their past five games away from home, but the most recent road outing was a loss to Ohio State in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament where they blew an 18-point lead with 10 minutes remaining. This game all depends on how well the Huskers maintain their focus and composure when things start to go against them.





SicEmSports: What would you say were the main reasons Nebraska made a huge leap this year into the NCAA tournament?




Washut: If you ask Miles or any player what happened to turn the season around, they'll all tell you it was when they all decided to fully buy in to playing together as a team and put team goals ahead of individual success. When Nebraska was 0-4 to start league play, it was a team that had no role definition and a group of players that simply hadn't figured out how to play together. That all changed after a team meeting following their blowout loss at Michigan back in early February. Point guard Deverell Biggs, who was the team's third-leading scorer at that point, was dismissed from the team before the Huskers' road game at Northwestern, and that helped allow more defensive role players like Benny Parker and David Rivers to see the court and give scorers like Terran Petteway, Shavon Shields and Walter Pitchford more command on offense. Nebraska has been a completely different team ever since that point.




-SicEmSports






Why I like the Bears today




If you've read my work enough, you'd know that while I did go to Baylor, I'm not exactly the homer type who predicts Baylor to win every game. While the overall athletic program is on a high level right now, I've seen Baylor blow too many chances at winning marquee games, and sometimes that makes me a little gun-shy on picking the Bears. But after number-crunching, I really like Baylor in today's round of 64 game against Nebraska.
Here's why:




A dead downtown: One of the most common ways to crack a zone is hitting from downtown, something Nebraska doesn't do all that well. The Huskers get 17.8 points per game from three-pointers, which might sound like a decent amount, but that arks them 192nd out of 351 teams. Baylor, conversely, ranks 65th with 22.2 points per game from 3.





Weakness against weakness: Along that line, Nebraska is not a terribly efficient offensive basketball team. While Baylor ranks 22nd nationally in this statistic, Nebraska ranks 225th in the county. The Huskers are one of just more than 100 NCAA teams that don't average at least one point per possession. That's a key statistic since Baylor's defense ranks low in efficiency, even if the Bears have played much better of late. Nebraska is even worse away from Lincoln, ranking in the bottom 50 in the nation in offensive efficiency when on the road.





No second chances: But perhaps out of any statistical advantage for the Bears, none stands out more than Nebraska's inability to grab offensive rebounds. Nebraska averages only 7.4 offensive boards per game, ranking them 309th out of the 351 teams. And considering that Nebraska's top three scorers all shoot 43 percent or worse from the field, Nebraska is missing a lot of shots -- and rarely getting second chances.





Of course, what I haven't mentioned is that Nebraska is a very good defensive team. The Huskers challenge shooters well and are great at keeping the offense in front of them. But I'd rather take my chances in a close game than see Baylor need to win a shootout. That might be the case if Baylor advances to play Creighton (a team totally unlike Nebraska), but it won't be today. Give me Baylor 69, Nebraska 61.




-Jake Shaw






Thank you, Mr. President




Temple's Chad President plans to travel to Waco to watch Baylor's practice and take part in the Bears' second junior day. He was at Tuesday's practice and watched the Baylor quarterbacks work out. President also spent a lot of time with offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery.





But there's a sense of calmness because President is now seen as the quarterback for the 2015 class. The pathway opened two weeks ago when Stephenville's Jarret Stidham committed to Texas Tech. For President, every visit continues to solidify his relationship with the Baylor coaches.





"It just feels like home,'' President said. "Being on you future campus in present time is something you can't buy. Just a blessed feeling. It's hard not to stay away.''





And he will be arriving early. He is a December graduate so he can get on the campus next January.





President continued his road back from the ACL he tore back in September. Last month, he was cleared to run track events. On Wednesday, he was cleared to start going full speed with cutting movements.





When Temple starts spring football workouts in May, the Wildcats' coaching staff plans to have President go through everything. But their workouts are designed so their quarterbacks will not have any contact. That's a standard practice.





President said his focus will be working on the intermediate routes. He wants to be more proficient with his touch, velocity and throwing through windows.





With all of the talk about Stidham's status, President said he watched it but said it didn't matter if Stidham had committed to Baylor or not.





"If he would have committed to Baylor, it wouldn't have changed my decision,'' President said. "Baylor would have had two great QBs coming for 2015. That's how I would have looked at it. I feel like I'm the No. 1 QB in the 2015 class. Many people haven't seen me play QB so they get the misconception that I can't play the position. Now, a lot of people are expecting a lot from me so I can deal with it.''




-Kevin Lonnquist










Going back to Lackawanna




When his Lackawanna teammate and good friend left for Baylor, massive OT Paris Palmer -- by massive, I mean 6-9, 305 -- made sure to tell Jarell Broxton to put in a good word for him with the Baylor coaches. Turns out the coaches already knew about him. And the coaches finally pulled the trigger on an offer on Tuesday.





"A couple months back I told Jarell I was interested in Baylor," Palmer said. "I told him to tell the coaches about me. "He said they had already asked him about me. I can't say I expected the offer -- it did kind of come out of left field -- but they had been talking to my head coach and O-line coach."





"It felt good," Palmer continued, talking about the offer. "Especially knowing there's a familiar face there. It feels great."





A handful of other major programs have offered, including Ohio State and Miami, as have some mid-major programs. He's happy to get them in, but he said recruiting is on the back-burner right now. He wants to do everything he can to ensure he graduates in December as planned.





"I'm just remaining focused on my grades and making sure everything is fine academically," he said. "Lackawanna is my main focus. I don't want to get ahead of myself and get caught up in recruiting. Grades and my GPA -- I need to get them straight."





He said he might take one official visit this spring -- he's not sure where yet -- and will take the rest this summer. But he also said he might not commit until the end of his sophomore season at Lackawanna.





As for his size, he's hard to miss. But being so big also means he needs to be athletic to defend speed rushers. He says that's no problem.





"When you see me, I have a very athletic build," he said. "I'm not a prototypical fat offensive lineman. I have a lean body. I have real quick feet and athletic feet. That helps me a lot in pass blocking."




-Jake Shaw










Baseball plays host to No. 20 Oklahoma State




Baylor baseball ends a season-long, seven-game home stand this weekend as No. 20 Oklahoma State comes to Baylor Ballpark. All three games will be televised and are set for 6:30 p.m. CT Friday on FOX College Sports, 2 p.m. Saturday on FOX College Sports and 1 p.m. Sunday on FOX Sports Plus.





Baylor (11-9, 2-1 Big 12) will be playing its second Big 12 series while the Cowboys (15-6) will be playing their first league series of the season. The Bears are coming off a 2-1 series win last weekend vs. No. 23 Texas Tech and a 9-3 win on Tuesday against Houston Baptist.





On Friday, LHP Brad Kuntz (3-0, 1.73 ERA) is the scheduled starter followed by right-handers Austin Stone (2-1, 1.29) on Saturday and Dillon Newman (2-1, 3.08).





The Bears won two of three in the Big 12 opening series last weekend against Texas Tech.




-Kevin Lonnquist










Emptying the Notebook




Receiving the commitment of guard Kobie Eubanks on Tuesday did not mean Baylor's 2014 recruiting has finished. Regardless of Isaiah Austin's status, the Bears still need another big man to go with this class. One player the Bears are pursuing is Lee College 6-8 forward Deng Deng.




-SicEmSports

NOTE: The Rivals camp series continues its tour this weekend. We will be in DeSoto on Saturday. Stephen Cook and your publisher will be conducting video interviews with some of the top prospects that Baylor is pursuing. Throughout the coming days, we will share those with you. Several Baylor top prospects including Stephenville quarterback Jarret Stidham, McKinney North running back Ronald Jones II, Aledo wide receiver Ryan Newsome and Plano West running back Soso Jamabo are expected to attend.




Eubanks talks visit


Baylor still has one scholarship left to give for its 2014 class. On Tuesday, it entertained 3-star shooting guard Kobie Eubanks from Centereach, New York ? he's originally from Florida -- when Baylor played host to Iowa State.


The 6-4, 200 specialist has seen his stock rise at Our Savior New American School. He went from Pittsburgh to Baylor. While the visit was short, Eubanks took advantage of the Tuesday-Wednesday experience.


"I like Baylor's style because they're pretty open with the way they play,'' Eubanks said. "You get a lot of shots.''


Although Pittsburgh had been believed to be the leader, Eubanks said he's pretty open right now. There's a reason for that. He had a very productive season averaging more than 21 points and six rebounds.


Eubanks was also a part of the E1T1 EYBL team that won the Peach Jam last summer averaging 5.7 points in 15 games.


"Right now, I feel like I'm getting a better feel for the long range but I'm trying to work on taking it to the rack,'' he said.


Eubanks spent Wednesday taking a tour of the Baylor campus and learning a little more about the campus lifestyle. He said he had a pretty solid meeting with the Baylor coaching staff.


"I like the way they treat their players,'' Eubanks said. "I have to more visits I want to take. I'm going to Minnesota but I'm not sure about the other.''


Eubanks said he would like to make a decision when the late signing period begins in April.


-Kevin Lonnquist




Humphrey talks Baylor


League City Clear Falls product John Humphrey has seen his recruiting attention jump. He was at Oklahoma's junior day last week.


But he's also been in touch with Baylor since he received the Bears offer not long ago.


"I've talked with coach [Carlton] Buckels about coming to a practice, and I'm going to do what I can to get there,'' Humphrey said. "I'm considering them pretty strong. I think it would be a great school for me. It has what I want to major in with the medical industry.''


Humphrey isn't sure when he can get to a Rivals camp series but hopes to soon. While most schools are looking at Humphrey at wide receiver, Baylor has talked to him about defensive back, he said.


"I'm fine with that,'' he said.


-Kevin Lonnquist





Basketball 2015 targets playing to state titles


Baylor has a passionate interest in this weekend's Texas High School boys state tournament at the Erwin Center. Two 2015 standouts from Dallas are playing for state titles on Saturday.


Madison guard Admon Gilder scored 29 points (12-of-22 from the field) to lead the Trojans (29-3) to a 77-62 Class 3A semifinal victory over San Antonio Houston. Gilder never came off the floor as he played all 32 minutes. He recorded a double-double with 11 rebound. Madison is looking for consecutive state titles and faces state power Houston Yates at 10:00 a.m. Saturday.


Meanwhile Kimball guard Jawun Evans scored 23 points (8 of 15 shooting) in the Class 4A 60-56 state semifinal victory over Beaumont Central. The Knights (24-7) face Amarillo at 3:00 p.m. Saturday.


-Kevin Lonnquist





Baylor's surge makes its point


It really is no coincidence that Baylor's run of winning six out of seven to reach 20 wins and put itself back in the NCAA tournament picture can be traced to point guard Kenny Chery's health.


The basketball truism of winning with guard play has meant so much in this run. Baylor closes out the regular season Saturday at Kansas State.


He wasn't healthy when he came back from the turf toe injury. But he played about 20 minutes in the Feb. 12 game against TCU, a Baylor 91-58 win. That's when his run and Baylor's run began.


Here's a look at what Chery has done setting up the offense with assists while valuing it at the same time on turnovers.


Feb. 12 at TCU - 7 assists, 3 turnovers


Feb. 15 vs. Kansas State - 12 assists, 5 turnovers


Feb. 17 vs. Oklahoma State - 4 assists, 2 turnovers


Feb. 22 at West Virginia - 7 assists, 0 turnovers


Feb. 26 at Texas - 2 assists, 0 turnovers


March 1 vs. Texas Tech - 5 assists, 3 turnovers


March 4 vs. Iowa State - 6 assists, 1 turnover


During the run, Chery is averaging 6.1 assists and 2.0 turnovers. The standard for any successful point guard is a 2-to-1 ratio. At 3-to-1, that's gold.


-Kevin Lonnquist




Baylor scrimmage


Baylor held its first scrimmage of the spring on Thursday at the Highers Complex. Quarterback Bryce Petty threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another. Petty was very efficient completing 14-of-18 attempts.


Corey Coleman, who really was the first big-time receiver Art Briles secured in 2012, had a big day catching two passes for 112 yards including a spectacular 70-yard effort. Petty called Coleman, "a freak". The other reception was a 42-yard TD.


The young receiving corps continued to gain momentum. Robbie Rhodes, who appears to be fine from his ankle injury, caught five passes for 57 yards. Jay Lee caught a 39-yard touchdown pass. Davion Hall (shoulder) did not go through the scrimmage.


Johnny Jefferson started his spring the right way leading all running backs with 12 carries for 65 yards. Ennis product and mid-season enrollee Terence Williams had nine carries for 35 yards.


Defensively, defensive end Javonte Magee seems to have the motor going in the right direction as he collected two of the unit's 10 sacks. The other eight were distributed. Brian Nance recorded one.


-SicEmSports





Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball
SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
1. Kansas (23-7/14-3) - Jayhawks have the outright Big 12 championship. They have either shared or solely won 10 consecutive.

2. Oklahoma (22-8/11-6) - Sooners looking to wrap up the No. 2 seed in the conference with a win at TCU.



3. Texas (22-8/11-6) - The Longhorns may have overachieved this year but Rick Barnes has saved his job.



4. Iowa State (22-7/10-7) - Cyclones face a tough matchup with very hot Oklahoma State.



5. Oklahoma State (20-10/8-9) - The Cowboys are likely back in the NCAA tournament. Seeding becomes the goal.



6. Baylor (20-10/8-9) - Team Lazarus is also probably in the NCAA tournament. But one more win makes the Bears feel safe.



7. Kansas State (20-10/20-7) - Since beating Kansas on Feb. 10, 85-82 in double overtime, the Wildcats are 3-3.



8. West Virginia (16-14/8-9) - A 2-5 slide has the Mountaineers reeling. It's a must win Saturday against Kansas in Morgantown.



9. Texas Tech (13-17/5-12) - Tubby Smith got the max out of that horrid roster.



10. TCU (9-20/0-17) - Before the regular season finale against Oklahoma, the Horned Frogs are 2-33 in their first two years of Big 12 play.
-Kevin Lonnquist



Big Baseball weekend
Following a 3-2 victory over Lamar on Wednesday, Baylor (6-6) will play host to No. 4 Cal-State Fullerton in a 3-game series starting Friday at Baylor Ballpark.


The Bears, who had a tough road trip to San Diego last week losing all four, are currently on a five-game home winning streak. But the Titans (7-3) are coming off a sweep of Oregon State last weekend. This is the third series between the two programs. CSF leads 4-2 and won two of three in Waco and in California. The programs have not met since 2001.


In Friday's 6:35 p.m. opener, right-hander Dillon Newman (1-0, 4.11 ERA) is scheduled to start. On Saturday, left-hander Brad Kuntz (1-0, 2.40) will get the ball for the 3:05 p.m. start. Sunday's 1:05 p.m. finale is on Fox Sports Southwest. Right-hander Austin Stone (1-0, 2.20) is scheduled to start.


Baylor has outscored its opponents this year at home, 40-8.


-SicEmSports




Emptying the notebook
>It's looking like Kyle Fuller has the early edge at center. He's been working with the first team.



>LaQuan McGowan has also seen a lot of time at left guard. So far, the workouts have been impressive.



>Baylor's next spring practice will not be until March 18. The school goes on spring break next week.


>Aledo-Cedar Park on Aug. 29 will not be the only high school game played at McLane Stadium. Expect more high school games to be played there, we're told. More announcements should be coming.


-SicEmSports
This post was edited on 3/21 8:57 AM by K Lonnquist

FROM THE PUBLISHER: SicEmSports is pleased to announce that we have taken on an intern from the Baylor journalism department. Please welcome Ashton Warren to our staff.




Warren makes her debut in today's blitz with a piece on Aledo's Ryan Newsome. As we move forward with her, we plan on diversifying her talents both in print and on camera with the help of our video journalist Stephen Cook.

She will be interviewing recruits and sharing news with our subscribers. A native of Spring, Warren has interned with the Midway ISD as well as Sic'Em Sports Productions (no relation to our site).

We believe that Warren will definitely offer a fresh perspective that will help create more visibility to our site. Plus, this opportunity offers her the tools and experience that she will need when she jumps into the professional world.

We hope you enjoy watching her grow as she builds a foundation. It is our hope that we will continue to move this internship program forward for many years to come.

-Kevin Lonnquist




NOTE: With spring football starting on Friday, our Stephen Cook will be at Art Briles' opening presser. Cook will provide the same video interviews that we shared with you throughout the 2013 football season.

Now, to the Blitz.




Previewing Baylor's 2014 Spring Practices

For the first time in decades, Baylor enters spring football with the goal of defending an outright conference championship. Baylor will be the hunted this season, so the work to improve enough to repeat last year's Big 12 title begins Friday. The spring game is set for April 5.


The Bears enter spring drills needing to replace 11 starters (as well as kicker Aaron Jones), seven of them coming from the defense. Who steps up will be one of the main storylines to follow. So will monitoring just how much contributions Baylor will get from its newcomers, from its early spring enrollees to the freshmen coming off redshirt seasons to the transfers who sat out last fall.


Below, we break down a few areas to watch as Baylor opens its 2014 spring practices.


Biggest issue facing the offense: Numerous other injuries impacted last year's offense, but when Baylor lost Tevin Reese, it suddenly had a much harder time stretching defenses without Reese's big-play ability. Reese is now permanently gone, so it's important to find someone capable of filling in his shoes. To be frank, Baylor just needs a second receiver in general to pair with Antwan Goodley. The good news is there's no shortage of candidates.


Biggest issue facing the defense: Losing Eddie Lackey stings, but having Bryce Hager (when he's fully healthy) will help out the new starter at outside linebacker. The area of most concern should be the secondary, where only junior safety Terrell Burt returns as a starter. The cornerback jobs are most concerning. Baylor has two seniors (Tuswani Copeland and Tyler Stephenson) trying to salvage their careers, two JUCO transfers (Tion Wright and Chris Sanders) hoping to make instant impressions, as well as a host of younger corners (led by Xavien Howard) who will try to win the jobs. As for Ahmad Dixon's vacated safety spot, Orion Stewart played the most in backing up Dixon last year, but the move of Travon Blanchard to safety could be designed to get him on the field here.


Top offensive position battle: Two interior offensive line jobs are up for grabs (left guard and center), where players of varying experience levels will compete for the starting positions. Jarell Broxton became the prime contender to replace Cyril Richardson when he arrived in January from the JUCO ranks, especially since LaQuan McGowan still needs time to develop. Kyle Fuller has the inside track at center over Sean Muir, the younger brother of Hawaii transfer Blake Muir, and Tyler Edwards, the Blinn transfer who was pegged as a center but is now listed as a guard. The strength of Baylor's running game is up the middle, so it's crucial Baylor finds solid replacements at for these two areas.


Top defensive position battle: When you lose seven starters, many position battles will commence. Two linebacker jobs, though, stand out the most. First is the outside, where JUCO transfer Grant Campbell may or may not be a factor; his experience is playing in the middle. Kendall Ehrlich is another possibility, but it was somewhat disconcerting that Brody Trahan passed him on the depth chart last year. As for the nickel back -- the hybrid LB/S position -- Kiante Griffin is the only player on the depth chart with any experience. He played sparingly in 11 of 13 games a year ago. Behind him are two freshmen coming off redshirt seasons (Raaquan Davis and Austin Jupe). This is a crucial position with more uncertainty than any other spot on the defense.


Potential spring breakout offensive player: There are so many wide receivers that are strong candidates, from Robbie Rhodes to Corey Coleman to Davion Hall. And same goes for running back. But the guy I think will raise some eyebrows is Blake Muir, who brings one year of starting experience to Baylor and had all of last summer and fall to work into Baylor's system. He gives the offensive line a lot of flexibility. He can play LT, where he started at Hawaii, while Spencer Drango recovers, or slide inside -- perhaps even getting a look at center. One source told me that's a possibility. Whatever unfolds, Muir is talented enough to start, and even with a healthy Drango and Troy Baker, Muir might be good enough that he forces the coaches' hands to put him on the field.


Potential spring breakout defensive player: My first two picks for this breakout player -- Sam Ukwuachu and Chris Sanders -- will both miss spring drills following surgeries. So give me Taion Sells, who didn't have the impact of, say, Andrew Billings and Byron Bonds, but was still impressive enough in the coaches' eyes to play as a true freshman. With Terrell Burt out this spring, Sells has an even greater chance of making a big impression.

-Jake Shaw


It finally arrives

Baylor has been high on the list of South Grand Prairie ATH Tony Nicholson ever since he went to the January junior day. But even with the Baylor offer he got on Thursday afternoon, he's not ready to commit to the Bears just yet.


"If it came down to it, I would still attend Baylor," he said. "But I just want to see where my mom wants me to go. Where she wants me to go, I'll probably go there. Baylor is still high on my list -- in my top five."


Baylor joins Duke, which Nicholson will unofficially visit this weekend, as well as Kansas State, Washington State and Arizona State. As for how his mom feels about Baylor?


"She loves Baylor," he said, "but I guess she wants to wait and see what other offers might come in."


Baylor assistant Carlton Buckels is leading the recruitment of Nicholson. Buckels tipped off Nicholson that an offer was imminent.


"I had talked to coach Buckels and he told me he really liked me, he wanted to get me an offer, but he didn't know when it would be," he said. "When I was in class (Thursday), my coach told me Baylor offered. He told me to call coach Buckels. It caught me by surprise that they offered today.''


Even though Nicholson seems to be taking things slowly, he said he plans to visit a Baylor practice very soon. This is speculation on my part, but I think the staff will, in a word, "encourage" Nicholson to commit while in Waco.


Will it happen? It's hard to tell. But looking at his list, Baylor is the only school that's close enough that his mom could see him play every game. Perhaps even visit during the week. It may not happen soon, but I still like Baylor's chances a lot with Nicholson.

-Jake Shaw




Newsome keeps Baylor high on list

You might just see Ryan Newsome on ESPN one day, and not just playing football, but also broadcasting the game he plays. The Aledo 2015 wide receiver is not only looking for the best football program, but a school that can offer him a major in broadcast journalism. "I would love to be on ESPN," Newsome said. "I've always wanted to be on TV."


Newsome will be on ESPN sooner rather than later given his 4.6 speed. His 40-time makes him one of the fastest receivers in the 2015 recruiting class. Baylor is looking at the 5-9 prospect in the slot.


After talking with Baylor offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery on Wednesday, Newsome is looking to take in Tuesday's practice. If that doesn't work out, he's considering a trip on March 22.


Newsome had quite the junior year helping lead his team to the 4A-Division II state championship. The Bearcats became the first high school team ever to score 1,000 points in a season. If that's not enough, Newsome is seeing his dream of playing college football come alive. He has 20 Division I offers including Texas, Florida State, Oregon, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.


"I really look at it as an opportunity to help my parents. I know that sounds cliche but it's a blessing to have these opportunities." Newsome said. "My parents are so supportive and I just want to return the favor."


Baylor definitely seems to be high on Newsome's list. The new McLane Stadium is what really piqued his interest in the early stages of his recruitment. Newsome took an unofficial visit to Baylor on Nov. 7 when Baylor beat Oklahoma. Baylor offered Newsome a week later.


"I was offered when they were No. 4 in the nation and I'm still as interested now as I was then." Newsome said.


As Newsome looks at his various offers, one thing about Baylor continues to stay with him.


"I think Baylor is humbled more than anything," Newsome said. "They really started from the bottom. That's one thing I like about them. They haven't always been on top and now that they are, I don't think they are going back down."

-Ashton Warren



Houston headed to Waco

Baylor has offered some heavyweights at the running back position. One of them isn't Galena Park North Shore RB Tristian Houston. But things could change when Houston visits the Baylor campus for a there-and-back trip Friday.


"See how the coaches are as a person, see what the team is like, what kind of program they have, and look into the sports medicine program," Houston said when asked of his expectations for the trip.


Baylor assistant Carlton Buckels is leading his recruitment, and early in the process, Houston said Baylor's in his top group of schools, joining UCLA, Oklahoma State, and Texas, which he visited last week.


His recruitment is starting to pick up, so not too much is known about him yet.


"I'd describe myself as a speed back with a little bit of power," he said. "I'm great at moving around. I'm just a team player."

-Jake Shaw


Butler learning about Baylor

West Mesquite's Josh Butler continues to build his case to be one of the top 2015 defensive backs in the country.

A recent offer from Baylor only adds to what's an impressive list of offers including Texas A&M, UCLA and Tennessee. Butler (5-11, 170, 4.46 40) has spoken with Baylor assistant Brian Norwood and said he's starting to build a relationship with him.

"I'm glad to get the offer,'' Butler said. "To be honest, I followed them a little last year. But when someone offers you, that changes everything. I've started to read up on them and everything they have. I've watched some of their games on tape just to see how they play defensively specifically one on one and how they played off receivers.''

Butler is ranked No. 44 in Texas and No. 37 cornerback nationally. He helped the Wranglers to the 2013 Class 4A playoffs before falling in the bi-district round. While nothing has been scheduled, Butler said he hopes to visit Baylor for a spring practice in March. He said he did not attend any junior days.

"Right now, I'm just focusing on staying consistent with my technique,'' he said. "When I go to visit any school, I want to see if it's a good fit and if the facilities and the coaches are what I hope they are.''

-Kevin Lonnquist




President's triumphant return

When Temple quarterback Chad President returned to competition on Feb. 22 in the Copperas Coves track meet, the butterflies fluttered.

After all, President had not been in any competitive event since tearing his right ACL Sept. 13 against Carroll. But on the track, President not only surprised himself but probably everybody else in the stadium. That's five months.

He won the 200 with a time of 23.0. It's not only stunning that he won but turned in such a solid time for being inactive for so long.


"Yeah I was surprised,'' Baylor's first 2015 commit said. "Just all the hard work in rehab just paid off.''

Two weeks ago, President had been cleared to run. He still cannot cut or have any contact. But if this progresses as well as is hoped, time will tell what the Temple coaches will do with him for spring football. It's likely the staff won't take any chances on the knee and have President do anything that could jeopardize the knee.

But last week was an important step.

"I ran 22.1 [in the 200] as a sophomore,'' President said. "So I'll see if I can get back to that.''

-Kevin Lonnquist


Recruiting tidbits

>Waco Midway linebacker Kahlil Haughton said he likely will take in Baylor's spring practice on Tuesday. Haughton said he isn't ready to commit yet but would like to make a decision in the summer.


>Fort Bend Ridge Point linebacker Cameron Townsend said he still rates Baylor as high as he does with any of the other schools that have offered him. Take that as a good sign.


>Mansfield Timberview 2016 quarterback Devin Williams said he plans on attending Baylor's junior day on March 22. We'll see if that means an offer.


>Converse Judson defensive back Keivon Ramsey is working on arrangements to take in a Baylor spring practice. Remember, Ramsey has Baylor on top among all of the schools he's considering.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball
SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams heading into the weekend.
1. Kansas (22-6/13-2) - Another year, another conference title. Kansas can do no worse than a shared 2013-14 Big 12 championship. One more win seals it outright.

2. Iowa State (22-5/10-5) - It took some time, but Iowa State has finally reached where most thought it would -- second best to KU.

3. Texas (21-7/10-5) - Out of this world shooting by Jevan Felix saved UT from its third straight loss.


4. Oklahoma (20-8/9-6) - A favorable end to the schedule could help OU finish in the top 3.


5. Kansas State (19-9/9-6) - A close win at Texas Tech this week probably guaranteed a tourney berth,


6. Baylor (18-10/6-9) - If the Bears can hold home court, they should feel confident about their tourney chances.


7. Oklahoma State (18-10/6-9) - Marcus Smart has dazzled since he returned.


8. West Virginia (15-13/7-8) - Now, the Mountaineers' NCAA hopes are fading.


9. Texas Tech (13-15/5-10) - The Red Raiders have lost some steam headed into a rematch against Baylor the Bears desperately want and need.



10. TCU (9-18/0-15) - This is as easy a selection as picking Kansas at the top.
-Jake Shaw



Baylor Baseball in San Diego

There are tougher things to do than playing baseball in California. Playing in San Diego can be more challenging just because the weather is beautiful for all 365 days.

But Baylor coach Steve Smith's program, which had midweek games against Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi canceled because of rain, starts a four-game weekend series Friday in a round robin tournament hosted by the University of San Diego.

The Bears (5-2) have won four consecutive games. They open the weekend with a 1:00 p.m. game Friday against California (a team that eliminated them in the NCAA playoffs a couple of years ago). They play their second game against USD at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Bears and Toros meet at 9:00 p.m. Sunday's 1:00 p.m. is against UNC-Wilmington.

Right-hander Dillon Newman (1-0, 2.61 ERA) starts the opener, left-hander Brad Kuntz (1-0, 2.89) has Friday's nightcap, right-hander Austin Stone (1-0, 0.00) starts Saturday and left-hander Daniel Castano (1-0, 1.42) is scheduled for Sunday.

First baseman Mitch Price leads the team with a .500 batting average while senior DH Grayson Porter is off to a good start with two home runs and eight RBIs.

-Kevin Lonnquist


Emptying the Notebook

>Athletic director Ian McCaw said earlier this week that there will be 16 boat slips in front of McLane Stadium. The university and the City of Waco came to the agreement recently.

-SicEmSports

Cordell Dorsey: The latest


On Thursday, Abilene Cooper linebacker Cordell Dorsey was no billed by a grand jury, which meant there wasn't sufficient evidence to move forward on the sexual assault charges that were filed in September.

Dorsey had been committed to Baylor since late May but we removed him from the 2014 commitment list after the charges were filed. He was originally going to be a mid-semester transfer in January after graduating in December (he did do that).

As for his situation at Baylor, it's really too early to say where this is going. Baylor had been in communication with him every so often since his arrest. We know the Baylor coaching staff continues to evaluate him and this situation. A source told us Baylor mentioned the idea of Dorsey gray shirting in 2014 and arriving on campus for the spring semester of 2015. But that was more of a suggestion.

The other scenario is whether Baylor would treat Dorsey similarly to Wylie's T'Kevian Rockwell. Rockwell didn't sign with Baylor on Feb. 5 and is trying to raise his standardized test score so he would be able to sign.

Roster attrition later in the spring could impact Rockwell's arrival. Should Baylor want to push forward after doing all of its homework, then it could do the same with Dorsey. The earliest Dorsey could arrive is the first summer session in June.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Brown reflects on visit

For a first visit to Baylor, it could not have gone any better for Louis Brown. The rising Burton 2015 athlete visited Baylor on Thursday and came away with very good impression. He did not commit, but that was not a surprise.

"The thing I really liked was all of the coaches,'' Brown said. "They could talk to me as someone they really wanted instead of just another guy. I really like all of their learning facilities and everybody with the program like the tutors. You could tell they were there for you and want to help you with your grades.''

Brown's recruitment likely will continue to escalate. He is scheduled to go to Texas' junior day on Sunday. Texas A&M is also firmly in the mix.

But for now, Baylor did what it needed to do on Burton. He will give them more consideration.

"They stand out to me more,'' Brown said, "because of the way they made me feel.''

Brown said he plans on attending some spring practices and the April 6 spring game.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Gilder taking his time

There's no question Baylor's 2015 basketball class is going to need some solid guards. One of those candidates is Dallas Madison's Admon Gilder. He holds a Baylor offer and is ranked No. 123 in the Rivals 150.

The sharpshooter, who has Madison in the Class 3A state playoffs, had a moment to spend with Baylor assistant Jerome Tang who visited the school on Tuesday. The Trojans beat Anna in the bi-district round, 82-35. Gilder (6-2, 180) had 18, which is actually a little below his average of 25.2 points per game. But he's also about the entire floor averaging 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

"Coach Tang is a real straight guy and pretty funny,'' Gilder said. "We talk about two times a week. I feel like I have a good relationship with him.''

Gilder burst onto the scene drilling 4-5 3-pointers per game as a fresham. But he's become the center of attention. More teams will extend the defense on him to limit his deep looks. He understands how popularity will be a problem.

"I'm facing a lot of Box and 1s so I have to adjust my game,'' he said. "I'm really trying to work on my shot at the elbow and also getting to the rim. I'm really trying to work on being more explosive and my speed ready for the college game.''

Gilder knows Baylor has been through an up-and-down 2013-14 season but realizes that basketball can be like that.

"I'm glad they offered,'' he said. "I have some real interest in them. I got down to see them in the summer. They've been a good program.''

Once the high school season is over, Gilder will move into the AAU season with the Dallas Mustangs.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Interest is not reciprocal
In the last couple of weeks, programs like Alabama, Florida and LSU have sent out feelers to Troup ATH Blake Lynch, a Baylor commitment as you know, about his interest in their programs. From what he told me Thursday night, those programs probably didn't like what they heard back.


"I have no interest in all these other colleges looking at me," Lynch said. "I'm pretty solid to Baylor right now. I was asked by LSU's offensive coordinator (Cam Cameron) to come down to Baton Rouge and visit LSU, but I'm not sure I want to. My parents might want me to just to get out and enjoy the recruiting process, but I'm not sure if I'll do it."


I asked him if, at the very least, it's a confidence boost to hear from some of the traditionally strong programs.


"I'm just a high school kid playing football and being the best I can be," he said after pausing to think about the question. "I'm not really cocky. I try to stay humble and don't pay attention to all the media stuff like other kids do."


He might not make it to LSU, but Lynch said he wants to visit a couple more times this spring. His head coach at Troup, Dennis Alexander, is good friends with Phil Bennett, whose brother, Jerry, is the coach at Troup rival Jefferson.


"My head and coach Bennett are really close friends," Lynch said. "Coach Bennett and coach bBriles, they called my head coach yesterday and asked about coming to spring practices and the spring game, so I figure I'll get down their soon."

-Jake Shaw



About March 22

We posted the other day that the date is the other junior day. But there should be smaller number of recruits there because Baylor doesn't have that many scholarships to fill.

Among those we know who have been invited and said they will attend are Beaumont Central defensive back P.J. Locke, Allen WR Jalen Guyton, Allen 2016 DB Jaylon Jones and Richardson Berkner DE/LB Trevis Gipson. Once we learn of more names, we'll pass along.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Speaking of Gipson…

When Richardson Berkner's Trevis Gipson went to Baylor's Lake Highlands camp last June, the coaching staff took one look at him and had him work out with the linebackers.

Gipson (6-5, 200) is one of the edge players who can play either at defensive end or linebacker. He primarily played DE for the Rams. But the communication between him and Baylor assistant coach Jim Gush maintained. Now, he's going to Baylor next month.

"I've built up a good relationship with coach Gush,'' Gipson said. "I loved the camp because the coaches had really good communication with us. That's why the drills went well.''

Gipson picked up an offer from Tulsa when he attended a junior day recently. This will be his first trip to Waco. He enjoyed a pretty solid year with eight sacks and recording an interception and fumble recovery.

"I rushed off the edge when we did stunts,'' Gipson said. "They had me moving to defensive end on running situations and dropping me out linebacker on passing situations.''

Obviously, he's hoping Baylor will extend an offer. For now, he's playing basketball with the basketball team, which is currently in the playoffs. Once that season is over, he said he will resume his football offseason.

As you can see, the Bears coaching staff is really favoring perimeter defensive players who offer length and frames that presents possibilities.

-Kevin Lonnquist



A look at the future

Player 1: Baylor is keeping an eye on Spring HS 2017 DT Bravvion Roy (6-2, 300). The story from one of the Spring coaches was that both Randy Clements and Kendal Briles were on campus last May to watch spring workouts.

When the Baylor assistants were told about Roy, they called him over. When he met them, he was told he had an offer from Baylor. Obviously, we'll look a little further into that.

Player 2: Had a chance to watch Trophy Club Byron Nelson play a Class 4A playoff basketball game on Tuesday. The Bobcats won but the story was the transfer of 2016 defensive end Brandon Bowen. At 6-5, 200, he came over from Carrollton Newman Smith because of his mother's work situation. He just became eligible on Monday. Not much is known but I can tell you that watching him go through the game, the first thing that struck me was his wingspan. And his frame is built to where he will add easily.

He should catch some attention when college coaches are passing by in May. From what we heard, he started for the Trojans as a sophomore and was definitely the top player on that team. It sounded like the Newman Smith coaches were pretty crushed to see him leave.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball
SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams heading into the weekend.
1. Kansas (20-6/11-2) - Beating Texas Saturday will all but guarantee yet another Big 12 regular season championship.

2. Texas (20-6/9-4) - A second straight upset of KU would give Texas a legit shot at the Big 12 title.


3. Kansas State (18-8/8-5) - Three of next four games are on the road, a critical stretch for KSU.


4. Iowa State (20-5/8-5) - ISU has won 5 of 6 and has a very favorable finish to its schedule.


5. Oklahoma (19-7/8-5) - Sooners had this week off to prepare for K-State on Saturday and Big Monday at Kansas.

6. West Virginia (15-11/7-6) - Three more wins might be enough to get WVU into the postseason.


7. Texas Tech (13-13/5-8) - They've dropped two straight but were a defensive rebounds away from shocking Kansas.

8. Baylor (17-9/5-8) - Just when you thought the Bears were dead.


9. Oklahoma State (16-10/4-9) - Marcus Smart returns on Saturday, but it might not matter.


10. TCU (9-16/0-13) - Hosting OSU in a week is about TCU's final chance for a conference win.
-Jake Shaw



Baseball continues homestand against Austin Peay

Baylor (2-2) continues its home schedule with a 3-game series against Austin Peay. Game 1 is 6:30 p.m. Friday. Game 2 is set for 3:00 p.m. Friday and Sunday's finale is slated for 1:00 p.m.

This is the first-ever meeting between the Bears and the Governors. If the Bears sweep the series, head coach Steve Smith would reach 700 wins in his career.

Right-hander Dillon Newman (0-0, 2.08 ERA) opens the series Friday, followed by left-hander Brad Kuntz (0-0, 8.10) on Saturday and right-hander Austin Stone (0-0, 0.00) on Sunday.

The Bears will have two mid-week home games next week. They play Incarnate Word on Tuesday and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Wednesday. Both games are 6:35 p.m. starts.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Emptying the Notebook

>Baylor recently offered Pflugerville Hendrickson P.J. Mbanasor, who is TCU commit. Late Thursday, he told Rivals, he wants his commitment to the Horned Frogs to be viewed as soft. He also wanted it to be known that his interest in other schools is low. Consider this a strategic move to let the offers funnel in before he really decides where he wants to take his recruiting. Mbanasor is ranked No. 245 in the latest Rivals 250.


>Plano West 2015 forward D.J. Hogg ? No. 49 in the Rivals 150 ? said recently he continues to have interest in Baylor. We also keep hearing that the Bears continue to have a strong relationship with Texas Titans guard King McClure and center Tyler Davis. McClure is rated No. 14. Davis is rated No. 20. It's safe to say that if the Bears aren't in the lead for either, they are close to the top.


>Baylor's other two 2015 commitments had their ratings updated. Huntsville OL Ronnie Major remains a 3 star prospect with a 5.5 rating. Waco Midway Devontre Stricklin is also sticking at 3 stars and 5.6.

-SicEmSports

Brown is the BMOC - literally

The Class A town of Burton is about a 15-minute drive west of Brenham. But when word of Louis Brown spread, Division I recruiters invaded the place.

According to population numbers from 2009, Burton was at 375 people. And it's not hard to find Brown (6-6, 209). He's definitely the tallest one in the school and likely the entire community.

"You really can't hide from anyone,'' Brown said with a laugh.

Admittedly, he's pretty overwhelmed by the recruiting process. He picked up a Baylor offer last week and is trying to digest it all. Although he's listed as an athlete, Brown said Baylor is looking at him as linebacker/tight end/athlete. He also has offers from Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Washington.

"I got to know the Baylor coaches at their camp last year in Houston [Cy Falls],'' Brown said. "They had me in two sessions. I was with the outside linebackers and then I was with the wide receivers. I really like the coaches. They're down to earth and they're more concerned about you as a person.''

Brown's athleticism is pretty noticeable. In a recent basketball game ? he said he doesn't like basketball but know he has to help his team ? Brown came up with 14 blocked shots.

Brown said he's been invited to Texas' junior day on Feb. 22 and will probably make it over to Texas A&M's second junior day. While he's never been on Baylor's campus, he has a standing invitation to come up for spring ball when it starts Feb. 28.

"I'm still trying to not let this get to my head,'' Brown said. "It's pretty unbelievable.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



Lanfear open to Baylor

Connor Lanfear really doesn't know what he is to Texas. He could be a soft commit. He could be just a recruit with an offer. There's no telling.

"I guess I'm very soft,'' Lanfear said. "Since Texas just re-offered, I'm not sure if I have to re-commit or what that really is.''

What the 2015 Buda Hays offensive tackle does know is that he's re-opening his recruiting process. And he considers Baylor right in the middle of it.

"For right now, I'm trying to look around,'' Lanfear said. "The Baylor coaches [Jeff Lebby and Randy Clements] made it clear to me that I was just not wanted but I was needed and was at the front of their board. When they say something like that, you have to take notice.''

Lanfear said the coaches also told him they envision him being a leader for the offensive line. That would be at tackle where Lanfear is being pursued by most schools.

Buda Hays has its tackles start from a 2-point stance. Lanfear will move to the side where there is a speed rusher and sometimes has flexed out to play tight end.

"I've played up and down the offensive line,'' he said. "As an offensive lineman you want to block for the run more than the pass. But I'm comfortable with doing anything.''

The next move for Baylor is to get Lanfear to Waco. We'll have more on him this coming weekend.

-Kevin Lonnquist


The Mitchell Report: Part 1

It's one thing for a sophomore to receive an offer. It's even more impressive when he has yet to play a down of varsity football.

So you can consider Plano West 2016 outside linebacker McKinley "Kiwi" Mitchell (6-3, 200) pretty fortunate to get his first Division I offer. Baylor extended its on Wednesday. Mitchell likely would have been on the varsity for the Wolves his sophomore year. However, he tore his right ACL in Feb. 2013 and missed the entire season.

"It was the last district basketball game against Allen,'' Mitchell said. "It was on a fast break and when I planted after my jump, the knee gave way.''

But Mitchell is completely rehabbed and has been going through the football offseason. The younger brother of Ohio State linebacker Mike Mitchell, McKinley admitted he was caught off guard from the Baylor offer.

"I'm really happy they're interested,'' Mitchell said. "I know they were talking to my coaches and must have looked at my film.''

Known as "Kiwi" because his younger brother couldn't pronounce McKinley's name as a kid, "Kiwi" said he's been moving pretty well but still wears a brace. The relationship with Baylor is pretty young as Mitchell has never been to Waco. But it appears at time goes on, trips should be coming.

"I know Baylor had a good year in 2013,'' Mitchell said. "But I'm going to keep working so I can be totally confident.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



The Mitchell Report: Part II

In regards to Mike Mitchell, let's set some of the facts. From the reports, it's well known that Mitchell wants to transfer back to Texas because of his father's illness.

What we also know is that Ohio State has not given the former Plano Prestonwood 2013 5-star recruit (No. 26 by Rivals) his release as of late Thursday. Of course, family members could talk to other schools but Mike cannot until Ohio State does it. Mitchell redshirted for the Buckeyes last fall.

Without question, there is some interest from Baylor. Remember, Baylor was considered one of the finalists in 2013 before Mitchell chose Ohio State.

I talked with a source who is pretty familiar with the situation and said that should Mitchell get his release he will talk with several schools and is confident Baylor will be one of those. The timing of this is just a matter of when.

We'll keep you posted.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Basketball cleanup

As impressive as Baylor's 91-58 victory over TCU was at Daniel-Meyer on Wednesday, there are some leftover matters to disclose:

>I still think this defense is not physical enough in the paint. The Bears had the girth over TCU but sometimes didn't play like it. The sticking part was letting Horned Frogs point guard Kyan Anderson drive deep into the paint. Scott Drew said they had a hard time stopping Anderson. But there still needed to be someone to cut off the drives. Obviously, the Bears were better in the final 10 minutes because TCU didn't have a field goal. I still think Baylor has some problems defensively and better teams will exploit that. Movement has to be better and just overall, this group needs to challenge shots.

>I have no idea what is going on with Cory Jefferson. Statistically, he had a good night (10 points, 7 rebounds) but I don't see the killer instinct in the block this team needs. TCU is not a good example. Jefferson really has to change the tone for remaining seven league games.

>You would hope Isaiah Austin is coming out of it. He followed a 21-point effort at OU with 14. If Baylor fans are still hoping he'll be a banger, don't. Austin won't be that. Tall and angular posts really aren't anyway. What he has to do is just score when he's around the bucket and change some shots. Muscling for rebounds just isn't his game.

>I could just sit and watch Brady Heslip put on a shooting clinic and not get tired. He has one of the best strokes in the game. And I do expect him to participate in the NCAA Final Four 3-point shooting contest. My favorite is that he has added the dribble and pull-up 3-pointer. That will help shed the image of a catch-and-shoot player.

>This team really missed Kenny Chery at the point. He was healthy when this slide started in early January. However, you can look at his return Wednesday (yes, he played in other games but this was the first time he really had significant minutes) as maybe the mental pick-me-up this team needed.

>The only way Baylor is going to make the NCAA tournament is to earn at least eight conference wins and probably advance its way to the Big 12 championship game to do it. That means it's going to have to go 7-2 before the championship game. That would put Baylor at 23-11 or 22-12. With a good looking RPI and resume win over Kentucky and whatever seven wins come in this stretch that puts the Bears in the tournament. Yes, that's looking ahead. I can do that. Scott Drew and his team can't.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball
SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams heading into the weekend.
1. Kansas (18-6/9-2) - Despite the rivalry week loss, the Jayhawks still are inarguably the class of the conference.

2. Kansas State (17-7/7-4) - The 'Cats come to Waco having won two straight games over ranked teams.


3. Texas (19-5/8-3) - Texas hosts WVU Saturday in the battle of the Big 12's biggest surprises.

4. West Virginia (15-10/7-5) - Bob Huggins at least deserves a vote or two for Big 12 coach of the year.


5. Oklahoma (18-7/7-5) - The Sooners are swooning, having lost three of their last four.

6. Iowa State (18-5/6-5) - The Cyclones had won three straight before getting blown out at WVU.

7. Texas Tech (13-11/5-6) - The Red Raiders have shown the win over Baylor (a good team at the time) was no fluke.

8. Oklahoma State (16-8/4-7) - The Cowboys join the Bears at the bottom of the league, something nobody saw coming.


9. Baylor (15-9/3-8) - Too bad Baylor can't play TCU more often.

10. TCU (9-14/0-11) - An angry Kansas team awaits winless TCU on Saturday. Things will get ugly.
-Jake Shaw



Baseball season opens

Baylor begins the 2014 college baseball season at 3:30 pm Friday with the first of a 3-game series at No. 19 Arizona State. RHP Dillon Newman (3-4, 2.91) is scheduled for Friday; LHP Brad Kuntz (did not pitch in 2013 due to injury) is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday and RHP Austin Stone (3-3, 3.74) is on the mound at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Bears and Sun Devils haven't faced each other since the 2006 Houston Regional when Baylor knocked ASU out of the NCAA tournament. Senior Grayson Porter is going to have to lead the way for an offense that struggled to score runs in 2013. He is the leading returning home run (5) and RBI (29) producer from 2013.

Baylor finished 27-28 last year. In this year's 54-game schedule, the Bears face nine teams which played in the 2013 NCAA tournament. The Bears' 25 opponents combined for a .582 winning percentage.

Big 12 coaches predicted Baylor to finish sixth. The home opener is at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday vs. UT-Arlington.

-SicEmSports



Emptying the Notebook

>From a couple of recruits I've talked with, it's really hard to say if Baylor is going to have a formal second junior day. A couple have told me that the coaches told them that they would like for them to come down and visit during spring ball or any other time. Call it more of a gathering.


>As we mentioned previously, expect the 2015 class to be a small one. When one source was asked if 18 was a fair number, we were told, "at the most".


>Baylor's team physician Jon Ellis of Waco's Southwest Sports Medicine will be joining the six attendees at the NFL combine starting Feb. 19 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

-SicEmSports

One final number crunch for the 2014 class


As you saw in my story breaking down the numbers of the 2014 signing class, Rivals.com had the least favorable grade for Baylor's class of all the major scouting services. But there could be one way to best determine the true grade of a class: How many other offers did Baylor's signees have from other programs in automatic-qualifying BCS conferences?


That might best represent the true value of a recruit; how badly did other college coaches want him, too?


I crunched the numbers for four of Baylor's recruiting classes: The 2014 and 2013 classes, since they're the most recent; the 2008 class, since it was the first for Art Briles at Baylor; and the 2007 class, which was the final class before Briles came to Baylor.


Obviously, the numbers favor the most recent two classes. But the huge contrast in the difference in offers from other programs further reveals just how much better Baylor is recruiting now as compared to pre-Briles. I came up with four categories to quantify the data:

> The total number of BCS offers other than from Baylor;

> The average number of other BCS offers per recruit;

> The median number (i.e. the middle value of the number of offers) for the class;

> The total number of recruits without any other BCS offers.


Now, keep in mind we can only go off the offers listed by Rivals.com. Davion Hall, for example, only has nine published offers from auto-BCS conferences. I imagine he had a ton more than that, but we can only use the available date. The results:

2014 class (23 signees): 88 total BCS offers; 3.8 offers per recruit; median number of 3; 2 recruits without other BCS offers

2013 class (22 signees): 106 total BCS offers; 4.8 offers per recruit; median number of 3; 7 recruits without other BCS offers

2008 class (22 signees): 60 total BCS offers; 2.7 offers per recruit; median number of 2; 3 recruits without other BCS offers

2007 class (26 signees): 45 total BCS offers; 1.7 offers per recruit; median number of 1; 12 recruits without other BCS offers


When it comes to total BCS offers, the 2013 class did quite a bit better than the 2014 class (18 more offers with one less signee). However, because there are seven signees that didn't have a single other BCS offer, it shows that the BCS offers were actually distributed to fewer players than the average indicates. Because of this, the average recruit of the 2014 class was actually recruited by more programs than the average recruit of the 2013 class.


The 2007 class was abysmal. Twelve players without another BCS offer other than from Baylor is the perfect way to lose your job. That just won't cut it in any major conference. The uptick from the arrival of Briles is pretty apparent, too. His first class only had three players without other BCS offers. He had four fewer signees than the year before, but his class had 15 more BCS offers than the 2007 class. Despite that improvement, the 2008 class is still a far cry from what Briles is producing now.


Well, hopefully I didn't lose your interest with all of these numbers being thrown around. My final conclusion: While the 2013 class did have some advantages on the 2014 class, I think 1) Some 2014 Baylor signees had more offers than what Rivals.com lists, so the classes are probably more equal than represented, and 2) As I mentioned, since only two signees didn't have other BCS offers, it shows Baylor had to win more battles for 2014 signees than it did for any other year.

-Jake Shaw



Durham waits patiently

Landis Durham has the size that any defensive coordinator wants as a linebacker. Durham stands 6-3, and weighs 228 pounds. And there's probably a little more that can fit inside that frame.

While the 2015 prospect plays on the edge for the Plano East defense, Baylor sees him as an inside linebacker, Durham said.

A recent junior day attendee, Durham took a good look at the Bears defense and how it likes to play its linebackers in the 4-2-5. He also has had some follow ups with defensive coordinator Phil Bennett and linebackers coach Jim Gush.

While there is a lot to like, the Bears have yet to offer. Durham is fine with that. But he is a highly rated recruit (3 stars, 5.7) with offers from Washington and Boston College along with Boise State and SMU.

"They're evaluating me and just told me to be patient,'' Durham said. "If I have the kind of spring that I think I could, maybe I'll get offered.''

Plano East deploys a 3-4, and Durham has split time between outside linebacker and defensive end. He is beginning preparations to be a 3-year starter. He considered his unmeasured wingspan one of his strengths. With his 4.52 speed, that's why Plano East coaches know he can get to the perimeter.

"I feel like defensive end comes naturally for me,'' he said. "I've been on the edge all my life.''

Durham has seen Baylor in its dark days when his cousin Davon Vinson played in the early 2000s. But Durham's first visit to Waco two weeks demonstrated how much things have changed.

"Everything was great,'' he said. "You could everything is coming together for them.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



The Fox on the hunt

Like Durham, Baylor is trying to evaluate who could be a solid inside linebacker candidate. Houston Clear Lake's Nathan Fox (6-3, 230) is built similarly to Durham.

And like Durham Fox also attended the Jan. 26 junior day. He briefly met with Bennett and secondary coach Carlton Buckels. And like Durham, Fox will also have to wait to see if an offer is going to come.

"It was a great visit to Baylor, and I thought I was going to get an offer after I met with them,'' Fox said. "They're one of my top schools and the thing you can tell is how much attitude there is in the strength and conditioning program.''

Fox has an offer from Mississippi State and has drawn interest from Texas Tech, Oregon State, Oklahoma State and TCU

Fox is teammates with Baylor 2014 offensive lineman Blake Blackmar. You can imagine what kind of recruiting was going on there.

"Blake's one of my best friends,'' Fox said. "He and I have great chemistry. It would be great to play in college with one of my friends.''

Clear Lake's defense operates the 3-4. Fox plays inside with the linebacker. With a downhill presence, there will be many times he can take on two three blockers in the same play.

"I think I'm pretty good when we use our cross blitzes because they're a reactive blitz,'' he said. "When our defensive tackle moves one way, I come across. And I'm fast enough so that the offensive lineman can't react.''

Clear Lake's offseason is in the middle of its boot camp. But Fox will work out extra on his own as well. But he's taking it a little easy this year. In 2013 he pulled his left hamstring, which impacted his performance on the field.

Still, he wants to work to reduce his 40 time from 4.6 to 4.5.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Rising in Rowlett

Rowlett defensive end Charles Omenihu (6-5, 217) has seen his recruiting escalate since he attended Baylor's junior day on Jan. 26.

Texas invited him to its junior day on Feb. 22. Oklahoma State followed with an invitation to its junior day on Feb. 23.

Baylor may still have an early edge. The coaching staff has been on him since Omenihu was a sophomore. However, his visit to Waco was his first.

"It was everything I thought it would be,'' Omenihu said. "You can see that coach [Art] Briles wants to take this program to the top like Alabama. I don't see any flaws with the program. Getting an offer would mean the world.''

However, scholarships will be tight. Baylor should have about 18 slots to fill for the 2015 class. Really, it's down to 14 with four commitments.

Omeinhu is thin a la Greg Roberts from Nacogdoches. But when he watched Baylor play, he noticed how the defensive line slants and can create pressure. With his size, there's a lot to work with. But he wants to be better with his hands at the point of attack.

"I really liked talking to assistante [Chris] Achuff,'' Omenihu said. "He just told me to keep playing more physical and to strike with my hands more. They're going to see that when they come in the spring.''

He's also moving early on his academic side. Omenihu is scheduled to take the SAT on May 3.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball
Baylor's out of the Big 12 race, but that doesn't stop SicEmSports from ranking the Big 12 teams heading into the weekend.

1. Kansas (17-5/8-1) - The Jayhawks are vulnerable, but they're still easily the team to beat in the Big 12.

2. Oklahoma (17-6/6-4) - OU will look for a rebound against Baylor after dropping two straight road games.

3. Kansas State (15-7/5-4) - K-State has had a week off to prepare for hosting UT, the hottest team in the conference.

4. Oklahoma State (16-6/4-5) - If not for your Bears, this would be the most disappointing team in the league.

5. Texas (18-4/7-2) - Somehow the Longhorns have worked their way to a half-game back of Kansas.

6. Iowa State (17-4/5-4) - The ship seems to have righted, and things should only get better with TCU coming to town tomorrow.

7. West Virginia (14-9/6-4) - Who saw this coming after a lackluster non-conference schedule?

8. Texas Tech (11-11/3-6) - This weekend's opponent, OSU, suddenly looks beatable.

9. Baylor (14-8/2-7) - The magic number is three: Any more losses than that, and kiss the NCAAs goodbye.

10. TCU (9-12/0-9) - With football not pulling its weight, TCU sure hasn't brought much to the conference so far.
-Jake Shaw



Emptying the Notebook

>If you didn't hear, Baylor is going to be sending six players to the NFL Combine Feb. 19-25 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

They are: WR Tevin Reese, OL Cyril Richardson, RB Lache Seastrunk, S Ahmad Dixon, TE Jordan Navjar and DB Demetri Goodson. That is the most of any Big 12 team.


>Stephenville 2015 QB Jarret Stidham released/tweeted his Top 10 Thursday night. In alphabetical order, he had Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Michigan, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Texas Tech.


>5,279 - That's the combined weight for the 23 signees in Baylor 2014 class.


>While they were picked sixth in the Big 12, Baseball America still projects the Baylor baseball team to make the NCAA tournament in June. It also listed left-hander Brad Kuntz and right-hander Austin Stone to be among the top 20 prospects to be taken in the June free agent draft. Baylor opens the season next Friday (Feb. 14) with a 3-game series at Arizona State.

-SicEmSports

BONNEY'S INHOME MEETING
Calls have been made to Houston Lamar safety John Bonney regarding Baylor inhome visit on Thursday. But one source familiar with the situation was of the understanding that the meeting went well. Bonney does have LOIs from both Baylor and Texas.

For now, Bonney remains committed to Texas. But this could be a situation where this could drag out until National Signing Day Feb. 5 before either Texas or Baylor know the outcome.

Baylor has pretty much taken this as far as it can go. Obviously, the Bears thought they had the lead for Bonney after he visited a fall practice. However, Bonney visited Texas and eventually committed to Texas.

What was interesting is that several people familiar with last week's official visit didn't think Bonney was enjoying himself too much. Apparently, that changed on Saturday evening into Sunday morning.

Keep in mind the dead period starts Sunday afternoon so the face-to-face contact is done. Bonney's length at 6-1 is an area of need for this secondary that will need better matchups against taller wide receivers. He was a three-year starter for the Redskins who played in the Class 5A Division I state championship in 2012 and were upset in the Region I semifinals in 2013.

Bonney isn't talking to the media currently, but he did say this about Baylor when his recruitment was in its early stages in 2012.

"Baylor is building a program,'' Bonney said. "I was a little kid when coach [Art] Briles was at Houston, and I saw what he built there. Wherever he goes, he wins.''

Finally, there is some signing day drama around here.
-SicEmSports


The (Tex)arkana connection
Baylor offensive line coach Randy Clements made it up to Hope, AR earlier in the week and saw two very solid offensive and defensive line candidates.

He offered 2016 Hope Senior High defensive end McTelvin Agim (6-3, 240) and continues to evaluate 2016 offensive tackle Kadarius Rowe (6-3, 325). Both have been invited to Baylor's camp in early June when it is in Marshall.

But recruiting is a small world. Agim grew up with Baylor spring semester enrollee Davion Hall in Texarkana before Agim moved to Dallas and then moved over to Hope.

"Davion and I did summer track together in grade school. I know him really well,'' Agim said. "When I was talking to him about Baylor, he talked about how great the school is and what the coaches were like. I'm pretty excited to know more about it.''

Agim already has an offer from Arkansas. But he made an impression because he recorded 16 sacks as a sophomore. He's not anywhere close to a finished product.

"I feel like I have no boundaries and feel like I can blossom,'' Agim said. "I'm pretty strong, quick and can hit you. I want to get my 40 [currently 4.7] to 4.5 and raise my bench [currently 285] to 325.

For Rowe, he doesn't have any offers. Like Baylor, Arkansas is also evaluating. He takes pride his in his wingspan and how he turns his hips. But he's working this offseason on lowering his 40 to below 5.0. He's appreciates the attention.

"It's hard to get noticed in Hope, AR,'' he said. "But I can help someone. I'm a big wall and you have to around me, but I'm going to knock you out.''
-Kevin Lonnquist

A flourishing pipeline
When wide receiver Devontre Stricklin committed to Baylor on Jan. 24, it marked fifth time in the last six seasons that Baylor pulled a star prospect out of Waco Midway.

The others were Ahmad Dixon and Levi Norwood (2010), Beau Blackshear (2011), Orion Stewart (2012) and Jamie Jacobs (2014).

A solid recruiting foundation typically starts with the local school securing some of the better talent. Jacobs believes he knows how it started.

"I think Ahmad really got it going here,'' Jacobs said. "He was the one who had all of the offers, but he wanted to be the guy who helped a struggling program change things.

I was talking to Orion about it when I was on my visit [last week]. For sure, Ahmad laid the foundation. Now, when we come out of Midway, we want to be that next Panther who wants to continue things at Baylor.''

The good thing about being at Baylor is that it feels like you are secluded from the rest of Waco, Jacobs said.

"I feel like I'm in a whole different city and I'm inside a bubble,'' he said. "It's a city inside of a city. But the good thing is that the Baylor coaches have done a lot of good things with the local kids. It's a great feeling to know that you really have another family with you. The coaches have your back. You have someone to fall back on.''

And in case you're wondering, Jacobs has already been accepted into Baylor.
-Kevin Lonnquist


When 4.4 isn't fast enough
When Nacogdoches 2016 free safety Brandon Jones ran his 40 time two weeks ago, he not only dipped below the magic 4.4 mark, he obliterated it. On a handheld time, he clocked in at 4.26.

Whoa!

But the play that may have caught recruiter's attention was on Sept. 13. Jones sealed Nacogdoches' first win over Lufkin in 21 years (28-24) with a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown.

"Right after that, I started to hear from schools,'' said Jones who finished the year with five interceptions. "It's an honor to have that attention.''

Jones may be the fastest man in East Texas. On Wednesday Baylor became the third program to offer Jones following Texas A&M and Texas Tech. More offers will be coming. LSU has been talking with Jones. TCU and Oklahoma State appear to be next to close to offering.

Jones talked with Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett who already plucked defensive end Greg Roberts for the 2014 signing class.

"I had a nice talk with coach Bennett,'' Jones said. "I've talked with Greg about Baylor and the new stadium. They're serious about looking for solid defenders. I know they played really good defense last year.''

Three games into his freshman year playing quarterback, Nacogdoches coaches moved him up to the varsity. They immediately put him at free safety. The position has stuck. Jones is viewed as the captain of the secondary. But he considers his strength is breaking on the ball. Few times will deep balls be completed on him. Like any gifted runner, Jones will do his share in the tract season in the 4x100, 4x200 and 100. His personal best in the 100 is 10.81 and he just missed going to the Class 4A state track meet last year.
-Kevin Lonnquist


Friend of a friend
Baylor's most recent junior day was supposed to be invitation only. But one of the attendees -- Houston Lamar CB Holton Hill -- brought along a friend, and that friend sure has a position impression of Baylor now.

"We had a fun time up there," said Lamar LB Iyare Ojo, who played last year at Houston Westbury before transferring this spring to Lamar. "They showed us around. I loved the weight room, the field, the new stadium they're about to build up."

The Baylor coaches had never met Ojo before, nor was he on their radar. But Ojo said assistant coach Jim Gush spent some time talking to him and asked him to stay in touch. Ojo in turn has sent him his highlight video (he doesn't have a rivals profile yet).

It remains to be seen how much interest Baylor will have in Ojo. He has the physical requirements -- he's 6-2, 200 with pretty decent speed. But he played last season at Westbury, which went 2-8 and doesn't get any recruiting attention, he said. Playing at Lamar will change that.

"It's a good opportunity," he said. "At Westbury, I was basically the top player that every other team was worrying about. At Lamar, it's a blessing, because the school is better. I'll get to know the teachers better. At Westbury the teachers got interrupted too much by other students. They couldn't teach. The classes were the main priority I transferred. Football was second."
-Jake Shaw


Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball
Baylor's out of the Big 12 race, but that doesn't stop SicEmSports from ranking the Big 12 teams heading into the weekend.

1. Kansas (16-4/7-0) - This young Kansas team grew up quickly.

2. Oklahoma (17-4/6-2) - That Lon Kruger sure can coach. He'll really get people's attention with an upset at ISU this weekend.

3. Kansas State (15-6/5-3) - The Wildcats are about to play their third road conference game in their last four outings.

4. Oklahoma State (16-4/4-3) - OSU has lost two of its last three and is close to falling out of the Big 12 title contention.

5. Texas (16-4/5-2) - Rick Barnes has probably saved his job with this season's turnaround.

6. Iowa State (15-4/3-4) - Iowa State's entering the second game of a three-game stretch against KU, OU and OSU.

7. West Virginia (12-9/4-4) - The Mountaineers were the latest program to knock down the Bears while they're down.

8. Texas Tech (10-11/2-6) - The Red Raiders are yet to play as well as they did in the win that sent Baylor into a tailspin.

9. Baylor (13-7/1-6) - This is not where the program should be nearly halfway through conference play.

10. TCU (9-10/0-7) - TCU probably has circled Feb. 12 on its calendar. That's when Baylor comes to town, and sadly for the Bears, it's TCU's most winnable game left.
-Jake Shaw

A double check
While the attention has been on John Bonney, you just never know if there is another player out there that Baylor could be looking at. At this point, we know of no official visitors this weekend. But still coaches can have contact with recruits. Baylor's 2014 class is full. These were players Baylor was in the mix for at one time.

It's unlikely but we can cross these candidates off the list...we think.

>Jovan Pruitt, OL, Dallas Bishop Dunne - solid with Arkansas

>Victor Evans, DE, Dallas Skyline - solid with Ole Miss

>Dvonta Derricott, LB, Garden City (KS) CC - solid with Kansas State

>Justin Phillips, LB, Pearland - solid with Oklahoma State

>Sam Sizelove, LB, Argyle - solid with Kansas State

>Jah'Shawn Johnson, DB, Ennis - solid with Texas Tech

>Aaron Sharp, QB, Humble Summer Creek - solid with UCLA

>Grayson Muehlstein, QB, Decatur - solid with TCU

>Grant Blankenship, DE, The Colony - solid with Notre Dame

>Chad Adams, DB, Allen - solid with Arizona State
-SicEmSports


Emptying the notebook
^Baylor's 2014 class ranking is No. 33 before the JUCO transfers have been rated. Even with some last minute movement, it's going to be hard for the Bears to climb into the 20s. The 2013 class finished at No. 31.

^How diligent is Baylor acting with its 2015 class? Right now, the staff has extended only 49 known offers. Several of the recruits that we have spoken with including Houston Clear Lake linebacker Nathan Fox and Plano East inside linebacker Landis Durham each said that the coaches want to watch them in the spring when the May evaluation period begins.

^This is just a really tough stretch for the men's basketball team. At 13-7 and 1-6 in the league, the next three are at Oklahoma State on Saturday, home to Kansas on Tuesday and at Oklahoma on Feb. 8.

^Baylor has an offer into 2015 point guard Sedrick Barefield from Coronoa (CA) Centennial. Barefield (6-2, 180) is the No. 85 player in the Rivals 150.

^Two weeks from Friday will usher in the 2014 baseball season. Steve Smith's team opens a three-game series at Arizona State. The Bears' home opener is Feb. 18 against UT-Arlington. Expectations are not high for this squad. Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball came out with their preseason Top 25 and Top 40 polls earlier this week. Neither ranked the Bears.
-SicEmSports

NOTE: We have learned through channels that Baylor will have a mini junior day on Saturday and will host a smaller group of players vs. the players who we have reported will be attending on Sunday. Baylor will still have its junior day on Sunday. While it's not clear exactly who will attend, we have every reason to believe that some of the 2015 recruits listed will be coming. That may be to get some of the recruits who would have chosen to go to Texas A&M the chance to come to Waco.





Should be a busy weekend to know what all occurred between both days.



Junior Day Visitors List

This isn't a complete list, of course. But here is who SicEmSports has learned will be attending Sunday's junior day event on the Baylor campus.


>Blake Lynch*, Ath, Troup (Baylor commit)


>Chris Warren*, RB, Rockwall (Baylor offer)


>Ronnie Major, OL, Huntsville (Baylor commit)


>James Lockhart*, DE, Ennis (Baylor offer)


>Ronald Jones II, RB, North McKinney (Baylor offer)


>James Proche, WR, Dallas Prime Prep (Baylor recruit)


>Richard Moore, LB, Cedar Hill (Baylor offer)


>Chad President*, QB, Temple (Baylor commit)


>Cameron Townsend*, LB, Fort Bend Ridge Point (Baylor offer)

>Morie Evans, ATH, Huntsville (Baylor recruit)

>Jarret Stidham*, QB, Stephenville (Baylor offer)


>Holton Hill, DB, Houston Lamar (Baylor offer)

>Jaelan Austin, WR, South Grand Prairie (Baylor recruit)

>Prentice McKinney, DB, South Oak Cliff (Baylor recruit)

>Jamile Johnson, DB, South Oak Cliff (Baylor recruit)

>Darrion Daniels*, DT, Dallas Bishop Dunne (Baylor offer)

>Anthony Wheeler*, LB, Dallas Skyline (Baylor offer)

>Keaton Sutherland*, OL, Flower Mound Marcus (Baylor offer)

>Aca'cedric Ware, RB, Cedar Hill (Baylor recruit)

>Bryce Wilds, OL, Brazosport Freeport (Baylor recruit)

>Charles Omenihu, DE, Rowlett (Baylor recruit)

>Devin Smith, Ath, Ennis (Baylor recruit)

>Donta Thompson, WR/TE, Ennis (Baylor recruit)

>Tipa Galeai, DE, Euless Trinity (Baylor recruit)

>Patrick Vahe*, OL, Euless Trinity (Baylor offer)

>Soso Jamabo*, RB, Plano West (Baylor offer)

>Kahlil Haughton, DB, Waco Midway (Baylor offer)

>Devontre Stricklin, WR, Waco Midway (Baylor offer)

>Lenoy Jones, LB, Waco Midway (Baylor recruit)

>Kingsley Keke, DE, Richmond George Ranch (Baylor recruit)

>Tony Nicholson, ATH, South Grand Prairie (Baylor recruit)


*- Ranked in the Rivals 2015 250


Analysis: Baylor netted three commitments from the 2013 junior day in Terence Williams, Davion Hall and Chris Platt. In the last 3-4 years, Baylor has usually come away with two commitments. With three commitments for 2015, you can expect the Bears to add to the class this weekend.


The best guess for the recruits to commit could be Waco Midway WR Devontre Stricklin and Cedar Hill LB Richard Moore. For Stricklin, he picked up his offer over the summer and attended every Baylor home game in 2013. There just appears to be a real comfort there between him and the Baylor coaching staff.


Baylor offered Moore in November but there seems to be a strong bond between him and the coaching staff. We spoke with Moore earlier in the week who called his discussion with the coaches very positive. Remember, Art and Kendal Briles, Jim Gush and Jeff Lebby were on campus earlier in the week.


It's not much of a secret that Baylor is making a hard push for Stephenville QB Jarret Stidham. Whether it will push for a commitment seems iffy. Stidham is a wanted commodity and the coaching staff may not want to be overbearing to lose out too early in the process.


The same goes for Ennis DE James Lockhart. He recently called Baylor his leader but it's believed Texas may be making up some ground, especially with new coach Charlie Strong in place. Still, I think Baylor is in the lead here. You'll see in Jake's piece on Blake Lynch what he thinks.


Of course, there could be the commitment from out of nowhere, which is basically what we had in 2013 with Willis WR Chris Platt.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Commitment-turned-recruiter

As we recently saw from the dead period, coaches must work around the NCAA's recruiting calendar. But filling in those gaps in time when communication is limited is Troup ATH Blake Lynch, the 4-star who committed to Baylor last summer. Lynch will be in Waco this weekend for Baylor's junior day. His trip almost seems to be as much about business as it will be for pleasure.


"Right now, to get around the other 2015 recruits, we're going to have small class, so we want to get the best of the best," Lynch told me on Thursday night. "We have some top players coming there for the junior day, so for me to be there, it will be a big deal for me to talk to them."


Lynch said his primary targets (among a few others) are Aledo ATH Ryan Newsome, Stephenville QB Jarrett Stidham, Ennis DL James Lockhart and Prime Prep WR James Proche. He said all of them like Baylor and have the Bears among the top schools, but he really thinks something could go down with Lockhart this weekend.


He's hoping history -- former Ennis RB Terence Williams, a spring 2014 early enrollee, committed to Baylor this time last year -- repeats itself.


"He has a lot of offers, but Baylor is his favorite right now," Lynch said. "I hope he can come to Baylor with me. We can be roommates and teamates. Hopefully this junior day he'll commit. Last year his teammate, Terence Williams, committed at the junior day, so hopefully he'll commit too."


I'll have a bit more soon on Lynch soon, talking more about how dedicated he is to recruiting for Baylor for this upcoming 2015 class.

-Jake Shaw



Official visitors

This is the second of the official visit weekends for Baylor. Here is who SicEmSports has confirmed will be visiting Waco. We're still trying to get some confirmation on Wylie's T'Kevian Rockwell and Rockdale's James David. All but one is a Baylor commit.


>Jamie Jacobs, DE/LB, Waco Midway


>Xavier Jones, DE, Magnolia West


>Patrick Lawrence, OL, Waxahachie


>Ira Lewis, DT, Houston Lamar


>Greg Roberts, DE, Nacogdoches


>Devonte Jones, OL, Houston Bellaire


>John Bonney, S, Houston Lamar (Texas commit)


Analysis: With Jah'Shawn Johnson canceling his visit that probably doesn't come as a surprise. Baylor worked hard at trying to get him into the fold. But there just never seemed to be a connection that clicked.


But Baylor appears to making one last attempt to get Bonney to change his commitment from Texas. Bonney visited Baylor in mid-August and watched a fall workout and then all of the sudden went to Texas the next day and wound up committing the Longhorns. The Bears really appeared to have the lead.


With the coaching change from Mack Brown to Charlie Strong, Bonney is looking at his options. Bonney was recruited by former Texas DBs coach Duane Akina. Bonney's Auburn visit last week probably was likely done out of courtesy. That said, he knows Baylor, has been to the campus several times and developed a good relationship with the coaches. Should this visit come off, time will tell if it will be enough for Baylor to convince him to change.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Wilds wants to know more

Brazosport Freeport presents an interesting offensive tackle in 2015's Bryce Wilds. At 6-7, 305 Wilds is planning on attending junior day on Sunday.


He's heard from the Bears, Texas Tech, Arkansas and Oklahoma. While there are no offers, Wilds definitely has the size to play at the Division I level. What schools probably want to know is how that frame looks in person and later see how well he moves his feet. Baylor gets the first chance Sunday to see if it will extend an offer.


"I think I had a good season,'' Wilds said. "I played a lot of left and right tackle and got a lot of pancake blocks and pulled a lot. Throughout the season, I picked up my and got a little more comfortable picked up where the linebacker was. I think I played pretty physical last year.''


Wilds attended Baylor's summer camp last May at Cy Falls and also attended Texas and Oklahoma camps. He definitely noticed a difference.


"Baylor really worked on you as a player and on your fundamentals,'' Wilds said. "I thought the Texas camp was too diluted and you really couldn't do as much…I really like watching Baylor and how physical their linemen play.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



Ennis duo can make an impression

Ennis went to the Class 4A Division II state semifinals and had plenty of talent. Overlooked behind running back Terence Williams and defensive end James Lockhart was quarterback Devin Smith (5-10, 160) and wide receiver Donta Thompson (6-6, 210).


The two will be visiting Baylor on junior day along with Lockhart. The two are very raw but intriguing. It's probably a longshot that either will get an offer but it's clear Baylor wants to know a little bit more about each's story.


Smith threw for 2,075 yards and 20 scores and rushed for 481 yards and six TDs. But he is more of an athlete and admits he will play slot receiver in college. He accepts that.


"I'm cool with it,'' Smith said. "I can do mostly anything. I just want to be coached to get the most out of everything. I just want to keep improving.''


Thompson's size is imposing but he's probably more of a late bloomer. One Ennis coach I talked with believed he could have a huge 2014 season. Thompson caught 19 passes for 404 yards but averaged a team-leading 21.3 yards per catch. He could also be viewed as a tight end in college.


"There are a lot of opportunities for me,'' he said. "I know my size gives me a great advantage over receivers. I just need to work on my speed.''

-Kevin Lonnquist




McLane Stadium Update

Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw said Thursday the construction of Baylor's new home for football is more than 60 percent complete and that everything remains on schedule for the work to be completed in early August.


The $260 stadium is not yet fully funded but McCaw said efforts continue to move at a very positive pace.


In other items relative to the stadium:


>Nothing has formally been determined in terms of the number of slips that will be available in front of stadium on Brazos River, McCaw said.


>Baylor had more than 25,000 season tickets for 2013 ? a school record ? and McCaw said because of obligations for students (about 8,000) and visiting teams (4,000), the most Baylor can have for season ticket holders is about 28,000-29,000. McCaw said an exact number has not been determined.


>In case you're wondering, the Grant Teaff statue has been removed from Floyd Casey Stadium and is in storage.


>While the Hall of Fame will be ready in 2014, the events center is not expected until 2015. It will be located on the east side of the stadium.


Now as for unrelated items:


>McCaw said architects are working on final plans for the Beauchamp Athletics Nutrition Center. While no groundbreaking date has been said, there is optimism that the $6 million facility will be completed by the end of 2014. It is fully funded.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Horne waiting on the call

After getting an official invitation from the Baylor coaching staff to attend the Iowa State game this past fall, Baylor's been on the mind of 2015 Houston Westside DT Ethan Horne. A lot. If he had to make a list of favorites, "Baylor would be at the top," he said. "By far."


Horne had kept in touch with the staff -- primarily DL coach Chris Achuff -- but he admitted he's unsure if he can just show up for this weekend's junior day or if he needs another invitation from the staff. He said wants to get in touch with Achuff tomorrow to try to work it out.


"When I met him coach Achuff at the Iowa State game, we actually sat down and talked for a little bit," he said. "He talked to me about the importance of making junior days and especially spring practices and getting a feel of what practices are like."


I'll have more in a story about Horne over the weekend. We'll see over the next few days and weeks how interested Baylor is in him. But we know for a fact he likes Baylor.


"I'd be on my way to the junior day right now," he said, "if I knew for sure I was invited."

-Jake Shaw



Linebacker commitments in state of flux

Though Rivals has Baylor listed with three commitments from high school linebackers, will there be none in the end? I don't want to alarm anyone, but it's something that must be explored a bit more.


The three commitments in question: Midway's Jamie Jacobs, Wylie's T'Kevian Rockwell, and James David of Rockdale. The first one, Jacobs, will make it in to Waco for sure. But the asterisk with him is that coaches might move him to defensive end. At 6-4, he has the frame to add weight to his 215 pounds and grow into a pass-rushing role.


The other two, meanwhile, have less certainty. As Kevin reported a couple of weeks ago, Rockwell has explored double signing with a junior college in case he doesn't get the necessary standardized test score. From what we've heard lately, there's belief he will eventually qualify. It might result in Rockwell enrolling after the summer. But nothing is guaranteed.


David, on the other hand, will most likely double sign with Navarro College, giving him a backup plan if he doesn't qualify to get in Baylor. No kid likes to answer these questions, but I did ask him two questions in a recent text -- Are you taking an official? Will you arrive in the summer? -- but he replied back with "I don't know".


This happens with every class. Baylor had three recruits fail to qualify last year (Darius Moore, Maurice Porter and Kyle Fulks). Porter looks like he'll make it back, as should Fulks (both in the 2015 class). Moore's ship has sailed.


So it's not negative thinking to expect some recruits to fail to make it in with this class. It just so happens that the two most likely candidates are at the same position, while another LB (Jacobs) appears to be headed to the defensive line.


Baylor has addressed this, of course, with JUCO signee Grant Campbell. And of the seven players on Baylor's roster listed at OLB or MLB, six are sophomores or younger. So while it would hurt to lose talented players like David and Rockwell to grades, Baylor appears to be prepared, just in case.


And one more thing to remember -- the legal situation with former commit Cordell Dorsey remains unresolved. He graduated in December from Abilene Cooper, so he'd be ready to enroll if/when his off field problem is finalized. But don't expect him until Waco a minute before that happens.

-Jake Shaw




Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball

The ratings are starting to look the same as past years: Kansas on top, with a host of teams fighting for the next spots. As always, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams heading into the weekend.


1. Kansas (14-4/5-0) - All five of KU's conference wins have come against teams currently ranked in the top 25.


2. Kansas State (14-5/4-2) - Coming off a buzzer-beating loss at Texas, the Wildcats have to rebound at slumping Iowa State.


3. Oklahoma State (15-2/3-2) - The Cowboys have had a week off to stew over the effort at Kansas that came two points short of a comeback.


4. Texas (15-4/4-2) - The surprise team of the Big 12 is tied for second in the standings, yet is one of the four Big 12 teams not in the top 25.


5. Iowa State (14-3/2-3) - Like Baylor, Iowa State has a must-win on Saturday at home against a tough opponent.


6. Oklahoma (13-4/2-2) - The Sooners have won two straight -- and go for three in a row at Tech Saturday -- since cracking the top 25.


7. Baylor (13-5/1-4) - The Bears get the benefit of the doubt for now (in terms of the power ratings), but the season is on the line with the Texas game this weekend.


8. West Virginia (11-8/3-3) - After scoring two points against KSU, guard Terry Henderson exploded for 28 to help WVU hold off Tech on Wednesday night.

9. Texas Tech (10-9/2-4) - Texas Tech came just short of a third straight conference win -- which would've matched last year's total Big 12 wins.


10. TCU (9-9/0-6) - Think Kansas will overlook the Frogs in Fort Worth this time around? Not hardly.

-Jake Shaw



Emptying the Notebook

>Let's close with the fact that we have been told that Baylor has made up some ground with Cedar Hill WR Damarkus Lodge. When we asked one source if the Bears were definitely in this recruiting battle, the answer was yes. We're told that Baylor made a good impression earlier this week when the four coaches were on the Cedar Hill campus Tuesday. It appears that Lodge is attending Texas A&M's junior day on Sunday. The early thinking is that a commitment by Lodge to the school he chooses could be coming within a month.

-SicEmSports

Note: The final Rivals 100 and 250 for 2014 will be released next week. The 100 is set for Monday; the 250 Tuesday; four stars outside the 250 Wednesday and the balance of the rankings is Thursday.







The drama will surround whether Mount Pleasant WR KD Cannon (No. 29) can move into the 5-star category and if Texarkana Liberty Eylau athlete Davion Hall (No. 111) can move into the 100. Don't expect too much movement from other players. The only player we believe can move up is Magnolia West DE Xavier Jones. He's currently a 2 star with a 5.4 rating. We don't anticipate anyone dropping down.



Johnson's visit set

Baylor has hung in there with Ennis defensive back Jah'Shawn Johnson for pretty much 12 months. There was a time that it appeared Johnson might commit to Baylor back in the spring. But then he pulled back. Eventually, Johnson committed to Texas Tech in August. That commitment is definitely in question.



Johnson (5-10, 170) has taken several trips to Waco, so he knows the Baylor campus pretty well. But this has become a three-team race. Johnson is taking an official visit to Texas this weekend (Texas may offer) and just scheduled his official visit to Baylor Jan. 24. He'll go to Lubbock Jan. 31. That was re-scheduled because he was suppose to go to Tech this weekend.


The fact that Baylor has worked itself back into this shows that Johnson never forgot about them either. Remember, when Ennis played Aledo in the Class 4A Division II state semifinals on Dec. 14 in Midlothian, three Baylor coaches were on the Ennis sideline including Art Briles. That appeared to resonate with Johnson.


"It's just been awhile,'' Johnson said. "I want to go and evaluate everything and all of the coaches.''


The chief concern here would be if Texas offers and Johnson commits. If that happens, that might wipe out the visit to Waco. Baylor is looking at Johnson as a cornerback. If that does not happen this weekend, then Baylor may be in a better position.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Visits start this weekend

The first of the final three official visit weekends start this weekend. Here are the known visitors. All of them are Baylor 2014 commits:

>Blake Blackmar, OL, Houston Clear Lake


>Jourdan Blake, Ath, Princeton


>Josh Malin, DL, Cibolo Steele


>Andrew Morris, DT, Mesquite Horn


>Blake Mahon, TE, Coppell


>Josh Pelzel, OL, Rockdale


>Chris Platt, WR, Willis


>Ishmael Zamora, WR, Alief Elsik


>Verkedric Vaughns, Ath, Mesquite Poteet


>Chance Waz, DB, Pflugerville Hendrickson




Trail of success

When Davion Hall reported to Baylor's campus on Jan. 11, it marked another important recruiting victory for Art Briles and his staff when it competes for Rivals 100 and 250 prospects. Of course, Texas A&M seemed to try and work itself back into it when Hall reportedly signed financial aid documents with both Baylor and A&M.


However, Hall won't be the last of 2014. KD Cannon is expected to sign his national letter of intent on Feb. 5. So let's go through some of the defining recruiting battles Baylor went through in order to become a bona fide big-time recruiting program.

1. Ahmad Dixon, Waco Midway, 2010 - The near 5-star standout defensive back had offers from the likes of Alabama and even had scheduled a visit to Alabama on Jan. 15, 2010 and Oklahoma State on Jan. 29. Well, neither happened because on Jan. 15, Dixon, a high 4-star 250 member, committed to Baylor.


2. Spencer Drango, Cedar Park, 2011 - Drango committed to Baylor in the summer of 2010. Everything seemed to be going fine until Texas entered the picture in the closing weeks. In fact, the Longhorns tried to get the four-star 250 member to take an official visit the final weekend before signing day. Drango thought about it but decided not to visit. He stayed with Baylor.


3. Corey Coleman, Richardson Pearce, 2012 - He committed to Baylor before Memorial Day weekend 2011. But Oklahoma never stopped pursuing. And then out of nowhere Coleman took an official visit to California in late January. Still, the Bears held on to the 4-star 250 recruit.


4. Javonte Magee, San Antonio Sam Houston, 2012 - Baylor won this battle for the 4-star 250 member because defensive line coach Chris Achuff started forming a relationship with Magee when he was a freshman. With a ton of offers including Florida State and Alabama, Magee committed to Baylor in mid-January.


5. Brian Nance, Euless Trinity, 2012 - On national TV at the U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio, Nance announced in early January he committed to Baylor over Arkansas, UCLA and USC. There were whispers that USC backed off because of Nance's knee injury. But Nance listed USC as a finalist. Baylor finally won of those made-for-TV hat events when it landed the 4-star 250 recruit.


6. Robbie Rhodes, FW Southwest, 2013 - When the 4-star 100 prospect committed to Baylor on June 10, 2012, people kept thinking that it was too early and one of the big programs would take the talented wide receiver away. There was never a sniff of that. Once Rhodes committed to Baylor, it was over.


7. Andrew Billings, Waco, 2013 - A 3-team race between Baylor, TCU and Texas for the defensive tackle ended two days before signing day. Billings went on ESPN Central Texas and announced he would play for Baylor. It completed a big class landing the 250 recruit.

-Kevin Lonnquist



A late check

You just never know if anything can change with recruiting. Baylor's class has really been together since late June. This was such an unusual year because the majority of the class was formed so early. The only player this program lost was when DB Chad Adams switched to Arizona State.


As history shows, when Baylor locks down its group, it stays together. We thought it would be a good time to see if everything was still in good shape with the 2014 group as Feb. 5 approaches. Of course, we don't need to hear from RB Terence Williams, Ath Davion Hall, TE Jordan Feuerbacher, LB Grant Campbell, DBs Chris Sanders and Tion Wright and OL Jarell Broxton since they're already on campus.


> Blake Blackmar - He's taking his official visit to Baylor this weekend and said he's "looking forward to signing on signing day."


> Jourdan Blake - Blake met with Baylor assistant Chris Achuff on Thursday, the first day after the dead period, and will follow up with his official visit this weekend. He said "all is going to plan" for him to ink with Baylor on signing day.


> James David - Asked if everything is in order to sign with Baylor, he said "it should be." But asked if he'll arrive this summer, he quickly replied "I don't know." He also didn't say whether he would take an official visit before signing day.


> Jamie Jacobs - The local product says "everything is in order" for him to sign. He'll take his official the weekend of the 24th.


> Devonte Jones - One of Baylor's first commits will finally take his official visit on January 24th.


> Xavier Jones - He'll take his official visit the weekend of January 24th. He said his "grades are good so right now I'm just waiting for signing day."


> Patrick Lawrence - He'll join fellow O-lineman Blake Blackmar on his official visit this weekend. He said everything is set for him to sign and enroll in the summer.


> Ira Lewis - The Houston Lamar defensive end says everything's in order to sign. He'll take his official on the 24th.


>Blake Mahon - Coppell's TE said everything is still solid with Baylor.


>Josh Malin - Cibolo Steele's defensive end said, "Still a Baylor Bear.''


>Josh Pelzel - Rockdale's OL said everything is great and is solid with his commitment.


>Chris Platt - All the Willis WR had to say about his Baylor commitment was, "Solid".


>Greg Roberts - The Nacogdoches DE said, "I'm signing with Baylor on Feb. 5.''


>Verkedric Vaughns - Mesquite Poteet's DB said everything with Baylor remains really good.


>Ishmael Zamora - Alief Elsik's WR said everything is really good with the Bears


Recruits we didn't hear back from: KD Cannon, Andrew Morris, Chance Waz and T'Kevian Rockwell. With Cannon, we reported last week that his step father Keith Thompson said Cannon will sign with Baylor.

-Jake Shaw & Kevin Lonnquist



Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball

Baylor learned the hard way on Wednesday night that Big 12 road wins are hard to come by. With conference play now more than two weeks in, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams heading into the weekend.

1. Kansas (12-4/3-0) - The win in Ames reminded the Big 12 teams that the conference title still goes through Lawrence.


2. Kansas State (13-4/3-1) - The Wildcats have beaten both of the Oklahoma teams but took a pounding from rival KU.


3. Oklahoma State (15-2/3-1) - The Cowboys can shoot to the top by getting a road win at Kansas this weekend.


4. Iowa State (14-2/3-1) - The Cyclones have lost two straight headed into Saturday's game at Texas.


5. Oklahoma (13-4/2-2) - All four of the Sooners' conference games have been decided by seven points or less.

6. Baylor (13-3/1-2) - The Bears must respond to the flop in Lubbock to prevent a further drop in the standings.


7. Texas (13-4/2-2) - The Longhorns barely beat Texas Tech at home but turned around and dominated West Virginia on the road.


8. West Virginia (10-7/2-2) - The 'Eers opened with two road conference wins -- then lost two straight at home.

9. Texas Tech (9-8/1-3) - The Red Raiders looked like anything but a conference bottom dweller in the win against Baylor.


10. TCU (9-7/0-4) - The Frogs have their most winnable conference game Saturday when they host Texas Tech.

-Jake Shaw



Emptying the Notebook

>In case you missed it, Baylor coach Art Briles received his Region IV coach of the year award at the AFCA awards dinner this past Tuesday in Indianapolis.


>We know Dallas Bishop Dunne OL Jovan Pruitt has visited Baylor before but remains committed to Arkansas. He has told the Razorback coaches that he will not take other visits. Baylor has been interested but when we spoke with Bishop Dunne coach Michael Johnson if Pruitt would have any reason to visit other schools, Johnson said none.


>It appears to be a pretty quiet time in basketball recruiting. The Bears only have one spot left for the 2014 class and when you look at Baylor's known offers for 2014, there's really not much out there. The choices are limited. I doubled checked with a couple of people and Euless Trinity C Myles Turner and Findlay Prep (NV) guard Rashad Vaughn are no longer consider the Bears. The late signing period is in April.


>At this point, there don't seem to be any transfers involving players leaving Baylor or those considering Baylor. But this process is far from over. Remember, you're probably going to have some players leave school after spring football. That's how Baylor picked up Boise State DE Sam Ukwuachu. He transferred to Baylor last May.

-SicEmSports

What was going on in East Texas this week?
What a wild Wednesday we had out there. It started off with speculation of whether Texarkana Liberty-Eylau standout Davion Hall was going to stick with his commitment to Baylor and enroll at Texas A&M, then there was baseless talk of Mount Pleasant WR KD Cannon deciding on Feb. 5 on whether he was going to sign with Baylor or Texas A&M. Finally, Longview DT Zaycoven Henderson de-committed from Texas.

As for Hall and Cannon, the talk appeared to be more fueled from Texas A&M or planted by someone. Oddly, it all started to surface right as the two were getting into San Antonio for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl two weeks ago. I talked to someone who had a pretty good feel for this and the theory was that maybe A&M was pushing these talking points to see if the Baylor coaching staff was going to trip up and make a mistake with either one or both and give one a reason to reconsider. If one did, then the other would follow. Remember, Hall and Cannon have become pretty tight over the last several months. Cannon has been on record saying Hall was going to be his roommate.



Baylor appeared to keep its cool and didn't take the bate - if that's what A&M was trying to do. Still, I just had a hard time believing that either one was waffling. Why? Well, actions speak louder than words. Hall and Cannon have taken several unofficial visits to Waco. Hall came to Waco in June when Las Vegas Bishop Gorman QB Randall Cunningham visited. Cannon has taken so many visits to Waco he can make the drive blindfolded.


What Baylor wants in these recruiting relationships is to build a young man's character along with a sense of trust, loyalty. Most importantly, the staff wants the players to value the relationship. Of course, the ability will attract anyone. I saw how Hall interacted with the coaching staff at the Marshall camp in June. That wasn't an act. It was genuine.


But I also think Hall has that personality where he likes to keep people guessing because there is sport to it. He knows people are following his every move. He has the power. He's not being malicious with it. He's kind of poking fun at them. His latest tweet that his bags were packed without mentioning a school had everyone freaking out.


I'm sure the Baylor coaching staff has had its moments of concern. But it survived the first wave in early November when Hall didn't go to Alabama for his official visit. And even though Hall had reportedly signed financial aid documents for A&M, the Aggies were still facing a tough fight. By Saturday, the Hall chapter should be put to rest as he is expected to arrive on campus. As for Cannon, that should end on Feb. 5 when he signs.


For Henderson, it was a bizarre 24 hours. He went from de-committing from Texas, to looking at Texas Tech to having a conversation with Baylor (it didn't really go very far) to telling Texas he was staying committed to flipping to Texas A&M. The Baylor angle on this was odd because Henderson never visited Waco but mentioned Baylor was in his final three. It was hard to see how that matched up.


Henderson's name has been mud since this all started. Some of the talk has been absurd. But Henderson brought some of it upon himself. Flipping commitments to three schools in three months would indicate indecisiveness or not taking the process seriously. You would just hope that his tour of Texas has finished.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Porter still on target
In the past, when a Baylor signee has failed to qualify and has enrolled at a junior college, Baylor hasn't had the best luck at getting the player to eventually land in Waco. Maurice Porter appears to be an exception.

A member of the 2013 class, Porter didn't qualify coming out of Fort Bend Marshall. So he spent the past semester at Navarro, where he started all 12 games at left tackle for a 9-3 team. His coach, Brian Mayper, was impressed with Porter's play.

"I thought Maurice Porter did a great job for us," he said. "He was the starter for us every game at left tackle. He's going to be really good. He's a special player."

Mayper said Porter could graduate this December. He'd bet almost anything that Porter's next destination will be Baylor, where he intended to be all along.

"They still want him back," Mayper said. "I would say he's going to go back there. I would say I'm 99.9 percent sure he'll go to Baylor."

As I mentioned, not all players that don't qualify for Baylor get to Waco. Darius Moore, Porter's teammate -- both at Marshall High and Navarro -- will not be a Baylor Bear.

"Darius Moore started off well, started a few games, but he got in trouble and got kicked out of the program," Mayper said, not wanting to elaborate.

But Porter should make it to Waco after all. And Navarro -- always loaded with prospects -- has another player catching Baylor's attention. Receiver Austin Collins had a huge senior year in 2012 at Navasota, but like Porter, he didn't qualify. He had a nice freshman year at Navarro (42-559, 5 TDs receiving) and will get interest from FBS programs.

"They've talked about Austin Collins, which he did a good job for us this season," Mayper said. "Receiving is kind of a different deal for Baylor because they can pick and choose who they want. But they're definitely going to look to see how he is next fall."
-Jake Shaw






Follow up on Navarro

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that Rockdale LB James David has been talking to a couple of junior colleges. Navarro is one of them. Mayper said the dialogue has been pretty productive so far. It would seem that if David double signs, the smart money would be with Navarro.


Also, we know Wylie LB/S TK Rockwell has talked to Navarro as well. There's a bit of a concern over Rockwell's standardized test score. However, it doesn't appear that it's too much for Baylor to worry about. The worst case scenario is that Baylor can wait for Rockwell all the way through summer to see if he gets his qualifying score. Mayper said he doesn't expect Rockwell to sign with Navarro on Feb. 5.


With any recruiting class, there's always going to be a couple of players whose academic situation hasn't been completely settled come signing day. We'll keep you posted.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Jan. 26 Junior Day visitors

This is just a small sampling. But here is who SicEmSports knows has said they are definitely coming. Baylor's junior day is also the same as Texas A&M and TCU. We will continue to reach out
to other prospects:


>Blake Lynch, Ath, Troup (Baylor commit)


>Ryan Newsome, Ath, Aledo (Baylor offer) - he said it's between Baylor and Texas A&M


>Chris Warren, RB, Rockwall (Baylor offer) - mom says they're going to the basketball game on Jan. 25 vs. Texas


>Ronnie Major, OL, Huntsville (Baylor commit)


>James Lockhart, DE, Ennis (Baylor offer)


>Ronald Jones II, RB, North McKinney (Baylor offer)


>James Proche, WR, Dallas Prime Prep (Baylor recruit)


>Keaton Sutherland, OL, FM Marcus (Baylor offer)


>Richard Moore, LB, Cedar Hill (Baylor offer)


>Chad President, QB, Temple (Baylor commit)


>Cameron Townsend, LB, Fort Bend Ridge Point (Baylor offer)


Note: FB Marshall DB Kendall Sheffield, Stephenville QB Jarrett Stidham and Mesquite Poteet LB Malik Jefferson haven't decided on their junior day. The same goes for Sulphur Springs WR Larry Pryor. Rockwall-Heath OL Trevor Elbert. Gilmer DB Kris Boyd is going to Texas A&M. As you read earlier, Longview RB JaMycal Hasty is also going to A&M.

-Kevin Lonnquist




This and that

>It looks like all of the assistant coaches on the football staff will be returning for another season. The best we can tell, none are being pursued. However, there are only two college openings in Western Kentucky and likely Vanderbilt with James Franklin expected to take the job at Penn State. However, the American Football Coaches Conference is Jan. 12-14 in Indianapolis. And so you never know if a coach trying to fill out his staff has someone in mind.


>We're hearing that former West Orange-Stark DB Justin Thomas is considering a transfer from Utah close to home. While no decision has been made, it would be a bold move by Thomas because he would have to sit in 2014. He would only have two years remaining. He's always liked Baylor and came close to going to Baylor on several occasions. The reason he didn't in 2012 was that Utah coach Kyle Wittingham visited him in person and convinced him to come to Salt Lake City.


>The mock drafts are coming fast and furious. I happened to see Sports Illustrated's first mock draft. Baylor OL Cyril Richardson is picked to go No. 25 to San Diego. We'll how that unfolds because a zillion of these will be coming out. As an aside, I saw another mock draft where Buffalo LB Khalil Mack - Baylor played Buffalo way back on Sept. 6 and the attention on Mack was intense even then - is projected to go No. 17 to Dallas.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Big 12 Power Ratings - Football

With the bowl season officially behind us, this is the final week SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where.

1. Baylor - Despite the Fiesta Bowl dud, the Bears won the Big 12
2. Oklahoma - Arguably the most impressive team in the bowl season
3. Oklahoma State - Can this team trust J.W. Walsh to run the offense in 2014?
4. Kansas State - Jake Waters establishes himself as this team's leader

5. Texas Tech - This team will miss TE Jace Amaro as he declared for the NFL draft
6. Texas - An offseason filled with so many questions for new coach Charlie Strong
7. TCU - Horned Frogs will need to find some solid RBs in the spring

8. Iowa State - A defense that struggled all season made strides at the end
9. West Virginia - Defensive improvement is a must in the spring

10. Kansas - More JUCOs have to help this turnaround
-Kevin Lonnquist



Big 12 Power Ratings - Basketball

With Big 12 play underway SicEmSports unveils its first and ranks the conference teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where.

1. Iowa State - Off to the best start (14-0) in school history

2. Oklahoma State - Averaging 79 points in its first two conference game

3. Baylor - At least, the Bears got the trip to Ames, IA out of the way early

4. Kansas - Jayhawks needed that 90-83 win at OU in the worst way

5. Oklahoma - Sooners have a big game with Iowa State Saturday
6. Kansas State - Wildcats can make life tough for teams with their smothering defense

7. Texas - This team can score and can't play defense
8. West Virginia - Quietly Bob Huggins team is off to a nice start (10-5, 2-0)
9. TCU - Will the Horned Frogs score enough to stay in games?

10. Texas Tech - Tubby Smith has the Big 12's best free throw shooting team (75%)

-Kevin Lonnquist



Empyting the Notebook

>As we wrote a couple of days ago, the official visit dates for the balance of the 2014 class is going to be split between Jan. 18 and Jan, 25. Among the Jan. 17 visitors will be Rockdale OL Josh Pelzel, Coppell TE Blake Mahon and Cibolo Steele DL Josh Malin. Among the Jan. 24 visitors are Nacogdoches DE Greg Roberts, Waxahachie OL Patrick Lawrence and Magnolia West DE Xavier Jones. We have messages into the other recruits and hope to update that as we move along.


>Don't know what this means but when we asked 2013 grayshirt Wesley Harris from Fort Worth Southwest if he was coming in this weekend he replied he didn't know yet. Don't read too much into it yet.


>We have made several attempts to find out if former Baylor 2013 commit Kyle Fulks has ever heard from the ACT board about his test score appeal. Those messages have not been returned. If he had been cleared, then he likely would have had a chance to find a Division I home. He's currently at Blinn in Brenham.


>Baylor 2016 QB target Devin Williams - we wrote about the Fort Worth Southwest product at Thanksgiving - has been invited to participate in the Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour March 8 at DeSoto High School. Williams has not received any offers yet but if he excels in this offseason, then they should follow.

-SicEmSports

Note: You might have seen elsewhere or internet gossip that Baylor 2014 LB commit T'Kevian Rockwell had been arrested. We can tell you that is NOT the case. We know what happened. But given what we have learned, we're not going to report what happened. Suffice to say, Rockwell's status with Baylor has not changed. He is also still attending Wylie and we have every reason to believe he will show up for the second semester when it begins on Jan. 6.





If you don't know anything about what happened with Rockwell, then pretend you didn't read this.


A long way to go

Rockdale 2014 soft commit, LB James David, had a strong season after coming back from a pretty tough knee injury in 2012.


He finished the 2013 season with 113 tackles including eight for loss, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries (one went for a touchdown).


But his future at getting into Baylor is far from a certainty. As we continue to check David's academic progress, we do know that David still has a lot more to do in several areas to get this part of his resume in order for him to even have a chance to get into a Baylor.


We also know that David has been speaking with several junior colleges. So there is the possibility he could double sign on Feb. 5, 2014. That really shouldn't surprise anyone given what we have learned when he gave that odd commitment to Baylor back in June.


While there is another semester to go, the early read on a best-case scenario for James is that he would arrive at Baylor in August before fall workouts begin.

-Kevin Lonnquist


Florida LB wants to hear from Baylor

If Baylor still wants to find some defensive help and wants to focus on a linebacker, Fort Pierce (FL) Central's Sharieff Rhaheed would like to get to know the staff more. The 5.7 3-star prospect holds 30 offers and has taken official visits to Arkansas and Missouri.


At 6-4, 215, Rhaheed said he would like to learn a little more about Baylor because he has seen the defense take major steps in 2013. And a Big 12 championship didn't hurt it either.


"I've seen them play three times this year, and I've really watched the way [Eddie] Lackey has played,'' Rhaheed said. "They're pretty good.''


Rhaheed is looking at everything right now. He moved up five spots on the Rivals outside linebackers' national list to No. 40. However, he missed most of the 2013 season with a wrist injury.


While he told our Arkansas colleagues that he has narrowed his list to Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Louisville and Tennessee, he appeared to leave the door open should he and the Baylor coaching staff ever make contact.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Lodge has stronger feeling toward Baylor

Cedar Hill WR DaMarkus Lodge is feeling pretty good these days after helping the Longhorns win the Class 5A Division II state championship last week, a 34-24 victory over Katy.


Lodge rushed for 103 yards including a 61-yard touchdown run. He also made an incredible catch on the go-ahead 3-yard touchdown catch midway through the fourth quarter from QB Justin McMillan. The play unfolded as McMillan rolled to his left and found Lodge right on a tight window with little room to spare before he went out of bounds. But Lodge showed uncoachable body control and kept both feet in bounds.


"I saw Justin scrambling out of the pocket, and I thought he was going to run it in,'' Lodge said, "so I was actually coming out of the end zone to hit the man chasing him, and I saw the ball flying at me at a high speed. I caught it knowing where I was on the field and made sure I got my two feet down. It was good.''


Baylor appears to have made up some lost ground to the likes of Texas and Oklahoma with the Rivals No. 29 2015 prospect. But there's still a ways to go here. Lodge finished the season with 1,255 receiving yards (17.4 ypc) and 22 touchdowns.


"[Baylor] is definitely on the top of my list right now if I had one,'' Lodge said.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Big 12 Bowl Season

A look at the conference teams playing in their bowl games. All times are central are in chronological order. All rankings are BCS. The Big 12 only has six bowl representatives. TCU, West Virginia, Iowa State and Kansas were not bowl eligible.


Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl

Michigan (7-5) vs. Kansas State (7-5)

9:15 p.m. Saturday, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, AZ (ESPN)
The skinny: A very intriguing Big 12-Big 10 matchup. The Wolverines really struggled defensively this year surrendering 26 points per game but also losing four games by four points or less. Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner (toe/foot) is out, according to coach Brady Hoke. Freshman Shane Morris gets the start. The Wildcats won five out of their last seven to become bowl eligible. Coach Bill Snyder has maintained there will be a quarterback rotation between Jake Waters and Daniel Sams. DE Ryan Mueller is the Big 12 defensive player of the year.


Valero Alamo Bowl

No. 10 Oregon (10-2) vs. Texas (8-4)

5:45 p.m. Monday, Alamodome, San Antonio (ESPN)

The skinny: The final game for Texas coach Mack Brown, who announced on Dec. 14 he is stepping down. Of course, the speculation surrounding his replacement is at the forefront. DE Jackson Jeffcoat completes a brilliant career. The Ducks had BCS title hopes but fell short because their offense just wasn't physical enough. QB Marcus Mariota has announced he will return for 2014.


National University Holiday Bowl

Texas Tech (7-5) vs. No. 14 Arizona State (10-3)

8:15 p.m. Monday, Qualcom Stadium, San Diego (ESPN)

The skinny: Two programs heading in different directions. Despite losing the PAC 12 championship game at home to Stanford, the Sun Devils are hot winning seven of their last eight. Quarterback Taylor Kelly has thrown for 3,510 yards and 28 TDs. The Red Raiders look like they will start QB Michael Brewer. That caused walk-on Baker Mayfield to move on. Tech lost its last five games because it gave up at least 38 points in all of them and couldn't run the football.


Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

No. 15 UCF (11-1) vs. No. 6 Baylor (11-1)

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ (ESPN)

The skinny: The Big 12 champion Bears are trying to finish a magical season with a 12th victory. It appears WR Tevin Reese (wrist) should play but warmups should tell the story. The Baylor defense finished second in the Big 12 in total defense at 344.1 ypg. The Golden Knights won the AAC thanks to stellar QB play from Blake Bortles who could be first round choice should he declare for the NFL draft. RB Storm Johnson is 1,000-yard bruising rusher.


AllState Sugar Bowl

No. 11 Oklahoma (10-2) vs. No. 3 Alabama (11-1)

7:30 p.m. Thursday, Superdome, New Orleans (ESPN)

The skinny: Somehow, the Sooners found their way into the BCS with an at-large berth. They've had quarterback inconsistencies all year between Blake Bell and Trevor Knight. This team has had to rely on its running game. What Alabama must face is how interested it is in playing this game since head coach Nick Saban had this team prepared to play in Pasadena, CA in the BCS title game until the freakish loss to Auburn. QB A.J. McCarron makes his final start.


AT&T Cotton Bowl

No. 13 Oklahoma State (10-2) vs. No. 8 Missouri (11-2)

7:30 p.m. Jan. 3, AT&T Stadium, Arlington (FOX)

The skinny: Both of these teams needed wins to get to the BCS but lost their finales. Still, this should be a great matchup between the former Big 12 rivals. The Cowboys have had excellent quarterback play from senior Clint Chelf. Missouri, which won the SEC East, has one of the most dangerous wide receiver corps in the country led by former Rivals No. 1 prospect Dorial-Green Beckham.

-SicEmSports



Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where. These rankings were before the bowl games.

1. Baylor - Big 12 Champions looking for a Fiesta Bowl win
2. Oklahoma - You look at this team and wonder how it won 10 games
3. Oklahoma State - Cotton Bowl matchup with Missouri should be a dandy
4. Texas - Longhorns have daunting task in Mack Brown's finale against Oregon

5. Kansas State - Second consecutive bowl appearance in Arizona (2013 Fiesta)
6. Texas Tech - Coach Kliff Kingsbury's first season ending with a major thud
7. TCU - Horned Frogs make overhaul with the offensive coaching staff

8. Iowa State - Paul Rhoads got this team to play with great effort at the end
9. West Virginia - If the defense isn't better in 2014, it could be Dana Holgorsen's last

10. Kansas - Finding stability at quarterback is a must in the offseason
-Kevin Lonnquist


Emptying the Notebook

>As for the Texas opening, it appears that any serious movement by AD Steve Patterson will probably start next week after Texas finishes its Alamo Bowl game with Oregon on Monday. Everything that we have learned to this point reveals Art Briles name continues to be a part of the discussion. What we can tell you is that it doesn't seem like Briles is the first option as Texas wants to make a run at Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher first. Even though the movement may start next week, if Texas thinks it has a real chance at Fisher, it obviously must wait until the BCS championship game on Jan. 6 before it can move.


However, we do know that Briles is among the top 3-4 names being considered in this process. Of course, Baylor is watching this closely. There is natural concern, but everybody in Waco has to ride through this as uncomfortable as it is. You've just watched Baylor go through arguably the best four-year stretch in its history. Now, it has a coach that a lot of football programs covet including the NFL (Washington). That's just the way this works. Briles' salary of about $4.5 million reportedly makes him among the Top 10 paid coaches in college football. Chip Brown of Orangebloods has said that Texas offering anything beyond $7 million per year is not accurate. That would still be 50 percent increase to what Briles just agreed to in mid-November.


But in a worst case scenario - meaning Briles leaves for Texas - the program has never been in better position than before he arrived. The facilities (present and coming) are great recruiting tools. And Baylor AD Ian McCaw would be in a great position to sell this program to a better applicant pool.


We'll stay on this in the best and most responsible way possible.

-SicEmSports

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.





Jones talks Baylor offer



In the Dec. 6 Baylor Blitz, we spoke with McKinney North 2015 running back Ronald Jones II about him hoping that he would be in touch with Baylor and maybe get an offer.


What a difference two weeks makes.


On Tuesday night, Jones spoke with Baylor assistant Jim Gush who relayed the staff was offering him. There are a lot of possibilities that Jones (6-0, 185) presents. He's considered an all-purpose back, who also has pretty soft receiving hands.


"Coach Gush and I just talked and he said they all thought I could be pretty explosive in their offense,'' Jones said. "They love the fact that I'm a track guy and that I can use my speed pretty well wherever I am on the field.''


Not long after Baylor offered, Oklahoma followed with its on Wednesday. But when it comes to the Bears Jones said he has been a big fan of Bears' running back Lache Seastrunk because he thinks his style is pretty close to Seastrunk's.


"He's one of my favorites,'' Jones said. "He takes a pounding, but I love his fight because he keeps playing hard every time. That's the way I want to play.''


Jones rushed for 2,406 yards and 39 touchdowns (9.9 ypc) this year as McKinney North went 7-5. Jones hasn't been to Waco yet but he said he's talked to Baylor about coming to a junior day in early 2014. That will be his first trip.


But don't look for him to commit anytime soon. There's probably a solid chance he'll keep adding to his offer list within the next 2-3 months.

-Kevin Lonnquist





Filling Big Shoes

Jarell Broxton accepts the assignment that Baylor is likely to give him in 2014 - consensus All-American guard Cyril Richardson's replacement.


The heralded Richardson, who Art Briles has said should be the first offensive lineman taken in the 2014 NFL draft next May, will vacate his left guard position. Broxton (6-6, 325) started developing a relationship with Richardson ever since he visited Waco this past summer. The Lackawanna College All-American signed his NLI with Baylor on Wednesday and is expected to report around Jan. 10.


"None of this bothers me about having to try and do what he has done,'' Broxton said. "He's a great player. I want to be a great player. I know it's not easy. But I'm going to try and do that. I had to fill big shoes at Lacakawanna so I'm used to that. I think I was one of the best guards in the national junior college ranks.''


One of the best tests Broxton had during the season was in October against 4-star defensive tackle Cory Johnson who signed with Kentucky on Wednesday. In that game, Broxton held his own and graded at 91 percent in that game.


"After taking on someone like him, it gave me a lot of confidence,'' Broxton said. "I knew I could block this guy.''


While he has several more weeks of down time, he's going through some strenuous workouts with his cousin Marcus Newby, who is playing for Nebraska.

-Kevin Lonnquist




From baseball to Kaz

Bakersfield College linebacker Grant Campbell, who signed with Baylor on Wednesday, didn't have any college football opportunities coming out of high school.


But he had baseball. A four-year year starting center fielder at Bakersfield Garces Memorial , the only chance to continue his athletic career was to play college baseball at Cal-State Bakersfield. It only lasted a year. Plus, Campbell didn't lose any eligibility.


He arrived at CSB in the fall of 2011 and didn't play any in the spring of 2012. Why? Because his heart was always on football, and he wanted to find a place that would give him a chance. He transferred over to Bakersfield College in the summer of 2012 and immediately became an important piece of the defense.


"I always felt like I was cheating myself if I really didn't see this football thing through,'' Campbell said. "I was better at football than baseball. I was pretty good at baseball. I was the cleanup hitter.''


Baylor witnessed that dream. Campbell should report the week of Jan. 6. What helped sell Campbell was when he met strength and conditioning coach Kaz Kazadi.


"That played a huge role in me committing to Baylor,'' he said. "I had a great talk with him because he told me what he expects mentally and physically. I talked to the coaches who really credit a lot of their success to him. You can see how the players really working for him.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



Locke being patient

Beaumont Central 2015 defensive back James Locke should know Baylor inside and out. He was in Waco three times during the 2013 season.


There's no question, he's developed a pretty good relationship with defensive backs coach Carlton Buckels.


"I talk to him just about every week,'' Locke said. "I think we get along great. I went to their spring game, a camp and the game against West Virginia.''


However, Baylor still hasn't extended an offer yet. Locke said the coaches may want to watch him go through spring football before they decide what they want to do. He's fine with that. Locke already has two other offers from Northwestern and SMU.


"I'm just going to keep working and proving to them that I can play for them,'' he said. "I like Baylor a lot. They're getting some really good defensive backs to play for them.''

-Kevin Lonnquist




We're calling it: James Lockhart will commit to Baylor

I don't know when. But everything that I'm getting from him points to the Ennis 2015 defensive lineman doing this. There are several reasons for this:


· Lockhart has been to at least 4 Baylor home football games this year.


· He's pretty good friends with Baylor 2014 RB commit Terence Williams.


· Lockhart witnessed the Baylor defense grow this year and now has verification that the program wants to reach new heights on both sides of the ball.


· He's talking to someone on that staff weekly.


· Most importantly, he said last week that he considered Baylor his leader. Now, he did use the phrase "as of now". And that's fine. Why show all your cards when you have some time.


If I had to take a guess, I think he's probably going to do it when Baylor has its first junior day in 2014.

-Kevin Lonnquist





First impressions of UCF

Though I did see parts of a few UCF games this year, I never watched them intently, not thinking they would be Baylor's bowl opponent. So I did that this week instead, watching the replay of then unranked UCF's 38-35 upset Louisville, ranked No. 8 at the time.


This might've been the most impressive comeback win for any team in college football this season. UCF trailed 28-7 midway through the third quarter before rallying for 24 straight points and a 31-28 lead. Trailing for the first time all game, Louisville drove right down for a touchdown to regain the lead -- but UL left three minutes left.


UCF used all but 23 seconds of those three minutes, getting the game-winning touchdown on a two-yard touchdown pass. Louisville did get to midfield in two plays on its final drive, but its Hail Mary it the turf with no time left to seal UCF's amazing comeback.


QB Blake Bortles gets most of the attention, at least from a national perspective. And he's very solid. But somewhat similar to Baylor in that the running game makes the offense that much more dynamic, UCF RB Storm Johnson is the key to the offense.


He was ranked the third-best running back in the 2010 class, played sparingly as a true freshman at Miami, then transferred to UCF in 2011. He sat out that year, rushed for 507 yards last season, then had a breakout season with 1,015 yards and 11 TDs. HE reminds me of Glasco Martin -- big, strong, runs upright -- but he's more explosive and has better lateral movement.


Because of that, look for UCF to use him in the passing game against Baylor (he had 29 catches for 261 yards and 3 TDs this year). Against Louisville, UCF twice used him on screen passes, including one instance where UCF faked a inside receiver screen, then went to the opposite side of the field to Johnson on a screen for a 20-plus yard gain. He also made a huge play on a dump off pass against Louisville, cutting back across the field to transform a short gain into 28 yards.


Either Johnson or freshman William Stanback (a smaller, more slashing style of runner) are usually in a one-back spread formation most of the time. I think I counted three times in the first half that UCF had a tight end or fullback in the game. Mostly, though, it's one back, two split wide either side. Bortles will use a lot of play action.


When you think of a typical spread offense, you should think of UCF. There's not a whole lot of downfield passing, at least not against Louisville. Rather, UCF would send its outside receivers on verticals but usually throw to one of its two inside receivers, both who usually ran out routes or tried to find a space in the zone. Bortles is rarely under center.


UCF's offensive line had its best game of the year against Louisville. UCF didn't give up a sack to a Louisville team with the seventh most in the nation, and UCF averaged 6.1 yards per carry.


The defense runs something similar to Baylor's 4-2-5. Was hard to tell if the third linebacker was more of a big safety, similar to Sam Holl. UCF blitzes a lot, mostly sending linebackers up the middle.


I did notice that UCF's cornerbacks usually gave up a lot of space to the outside receivers, yet the safeties (or nickel backs) would crowd the inside receivers at the line of scrimmage. I think that's something Baylor's outside receivers would feast on.


Granted, this was arguably the best game UCF played all year, but I came away very impressed. UCF's offense is balanced and efficient, the kind that can take its time moving down the field. The defense is aggressive. After watching this game, I believe even more now that UCF will have a decent shot at the upset. Perhaps next week when I watch its game against South Florida will change my mind.

-Jake Shaw




Emptying the Notebook

>Several Baylor 2015 recruits said they have talked to the coaching staff about coming to Baylor's first junior day. The program typically holds its first the Saturday before National Signing Day (Feb. 5). So it's looking like its Feb. 1. That appears to be the same date Oklahoma will have its first junior day.


>The football team will arrive in Phoenix on Dec. 26 and start going through workouts leading up the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl in Glendale.


>Heard that when Longview 2015 RB Jamycal Hasty met with the Baylor coaches recently on the high school campus, the meeting went really well. It is sounding like Hasty could be leaning in Baylor's direction.


>While he has some time, Port Arthur Memorial 2016 RB Kameron Martin shared with us that he was pretty excited that Baylor's interest in him continues to be pretty strong. "I love them,'' he said. We'll just have to see how that plays out.


>Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk really told students at the school student union "that I really want to come back" for his 2014 season. But many believe his decision has far from been made. Underclassmen have until Jan. 15 to declare for the 2014 NFL draft.


>Most indications are that Texas' search for Mack Brown's replacement will last into January because the two national championship game coaches, Florida State's Jimbo Fisher and Auburn's Gus Malzahn's, won't play until Jan. 6. We still have every reason to believe Baylor's Art Briles is under consideration for this position. To what extent likely will not be known for a couple of weeks. I know some of you don't like reading this but we all have to acknowledge the fact that his name is in the mix whether it's deep or not. Even OrangeBloods keeps mentioning his namae for the job. What we can tell you, though, is that when it comes to Baylor really wanting to hang on to coaches it wants to, the university has historically done a very good job of keeping them.


>Baylor AD Ian McCaw tweeted out this interesting fact connecting the growth in Baylor athletics… Economic impact study says @BaylorAthletics has $373.3M impact on Central Texas economy and creates 2,200 jobs. The story is also on the athletic department web site.

-SicEmSports

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.







NOTE: We're hearing through that Baylor offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery is a candidate and may have some interest in the vacant head coaching position at Arkansas State. The Red Wolves are looking for their third coach in as many seasons. Bryan Harsin just took over at Boise State on Wednesday. Harsin replaced Gus Malzahn last year after Malzahn went to Auburn. We will keep you posted as this develops.
-SicEmSports








Davis talks Baylor


Despite the icy road conditions in Dallas-Fort Worth last Friday, it turned out to be worth the effort for 2015 Plano West/AAU Texas Titans center Tyler Davis.



The Rivals No. 20 player watched the No. 14 Bears upend then No. 3 Kentucky, 67-62, with an effort that only big men could love. Baylor outrebounded Kentucky, 41-25.



That only helped Baylor's case with Davis. He's visited Baylor twice in the summer and during the homecoming football game against Iowa State.



So far so good.



"Baylor stands pretty high with me,'' Davis said. "I think I could learn a lot from coach [Scott] Drew and I know how much they would push me to get better. I talked to Isaiah Austin and got a really good understanding of how hard they work.



"The support they would have like 1 on 1 tutors and having tutors come on road trips really impressed me.''



Davis is definitely a banger at 6-10, 265. He's currently not playing for two reasons. First, the District 10-5A executive committee ruled him ineligible following his transfer from Frisco Liberty. Second, he is two months removed from having surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee. He said he's about 95 recovered.



"It's probably a blessing not playing,'' Davis said. "I know it hurts to have my junior year taken away from me, but I want to work on my body and my grades. When Duke was coming around, that really caught my attention.''



Davis doesn't have a Top 5 or Top 10. And he said he really wants to focus his recruiting more on evaluating the programs because of the players, the coaches and how he would fit versus rankings and TV appearances.


-Kevin Lonnquist






Broxton will make it official Wednesday
When a midseason offer came in from the University of Miami (Fla.), Jarell Broxton didn't even blink. Asked if it affected his commitment to Baylor, the Lackawanna (Penn.) JC offensive lineman laughed.

"Not at all," he said.

The first day mid-year junior college transfers can sign is on Wednesday. Broxton said he won't waste any time -- he'll sign that day. He has the paperwork in hand from Baylor and is scheduled to graduate in December as planned. He'll arrive in Waco on Jan. 10.

He never made it down to Waco after taking an official visit during the summer, but he enjoyed watching Baylor's Big 12 championship season unfold from far.

"I was really excited," he said. "I'm glad I'll get to be part of that in January. I know we can keep it rolling and win another when I'm there."

Broxton said he talks with Baylor OL coach Randy Clements "all the time." That included a conversation on Wednesday of this week. Broxton believes he can step right in this January and take the place of departing all-American Cyril Richardson.

"He wants me to play left guard after Cyril [Richardson] leaves," Broxton said. "He has a good feeling I can come in and play right away."
-Jake Shaw






Call him Gregory, if you please


Whatever you do, don't call him Greg. He prefers Gregory. And when that request is coming from someone 6-6, 280, you better follow instructions.



But Gregory Little is a gentle giant of sorts because he's soft spoken and very appreciative of what's happened one year into his varsity football career. The Allen 2016 right tackle has everybody's attention.



"My coaches told my mom one day that I was going to get a lot of attention,'' Little said. "I didn't pay too much attention to it then.''



On Wednesday, Baylor became the eighth school to offer him along with Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Clemson. To be honest, Little knows very little about Baylor and just spoke with linebackers coach Jim Gush on the phone Wednesday. He has not been to Waco.



"It went very well,'' Little said. "He seems like a cool guy. He wanted me to come down to a bowl practice. When I watch Baylor, that offense is explosive and scary.''



Little's only chance to see Baylor in person was as a guest of Oklahoma State. Of course, that turned into a long night for the Bears but it really didn't impact Little's impression.



"I could still tell that their offensive line is really physical,'' he said. "Getting a Baylor offer means a lot because of what they're doing.''



As young as he is, his physique is still a long ways away from taking shape. But his athleticism is noticeable because he plays basketball. That's helped his footwork and likely the first reason why all of these schools jumped on board so early and why more will follow.



His vertical is 29 inches but his wingspan - measured two years ago is 6-11 - and his bench (225) and squat (330) should all go up.



Allen, the No. 1 team in the 5A state of Texas, plays No. 2 DeSoto in a rematch of last year's Division I state semifinal at 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Mesquite Memorial.



"We're trying to treat it as a regular game,'' Little said.


-Kevin Lonnquist






Freeman's status


Freshman point guard Allerik Freeman hasn't seen the floor this year for the Bears since suffering a hand injury in mid-October. There had been some hope that he would have been ready by the Maui Invitational the week of Thanksgiving. However, Freeman continues to sit.



From what we know, there doesn't seem to be real timetable for Freeman's return and several options are being considered. Of course, the Bears could use another ball handler in the back court with Kenny Chery. A redshirt could be an option.



But with the school currently going through fall semester finals, the time off is probably giving the coaching staff more time consider getting Freeman ready for the Big 12 season that starts Jan. 7 at Iowa State.


-Kevin Lonnquist






Rockwell healthy


While Wylie senior and Baylor 2014 commit T'Kevian Rockwell didn't enjoy the senior season he wanted. He missed nine of 10 regular season games because of a high ankle sprain. But Rockwell returned for the playoffs and played in all four postseason games. Wylie's season ended Monday in the 4A Region II Division I final, a 27-14 loss to Highland Park.



"When he was 100 percent, he was really good,'' Wylie coach Bill Howard said. "The first thing that stands out is his speed. In a lot of situations, he could just bounce outside and create pressure. He got a few sacks for us.''



Well, he wasn't bad either in the return game with either with an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against South Oak Cliff in the regional semifinals.



"Anytime he was out there, something could happen,'' Howard said. "He was definitely a spark for us.''


-Kevin Lonnquist






Baylor coaches busy HS playoff Saturday


Before the dead recruiting period begins on Monday, Baylor coaches will have plenty of opportunity to watch some 2015 targets who are still in the high school playoffs.



Although they turned out the lights last Saturday for Baylor's last home game at Floyd Casey Stadium, stadium officials are probably going to have to turn them back on Saturday evening.



At 1:30, the facility plays host to the Class 5A Division II state semifinal between Cedar Hill and Austin Lake Travis. The Longhorns feature two 2015 Baylor offers in wide receiver DaMarkus Lodge and linebacker Richard Moore. Baylor is also evaluating Longhorn 2015 DB Darrell Miller.




Then there's the Class 3A Division I state semifinal between Stephenville and 2015 QB Jarrett Stidham and Kilgore at 2:00 p.m. in Corsicana.




Also, at 2:00 p.m. they will watch their newest offer, Allen OL Gregory Little and the Eagles play DeSoto at Mesquite Memorial. We already mentioned that game in the Little story.



At 3:30 p.m. in Midlothian the staff should have somebody at the Class 4A Division II state semifinal between Ennis and Aledo. The Lions feature 2014 RB commit Terence Williams and 2015 DL offer James Lockhart who appears to be leaning toward Baylor. Aledo features 2015 athlete Ryan Newsome.



Should be a great weekend for high school football in Texas.


-Kevin Lonnquist






Hill still taking things slow
When I last spoke with Holton Hill, he was in no hurry to dive into the recruiting process. Nothing has changed since then for the 2015 Houston Lamar DB product.

"I'm still talking to a lot of schools on different days," he said. "I haven't made up my mind or anything about top schools."

Baylor, which offered him in June, is one of those schools. Hill actually made time to attend Baylor's win over West Virginia in early October, one of only two games he attended this fall (the other was a nearby Houston game).

"They had the gold helmets on," he said. "It was really nice. It was a real good experience for me. It was really cold, but I really enjoyed going. They just invited me to come, so I made time to go."

Hill had a very solid junior year, getting 41 tackles, returning his one interception for a touchdown, and also returning punts (he took one to the house). It helped him land him an offer from Auburn, his first out-of-state offer. He said he wants to explore other non-Texas programs like Oregon, Oklahoma and LSU. Despite that, he's not exactly looking to leave the state.

"It just depends on the situation," he said. "It will depend on how (my family) feels about me leaving the state. I don't necessarily prefer to leave the state, I just want to go with what feels right."

I'll be sure to keep in touch with Hill throughout his recruitment.
-Jake Shaw






Emptying the Notebook


>Wylie 2014 athlete Kameron Kelly said he spoke with Baylor assistant Jim Gush earlier in the week and said he believes Gush will come by the school to visit him next week. There's no offer, but at 6-2, Kelly is playing cornerback and Division I schools are looking for taller DBs.



>WR Tevin Reese (wrist) tweeted Thursday that he was cleared to play in the Fiesta Bowl against Texas. The timing of his tweet - five days after Texas - made us wonder how close he was to have played against Texas. The answer was not close.



>If you want to get a good read where this is going with Abilene Cooper LB Cordell Dorsey, you might want to check the potential press release that will be sent out Wednesday for the JUCO signing day. The release should announce that Broxton has signed his letter of intent and that Kingwood Park TE Jordan Feuerbacher, Texarkana Liberty-Eylau Ath Davion Hall and Ennis RB Terence Williams have signed their financial aid documents - something SicEmSports reported on in late October. If Dorsey, who is also a mid-semester graduate, is on the release, then there's your answer about him coming in for the spring semester. But if you don't that doesn't necessarily mean anything either. We know Dorsey's sexual assault case is still pending.



>Just to catch you up on some other football awards:


*Baylor coach Art Briles was named one of 10 finalists for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year and one of five finalists for the Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year award.

*Baylor QB Bryce Petty was named one of the finalists for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award.

*Baylor OL Cyril Richardson earned 2013 Jim Parker Award.



>And if you didn't see it, Baylor University's Hurd Tennis Center was selected to host the 2015 NCAA Tennis Championships, the NCAA announced on Wednesday.



"Baylor is honored and excited to host the 2015 NCAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships," Baylor Athletics Director Ian McCaw said. "We look forward to providing the teams and student-athletes with a first class environment and tremendous experience."



>USA Today had a report of Division I college football's highest paid assistant coaches in 2012. It used tax returns when it came to finding out salaries for Baylor. Defensive coordinator Phil Bennett earned $483,994. But we're hearing the salary bump the staff earned last month pushed Bennett to near or at $1 million. Last month, head coach Art Briles received a 10-year $4.5 per year extension.


-SicEmSports

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.





Baylor the underdog in both Cowboys Stadium matchups
It's not often basketball bluebloods circle Baylor on the calendar in the preseason. But Kentucky -- both the men and their women -- likely have been looking forward to tonight's matchups for months.

Not only did the Baylor men upset Kentucky last year, ending UK's 55-game winning streak at Rupp Arena, the Lady Bears absolutely destroyed the Kentucky women, ranked sixth nationally at the time, by 34 points. This year, both Kentucky teams are better than last year's versions, something that you probably can't say about Baylor (at least not yet).

While the roster has almost completely turned over for Kentucky, Baylor fans will recognize at least three of the starters. Scott Drew heavily recruited both the Harrison twins -- guards Aaron (13.8 ppg) and Andrew (10.4 ppg, 3.4 apg) -- as well as Julius Randle (18.1 ppg, 12.5 rpg). All three are from Texas.

Randle has arguably been the most impressive in a loaded national freshman class. It's a huge matchup for Baylor's Cory Jefferson, both in terms of Baylor's chances of winning, as well as Jefferson's draft stock. If he can hold his own against Randle -- or even come out on top in the matchup -- Baylor has a significantly better chance of winning, and the many NBA scouts in attendance will leave with a more favorable opinion of Jefferson.

This might be a night where Drew goes back to the zone defense. Even though the Bears have been more effective in man-to-man defense, Kentucky shoots just 31 percent from the 3-point line. Kentucky has only made 41 three-pointers, just 15 more than Brady Heslip has on his own. Baylor should try to force UK to win from the outside. It then must keep Kentucky, the fourth-best rebounding team in the nation, off the offensive glass.

By the eighth game of last season for the Baylor women, they were facing their third top 10 team. Playing Kentucky will be the first such matchup for Kim Mulkey's team this year, perhaps showing that she wanted to take it slower with a much less experienced team.

No. 5 Kentucky (8-0) is coming off a nice win over No. 4 Louisville, the team that (controversially) ended Baylor's season earlier this year. The Wildcats overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to win, 69-64, getting 16 points from senior forward DeNesha Stallworth. The key matchup, though, will be Kentucky's Jennifer O'Neill, one of four returning starters, matched up on Baylor PG Odyssey Sims. If O'Neill can slow Sims down, Baylor probably won't have a shot at winning.

Splitting this double-header would be considered a victory for Baylor. Win both, and the state of Kentucky will have even stronger feelings about Baylor.

MBB: No. 3 Kentucky (7-1) vs. No. 20 Baylor (7-1)
9 p.m. CDT Friday, ESPN

WBB: No. 5 Kentucky (8-0) vs. No. 9 Baylor (7-0)
6:30 p.m. CDT Friday, ESPN3.com
-Jake Shaw





Hill looking at the bigger picture
It's been about a month since I last caught up with Fort Scott (Kansas) DE Demetrius Hill, the three-star prospect who will visit Baylor this weekend. Since then, he said he's spoken with Baylor assistant coach Jim Gush "every week if not more." That includes a quick call on Tuesday night of this week, where Gush explained just how big this game is for Baylor.

Hill said the hype around the game isn't what matters to him most. He said some games will be big, others not as much. What he wants to learn most is just how Baylor is 365 days a year.

"I head there Friday, but I really don't know what the itinerary is," he said. "I just want to see where they stand depth-wise, see how I fit in there with the players, if the coaches treat me like family, could I see myself living in that city."

Even if blown away by Waco, Hill said there's "no chance" he will commit in person. He still has trip planned to Cal the following week and wants to weigh all his options. Still, this is Baylor's best shot to try to win him over. I'll catch up with him after the weekend to see how things went.
-Jake Shaw




Henderson to announce Monday

A four-star recruit at a need position: Needless to say, Baylor fans should be closely looking toward Longview, where DT Zaycoven Henderson will announce his commitment decision. A one-time TCU pledge who reopened his recruitment -- and actually ruled out Baylor in October -- Henderson has since put Baylor in his top three, joining Texas Tech and Texas.


But if Henderson has visited Baylor this season, nobody but the coaching staff and Henderson know about it. He took an official visit to Texas in mid-September and to Texas Tech at the beginning of November. Baylor has not gotten an official. If it's this weekend for the Texas game, nobody's saying. Henderson has shut his cell phone down to block all calls. He hasn't posted on Twitter in three weeks.


That leaves little evidence and mostly speculation when trying to figure out who the Longview product will pick. He's been reported as a Texas lean, but he didn't commit when he visited, and with the ever-changing status of Mack Brown, Henderson has to consider that the coach he commits to might not be there next year. Texas Tech is more stable at head coach, but like Texas, it couldn't secure his pledge when he was on campus.


If he looks at the current classes, he'd see Texas already has three DT commitments, while Baylor and Tech only have one apiece. Baylor, of course, has already beaten Tech, and a win over Texas Saturday would make Baylor 2-0 against the other teams in his top three.


But unless you're in his inner circle, it's impossible to make a strong judgement on where Henderson will land. One of the three programs will get a playmaker. Henderson missed the first five games of 2013 but still had 36 tackles, 13 TFLs, 2 sacks and a fumble returned for a TD. His coach, John King, called him a "throwback," a guy that gives total effort on every play.


Baylor might seem like the underdog because it didn't get an official visit, but really, it seems like all three teams have an equal shot. We'll find out for sure on Monday.

-Jake Shaw




Waiting to flip?

Apparently, all Fort Worth Dunbar DB Stepfawn Hughes needs is a call from Baylor and a why the coaching staff thinks he should flip his verbal commitment from Missouri and that might do it.


Baylor had been hot after Hughes during the summer but when the Tigers entered the picture that changed things. Hughes committed the SEC East Champs back in August.


But lately, it appears Hughes is getting that "staying close to home" sensation. Hughes said he's hoping that Baylor's offer to him is still good and hopes to be talking to the coaches in the near future.


Of course, the Bears are at 22 for their class - maybe 23 with Cordell Dorsey's potential arrival - but for sure 23 with Wesley Harris' arrival in January.


It's true the Bears would like to fill out the class with one or two more defensive players. They recently offered Pflugerville Hendrickson and Nebraska commit Chance Waz.


"I think Baylor would be right for me,'' Hughes said. "That's where I need to be.''


Well, we'll see how this develops if anywhere. But Baylor has to make the move. Coaches should be much more active recruiting starting next week.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Jonesin' to talk to Baylor

Ronald Jones II felt he had a lackluster sophomore year for McKinney North in 2012. He wasn't bad averaging 7.2 yards per carry and scoring nine touchdowns.


But he probably couldn't have foreseen what 2013 would bring. The 6-0, 180 pound 2015 all-purpose back made up for it big time rushing for an unheard of 2,406 yards and 39 touchdowns (9.9 ypc) as McKinney North had its best year in school history going 7-5 and playing in the Class 4A area playoff round.


"I felt like I was in the greatest shape of my life,'' he said. "My O line did an awesome job for me. I didn't go to any football camps last summer. I just did track with my team in Frisco and ran in the 4x100 and the 100 and 200.''


Few schools really knew of Jones last summer. But they know now as Texas Tech, TCU, Oregon State and Colorado State have offered. All of these offers have come in within the last four weeks.


Jones would like to hear from Baylor.


"I've watched Baylor a lot,'' he said. "I watch [Lache Seatrunk], and he's one of the best backs in college football. TCU and Tech said they like how run over people and want me to catch the ball.


"I've been watching Baylor since RG3's Heisman year. My father knew his uncle from Copperas Cove. I hope to hear from Baylor soon. They're a program that's done a lot in the last few years.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



Baylor-Texas visitors

With the weather potentially being an issue that could impact how many recruits will be able to attend Baylor's Floyd Casey Finale. For now, this is who SicEmSports has been told will attend Saturday's game against Texas.


>Ryan Newsome, Ath, Aledo (Baylor 2015 offer); If Aledo's game is moved to Saturday, then he's not coming.


>Jarrett Stidham, QB, Stephenville (Baylor 2015 offer)


>Ira Lewis, DL, Houston Lamar (Baylor 2014 commit)


>James Lockhart, DL, Ennis (Baylor 2015 offer)


>Terence Williams, RB, Ennis (Baylor 2014 commit)


>Verkedric Vaughns, DB, Mesquite Poteet (Baylor 2014 commit)


>Kendall Sheffield, DB, Fort Bend Marshall (Baylor 2015 offer) - His family really likes Baylor


>Demetrius Hill, DE, Fort Scott (KS.) (Baylor 2014 offer ? official visit)


>Blake Blackmar, OL, Houston Clear Lake (Baylor 2014 commit)


>Devin Williams, QB/Ath, FW Southwest (Baylor 2016 recruit)


>Malik Jefferson, LB, Mesquite Poteet (Baylor 2015 offer)


>Jourdan Blake, Ath, Princeton (Baylor 2014 commit)


>Charles West, RB, Coppell (Baylor 2015 recruit)


>Kris Boyd, DB, Gilmer (2015 Baylor recruit)


>Cameron Townsend, LB, Missouri City Ridge Point (2015 Baylor offer)


>Morie Evans, Ath, Huntsville (2015 Baylor recruit)


>Jamie Jacobs, LB/DE, Waco Midway (2014 Baylor commit)


>Xavier Jones, DE, West Magnolia (2014 Baylor commit)


>Jordan Feuerbacher, TE, Kingwood Park (2014 Baylor commit)


>Keaton Sutherland, OL, FM Marcus (2015 Baylor offer)


>Devontre Stricklin, WR, Waco Midway (2015 Baylor offer)


>Chad President, QB, Temple (2015 Baylor commit)


>Blake Mahon, TE, Coppell (2014 Baylor commit)

-Kevin Lonnquist


Big 12 Weekend

A look at Saturday's action, the last of the 2013 regular season. All rankings are BCS. Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, TCU and West Virginia have completed their regular seasons.


No. 17 Oklahoma (9-2, 6-2) at No. 6 Oklahoma State (10-1, 7-1)

11:00 a.m. Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK (ABC)

The skinny: The Bedlam Rivalry renews for the 108th time. The Sooners dominate the series, 83-17-7. But the Cowboys are playing with a world of confidence and a win gives them at least a share of the Big 12 championship but the BCS automatic qualifier to the Fiesta Bowl. In what will be played in cold and possible poor conditions, watch the matchup between Oklahoma's running game against Oklahoma State's defensive front. That's where this game could be decided.




No. 25 Texas (8-3, 7-1) at No. 9 Baylor (10-1, 7-1)

2:30 p.m. Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco (FOX)

The skinny: The 103rd meeting between the Longhorns and Bears. Texas leads the series, 74-24-4, but Baylor is looking for its third win the last four meetings. In the final game at The Case, the Bears are looking for their first 11-win season in school history and a share of the Big 12 title. Baylor's offensive line has been banged up and must account for Texas DE Jackson Jeffcoat (10 sacks) who is playing very well. With the weather factor likely a factor, the running game should play a pivotal role for both teams.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where. These rankings were before the Texas-Texas Tech game.


1. Oklahoma State - One win away from going to the Fiesta Bowl
2. Baylor - QB Bryce Petty completing only 53.8 percent of his passes in last four games
3. Texas - Longhorns looking to share Big 12 title; Brown's fate to be decided next week
4. Oklahoma - Bob Stoops miffed at his team being portrayed in the spoiler role

5. Kansas State - Defense forced 6 KU turnovers in last week's 31-10 win
6. Texas Tech - Red Raiders lost last five and gave up at least 38 points in each
7. West Virginia - AD Oliver Luck backs Dana Holgorsen; 2014 is put up or shut up

8. TCU - Gary Patterson hires Houston OC Doug Meacham to fix offensive problems
9. Iowa State - Cyclones take some positive energy into the offseason with 2 straight wins

10. Kansas - The grind toward being respectable is going to be a long one
-Kevin Lonnquist




Emptying the Notebook

>Former Baylor 2013 signee, Katy DB Kyle Fulks should know his fate with ACT later this month. A ruling is expected that would determine if Fulks could leave Blinn College in the spring 2014 or be required to stay for two years. We're hearing that Fulks continues to talk with several Baylor players.


>2015 Temple QB and Baylor commit Chad President continues to make strides in his rehab from ACL surgery. He said he can do just about everything in terms of his range of motion but still cannot run at full speed. However, that's to be expected. President should be ready for spring football in May.


>While Baylor 2015 recruit, running back Chris Warren of Rockwall will not be at Saturday's game, he is also making great strides with his knee. Warren tore the ACL in October. His mother said that Warren is progressing so quickly that Doctors are concerned he could re-injure the knee because he could develop a false sense of security of how far along he thinks he is.


> Demetrius Hill is the only player coming this weekend for an official visit.

-Kevin Lonnquist

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.



NOTE: A couple of things we want to let you know about…


>There's a lot of talk and innuendo about Abilene Cooper and one-time Baylor commit Cordell Dorsey enrolling at Baylor in January. Based on the sources we've spoken to, that appears to be the case but we're not reporting that it is a done deal until we do a little more reporting. We hope to have a clearer picture in the coming weeks. We can tell you that Dorsey remains on course to graduate from Cooper in December. He was arrested in September for aggravated sexual assault. The case is still pending but as you know Dorsey has returned to the team. Once we have more and are satisfied, then we will restore his commitment to Baylor. For now, we're maintaining our policy of leaving him off the 2014 class.


>On Thursday of next week (Dec. 5) we will have a piece on the five greatest games ever played in the history of Floyd Casey Stadium. Jake, Stephen and I have discussed this and are finalizing the list. We look forward to bringing you that presentation.

-SicEmSports



Townsend liking the Bears

Missouri City Ridge Point 2015 linebacker Cameron Townsend enjoyed a phenomenal junior season. He helped the Panthers to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Class 4A area playoffs.

It turned out to be a pretty solid season too for the 4-star 6-1, 200-pound prospect, who holds a Baylor offer along with seven others including Oklahoma, USC and Texas. He collected 42 total tackles and tied for second with three sacks.

"We won our first playoff game and individually, I played pretty good,'' Townsend said. "I had a few mistakes here and there, but I felt like performed good.''

Baylor's unprecedented season hasn't gone unnoticed either. Townsend said he talked with Baylor linebackers coach Jim Gush last week about the usual but called it a good meeting.

"I'm planning on going to when they play Texas,'' Townsend said. "I'm definitely highly interested in them.''

Townsend has been making some of the rounds. Earlier this fall he visited Oklahoma to watch the Sooners. But it's a sure bet that he will attend one of Baylor's junior days in early 2014.

Townsend is very aggressive and moves laterally very well. That's what makes him attractive. At this point, his recruitment is fluid.

"I don't want to commit until I've taken all five of my official visits next year,'' he said. "I'm hoping that's midway through my season.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



Sheffield's next visit to Baylor

Fort Bend Marshall 2015 DB Kendall Sheffield is already one of the most highly sought defensive backs in the country. A 6.0 rating validates that along with offers from Baylor, Ohio State, Texas and Notre Dame.

The two-way player helped Marshall finish the 2015 season and was actually the team's leading receiver at 223 yards (you can tell Marshall didn't throw it much). But Sheffield was pretty explosive averaging 17 yards per reception and 25 yards per rushing attempt. He was a touchdown waiting to happen. Defensively, he did collect an interception.

With the season over, Sheffield can continue his evaluation and is expected to make a return visit to Waco on Dec. 7 in the regular season and Floyd Casey finale against Texas. Among his visits to Baylor was a trip to see the team go through it Meet the Bears scrimmage on Aug. 10.

"Everything's about the same right,'' Sheffield said. "Nothing has really changed in the way I feel about all the schools.''

But the good news is that securing another trip to watch a program continue to make strides should make some impression. Obviously, there's still some time before he makes a decision. There have been some whispers it could come in the spring but who knows how valid that is.

-Kevin Lonnquist



On Payton Hendrix

We do know that 2014 Dallas Bishop Dunne DB Payton Hendrix still has a lot of interest in Baylor, according to his coach Michael Johnson.

Dunne completed a 7-5 season before it lost to TCA-Addison, 31-0, in the regional round of the TAPPS playoffs last week.

At this point, it's unclear if he has scheduled an official visit to Baylor. But should the interest remain the way Johnson suggested, then it should be a matter of time. Of course, we'll put tougher a list of players who are expected to attend the Texas game.

Regardless of the Dorsey situation, Baylor still needs 1-2 or defensive backs to fill out its 2014 class. But keep in mind one of those spots will be filled in by 2013 signee Fort Worth Southwest Ath Wesley Harris who greyshirted.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Still solid with Baylor

We didn't get a whole lot of response this week from the current commitment class so don't be alarmed by the lack of them. And keep in mind, Baylor usually does a great job of securing its class.

What's been unprecedented is how most this class was settled by late June. And again, everything looks really good with Texarkana Liberty-Eylau Ath Davion Hall enrolling in mid-January as he is a December graduate, along with Ennis running back Terence Williams, Lackawanna CC offensive lineman Jarell Broxton and Kingwood Park tight end Jordan Feuerbacher.

>Josh Malin, DL, Cibolo Steele: "Yes, everything is good with Baylor.''


>Verkedric Vaughns, DB, Mesquite Poteet: "There's some other schools like Colorado State and [Northern Illinois] and Texas A&M was thinking about offering. But I'm only visiting Baylor.''


>Jordan Feuerbacher, TE, Kingwood Park: "Everything is great. I completely stopped talking to all other coaches when I committed. There was nowhere else I wanted to be.''


>Blake Blackmar, OL, Clear Creek: "Everything is great with Baylor. I haven't talked to any other schools.''


>Jamie Jacobs, DE/LB, Waco Midway: "Everything very good with Baylor. I've had some interest from Oregon State and SMU but I'm good.''


>Greg Roberts, DE, Nacogdoches: "I am most definitely 100 percent a Baylor Bears.…We haven't talked about the greyshirt, but I think it's a decision that will be made in the future so I probably won't know until the spring or summer or something like that.''



Big 12 Weekend

A look at Saturday's games. All times are central. All rankings are BCS. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have a bye.


Texas 41, Texas Tech 16: Before non-capacity crowd Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, the Longhorns (8-3, 7-1) kept their hopes alive of at least sharing the Big 12 championship thanks to a punishing rushing attack. Malcom Brown rushed for 128 yards while Joe Bergeron, wearing the injured Johnthan Gray's No. 32 jersey, rushed for 104 yards. Texas' defensive line harassed Tech quarterback Baker Mayfield seven times. The Red Raiders (7-5, 4-5) finished the regular season dropping their last five. The Longhorns visit Baylor on Dec. 7 to close out the 2013 regular season.


Kansas State (6-5, 4-4) at Kansas (3-8, 1-7)

11:00 a.m. Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS (FOX Sports 1)

The skinny: Bowl eligible, the Wildcats are trying to improve their positioning because the Big 12 can't fill all eight of its bowl spots. There's talk of KSU going to the Texas bowl in Houston. Jake Waters threw for more than 300 yards in the 41-31 loss to Oklahoma last week. In this battle for the Governor's Trophy, the Wildcats have won the last four meetings. Kansas was embarrassed in its 34-0 loss at Iowa State last week. An upset would energize the offseason.


No. 9 Baylor (9-1, 6-1) at TCU (4-7, 2-6)

2:30 p.m. Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth (ESPN2)

The skinny: A very erratic season for the Horned Frogs comes to end with no bowl. There have been offensive problems between an underperforming offensive line, underachieving wide receiver corps and an unplanned thinning out of the running backs. Waymon James is the latest to leave the program for unknown reasons. Still, the Horned Frogs would love nothing better than to derail Baylor's BCS at-large chances and Big 12 championship aspirations. The Bears will play with a heavy heart as head coach Art Briles learned of the passing of his older brother Eddie on Wednesday.


Iowa State (2-9, 1-7) at West Virginia (4-7, 2-6)

3:00 p.m. Milan-Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV (FOX Sports 1)

The skinny: The regular season finale for both teams. What ISU coach Paul Rhoads should feel is pretty energized after his team played its best game of the year with a 34-0 shutout over Kansas. Freshman quarterback Grant Rohach was given the team in the seventh game of the season and performed very well last week throwing for 300 yards and two touchdowns. The Mountaineers may start Clint Trickett at quarterback and have been rotating quarterbacks all season. Thus, there's been the inconsistency. Running back Charles Sims needs 54 yards to reach 1,000 for the season.

-SicEmSports



Baylor-TCU: The 109th Meeting

Since 1899, Baylor and TCU have playing football games against each other. On Saturday at Amon Carter's Stadium, the Bears and Horned Frogs renew a series now in its third century. Of course, they were Southwest Conference Members when TCU joined in 1923 and played until 1995, the final year of the league. After a 10-year hiatus, they renewed the rivalry in 2006.

TCU has won four of the last five meetings including last year's 49-21 decision in Waco, the Horned Frogs' first season in the Big 12. But upon some scant research, here's what makes this rivalry so interesting:

>The first meeting in 1899 was a 0-0 tie.


>At one time, both schools were located in Waco. TCU moved to Fort Worth in 1910. What made the early years of the rivalry so interesting is that they played each other multiple times in the same season. They met twice in 1901, 1903 and 1910 and then three times in 1902, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908 and 1909. The first game in Fort Worth was on Nov. 18, 1910, a 10-3 Baylor victory.


>Prior to the 2011 meeting, there were disagreements about who led the series. Both schools claimed a 50-49-7 advantage in the series. Both sports information departments say the discrepancy probably dates back decades.


>The game has featured two Heisman Trophy winners in Baylor's Robert Griffin III (2011) and TCU's Davey O'Brien (1938).


>There have been five College Football Hall of Fame coaches in Baylor's Morley Jennings and Grant Teaff and TCU's Matty Bell, Dutch Meyer and Francis Schmidt.


>In the 108 meetings, 40 have been decided by seven points or less. There have also been 36 shutouts.


>Tragedy struck the 1971 game when TCU coach Jim Pittman collapsed and died on the sidelines. It's the only time in college football that has ever happened.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where. These rankings were before the Texas-Texas Tech game.

1. Oklahoma State - Now in control of the Big 12 race
2. Baylor - Injuries piling up; Bears need to put OSU game behind them
3. Texas - Was Thanksgiving Mack Brown's last home game?
4. Oklahoma - Two weeks of prep for Bedlam at Stillwater; Trevor Knight needs it bad

5. Kansas State - Turnovers more of a problem them this
6. Texas Tech - Red Raiders can't run the ball and can't stop it either
7. West Virginia - Offseason will be important to define this team's 2014 QB
8. TCU - DB Jason Verrett will get some consideration for All-American teams
9. Iowa State - Cyclones had their first Big 12 shutout since a 41-0 decision over Baylor in 2001

10. Kansas - In Montell Cozart this team trusts; his offseason will be important
-Kevin Lonnquist


Emptying the Notebook

>2016 Sachse DB Jared Mayden hasn't been offered by Baylor yet, but he's ready for it should it happen: "Just waiting on it. Just ready to commit.''


>If Baylor was looking to try and make some inroads still with Argyle LB Sam Sizelove, that doesn't appear to be happening. When asked this week, the Kansas State commit said, "KSU all the way.''


>The injury situation for the Bears Saturday seems about the same from what we know about LB Bryce Hager (groin), running backs Glasco Martin (knee), Lache Seastrunk (groin) and defensive back K.J. Morton (abdominal strain). Hager looks more doubtful than the other three who are considered day-to-day. You may have to wait for pregame warmups to actually know.

-SicEmSports

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.








NOTE: We didn't want to neglect the postgame basketball pressers from Scott Drew against Charleston Southern. Please enjoy in the link window.


Last-minute official means signed NLI

Indian Hills C.C. (Ottumwa, IA) point guard Lester Medford talked to the Baylor coaches on Nov. 14 about coming down for a last-minute official visit over the weekend.


When Baylor probably realized it wasn't going to secure greater Minneapolis guard Tyus Jones ? he announced last Friday he would sign with Duke along with Jhalil Okafor -- the coaching staff knew it had to find another strong candidate. The staff had already done its homework on Medford and built the rapport going back to the summer.


So Medford hastily flew down to Waco on Sunday, watched the Bears play UL-Lafayette, came back on Monday and decided Wednesday, he needed to be a Bear. Medford signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday. Medford chose the Bears over St. Mary's.


"The visit went great,'' he said. "I had family there for the game. My mom lives in Austin. They run the style of offense that I love because they will run. They give their guards freedom and that fits me.''


The Tucson, AZ native is playing his first year at Indian Hills.


Through five games, Medford leads the team with 17.6 points and 3.6 steals per game, and he averages 5.4 assists per game. He's shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from 3-point range. He's scored in double figures and had at least four assists and two steals in all five games, including a 23-point, 8-steal effort in IHCC's most recent game. He averaged 19 points per game at Arizona Western. He will have two years at Baylor.


The Bears have had some good fortune with JUCO transfer guards. Pierre Jackson was an all-Big 12 performer and current guard Kenny Chery is off to a good start.


"The one thing I'll bring is speed to the game,'' he said. "I just want to keep focusing on my basketball IQ and my shooting.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



Florida duo is a package deal

As he arrived in Tuscaloosa, Al. to watch Alabama play LSU on Nov. 9, Coconut Creek (Fl) Monarch's Shawn Burgess-Becker (6-1, 185) got a text message from his high school coach.


It read: "Baylor is interested. Would like for you and Ridley to visit and watch the Texas game.''


Baylor's national brand is not only resonating with the general public, it's also doing so with recruits beyond Texas. In the past, Baylor has offered some of the top players around the country. But given the program's success, there's the chance some will take more than a courtesy look.


The 2015 4-star athlete has offers from Alabama, LSU, Miami (Fla.) and Florida among his 13. The Bears probably aren't far behind with their offer.


Burgess-Becker's initial call with the coaches last week left a good impression for both Burgess-Becker and his lifelong friend and teammate, wide receiver Calvin Ridley (6-1, 175).


"It was good, and they were telling me about all of the players they have produced in the NFL,'' Burgess-Becker said. "They're having a great season. They want me and Calvin to come to the Texas game [Dec. 7].''


Should he travel, it would be a first for Burgess-Becker. He's rarely been outside his home in South Florida and never been to Texas. Receiving an offer might push the motivation over the edge.


Burgess-Becker and Ridley have known each other since the third grade and consider each other brothers, he said. He said wherever the two go, they want to go together.


Both are explosive players for Monarch, which just finished its season at 9-3. Burgess-Becker has played safety, linebacker and wide receiver. Ridley is a playmaker.


"We're definitely interested in Baylor,'' Burgess-Becker said. "Right now, we're trying to see who is out there and what would be the best fit for us.''

-Kevin Lonnquist




Boyd thinks Baylor is close

The perception of Baylor continues to evolve. When Gilmer 2015 DB Kris Boyd used to channel surf his TV for college football games, he would pass the Baylor game without thinking about it.


Now, when the Bears are on, he will keep the channel right where it is.


"They're on my radar with the way they're playing,'' he said. "They're close to home and that's something I'm going to have to look at.''


Currently, the Bears have not offered the 4-star recruit yet. But an offer should be forthcoming. Boyd said he has been talking quite a bit with defensive backs coach Carlton Buckels.


"We talked last week a couple of times and talked this week,'' Boyd said. "I'm blessed to have these offers.''


So far, he has offers from Texas, Oklahoma, TCU and Texas Tech. Arkansas, Mississippi State and Texas A&M also may be close to offering. He went to Texas Tech's summer camp. This past summer, he was timed in the 40 at 4.35 and 4.4.


While he has been a jack-of-all trades, he knows his future in Division I college football will be in the secondary. There's talk of him coming to Baylor's game against Texas on Dec. 7. However, that depends on Gilmer's season. The Buckeyes won their area playoff game over Pittsburgh on Thursday, 48-0, and have a history of deep playoff runs.


"Playing cornerback is something I'm good at,'' he said. "You need good corners who are good in man coverage. I think that's where my strength is.''

-Kevin Lonnquist




Suddenly…an offer

Trevor Elbert went to school on Tuesday, Nov. 12 and came home with an offer from Baylor. To be sure, the 2015 Rockwall-Heath offensive tackle (6-6, 290) was caught by surprise.


"I didn't know too much about Baylor and didn't even know they were looking at me,'' he said. "I know my former teammate [Raaquan Davis] is there. I haven't been to Waco much and have never been on their campus. I have a lot to learn. But they definitely have my interest now.''


Elbert is highly-sought. He already holds offers from Alabama and Texas A&M. He attended summer camps with Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Alabama and Texas. That doesn't mean Baylor is behind because Elbert doesn't appear to be close to making a decision. He's considering a trip to come to Waco to watch the Texas game Dec. 7.


There's no question he is dominating on the line of scrimmage and should be even more effective as he continues to fine-tune his body. He has spoken with Baylor linebackers coach Jim Gush on several occasions since the offer went out.


Rockwall-Heath went to more of a power running approach this past season. There wasn't anything too creative in his assignment. All he did was "block to where the ball was going.'' Rockwall-Heath rushed for 1,715 yards as a team.


Elbert's strength should be a work-in-progress as will be a power lifter this winter and thrown the shot put.


"I hope I can go just to see what it's all about,'' Elbert said.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Big 12 Weekend

A look at this weekend's games. All times are central. Rankings are BCS. Texas, Texas Tech, West Virginia and TCU have an off week.




No. 20 Oklahoma (8-2, 5-2) at Kansas State (6-4, 4-3)

11:00 a.m. Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS (FOX SPORTS 1)

The skinny: Outside of Baylor, the Wildcats may be the hottest team in the Big 12. They've won four straight and are bowl eligible. Their QB rotation between Jake Waters and Daniel Sams appears to have a good flow to it. Conversely, the Sooners are still struggling with their QB situation as reports surfaced that Trevor Knight will get the start because Blake Bell suffered an apparent head injury last week against Iowa State. If OU can't make plays in the passing game against the Wildcats, the Sooners could be in trouble.


No. 4 Baylor (9-0, 6-0) at No. 10 Oklahoma State (9-1, 6-1)

7:00 p.m. Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK (ABC)

The skinny: The Big 12 game of the year. Baylor's health seems to be getting some good news with the potential returns of RBs Lache Seastrunk (groin) and Glasco Martin (knee). Oklahoma State's offense doesn't have any star power but things have settled since Clint Chelf took over at quarterback after the loss to West Virginia. He's not a dynamic passer but he's a solid player. Oklahoma State's defense leads the conference in takeaways (26) and turnover ratio (+13). Baylor hasn't won in Stillwater since 1939. Will that dry spell end Saturday?


Kansas (3-7, 1-6) at Iowa State (1-9, 0-7)

7:00 p.m. Jack Trice Stadium, Ames IA (FS1)

The skinny: While this game features really nothing of substance, the Jayhawks are trying to build on some momentum after last week's 31-19 victory over West Virginia. That snapped a 27-game conference losing streak. Now, the Jayhawks are looking to end a 23-game losing streak on the road. RB James Sims (914 yards) is pushing for a 1,000-yard season. QB Montell Cozart now has the offense. Iowa State is ninth in the Big 12 in total offense (327.9) and last in total defense (471.0). Not a good combination.

-SicEmSports





Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where.

1. Baylor - Now, the Big 12 leader in total defense at 323.0 ypg
2. Oklahoma State - DB Justin Gilbert making bid to be an All-American
3. Texas - QB Case McCoy is an interception machine
4. Oklahoma - There's just a feeling of meh with this team
5. Kansas State - Might be the hottest team in the conference not named Baylor
6. Texas Tech - Lack of depth really showing up as the season deepens.
7. West Virginia - Holgorsen's job likely safe; 2014 will be important for him
8. TCU - How do you have two No. 2s on the field at the same time?
9. Kansas - RB James Sims should be on the all-Big 12 team; having a great season
10. Iowa State - Nothing going right for Paul Rhoads' team this year
-Kevin Lonnquist




Emptying the Notebook

>It's unknown if Aledo 2015 athlete Ryan Newsome will play in Friday's Class 4A Division II area playoff game against Saginaw Boswell. Newsome suffered an apparent head and calf injuries in last week's 76-6 bi-district victory over Burleson.


>Baylor men's basketball coach Scott Drew said after Wednesday's 69-64 victory over Charleston Southern that redshirt freshman center Chad Rykhoek will have surgery in December for an issue regarding his hip.


>Baylor and Oklahoma State are the nation's only schools with football, men's basketball and women's basketball ranked in the AP top 20 ? BU (No. 3 FB, No. 20 MBB, No. 9 WBB), OSU (No. 11 FB, No. 7 MBB, No. 20 WBB).


>Baylor will play Chaminade in the opening round of the Maui Invitational at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. Should the Bears win, they will get the winner of Dayton/Gonzaga on Wednesday.


>The men's basketball team is off to a 4-0 start for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.


-SicEmSports

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.









The Briles timeline
Now that Baylor head coach Art Briles has signed 10-year contract extension, this might be the best time to review his tenure in Waco to see where the program was and how it has evolved from fledgling to contender.



>2007 - Nov. 28, Briles accepts Baylor head coaching position.


>2007 - Dec. 7, Copperas Cove QB Robert Griffin III switches his verbal commitment from Houston to Baylor.


>2008 - Baylor goes 4-8 but has three losses by a touchdown or less.


>2009 - Griffin is lost for the season with a torn ACL; backup QB Nick Florence leads Baylor to a victory at Missouri on Nov. 7. Baylor finishes the season at 4-8.


>2010 - Oct. 23, Baylor defeats Kansas State, 47-42, to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1994.


>2010 - Oct. 30, Baylor wins at Texas, 30-22, for its first win in Austin since 1991.


>2010 - Dec. 29, Baylor plays Illinois in the Texas Bowl, its first bowl game since 1994, but falls, 38-14. Bears finish the season at 7-6.


>2011 - Feb, 2, Baylor signs the No. 46 class in the country including Cedar Park OL Rivals 250 prospect Spencer Drango. Bears hold off a late charge from Texas to hang on to Drango.


>2011 - Sept. 2, Baylor shocks then-No. 14 TCU, 50-48, on Aaron Jones' 37-yard field goal with 1:04 to play. Mike Hicks' interception in the closing seconds closes out the first Baylor win over a ranked opponent since 2004.


>2011 - Nov. 12, Baylor rallies from 24-3 deficit at Kansas in the fourth quarter to tie the game, send it into overtime and denies the Jayhawks 2-point attempt. Baylor wins, 31-30.


>2011 - Nov. 19, Griffin's 34-yard touchdown pass to Terence Williams gives the Bears a 45-38 upset over Oklahoma and the program's first-ever win over the Sooners.


>2011 - Dec. 3, Baylor hammers Texas, 48-24, for consecutive wins over the Longhorns.


>2011 - Dec. 10, Griffin becomes the first Baylor player to win the Heisman Trophy


>2011 - Dec. 29, Baylor wins shootout over Washington, 67-56, in the Alamo Bowl. Baylor (10-3) clinches first 10- win season since 1980.


>2012 - Jan. 11, Baylor finishes ranked No. 12/13 in the nation, its highest ranking since 1986.


>2012 - Feb. 1, Baylor signs the No. 45 recruiting class in the country including Rivals 250 standout, Richardson Pearce WR Corey Coleman


>2012 - Nov. 17, 4-5 Baylor shocks No. 1 Kansas State, 52-24.


>2012 - Dec. 27, Baylor defeats UCLA, 49-26, in the Holiday Bowl to finish 8-5 having won five of its last six.


>2013 - Feb. 6, Baylor signs the No. 31 recruiting class in the country that features Rivals No. 69 player WR Robbie Rhodes and No. 168 player DT Andrew Billings.


>2013 - Aug. 10, Baylor secures the commitment of Rivals No. 27 player KD Cannon


>2013 - Nov. 7, Baylor defeats Oklahoma, 41-12, to enjoy first 8-0 start in school history. Baylor climbs to No. 5 in the BCS and No. 4 in both the AP and USA Today coaches polls.


>2013 - Nov. 13, Briles signs 10-year extension

-SicEmSports




Baylor-Texas Tech visitors

Baylor will be the home team in Saturday's 6:00 p.m. against Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Bears get to have visitors for the game. This list is subject to change, but here is a list of recruits who have told SicEmSports they plan on attending the game.


>Soso Jamabo, RB, Plano West (2015 Baylor offer)

>Jarrett Stidham, QB, Stephenville (2015 Baylor offer)


>Verkedric Vaughns, DB, Mesquite Poteet (2014 Baylor commit)


>James Lockhart, DL, Ennis (2015 Baylor offer)


>Terence Williams, RB, Ennis (2014 Baylor commit)


>Jaylen Veasley, OL, Rockwall-Heath (2015 Baylor recruit)


>Malik Jefferson, LB, Mesquite Poteet (2015 Baylor offer)


>Charles West, RB, Coppell (2015 Baylor recruit)


>Solomon Thomas, DL, Coppell (2014 Baylor offer)


>Blake Mahon, TE, Coppell (2014 Baylor commit)


>Keaton Sutherland, OL, FM Marcus (2015 Baylor offer)


>Anthony Wheeler, LB, Dallas Skyline (2015 Baylor offer)


>Jourdan Blake, Ath, Princeton (2014 Baylor commit)


>Kameron Kelly, Ath, Wylie (2014 Baylor recruit)


>T'Kevian Rockwell, LB, Wylie (2014 Baylor commit)




>Jourdan Blake, Ath, Troup (2015 Baylor commit)


>Ryan Newsome, Ath, Aledo (2015 Baylor offer)

-SicEmSports




Maston relieved, excited

DeSoto 2014 PF T.J. Maston was relieved and thankful to have his NLI signed and faxed back to Baylor Thursday.


The Rivals 3-star recruit, who chose Baylor over seven other schools including Miami (Fla.) and Kansas State, said he wanted to sign early so he could enjoy focus on the 2013-14 basketball season. DeSoto opened its season Monday with a 72-59 victory over Fort Worth Dunbar. Maston (6-8, 225) had his way against a smaller lineup and scored 19 points.


"I enjoyed the recruiting process, but I'm glad to get it over with too,'' Maston said. "I just want to have a good season and keep working on my game. I know Baylor works well with their big men.


"But I also have to keep working hard in school because Baylor is a great school academically. I want to get my GPA up.''


Of course, Maston's uncle is former Texas Tech standout Tony Battie. The two continuously work on moves facing the basket. Maston is definitely trying to improve his all-around offensive game so he's not branded as a one-dimensional player.


"I have to have better touch around the basket and keep moving my feet,'' he said.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Okafor/Jones decision Friday

At 3:00 p.m. Friday both Rivals No. 1 player Jhalil Okafor and No. 5 Tyus Jones will announce their commitment decisions and then are expected to sign the National Letters Intent. They are expected to be a package deal wherever they go.


This is a 3-team race between Duke, Kansas and Baylor. Both have said those three are their finalists. However, the conventional wisdom is that national recruiting experts believe the two will choose either Duke or Kansas.


There's no question that they enjoyed their visit to Baylor over the Labor Day weekend. Each sent out tweets expressing their thanks for welcome the Baylor community gave them.


If Baylor has a chance in this, it would be that because the talk has centered on the other two, the Bears would like to be the program that comes from behind the pack to collect these commitments. If they did, it would arguably be one of the biggest commitment coups in the history of college basketball recruiting.

In an unrelated item, No. 7 prospect Rashad Vaughn is taking his official visit to Iowa State this weekend. No word when a visit will be set with Baylor but the Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep star still is evaluating Baylor.



-Kevin Lonnquist



Newsome talks offer

Aledo's 2015 athlete Ryan Newsome worked hard since the summer to gain Baylor's attention. Now, he has a Baylor offer to show for it.


He got a message from Baylor offensive coordinator Phillip Montgomery - remember Montgomery went to see him two weeks ago - to call the Baylor coaches offices after school Thursday. That's when he got the news.


"I've been waiting and hoping for this one,'' Newsome said. "They love that I am an electric athlete.''


Here's why he's electric. Newsome, who also picked up an offer from Colorado State earlier this week, has been used in a variety of ways for the Bearcats. He's accounted for 1,032 total offensive yards (468 rushing, 389 receiving, and 175 passing) and 11 touchdowns. On returns, he has 203 yards on kickoffs (40.6 per) including a 90-yard touchdown. Newsome also has 369 yards in punt returns and six returns for TDs. The oddity is that his six have come in pairs. He had two against Fort Worth Western Hills, two against Granbury and two against Fort Worth Trimble Tech.


"[Montgomery] said [Baylor coach Art] Briles loved my game and that they love my character,'' Newsome said.


But then here was the kicker. There's definitely been some talk about Stephenville QB Jarrett Stidham and Newsome being a top pitch and catch combination for the 2015 class. Who knows if it will happen but it was an interesting take. They both came together to Baylor's game against Oklahoma last week.


And it didn't hurt that Newsome's offer came the day after Briles was extended.


"It plays a significant role in my consideration of possibly committing when it's time,'' he said.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Lockhart thinking hard

Ennis 2015 DL James Lockhart has not been a stranger coming to Baylor football games. He's been to at least four of them and plans on attending Saturday's game against Texas Tech at AT&T Stadium.


Lockhart has been one of the most coveted defensive line prospects since the spring and didn't disappoint this year as the Lions went 10-0 and won the District 15-4A championship. Ennis opens the Class 4A Division II Region II playoffs Friday against Lindale.


But he's also been to Baylor during the spring and summer camps, so he has a pretty good feel for Baylor. When asked if Baylor has his attention a lot, Lockhart said, "It does. They're a fast offense. Defense looks sharp too.''


Lockhart was non-committal about a commitment decision timeframe, but it definitely sounds like Baylor is in the thick of this race.

-Kevin Lonnquist




JUCO defensive end books trip to Waco
Baylor couldn't create a better setting for a first impression on Demetrius Hill.

That's because Hill, who Baylor only offered three weeks ago, will take his official visit to Waco the weekend Baylor hosts Texas. That, of course, is a game that's already sold out and will be the finale for Floyd Casey Stadium. It should be an electric weekend in Waco. All of this was news to Hill.

"I haven't heard about the atmosphere," Hill told me this week. "I'm just looking forward to checking it out and having a good time."

Baylor has been in touch with the Fort Scott (Kansas) defensive end for a while. But the Bears, led by coach Jim Gush, didn't decide to offer Hill until they were certain he'd qualify. He's scheduled to graduate in December so he can enroll in January wherever he decides to play.

"No, it didn't surprise me that they offered," he said. "They had all been talking to me since I got here at Fort Scott. Coach Gush has been keeping up with me, and I've been focusing on my grades."

Hill visited Minnesota last weekend and will head to South Florida this weekend. After going to Waco, he'll use his final visit to check out Cal. He's looking for the same thing from all his suitors.

"I'm really wanting to see how I fit in with the coaches and the players," he said. "Can I see myself living there for the next two years? I just want to see how I fit in."

Hill said he's excited about the visit. He's kept tabs on how the Bears have performed. So even though he had a good relationship with Gush, he felt honored to finally get the offer.

"I was kinda excited when they did offer," he said. "Baylor's been pretty good this year. I was kinda surprised to find out when offered me because they were doing so good, but I was doing good too. I wasn't surprised, because I've been talking to them for years -- but I also was surprised, if you know what I mean."
-Jake Shaw




All quiet on Baylor's end
The rivals.com lists a Baylor offer, but that's probably no longer the case. Or at least that's how Arizona Western ATH Serge Trezy feels.

"I haven't been talking to coach (Brian) Norwood in a while," Trezy told me earlier this week. "I don't know what Baylor's doing."

It could be a question of his ability to qualify. Trezy left school this semester and returned home to Florida to work on his grades. Before leaving, he played linebacker but was also viewed as a potential running back. He still has offers from some major programs -- and will visit schools like Wisconsin and Utah -- but it doesn't look like Baylor will factor into his decision.
-Jake Shaw




Big 12 Weekend

A look at Saturday's games. All times are central. All rankings are BCS.


West Virginia (4-6, 2-7) at Kansas (2-7. 0-6)

11:00 a.m. Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS (FSN)

The skinny: The Mountaineers need a win here to keep bowl eligibility hopes alive. The defense has been reeling and a fourth quarter meltdown against Texas, a 47-40 loss in overtime, accelerated those frustrations. West Virginia has played in overtime in the last two weeks. Expect RB Charles Sims to carry the load. The Jayhawks are now at 27 consecutive conference losses.


Iowa State (1-8, 0-6) at No. 18 Oklahoma (7-2, 4-2)

11:00 a.m. Owen Field, Norman, OK (FS1)

The skinny: OU coach Bob Stoops maintains that Blake Bell will remain his starting quarterback. But it's clear the Sooner offense has some problems. The passing game is a problem. Fortunately, Oklahoma should get well against the Cyclones who are last in the Big 12 in total defense at 465.2 yards per game.


TCU (4-6, 2-5) at Kansas State (5-4, 3-3)

2:30 p.m. Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS (FSN)

The skinny: This is homecoming for TCU coach Gary Patterson who is going against his alma mater. Each team is striving for bowl eligibility. The Horned Frogs have to win their last two to make it. KSU needs one more win in its last three to capture it. Expect TCU's Trevone Boykin to be used in any which way possible on offense. The Wildcats seem to have found a rhythm between rotating QBs Jake Waters and Daniel Sams.


No. 12 Oklahoma State (8-1, 5-1) at No. 24 Texas (7-2, 6-0)

2:30 p.m. Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin (FOX)

The skinny: Well, if Texas is good or lucky during this run of six consecutive wins, it's about to find out a lot more about itself against the Cowboys. OSU has seen its offense get some stability behind senior QB Clint Chelf. But the defense is exceptional ranking first in turnover ratio at plus 11. The Cowboys have also allowed the fewest sacks in the Big 12 at 11. Texas needs QB Case McCoy to stay away from turnovers.


Texas Tech (7-3, 4-3) at No. 5 Baylor (8-0, 5-0)

6:00 p.m. AT&T Stadium, Arlington (FOX)

The skinny: Baylor has won the last two meetings. Tech leads the series, 36-34-1. Quarterback issues appear to be resurfacing for the Red Raiders who are flip flopping between Davis Webb or Baker Mayfield. The Bears still have to be mindful of their penalties. They are averaging the most penalty yards per game in the conference at 74.0.

-SicEmSports



Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where.

1. Baylor - A 10-year extension for Briles keeps the faithful happy and relieved
2. Oklahoma State - A telling 2-game stretch against Texas and Baylor coming up
3. Texas - Longhorns have lost six starters to season-ending injuries
4. Oklahoma - Running game has to get back on track
5. Texas Tech - Kingsbury playing gunslinger with his quarterbacks; quick trigger
6. Kansas State - Have won three straight and again commit the fewest penalties in the league
7. West Virginia - Is Clint Trickett the QB? Is it Paul Millard? Is it…forget it.
8. TCU - Hard to believe a stable of running backs is down to Aaron Green
9. Kansas - Andrew Wiggins had a great debut against Duke…whoops wrong sport
10. Iowa State - Cyclones missing a bowl because they have no continuity on the OL
-Kevin Lonnquist




Emptying the Notebook

>Baylor is looking at 2015 Kilgore College DB/LB Joe Lynch (5-11, 205). The staff hasn't offered the former West Orange-Stark product primarily because he still has another year of JUCO ball to play. He carries a 4.5 40 and collected 90 tackles and 16 tackles for loss in his first year.


>Wylie LB T'Kevian Rockwell has been bothered a high ankle sprain all year, but he's going to tough it out and play. Rockwell said he plans to play in the Pirate's Class 4A bi-district playoff against Marshall Friday in Midlothian. "It's sore,'' he said. "But this is my last year of high school football, and I want to play with my team.''


>Apparently former Baylor 2013 signee Kyle Fulks and the football haven't given up on each other. Fulks said he maintains contact with the Baylor coaching staff. Fulks is currently at Blinn College in Brenham and had to go to a JUCO because his ACT score was flagged. The possibility remains of Fulks needing only one year at Blinn before he could enroll at a Division I school.


>Baylor JUCO OL commit Jarell Broxton was named to the Northeast Conference first-team as a guard. He's expected to sign his letter of intent in December.


>We're hearing Oklahoma State OL commit Lem Galea'i from Euless Trinity has some interest in Baylor. But with five offensive line commits, it's going to be hard to see where there would be any room.

-Kevin Lonnquist

Gibson is emerging
In the face of a lost season that finished with a 7-game losing streak, that's never deterred Baylor's coaching staff from evaluating players from any corner.

White Settlement Brewer's [db]Chris Gibson[/db] fits that role. Baylor has been tracking the 2015 6-0, 200 athlete ever since he came to the June 1 camp in Waco. At first, Gibson said the staff thought he was going to be a sophomore this fall until they learned he would be a junior.

"They worked me out at wide receiver, and I thought I did pretty good," Gibson said. "Wherever they want me to play, I'll play. I really liked getting to know [Kendal] Briles."

Gibson said he's been hearing from Baylor, Arkansas, Florida State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and California.

While it appears that Baylor hasn't offered yet - Gibson said he isn't sure if the Bears have or have not - there is a lot to evaluate. He played quarterback in Brewer's first nine games before playing safety and wide receiver in the finale against Denton Guyer. His 4.47 speed led his 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Wildcats. That was the only score as Guyer, 70-7. Brewer finished the season 3-7.

For the season, Gibson threw for only 557 yards but he rushed for 1,042 and scored 13 touchdowns.

"The [TD against Guyer] shows me I can do anything," he said. "I won't give up on the scoreboard and the circumstance. I love playing this game."

Gibson will transition into track season where he specializes in the 100 and 4x100 and 4x200. His personal best in the 100 10.7. He thinks he can shave it to 10.5.
-Kevin Lonnquist


Austin emerging
Like you read above, South Grand Prairie 2015 wide receiver Jaelin">http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/recruiting/player-Jaelan-Austin-153294">Jaelin Austin[/URL] was one of many recruits who came away impressed with what they saw with Baylor on Thursday.

Austin just completed his junior year for the Warriors and caught a 24-yard touchdown pass to beat rival Grand Prairie, 48-14. While the season numbers aren't eye-popping (28-428 5 TD), his yards per reception (15.3) is solid. He's also a pretty decent target at 6-2, 200. Baylor has not offered yet.

"They're recruiting me pretty hard, and I talk to Coach [Jeff] Lebby quite a bit," Austin said. "I think they're waiting to evaluate my season and see me again in the spring to see my progression in the offseason."

Gibson said he probably will attend one of Baylor's junior days in the spring.
-Kevin Lonnquist


Recruits react to Baylor's historic 8-0 start
With the magnitude of Baylor's 41-12 victory over Oklahoma now complete, SicEmSports reached out to Baylor recruits to collect their reactions to this program now in the national championship conversation.

>Jaelin Austin, WR, South Grand Prairie (2015 Baylor recruit): "It was live! Their program is definitely one of if not the most exciting teams to watch."it was live! I had a great time their program is definitely one of if not the most exciting teams to watch

>JaMycal Hasty, RB Longview (2015 Baylor offer): "Those boys are for real!"

>Soso Jamabo, RB, Plano West (2015 Baylor offer): "They. Are. The. Truth."

>Chris Platt, WR, Willis (2014 Baylor commit): "Glad they are showing everyone that they are no fluke. That's a good football team. They're going to be hard to beat."

>Charles West, RB, Coppell (2015 Baylor recruit): "They're a great team. Very well coached. They're No. 1 on my list."

>Josh Pelzel, OL, Rockdale (2014 Baylor commit): "They're something else now."

>Keaton Sutherland, OL, FM Marcus (2015 Baylor offer): "Wow! They are playing awesome and putting up some big-time numbers."

>Ryan Newsome, Ath, Aledo (2015 Baylor recruit): "Good program, man."

>Blake Blackmar, OL, Houston Clear Lake (2014 Baylor commit): "Same I thought before. They are the real deal and they're whoopin ass."

>Kameron Martin, RB, PA Memorial (2016 Baylor offer): "Love them."

>Devontre Stricklin, WR, Waco Midway (2015 Baylor offer): "Love it."

>Jamie Jacobs, DE/LB, Waco Midway (2014 Baylor commit): "I knew Baylor was a program on the rise - one of the reasons why I committed to them but it doesn't surprise me. They are the hardest working team in the country."

>Chad President, QB, Temple (2015 Baylor commit): "It's on the rise. Getting better every week."

>Nate Goings, DB, Mesquite Poteet (2014 Baylor recruit): "They're unbelievable."

>Ira Lewis, DT, Houston Lamar (2014 Baylor commit): "I always have thought it was amazing and when I come next year, it's going to be even better."

>KD Cannon, WR, Mount Pleasant (2014 Baylor commit): "It's on the rise."

>Larry Pryor, WR, Sulphur Springs (2015 Baylor offer): "I think they are something special. [Thursday] night had me thinking hard about Baylor now."

>Malik Jefferson, LB, Mesquite Poteet (2015 Baylor offer): Just said he continues to have interest in Baylor

>Kameron Kelly, Ath, Wylie (2014 Baylor recruit): "Absolultely incredible. They look very very impressive."

>Darrion Daniels, DT, Dallas Bishop Dunne (2015 Baylor offer): "They look very strong."

>Jordan Feuerbacher, TE, Kingwood Park (2014 Baylor commit: "One of the best in the nation."
-Kevin Lonnquist


Chilling at the AAC
Baylor's big weekend continued Friday with the basketball team starting off right with a 72-60 victory over Colorado in the Buckets and Boots event at the American Airlines Center.

Baylor's game was the nightcap and drew plenty of visitors including:

2015 5-star Center Tyler Davis 
2015 5-star Power Forward Elijah Thomas 
2015 5-Star Shooting Guard King McClure 
2016 Center Marques Bolden
2016 Power Forward Cameron McGriff
2017 Guard Chris Giles
2015 4-Star Point Guard Juwan Evans
2015 4-Star forward D.J. Hogg
-Kevin Lonnquist


Bears get solid win, show room for improvement
Maybe it was the late tip at the American Airlines Center on Friday night. Or maybe it was playing two new starters (three if you count Gary Franklin taking Brady Heslip's spot) as well as two there newcomers.

But the No. 25 Baylor basketball team's offense appeared out of sync for much of Friday night's 72-60 win over, and the front court had trouble keeping Colorado -- which had 18 offensive rebounds -- off the defensive glass. Still, there were numerous signs that this team has a lot of potential.

With the offense needing someone to step up, first-year point guard Kenny Chery scored on two of three possessions, sparking an 11-5 run to close the first half with a 30-22 lead. Up until that point, Chery had been quiet. But as the game progressed, he continued to become more aggressive. He ended with a team-high 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and only 2 turnovers.

Perhaps his most impressive stat was his one foul. Bayor lost Taurean Waller-Prince to fouls. Three other players came within one of fouling out as well. The NCAA's intent to call things more closely was definitely evident Friday night.

Chery started the game alongside Franklin, who knocked down three 3-pointers and seemed to be taking away minutes from Heslip. But Heslip got a lot more second-half minutes and responded with four made 3-pointers. Baylor was 8-of-20 from long range compared to 2-of-19 by Colorado.

As for the other newcomers, Royce O'Neale looked like he'll be a solid contributor in multiple areas. He was 3-for-3 from the field and added a couple of rebounds, and he played with a lit of hustle. So did Ish Wainright, a true freshman who might've played with too much hustle. He picked up four fouls in only 13 minutes and didn't score despite getting the start.

That opened the door for Waller-Prince, who was just as important to Baylor's win as Chery, getting 10 points and eight rebounds. That showed just what kind of depth Baylor has this year, because Baylor's top two returning starters -- Cory Jefferson and Isaiah Austin -- had relatively quiet nights.

Jefferson did have a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), but he shot 33 percent from the floor and only played 25 minutes because of foul trouble. Austin had 5 and 4 and never got into an offensive flow.

But that's perhaps a positive. Baylor got a 12-point win over a team picked to finish third in the Pac-12 despite foul trouble to all its posts, an offense that needs to find itself, and a bad night rebounding. If Baylor can win on nights like that, this team will be dangerous once it comes together.
-Jake Shaw


Big 12 Weekend
A look at the other Saturday games. All times are central. Rankings are BCS.

Kansas State (4-4, 2-3) at No. 25 Texas Tech (7-2, 4-2)
11:00 a.m. Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock (ABC)
The skinny: Kansas State has strung consecutive wins for the first time in more than one month. The Red Raiders have lost two straight. WR Tyler Lockett has moved to No. 5 all time in terms of receptions in school history. Texas Tech's defense has had some problems in the last couple of weeks surrendering 90 points in losses to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

TCU (3-6, 1-5) at Iowa State (1-7, 0-5)
11:00 a.m. Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA (FSN)
The skinny: To be bowl eligible, TCU has to win its last three games starting this week on the road. While QB Casey Pachall has been fairly solid coming back, there is some problem with turnovers. TCU is tied for the conference lead with total turnovers committed with 23. The Cyclones will not be bowling this year as defensive issues. The offense has struggled.

Kansas (2-6, 0-5) at No. 14 Oklahoma State (7-1, 4-1)
3:00 p.m. Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK, (FOX Sports 1)
The skinny: Here come the Cowboys who have been pretty impressive in the last two ballgames with impressive road wins at Iowa State and Texas Tech. They have scored 58 and 52 points respectively and have leaned on their running game. KU needs to win out to be bowl eligible and that seems highly unlikely. Running back James Sims is at 3,119 career yards to put him third all-time on the rushing list.

Texas (6-2, 5-0) at West Virginia (2-4, 4-5)
6:00 p.m. Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV (FOX)
The skinny: The Longhorns make their first visit to West Virginia and continue to control their destiny. Jackson Jeffcoat and Cedric Reed have combined for 11 of the defense's 20 sacks. While Case McCoy remains the starting quarterback, he has been turnover prone with four interceptions in the last two games. The Mountaineers have relied on transfer RB Charles Sims to lead them. He has more than 1,000 rushing and receiving yards.
-SicEmSports


Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where. The rankings are prior to the Baylor-Oklahoma game

1. Baylor - Art Briles now feels like his program has quality Big 12 depth
2. Oklahoma State - The Cowboys lead the Big 12 in turnover ratio at plus 10
3. Texas - DT Chris Whaley is the first DL in history to have 2 TDs in one season
4. Oklahoma - The passing game will be a problem for the rest of the season
5. Texas Tech - Rushing offense 9th in the Big 12 at 124.9 per game
6. Kansas State - Leads the conference in yards per punt return at 21.7
7. West Virginia - Mountaineers only converting 31 percent on 3rd down
8. TCU - Total offensive numbers have moved only five yards in the last five weeks
9. Kansas - Charlie Weis is encouraged by the passing game's growth
10. Iowa State - Forced only three interceptions and collected 12 sacks
-Kevin Lonnquist


Emptying the Notebook
>South Grand Prairie DB Jason Hall was at the Baylor-Oklahoma game on Thursday. Of course, Hall is a Texas commit. From what we understand, this is similar to KD Cannon visiting Oklahoma and Texas Tech the previous weeks. Kids want to watch some football in person.

>Here's why Temple QB and Baylor 2015 commit Chad President (torn ACL) already has his brace off. In his 3x day rehab routine, he will ride a bike and do wall sits in the morning. At noon, he will lift weights and ride the bike again. After school, he does pool workouts and more work on the bike and in the weight room.

>It may be a matter of time before Baylor evaluates Marble Falls 2016 quarter Brennen Wooten. The 6-2, 175-pound prospect already holds an offer from Akron and is drawing interest from Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas and USC.
"By the time he figures this out, he's going to be the real deal," Marble Falls coach Todd Dodge said. "He's as good as I've coached."
-SicEmSports

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.







NOTE: We thought since the Floyd Casey Stadium, tarp is off to the great beyond, we would pay tribute to it as the home page picture for the Blitz. Baylor has averaged 43,875 for its first five home games of 2013. That's 2,507 more than the school-record of 41,638 set in 2011. With the Dec. 7 game against Texas already a sellout and a nearly-assured sellout coming for Oklahoma, Baylor will break both its per game and home total attendance records. The photo is courtesy of Baylor athletics.

-SicEmSports




What else is new?

This 2014 recruiting class will be remembered for the one where future Baylor teammates squared off against each other.


The latest matchup will be tonight in Houston when Houston Lamar (DT Ira Lewis) faces Houston Bellaire (OT Devonte Jones). And literally, this will be a one-on-one matchup. Lewis should be lining up across from Jones for some if not most of the game. The two have not spoken to each other at any point of the season. Lamar was actually going to play Alief Elsik (WR Ishmael Zamora) but bad weather wiped out the game.


"It hit me two weeks ago that this was going to happen,'' Lewis said. "It's definitely going to be weird. I know that when we started looking at Bellaire on film I was told I was going to be matched up against Devonte. Our coaches told me he's their best lineman.''


And it should be a grudge match. Lewis said he now is 6-4, 270. Jones is 6-3, 305. Lewis has been having a pretty solid season recording 9½ sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Jones is grading out at 85 percent and has 25 pancake blocks and 19 decleating blocks.


"But the way to try and beat him to make sure I have great technique,'' Lewis said. "I can't get high up. If I get stood up, I'm going to get driven back. I just need to come off the ball and get full extension.''


And there really hasn't been much of a push from other schools for Lewis. Lewis said he heard a little from Iowa State but that didn't last too long.


If you're wondering about the other Baylor commitment matchups:


>Davion Hall, Ath, Texarkana Liberty-Eylau vs. KD Cannon, WR, Mount Pleasant


>Verkedric Vaughns, DB, Mesquite Poteet vs. T'Kevian Rockwell, LB, Wylie (neither played - injuries)


>Chris Platt, WR, Willis vs. Xavier Jones, DE, Magnolia West


>Patrick Lawrence, OL, Waxahachie vs. Terence Williams, RB, Ennis (Nov. 8)

-Kevin Lonnquist




Harris healthy and ready

Fort Worth Southwest Ath Wesley Harris turned out to be the lone member of the 2013 signing class who took a grey shirt. That's proving to be pretty valuable.


Harris, who injured his right knee a year ago, is fully recovered and been working with a trainer three times a week for 90 minutes each session. About this time in 2012, he had surgery to fix a stretched (not torn) lateral collateral ligament and a stretched ACL.


"There really wasn't anything structurally wrong with the knee,'' Harris said. "They just had to do some cleaning up. Everything feels fine. I've been doing a lot of running and explosive work like jumping over boxes so I can get in condition.''


Given how part of the remaining needs of Baylor's class focuses on the secondary, Harris (6-1, 178) is arriving in January and will start working out at cornerback. He played quarterback at Southwest. Harris found time to get to the season opener against Wofford but isn't sure if he can make it any of the remaining games. Time will tell.


"[Grey shirting] has been a good experience,'' he said. "It's humbling and makes you focus. You want to get to school and have the right mindset the first day. I can't wait to get down there.''


Harris said he did not take any JUCO classes. Grey shirts can take a couple in the semester before they are supposed to arrive. And he said he doesn't too much about 2016 quarterback Devin Williams who has Baylor's attention.


Because he is grey shirting, Harris will count toward the 2014 class.

-Kevin Lonnquist



Hogg finally….well, not really

Turns out that when Plano West 2015 forward D.J. Hogg picked up his offer from Baylor last week, it really wasn't last week. He had one for some time but apparently didn't know about it.


"I talked to coach [Scott Drew] last week, and asked him if they were going to offer me,'' Hogg said. "He said, 'That's the easiest question you've asked me all day'. It's a great program and they have a great team.''


Hogg could erupt in his junior year. As a sophomore, the Rivals No. 49 prospect averaged 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds in 2012-13 as Plano West went 19-13 and went to the playoffs. The Wolves lost in the bi-district round.


If you didn't hear, the District 10-5A denied the eligibility of Hogg's fellow 2015 teammate and No. 20 prospect Tyler Davis, a player Baylor has offered and hosted on campus twice. Plano West is appealing.

-Kevin Lonnquist




Elite14 tournament in Wichita Falls

Several Baylor 2015 targets are scheduled to play in the Elite14 Showcase on Saturday in Wichita Falls. The tournament features 14 of the top teams from Oklahoma and Texas.


The one-day tournament is always a draw for Division I coaches.


Triple A Academy's a King McClure is expected to be there. Plano West will be there along with Hogg, Davis and Avery Johnson, Jr. But from what it sounds like Baylor will wait to and may never offer Johnson. Of course, the Bears already have commitments from Oakwood's Damiyne Durham and DeSoto's T.J. Maston. They are also waiting to see what comes of the commitment decisions of center Jahlil Okafor and guard Tyus Jones, the Nos. 1 and 5 players in the 2014 class.


Durham and Maston may be the only two who sign on Nov. 13. The spring signing period starts in May.

-Kevin Lonnquist



New recruiting changes

On Wednesday, the NCAA adopted five new recruiting rules for football regarding coaches' access to players. They were effective immediately.


>In the summer, players can now participate in eight monitored hours per week of required weight training and conditioning and two of those hours can be film review. In the past, players were going "voluntarily" to those summer workouts. Baylor has always made it a practice for its signing class to arrive on campus for the first summer session that begins in early June. Now, there can be more hands-on work with the players.


>Prohibiting school staff members from attending all-star game or associated activities with the games. Most of the players at these games have already committed and those who haven't will announce on TV.


>The extended dead period will now run from Dec. 16-Jan. 15. That's probably building that in when the 4-team playoff system begins in 2014.


>Establishing a 14-day dead period from late June and early July for FBS schools. With the advent of 7-on-7 tournaments and summer camps, look for those the tournaments and camps to be set prior to and after the period.


>Allowing schools to pay for meals for up to four family members who accompany a recruit on an official visit. Hard to believe the committee had to even do this.


>In other business, the board asked the Leadership Council to study whether heavy reliance on online courses is appropriate for student-athletes. If it were to rule these as unacceptable, then that could impact how many players could be mid-semester enrollees.

-SicEmSports/Associated Press




Big 12 Weekend

A look at Saturday's games. All times are central. Baylor and Oklahoma have the bye


Kansas (2-5, 0-4) at Texas (5-2, 4-0)

2:30 p.m. Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium (LHN)

The skinny: Texas has won its last four games and relied on strong defense in the process. Longhorns' defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat is among the conference leaders in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (11). The Jayhawks are trying to end a infamous 25-game conference losing streak. They are last or near last in just about every major conference offensive category.


Iowa State (1-6, 0-4) at Kansas State (3-4, 1-3)

2:30 p.m. Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS. (FOX Sports 1)

The skinny: While the Cyclones' season continues to disappear, the Wildcats are looking to take another step toward bowl eligibility. With WRs Tremaine Thompson and Tyler Lockett back from injuries, KSU's offense looks so much different. The Wildcats are second in the conference at passing efficiency (150.7). Iowa State is last in total defense (481.7).


West Virginia (3-5, 1-4) at TCU (3-5, 1-4)

2:30 p.m. Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth (ESPNU)

The skinny: A game that each team desperately has to have in order to get closer to bowl eligibility. It's pretty evident that they have to win three of their last four to do it. West Virginia has settled with Clint Trickett at quarterback but the offense has really scuffled. But then again, TCU's offense is pretty shoddy too with a poor passing game and inconsistent running game. Will the winner get to 20?


No. 18 Oklahoma State (6-1, 3-1) at No. 15 Texas Tech (7-1, 4-1)

6:00 p.m. AT&T Jones Stadium, Lubbock (FOX)

The skinny: Revenge. Payback. Owing. Use the word something those first three and it fits what the Red Raiders think they feel about this game since Oklahoma State won the last two games by 60 and 38 points. Quarterback Davis Webb seems to have a feel for the offense. He just needs to have more production from the running game. Tech's offense is still imbalanced. Oklahoma State is just the latest Big 12 team with QB problems as there hasn't been good play from either J.W. Walsh or Clint Chelf.

-SicEmSports



Big 12 Power Rankings

Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where.


1. Baylor - RIP Tarp

2. Oklahoma State - Defense has 2TDs in a game (Iowa State) for the first time since 2006

3. Oklahoma - Sooners keep losing key players to season-ending injuries

4. Texas - Is this the Texas we thought we were going to see back in August?

5. Texas Tech - Jace Amaro leads all Big 12 receivers with 64 catches

6. Kansas State - Wildcats have favorable schedule to close the season; 3 of last 5 at home

7. TCU - An intriguing wide receiver corps really underachieving

8. West Virginia - AD Oliver Luck reportedly will take Texas AD job by end of November

9. Iowa State - Cyclones have surrendered 26 sacks, most in the Big 12

10. Kansas - This offense is really hard to watch

-Kevin Lonnquist




Emptying the Notebook

>Aledo 2015 Ryan Newsome spoke with Baylor offensive coordinator Phi Montgomery on Wednesday and was told Montgomery may be in town to watch Aledo play Granbury Friday. Newsome is coming off a tough games week against Fort Worth Southwest where he lost three fumbles.


>Dallas Bishop Dunne 2014 DB Nick Watkins has been in touch with Baylor this week. So the dialogue with him continues to be positive. He said Baylor has been talking to him about trying to do an official visit. Watkins took his only official two weeks ago to Notre Dame. Watkins, though, maintains that Baylor is too close for him to take an official visit. However, he hasn't ruled out the possibility of taking an unofficial visit. Watkins still hasn't announced any other official visits. But those are looking like after the football season.


>Port Arthur Memorial 2016 RB Kameron Martin spoke with Baylor DB coach Carlton Buckels on Wednesday and said the visit went great. Martin said he hoped Buckels would watch him play Friday. Baylor was the first school to offer Martin.


>As the Baylor-Oklahoma game approaches and recruits have their plans more firm, we will provide a list of those recruits who plan on coming to the game. But it appears Rockwall 2015 RB Chris Warren is an early yes.

-SicEmSports

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.








Lynch had to wait a day



Blake Lynch had it all planned out. After Troup played its game against Tatum Friday Oct. 18, he decided he would give his verbal commitment to Baylor on Saturday.


Then, the accident happened.


Lynch (6-3, 200) broke his right arm in the second half while on defense. A trip to the hospital to get the arm immobilized followed by allowing the shock of the injury wear off took about a day. But the 2015 athlete gave his commitment to Baylor Sunday and became the third member of the class. He's also the second four-star recruit along with Temple's Chad President.


"I've been pretty sure about this for awhile,'' Lynch said. "I know that this has been the right thing to do. It's definitely a weight off my shoulders. Baylor had a pretty good idea it was coming.''


As Troup's dual-threat quarterback he guided his ballclub to 5-2 record and tallied 28 total touchdowns. That's four per game if you're doing the math. That's what 4.46 speed will do for you.


Lynch's connections with Baylor began in the spring, accelerated in the summer when he went to the July 19 camp and apparently finalized with the unofficial visit for the UL-Monroe game on Sept. 21.


There's no doubt that he brings versatility. Lynch said he's open to playing wide receiver or playing in secondary.


"Whatever gets me on the field the fast,'' he said. "If the coaches keep me on the offensive side, that's fine.''


Lynch had surgery on Wednesday in which a plate and several screws were inserted. He broke both the radius and ulna - meaning that it was a severe break.


Still, he's expected to make a full recovery. But he plans on trying to catch Baylor for the Nov. 7 against Oklahoma, Nov. 16 against Texas Tech and Dec. 7 in the Floyd Casey finale against Texas.


"It means a lot to commit,'' Lynch said, "because it showed me hard work pays off. Playing JV as a freshman was an honor and on the varsity as a sophomore were blessings.''

--Kevin Lonnquist



JUCO linebacker talks Baylor

Recently, Garden City Community College's Dvonta Derricott liked what he saw so much from Baylor, he sent out a tweet asking Baylor to re-recruit him. He had been holding an offer for a couple of months.


But he had a couple of social media talks with linebackers coach Jim Gush. While he's committed to Kansas State, Derricott said he considers it soft. He wants to set up an official visit to Baylor in January. The Richmond, VA native is a May graduate.


While GCCC may not make the playoffs, he's had a strong year with about 78 tackles, four interceptions including one for a touchdown and three forced fumbles. He's definitely been paying attention to what Baylor has been doing on defense.


"I like all the stuff they're doing with their linebackers,'' Derricott said. "Baylor is looking at me as an outside linebacker. You can see how much Eddie Lackey has improved. They look like they're playing the right people in their 4-2-5.''


As for his game?


"I think I shoot the gaps really well,'' he said. "Right now, I'm not trying to be cocky but I don't know where I have a weakness.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



QB Evaluation: Justin Northwest Jesse Drummer

Your publisher had a chance to watch Justin Northwest 2015 quarterback Jesse Drummer on Thursday night against Keller Timber Creek.


He's a recruit Baylor and other Division I schools are just getting to know. He returned to Texas from Illinois in January and participated in the Rivals 250 underclassmen challenge this past July in DeSoto.


In Northwest's 49-10 victory in which the running game controlled things, Drummer (6-2, 210) went 6-of-10 for 108 yards including a 31-yard touchdown pass and one interception. On the TD pass, Drummer did a nice job of splitting the coverage and laying it into his receiver on a seam route. On the interception, it was a tad underthrown as the ball went to the sideline.


But he has that build that reminds me of Nick Florence and Bryce Petty. He still has a lot to learn about the position. For the year, he's completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,634 yards with 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions.


"I like Baylor a lot, and I'm following,'' Drummer said. "They score a bunch of points. I've talked to them in the last couple of weeks. I was supposed to come to the West Virginia game but there was a huge accident on I-35 and we were stuck on the highway for two hours. I want to get back.''

-Kevin Lonnquist




X-man cometh

Even Shawn Bell likes to be a fan when it comes to defensive end Xavier Jones' huge season.


Through seven games, Jones has 13 tackles for loss, 10 QB hurries and three sacks. He was Magnolia West's defensive player of the game in the 21-6 victory over Huntsville. The defense has surrendered only 25 points over the last four games.


At 6-3, 215, Jones offers the build why Baylor liked him and secured his 2014 commitment. The Bears' coaching staff tends to recruit lighter defensive ends so they can fill them out in their strength program.


"He just plays with so much fire and tenacity,'' Bell said. "He's got the biggest motor. Literally, he never stops. Teams are running away from him. But they are having a tough time and have to adjust quicker.''


And Jones is healthy.


In 2012, Jones dealt with a knee injury that kept him off the practice field during the week just so the staff could have him available for Friday.


Two things changed for Jones' recruit within the last two years. He gained about 30 pounds from 170 to 200 and didn't add any fat. Also, his first step is just natural.


"He lives in the weight room,'' Bell said. "His work ethic is unbelievable. We have high expectations for him. You never know about a player if he commits before his senior year and what you're going to get from him. But he's leading us.''

-Kevin Lonnquist



Basketball notables

>Initial reports indicated that point guard Allerik Freeman (hand) could be outs through the Maui tournament in late November. However, Baylor may have a better idea where he is by early November. We'll see about Maui.


>Strength and agility continue to be at the forefront with center Isaiah Austin (shoulder). There is no longer any discomfort and he has been active, we understand.


>In Freeman's absence, JUCO point guard Kenny Chery should see the majority of the playing time. Early indications are that he's handling the offense pretty well.


>And you're weekly check on Denver transfer on Royce O'Neale continues. No ruling has been made on his hardship waiver.


>Baylor 2014 targets Chicago center Jahlil Okafor, the No. 1 player in the Rivals 150, and greater Minneapolis point guard Tyus Jones, the No. 5 overall player, make their final official visits this weekend at Duke. It's expected those two, who have said they will play together in college, will announce their decision and sign in November.


>With Baylor offering Plano West 2015 forward D.J. Hogg, the No. 49 2015 player in the country by Rivals, it signals that the Bears staff wants to have a little more versatility with the position.

-SicEmSports




Bell smiles at alma mater

It's hard to believe that former Baylor quarterback Shawn Bell has been off campus for seven years. He played for Baylor between 2003-06. He also enjoyed a strong career throwing for 5,666 yards and 38 touchdowns.


While Baylor never made a bowl game, Bell remembers where he was the day Baylor hired Art Briles in 2007. Bell is now the head coach at Magnolia West.


"I was at Round Rock Stony Point and I had heard it through the grapevine,'' Bell said. "I've known coach Briles since 7th grade. I just thought, 'let's go.''


Bell, a China Springs native, remembers when Briles was at Stephenville so he understands the magnetism that Briles appears to have with his players.


"Guys love to play for him. He's a player's coach,'' Bell said. "He can relate to you. He's got a dynamic personality. And he's genuine. When he talks to you, he wants to know about you more than football. If you live that kind of life, you're going to be rewarded.


"I always thought it was possible for Baylor to turn the corner. But it was going to take that dynamic leader. That's what he is and that's what it takes. It's great to see things going so well there.''

-Kevin Lonnquist




Big 12 Weekend

A look at Saturday's action. All times are central. There are no byes this week.


No. 19 Oklahoma State (5-1, 2-1) at Iowa State (1-5, 0-3)

Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA 11:00 a.m. (FOX Sports Net)

The skinny: The Cowboys remember what happened the last time they went to Ames in 2011. They lost in overtime and an opportunity to play for a national championship. They struggled last week against TCU with four turnovers and using both J.W. Walsh and Clint Chelf. The Cyclones were shell shocked at Baylor last week and must rebound. Their calling card running game was shut down. You could see another quarterback rotation between Sam B. Richardson and Grant Rohach.


No. 10 Texas Tech (7-0, 4-0) at No. 15 Oklahoma (6-1, 3-1)

Owen Field, Norman, OK, 2:30 p.m. (FOX)

The skinny: Arguably the best challenge for the Red Raiders who are finishing consecutive conference roadtrips. It appears that QB Davis Webb has the offense so things seem to be settling for the Red Raiders. Sooner QB Blake Bell wasn't very impressive against Kansas last week. He'll have to be focused because Tech's defense is third in the conference with 18 sacks.


West Virginia (3-4, 1-3) at Kansas State (2-4, 0-3)

Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS 2:45 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

The skinny: A game of desperation for both teams who need to find wins to become bowl eligible. The Mountaineers are going with Clint Trickett as their starting quarterback. He's had the last two starts against Baylor and Texas Tech. Kansas State may still run the QB rotation between Daniel Sams and Jake Waters. It's unknown the status of WRs Tyler Lockett and Tremaine Thompson. Having one or both changes the effectiveness of the passing game.


No. 5/6 Baylor (6-0, 3-0) at Kansas (2-4, 0-3)

Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, 6:00 p.m. (ESPNU)

The skinny: Bowl eligible for the fourth consecutive year ? a school record ? the Bears are now trying for their second 7-0 start in school history. The first one was in 1980. Baylor's offense continues to dominate but the defense is now No. 2 in the conference at 317 yards per game. Kansas may rotate quarterbacks this weekend. The Jayhawk offense is last in the league 287 yards per game.


Texas (4-2, 3-0) at TCU (3-4, 1-3)

Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, 6:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 1)

The skinny: Texas is in control of its destiny after beating Oklahoma two weeks ago. The Longhorns may have found a balance between running backs Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown as Case McCoy runs the offense. TCU's offensive woes continue to be a problem. It's really more of an issue with the offensive line, which has allowed 14 sacks ? tied for third most in the Big 12. QB Trevone Boykin is also running for his life. Don't be surprised if Casey Pachall (arm) is available. He has been cleared to play.

-SicEmSports



Big 12 Power Rankings

Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on expectations and performance. Ratings always vary. Agree or disagree, there's nothing like finding out who is ranked where. These rankings are before the Texas-Iowa State game.

1. Baylor - Defense collecting 3 ½ sacks per game

2. Oklahoma State - Offense starting to look pedestrian

3. Texas Tech - Win in Norman and this team will have more believers

4. Oklahoma - Defense has to find a way to shut down the prolific Tech offense

5. Texas - Johnathan Gray second in the Big 12 in rushing with 562 yards

6. West Virginia - Defensive woes seem to be back; allowed more 1,200 yards last 2 games

7. TCU - Patterson says there's never been a split between his offense and defense

8. Kansas State - Passing game needs to pick it up in a hurry

9. Iowa State - Cyclones getting closer to becoming bowl ineligible

10. Kansas - Not a shock but punter Trevor Pardula second in punting average at 44.8

-Kevin Lonnquist



Emptying the Notebook

>A win at Kansas would establish the longest winning in Baylor annals of 10. Baylor won its last three in 2012. That would break the record set between 1936-37.


>Baylor's defense has forced 42 3-and-outs in the opponent's 88 possessions. Opponents are only coming away with scores at 55.6 percent in the red zone.


>This season, Baylor has trailed by a total of 2:06 in game time. The Bears trailed Buffalo by 54 seconds and trailed at Kansas State for a total of 1:12.
>While there has been little movement on Abilene Cooper linebacker Cordell Dorsey's sexual assault case, we understand Baylor continues to monitor this. That doesn't mean Baylor is or is not still pursuing things. It's just that the legal process has to move first. Dorsey is still on track to graduate in December.



-SicEmSports