By KEVIN LONNQUIST
Publisher
Hall talks commitment
Waller 2019 DT Gabriel Hall isn’t one to have long discussions. But Baylor’s newest addition to the 2019 said enough to get his point across on why he committed to the Bears on Thursday.
“The times that I was up there for spring practice [in March] and the camp [in June] were really big for me,’’ Hall said. “I just felt like there was a connection between me and the coaches. I just felt more comfortable with them than anywhere else. I have a good relationship with coach [Matt Rhule] and [defensive line coach Frank] Okam.’’
Hall picked the Bears over TCU. This is big win for the Bears since you can consider this one really the first head-to-head matchup between Baylor head coach Matt Rhule and TCU head coach Gary Patterson.
Of course, Patterson has long established TCU. Baylor has won only twice in the last 19 games. However, Hall isn’t blind.
“If you look at the kinds of guys that are coming, that says a lot,’’ Hall said. “I think by the time we get there and when we start playing, we’re going to be winning a lot of games.’’
At the time when he arrived at the June 17 camp, Hall said then that he was looking to make his decision in December. He said Baylor coaches told him that they would be patient with him if that was timeline he wanted to stick to.
However, Hall said he thought over the summer and realized that he wanted to make this decision earlier.
There are no specifics on how Baylor intends to use him. All Hall knows is that the staff sees him as a defensive tackle.
Of course, both Hall and the Baylor coaches understand that TCU may not be done in its continuation of pursuing him. Hall said he expects TCU coaches to stay in contact.
From what we learned, Baylor is expecting and prepared for that possibility.
Rated a 3-star with a 5.6 rating, Hall also held P5 offers form Ole Miss, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Texas Tech and Arizona.
Waller is looking to bounce back in 2018. The Bulldogs went 1-9 in 2017.
Football nuggets
Just a couple of things to add what has been reported.
>Some further information on transfer offensive lineman Jake Fruhmorgen (knee): The injury he suffered in practice should keep him out of action for possibly 2-3 weeks. That makes him a borderline candidate for the Sept. 1 opener against Abilene Christian. There are no tears to any ligaments. It’s just a question of how quickly he can respond to treatment and physical therapy. It wouldn’t be a major concern if the Baylor coaching staff held him out of the opener.
Fruhmorgen dealt with injuries when he played at Clemson.
>One thing that Rhule can determine if his program is headed in the right direction is not what it does during the game but during practice. It’s no secret that Rhule’s practices are hard. But there is an art to it. There seems to be some thinking that players are starting to become more and more adapted to it and understand what this coaching staff wants. It’s still a process, of course.
However, there are more than several stories of players coming in on their own to look at film while they’re getting treatment.
>Look for more and more practices to continue at McLane. But there is a difference when McLane has a crowd and when it doesn’t. That’s when players have to find it within themselves to summon more energy than the benefit of a crowd. That’s nothing new. However, that’s part of building a tough minded team.
Basketball notables
>Yale guard graduate transfer Makai Mason has been going through summer workouts without any problems. However, there still is the caution of not overdoing with his left foot. While the bones have healed, there still is the issue of soreness that Mason has to endure. Mason hasn’t faced contact yet. Mason has played in only game in the past two seasons since leading Yale to the NCAA tournament in 2016. He is expected to be the primary ball handler for this team in 2018-19.
>There’s really not timetable on when senior guard Jake Lindsey (hip surgery) will be able to return. It won’t be for the rest of this summer. Optimism remains that Lindsey will be ready for the start of preseason workouts in October.
>From the 2018 senior class, we’re hearing that Nuni Omot, who got a look by Golden State in the summer league, is talking with the Brooklyn Nets. Time will tell where this is going. But if it goes well, there’s a chance he could sign a two-way contract with the Nets.
>Meanwhile center Jo Lual-Acuil is apparently close to or has signed a deal overseas in Jerusalem. We understand he leaves within a week.
>Guard Manu Lecomte is likely headed to the G League, an offshort of what the D League was, to give himself a chance to try and play his way into the NBA. The odds are difficult. But the fallback is the Lecomte could return and play for any team in Belgium if he wanted to do that. For now, he’s going to stick it out in the United States.
>On the recruiting front, you saw the story that Rivals Corey Evans had on No. 34 and big man Zeke Nnaji. Nnaji is touring the Midwest schools throughout August on unofficial visits. If he unofficials to Baylor, that’s looking like September. From there, those unofficial visits will then determine who gets the official visits. Expect this recruitment to go into the late signing period in the spring of 2019.
>Official visits should be getting finalized in the next two weeks. The good thing for the basketball program is that it has three home football games in September to use, Sept. 1 vs. Abilene Christian, Sept. 15 vs. Duke and Sept. 22 vs. Kansas.
Other notables
>Talks between Baylor and Texas Tech to continue the football series at AT&T Stadium in Arlington haven’t begun in earnest yet. There is still the belief that this series will remain at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The 2018 meeting is the final year of the four-year deal that was agreed to in 2014. Baylor surrendered home games in 2015 and 2017. Texas Tech surrendered games in 2016 and this year.
>While there was some hope that Baylor would receive the withheld monies from the Big 12 following its review of the university’s implementation of the 105 recommendations from Pepper Hamilton in August, that remains a bit of a moving target. The thinking now is that Baylor could get it at the end of the August or possibly September.
Publisher
Hall talks commitment
Waller 2019 DT Gabriel Hall isn’t one to have long discussions. But Baylor’s newest addition to the 2019 said enough to get his point across on why he committed to the Bears on Thursday.
“The times that I was up there for spring practice [in March] and the camp [in June] were really big for me,’’ Hall said. “I just felt like there was a connection between me and the coaches. I just felt more comfortable with them than anywhere else. I have a good relationship with coach [Matt Rhule] and [defensive line coach Frank] Okam.’’
Hall picked the Bears over TCU. This is big win for the Bears since you can consider this one really the first head-to-head matchup between Baylor head coach Matt Rhule and TCU head coach Gary Patterson.
Of course, Patterson has long established TCU. Baylor has won only twice in the last 19 games. However, Hall isn’t blind.
“If you look at the kinds of guys that are coming, that says a lot,’’ Hall said. “I think by the time we get there and when we start playing, we’re going to be winning a lot of games.’’
At the time when he arrived at the June 17 camp, Hall said then that he was looking to make his decision in December. He said Baylor coaches told him that they would be patient with him if that was timeline he wanted to stick to.
However, Hall said he thought over the summer and realized that he wanted to make this decision earlier.
There are no specifics on how Baylor intends to use him. All Hall knows is that the staff sees him as a defensive tackle.
Of course, both Hall and the Baylor coaches understand that TCU may not be done in its continuation of pursuing him. Hall said he expects TCU coaches to stay in contact.
From what we learned, Baylor is expecting and prepared for that possibility.
Rated a 3-star with a 5.6 rating, Hall also held P5 offers form Ole Miss, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Texas Tech and Arizona.
Waller is looking to bounce back in 2018. The Bulldogs went 1-9 in 2017.
Football nuggets
Just a couple of things to add what has been reported.
>Some further information on transfer offensive lineman Jake Fruhmorgen (knee): The injury he suffered in practice should keep him out of action for possibly 2-3 weeks. That makes him a borderline candidate for the Sept. 1 opener against Abilene Christian. There are no tears to any ligaments. It’s just a question of how quickly he can respond to treatment and physical therapy. It wouldn’t be a major concern if the Baylor coaching staff held him out of the opener.
Fruhmorgen dealt with injuries when he played at Clemson.
>One thing that Rhule can determine if his program is headed in the right direction is not what it does during the game but during practice. It’s no secret that Rhule’s practices are hard. But there is an art to it. There seems to be some thinking that players are starting to become more and more adapted to it and understand what this coaching staff wants. It’s still a process, of course.
However, there are more than several stories of players coming in on their own to look at film while they’re getting treatment.
>Look for more and more practices to continue at McLane. But there is a difference when McLane has a crowd and when it doesn’t. That’s when players have to find it within themselves to summon more energy than the benefit of a crowd. That’s nothing new. However, that’s part of building a tough minded team.
Basketball notables
>Yale guard graduate transfer Makai Mason has been going through summer workouts without any problems. However, there still is the caution of not overdoing with his left foot. While the bones have healed, there still is the issue of soreness that Mason has to endure. Mason hasn’t faced contact yet. Mason has played in only game in the past two seasons since leading Yale to the NCAA tournament in 2016. He is expected to be the primary ball handler for this team in 2018-19.
>There’s really not timetable on when senior guard Jake Lindsey (hip surgery) will be able to return. It won’t be for the rest of this summer. Optimism remains that Lindsey will be ready for the start of preseason workouts in October.
>From the 2018 senior class, we’re hearing that Nuni Omot, who got a look by Golden State in the summer league, is talking with the Brooklyn Nets. Time will tell where this is going. But if it goes well, there’s a chance he could sign a two-way contract with the Nets.
>Meanwhile center Jo Lual-Acuil is apparently close to or has signed a deal overseas in Jerusalem. We understand he leaves within a week.
>Guard Manu Lecomte is likely headed to the G League, an offshort of what the D League was, to give himself a chance to try and play his way into the NBA. The odds are difficult. But the fallback is the Lecomte could return and play for any team in Belgium if he wanted to do that. For now, he’s going to stick it out in the United States.
>On the recruiting front, you saw the story that Rivals Corey Evans had on No. 34 and big man Zeke Nnaji. Nnaji is touring the Midwest schools throughout August on unofficial visits. If he unofficials to Baylor, that’s looking like September. From there, those unofficial visits will then determine who gets the official visits. Expect this recruitment to go into the late signing period in the spring of 2019.
>Official visits should be getting finalized in the next two weeks. The good thing for the basketball program is that it has three home football games in September to use, Sept. 1 vs. Abilene Christian, Sept. 15 vs. Duke and Sept. 22 vs. Kansas.
Other notables
>Talks between Baylor and Texas Tech to continue the football series at AT&T Stadium in Arlington haven’t begun in earnest yet. There is still the belief that this series will remain at the home of the Dallas Cowboys. The 2018 meeting is the final year of the four-year deal that was agreed to in 2014. Baylor surrendered home games in 2015 and 2017. Texas Tech surrendered games in 2016 and this year.
>While there was some hope that Baylor would receive the withheld monies from the Big 12 following its review of the university’s implementation of the 105 recommendations from Pepper Hamilton in August, that remains a bit of a moving target. The thinking now is that Baylor could get it at the end of the August or possibly September.
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