NOTE: The content on the Baylor Blitz is solely meant for the subscribers of SicEmSports. Let's all please make sure that whatever is written here stays here. We appreciate you all helping us with this. Now, let's all take a look at Baylor recruiting and what else is going on involving the Bears.
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NOTE: The penalty phase from the sexual assault trial involving one-time Baylor defensive end Sam Ukwuachu is expected to be concluded on Friday. The Waco-Tribune reported the Houston native was crying out loud after the verdict was read. On Thursday evening, a jury found Ukwuachu guilty regarding an incident involving a Baylor soccer player in October of 2013. We were of the understanding that Ukwuachu was technically still on scholarship. However, the verdict potentially expunges Baylor from that obligation. There is the possibility of an appeal. But we probably won’t know that until Friday once the case is adjourned. Baylor returns to practice on Friday morning. Head coach Art Briles usually does a media session before it begins. We hope to bring you some details as to what he said or if he was cleared by the university to make any remarks.
Baylor 2016 class scrimmage schedule
Of the 13 commits, 12 will be in action on Friday. But the one not scrimmaging – Plano Prestonwood LB Deonte Williams – has a pretty good reason. He will be on a senior retreat in San Antonio. So Plano Prestonwood’s scrimmage will be executed with underclassmen. We don’t have all of the scrimmages but here is who we have. We hope to fill in the rest as soon as possible.
Grayland Arnold, DB, Kountze – vs. Hamshire Fannett
Jared Atkinson, WR, Mesquite Horn – vs. DeSoto
Patrick Hudson, OL, Silsbee – vs. Beaumont Ozen
Kenan Ivy, S, Lancaster – vs. Prosper
Kameron Martin, RB, Port Arthur Memorial – TBA
Denzel Mims, Ath, Daingerfield – vs. Paris North Lamar
Chris Miller, S, Frisco Lone Star – vs. Lucas Lovejoy
Rajah Preciado, DB, College Station – vs. San Antonio Jay
Bravvion Roy, DT, Spring – vs. Langham Creek
Zach Smith, QB, Grandview – scrimmaged Venus on Thursday
Raleigh Texada, DB, Frisco Centennial – vs. Mesquite Poteet
J.P. Urquidez, OL, Copperas Cove – vs. Abilene
-Kevin Lonnquist
VIDEO: Travon Blanchard
The sophomore NB from West-Orange Stark spoke earlier this week about the upcoming season and his expectations. Our Stephen Cook was there.
The film will tell all
Baylor is still looking for another offensive lineman. Time will tell if the Bears can get back into it with Trophy Club Byron Nelson’s and Arkansas commit Kellen Diesch.
But the coaching staff is looking at options. One of those is Navarro College offensive tackle Gewhite Stallworth (6-8, 300). Baylor started watching Stallworth during the spring workouts. But the staff hasn’t offered yet.
Why? Well, Stallworth didn’t play in 2014. The Houston Reagan product suffered a foot injury. Rather than risk it, Navarro head coach Cody Crill decided to redshirt him. That’s a benefit to all of his recruiters because Stallworth is expected to graduate in December and have three years of eligibility remaining. Baylor is viewing him as a guard.
Crill said Baylor is among several programs who want to see film of Stallworth’s first several games before decisions to offer are made. Navarro, which has turned into a pipeline for Baylor, opens its season Saturday at Georgia Military and then plays Aug. 29 at Cisco.
“He can move and he’s even harder to get around,’’ Crill said. “Everybody wants to see what he’s going to look like. He’s going to be a really good player for us.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
Ivy ready to visit
Lancaster safety and 2016 Baylor commit Kenan ivy is planning on visiting Baylor for its scrimmage on Saturday. The scrimmage likely will take place at McLane Stadium.
It’s been a pretty quiet summer for Ivy. But his commitment to Baylor has never wavered. Not even close.
Ivy hasn’t been to Baylor in nearly three months. However, he will return on Saturday to watch the Bears go through their second scrimmage on Saturday. This time, Ivy his bringing his father, Howard. It will be his father’s first trip to visit the university.
“I know he’s looking forward to it,’’ the younger Ivy said. “He’s going to be looking at everything around the campus. It’s going to be good.’’
Ivy is hoping to bring another 2016 prospect for Baylor to consider. That’s former Dallas Prime Prep defensive back Karmen Roy. Ivy said the Baylor coaches don’t know anything about him. However, said he plans to speak with Baylor safeties coach Cris Dishman before they arrive. Baylor is still in need of two more defensive backs for this class.
“He’s a really good athlete,’’ Ivy said. “But I think he probably needs to work on being more consistent with his game.’’
Lancaster is considered one of the favorites to compete for a Class 5A state championship. Ivy could be seeing double duty this year. He has been going through workouts at running back.
-Kevin Lonnquist
MBB: Jones names seven; will wait
Earlier in the week, Irving MacArthur 3-star point guard Andrew Jones named a Top 7 of Baylor, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, Arizona, Louisville and Oklahoma State.
But Jones is in no rush to make a decision. He said he wants to wait until the spring signing period in April, 2016 before a decision is made. Still, his recent visit to Baylor went a long way toward keeping the Bears in it. It was Jones second visit of the summer.
“It went great because I got to see a live scrimmage but then had a really good scrimmage with coach [Scott] Drew,’’ he said. “I don’t know when I’m going to take official visits yet. I don’t have anything scheduled.’’
At this point, Jones said he could see himself taking a couple of official visits during the fall and then maybe a couple during the spring. It’s not clear that Baylor would earn one of those. Recruits can only take five official visits.
But the conviction to stay patient is paramount to Jones. He said the process is new to him after not earning a lot of attention during his junior year. With the rapid exposure, things have changed.
“I just want to build a relationship with the coaches and trust,’’ he said. “I can’t do that in a couple of months. I need more time. All of the schools were good with me on that. There was no pressure on me. They understand.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
Considering alternatives
Over the next 5 ½ months, Baylor has to add about seven more players to the 2016 class. Now Art Briles mentioned there were 23 spots remaining. So it’s hard to say if this is an ironclad number.
There have been some Baylor players who have been coveted by other programs. Texas pursuing Port Arthur Memorial running back Kameron Martin and Kountze DB Grayland Arnold.
But recruiting is a two-way street. Look no further than Baylor starting quarterback Seth Russell. He was committed to Kansas before the Bears were able to flip him. So the following offers some names that Baylor could pursue as early as now to as late as January for candidates they could convince to change and come to Waco.
Alton Robinson, LB, Converse Judson (committed to Texas A&M) – Baylor liked him at both LB and defensive end. And if the Bears are running out of options, they may take another look.
Travon Fuller, DB, Athens (committed to Texas A&M) – This is probably a longshot. But we know Baylor had tried to make a move in the spring before Fuller committed to the Aggies. You would have to think the staff is taking temperature checks.
Sewo Olonilua, Ath, Kingwood (committed to TCU) – The Bears were looking at him in the spring and made some overtures. But they haven’t offered. There didn’t seem to be a consensus if Baylor saw him at linebacker or someplace else.
D’Eriq King, Ath, Manvel (committed to TCU) – Like Fuller, this is probably a longshot. But Baylor was one of the first ones to offer him. Things looked good early until TCU moved in. The Bears history of luring TCU recruits away hasn’t been the best minus Shock Linwood.
Kellen Diesch, OT, Trophy Club Byron Nelson (committed to Arkansas) – Cracks appear to be showing with his commitment to the Razorbacks. At one point, it seemed like the Bears were the leader. Now, it appears Texas A&M is a major player. But Baylor may not be out of this.
Christian Davis, DB, Waco Midway (committed to SMU) – This could be a repeat story with a Midway player like it was with Lenoy Jones for the 2015 class. Baylor still needs some secondary help. If options fall off, it would make sense for Baylor to make a move here. It would probably be even easier for Davis to switch.
Parrish Cobb, DB, Waco La Vega (committed to Oklahoma) – Unlikely unless successive visits and interaction with the Sooner coaching staff started to sour on him. But it would have to be everything conspiring to happen for this to occur.
La’Darren Brown, ath, DeSoto (committed to Oklahoma State) – Baylor has been around him enough to know what he’s capable of. But the staff hasn’t offered. The belief here is that he committed to the Cowboys because they were his best P5 option. We know he really likes Baylor. So if the Bears make a move, they probably have a chance.
Rodarius Williams, DB, Shreveport (LA) Calvary (committed to Oklahoma State) – The Bears are still talking to him. He said as early as last week, he still wants to take a visit and watch a game. If the dialogue continues between the two sides, you never know.
Jordan Elliott, DT, Houston Westside (committed to Houston) – Why he de-committed from Baylor? No one knows. Why he committed to Houston? Even fewer know. Now, the chances of him deciding to return seem difficult to fathom. But Elliott personifies, “Recruiting is weird.’’ There’s talk he could end up committing to USC. Sticking with his commitment to UH seems unlikely.
Eric Monroe, S, Galena Park North Shore (committed to LSU) – Remember back in February when he said that Baylor was his No. 1? Well, we know the story. Currently, LSU has the No. 2 recruiting class in the country. If Baylor were to win the Big 12 and play for a national title and if LSU turns in another unimpressive season….
Maciah Long, Ath, Kansas (committed to Kansas) – He went to Baylor’s camp on July 17 and did everything that was asked. But Baylor wasn’t sure what it wanted to do with him. The Jayhawks want him for linebacker. At 6-3, 234, there’s still a chance to play DE. If Baylor still needs a DE, he could be an option. Plus, Baylor has had success from prying away KU commits in the past.
There are likely others that will fall into this category. The coaching staff will be pressed to make sure its class stays together. If things were to change, these would be some names to watch.
-SicEmSports
Emptying the Notebook
>Make sure you pray for Matt Clare and his family. But it’s because of a good thing. He and his wife are welcoming their second child this weekend. That’s why you haven’t seen him too much over the last two weeks. Lots of preparations.
>We’re told McKinney North DE Justin Madubuike still has high interest in Baylor. There are also six or seven teams he is considering. We believe Baylor to be among them. But it’s not certain if he will release a finalist list.
>Rivals Jason Howell plans to attend Trophy Club Byron Nelson’s Friday scrimmage with Aledo. We hope to have an update on where things stand with defensive end Brandon Bowen. Bowen is the No. 50 recruit in the Rivals 100. He also may get an update from Kellen Diesch.
>On watching the linebackers during Baylor’s most recent scrimmage, Plano Prestonwood 2016 LB commit Deonte Williams said: “I saw how the coaches really stressed technique and physicality. The guys wrapped up and used their feet well.’’
>Duncaville DT Marcel Southall added a TCU offer over the week. But at this point, it doesn’t look he’s in a hurry to announce finalists much less let anyone know when he will be taking official visits.
-SicEmSports
