NOTE I: Baylor set an attendance record in 2014 as it averaged 46,710 fans in its six home games at McLane Stadium.
NOTE II: Baylor sold out of its ticket allotment for the 79th Cotton Bowl Classic game on Jan. 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington against Michigan State.
ART BRILES (Prepared statement on Philip Montgomery leaving for Tulsa):
"I'm deeply grateful for 17 years of loyalty, friendship and professional service that Coach Montgomery gave to me and the staffs that we were privileged to be a part of together. I'm happy for him, and excited for him. He's done everything the right way for the right reasons and he's been rewarded for it. You want to see people that you care about have an opportunity to be successful and Monty is certainly in that category.
"My duty to our football team and Baylor University is that any time that we have change, that it's my job to make sure that we never take a step backwards. I'll make sure that we keep charging forward."
-SicEmSports
How will dominos fall after Montgomery's departure?
A rare thing happened on Thursday: Art Briles lost a member of his coaching staff.
Philip Montgomery is the new head coach at Tulsa, opening up the offensive coordinator job for the Bears. Of Briles' original nine assistant coaches, Montgomery is the fifth to leave Baylor, joining Dino Babers -- now the Bowling Green coach who originally left for Eastern Illinois -- as well as Larry Hoefer, Kim McCloud and Theo Young, all of whom were let go by Briles.
That leaves four assistants -- Kendal Briles, Randy Clements, Brian Norwood and Chris Achuff -- who have been with Baylor since Briles arrived in 2008. Two of those, the younger Briles and Clements, are prime candidates to replace Montgomery.
Kendal Briles has made a name for himself on the recruiting trail, no doubt. And there's reason to believe he's being groomed for a head coaching job, perhaps even filling in for his dad when the time comes. But Clements has the edge in experience.
Clements coached the offensive line at Houston for three years under Briles and has maintained that job -- plus adding the running game coordinator job -- at Baylor. Before that, he coached 12 seasons at Stephenville High, running everything from the offensive line and strength program to becoming the offensive coordinator.
So while Briles is the "hot name," Clements might be more qualified. There's a chance, though, that rather than naming one, Baylor could opt to name them co-offensive coordinators, something that TCU did this season with great success. Someone must still call the plays, though, something Baylor will get a chance to see in action against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.
Baylor could also look outside its own walls to find Montgomery's replacement. But considering how versed Kendal Briles and Randy Clements are in the system, that seems unlikely. What could happen is an outside hire at the job vacated by either Briles or Clements. With Brles's strong connections to the high school level, if there's a young, talented offensive mind out there, it's likely Briles has identified him.
Lastly, Montgomery's departure raises the question of what -- if any -- Baylor staffers he'll take with him. If Clements isn't named the new OC, you'd have to think Montgomery could have his ear about having that title at Tulsa. The same goes for Carlton Buckels and Jim Gush -- both might be open minded to getting an upgraded job title at Tulsa.
So losing Montgomery could lead to more departures, but time will tell, and we'll do our best to stay on top of this evolving story.
-Jake Shaw
President stunned
Needless to say, Temple QB Chad President was in shock when he heard former Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery accepted the head coaching position at Tulsa on Thursday.
In the 19 months since he committed, President and Montgomery have developed a pretty tight bond. That's what coaching staffs want with their top recruits. During Baylor's bye weeks Montgomery usually traveled to where Temple played so he could check in on the Rivals No. 200 player.
The two are pretty quiet but let their actions speak for themselves. But President also understands this is part of the business.
"It was almost like a father-son relationship,'' President said. "I could talk to him about anything. We grew really close to each other.''
Most of Temple's QB work is pretty similar to what Baylor does. So once he arrives on campus in January he should be a little ahead of schedule.
But first things first. Temple (12-1) plays Austin Vandergrift (12-2) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at San Antonio's Alamodome in the Class 5A Division I state semifinal. The winner faces the winner of Aledo-Tyler John Tyler in the state final at noon on Dec. 20.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Offer has position choices
Trophy Club Byron Nelson's Brandon Bowen is no stranger to Baylor. He attended two games at McLane Stadium and became more and more familiar with the program. It only seemed like a matter of time before the coaching staff offered.
On Thursday, that happened when head coach Art Briles extended one to the versatile athlete. It's really unclear what the position would be. However, Bowen has said that Baylor also likes him at wide receiver with his 6-6, 225-pound frame could a matchup problem.
He began the 2014 season at wide receiver for the Bobcats. However, Nelson went through some injury issues where it had to place him back on the defensive line.
Bowen's recruitment is reaching another level. He already has offers from Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and North Texas.
-Kevin Lonnquist
An important recruiting weekend
Several of Baylor's commitments or primary recruiting targets are playing state semifinal playoff games this weekend. And because of these games, it made it pretty hard for Baylor to try and schedule any official visits this weekend.
Class 6A Division II
Cedar Hill (12-2) vs. Spring Westfield (13-1); 2:00 p.m. Saturday, Georgetown
Expect a Baylor coach - more than likely Jim Gush - to be in Central Texas to watch Longhorns LB Richard Moore. Regardless of the result, Baylor is expected to conduct an inhome visit with Moore on Sunday. It's unknown if it both Gush and Art Briles will visit. Baylor appears to be putting itself in a very good position here.
Class 5A Division I
Temple (12-1) vs. Austin Vandergrift (12-2); 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Alamodome
Really, it's not certain if any Baylor coach will be there - there's probably a good chance someone will be there - to watch the mid-semester enrollee QB Chad President play. Obviously, Baylor knows its future at the QB position is competing for a state championship. We'll try to update that before Saturday.
Class 4A Division I
Navasota (14-0) vs. Liberty Hill (12-2); 7:00 p.m. Friday, McLane Stadium
Yes, Baylor coaches are OK to see this game in person with the game on their grounds. This is the contact period. Look for WR coach Kendal Briles to be on site to watch phenom 2016 wide receiver commit Tren'Davian Dickson to play. Dickson has both the Texas and national records for TD receptions. Going into Friday's game, he's at 29 receptions for 1,033 yards.
Class 4A Division II
Celina (12-2) vs. Gilmer (14-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium
It doesn't matter that the game is being played on another college campus, Baylor should have coaches there including DB coach Carlton Buckels and you can probably bet Art Briles could be there. Of course, the staff is keeping tabs on Blake Lynch but continuing to build its relationship with DB Kris Boyd. If you didn't see it, it appears that Boyd will take an official visit to Baylor on Jan. 23. He'll be taking that with Houston Lamar DB Holton Hill.
-SicEmSports
Malik Jefferson's picture
No doubt you saw Mesquite Poteet LB Malik Jefferson's picture tweeted with him, Jim Gush, Art Briles and Brian Norwood. We learned that it was a really good visit between Jefferson and the coaches.
In fact, there didn't seem to be much concern that Jefferson was taking an official visit to UCLA this weekend.
It's Jefferson's last official before he makes his commitment decision on Dec. 19. Baylor was named as one of his Top seven schools. While the Bears didn't earn an official visit, Jefferson has been to the campus on several occasions.
Obviously, Baylor's second consecutive Big 12 championship resonated with Jefferson. That's being matched against Texas A&M, Texas, LSU, TCU, Oklahoma and UCLA.
While most recruiting experts believe the race is between Texas and Texas A&M, the fact the Baylor has maintained this darkhorse status proves anything is possible.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Agim gets a visit
Hope (AR) 2016 defensive end McTelvin Agim seems to have a growing connection with the Baylor coaching staff. On Thursday, he visited with Baylor defensive line coach Chris Achuff.
Now, you don't travel about 385 miles if you don't think anything substantive is there.
Ranked No. 82 by Rivals, Agim is not viewing Baylor with interest. He's viewing the Bears with major interest. While he couldn't attend the Dec. 6 game against Kansas State, he was at McLane Stadium for the Nov. 22 meeting with Oklahoma State.
Baylor has invited him to its Junior Day on Jan. 31, 2015.
"Everything went good,'' Agim said. "Coach Achuff just came to visit for a while. [My interest in Baylor] went more after they came here. They really want me. I just got to get a ride for the junior day.''
-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 are through the regular season. We will have a final version once the bowl season has concluded
1. Baylor - Consecutive Big 12 titles; consecutive 11-win seasons
2. TCU - The Big 12's surprise team nearly made the Final Four
3. Kansas State - WR Tyler Lockett winding down a record-setting career
4. Oklahoma - This season completely washed out with no passing game
5. Texas - Texas Bowl should be intriguing against old rival Arkansas
6. West Virginia - Dana Holgorsen's job is safe for another year
7. Oklahoma State - Tyreek Hill willed the Cowboys into the postseason
8. Texas Tech - Lots of questions to answer in the offseason
9. Kansas - New coach David Beaty has a lot of work to do
10. Iowa State - Paul Rhoads survives but 2015 must show improvement
-Kevin Lonnquist
Emptying the Notebook
>Baylor junior offensive lineman Daniel Sepulveda was named to the first team in 2006, he became the first Bear honored since Santana Dotson in 1991.
>Southlake Carroll 2016 safety Obi Eboh has been invited to Baylor's junior day on Jan. 31. More invitations are coming. Obviously, the invites already include the five 2016 commits in Silsbee OL Patrick Hudson, Dickson, Grandview QB Zach Smith, Kountze Ath Grayland Arnold and Port Arthur Memorial RB Kameron Martin.
>Maybe it's old news. Maybe it's not. Baylor is pretty much out of it on Fort Bend Marshall DB Kendall Sheffield. Remember, Sheffield had a really good view of Baylor early. However, it appears he might be looking more out of state since his first three officials went to Ohio State, Florida State and USC.
>It also looks like Baylor's chances of prying McKinney North RB Ronald Jones II away from Oklahoma State are slipping by the day. Barring anything odd, the fact that head coach Mike Gundy appears to be ready to return in 2015.
>Finally, watch Allen 2016 weak side defensive Levi Onwuzurike. Baylor may have incentive to watch him in the Class 6A Division I state semifinal at 6:00 p.m. Saturday at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Baylor already paid a visit earlier this week. Onwuzurike has offers from Duke and Texas Tech.
-SicEmSports
NOTE II: Baylor sold out of its ticket allotment for the 79th Cotton Bowl Classic game on Jan. 1 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington against Michigan State.
ART BRILES (Prepared statement on Philip Montgomery leaving for Tulsa):
"I'm deeply grateful for 17 years of loyalty, friendship and professional service that Coach Montgomery gave to me and the staffs that we were privileged to be a part of together. I'm happy for him, and excited for him. He's done everything the right way for the right reasons and he's been rewarded for it. You want to see people that you care about have an opportunity to be successful and Monty is certainly in that category.
"My duty to our football team and Baylor University is that any time that we have change, that it's my job to make sure that we never take a step backwards. I'll make sure that we keep charging forward."
-SicEmSports
How will dominos fall after Montgomery's departure?
A rare thing happened on Thursday: Art Briles lost a member of his coaching staff.
Philip Montgomery is the new head coach at Tulsa, opening up the offensive coordinator job for the Bears. Of Briles' original nine assistant coaches, Montgomery is the fifth to leave Baylor, joining Dino Babers -- now the Bowling Green coach who originally left for Eastern Illinois -- as well as Larry Hoefer, Kim McCloud and Theo Young, all of whom were let go by Briles.
That leaves four assistants -- Kendal Briles, Randy Clements, Brian Norwood and Chris Achuff -- who have been with Baylor since Briles arrived in 2008. Two of those, the younger Briles and Clements, are prime candidates to replace Montgomery.
Kendal Briles has made a name for himself on the recruiting trail, no doubt. And there's reason to believe he's being groomed for a head coaching job, perhaps even filling in for his dad when the time comes. But Clements has the edge in experience.
Clements coached the offensive line at Houston for three years under Briles and has maintained that job -- plus adding the running game coordinator job -- at Baylor. Before that, he coached 12 seasons at Stephenville High, running everything from the offensive line and strength program to becoming the offensive coordinator.
So while Briles is the "hot name," Clements might be more qualified. There's a chance, though, that rather than naming one, Baylor could opt to name them co-offensive coordinators, something that TCU did this season with great success. Someone must still call the plays, though, something Baylor will get a chance to see in action against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.
Baylor could also look outside its own walls to find Montgomery's replacement. But considering how versed Kendal Briles and Randy Clements are in the system, that seems unlikely. What could happen is an outside hire at the job vacated by either Briles or Clements. With Brles's strong connections to the high school level, if there's a young, talented offensive mind out there, it's likely Briles has identified him.
Lastly, Montgomery's departure raises the question of what -- if any -- Baylor staffers he'll take with him. If Clements isn't named the new OC, you'd have to think Montgomery could have his ear about having that title at Tulsa. The same goes for Carlton Buckels and Jim Gush -- both might be open minded to getting an upgraded job title at Tulsa.
So losing Montgomery could lead to more departures, but time will tell, and we'll do our best to stay on top of this evolving story.
-Jake Shaw
President stunned
Needless to say, Temple QB Chad President was in shock when he heard former Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery accepted the head coaching position at Tulsa on Thursday.
In the 19 months since he committed, President and Montgomery have developed a pretty tight bond. That's what coaching staffs want with their top recruits. During Baylor's bye weeks Montgomery usually traveled to where Temple played so he could check in on the Rivals No. 200 player.
The two are pretty quiet but let their actions speak for themselves. But President also understands this is part of the business.
"It was almost like a father-son relationship,'' President said. "I could talk to him about anything. We grew really close to each other.''
Most of Temple's QB work is pretty similar to what Baylor does. So once he arrives on campus in January he should be a little ahead of schedule.
But first things first. Temple (12-1) plays Austin Vandergrift (12-2) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at San Antonio's Alamodome in the Class 5A Division I state semifinal. The winner faces the winner of Aledo-Tyler John Tyler in the state final at noon on Dec. 20.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Offer has position choices
Trophy Club Byron Nelson's Brandon Bowen is no stranger to Baylor. He attended two games at McLane Stadium and became more and more familiar with the program. It only seemed like a matter of time before the coaching staff offered.
On Thursday, that happened when head coach Art Briles extended one to the versatile athlete. It's really unclear what the position would be. However, Bowen has said that Baylor also likes him at wide receiver with his 6-6, 225-pound frame could a matchup problem.
He began the 2014 season at wide receiver for the Bobcats. However, Nelson went through some injury issues where it had to place him back on the defensive line.
Bowen's recruitment is reaching another level. He already has offers from Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas Tech and North Texas.
-Kevin Lonnquist
An important recruiting weekend
Several of Baylor's commitments or primary recruiting targets are playing state semifinal playoff games this weekend. And because of these games, it made it pretty hard for Baylor to try and schedule any official visits this weekend.
Class 6A Division II
Cedar Hill (12-2) vs. Spring Westfield (13-1); 2:00 p.m. Saturday, Georgetown
Expect a Baylor coach - more than likely Jim Gush - to be in Central Texas to watch Longhorns LB Richard Moore. Regardless of the result, Baylor is expected to conduct an inhome visit with Moore on Sunday. It's unknown if it both Gush and Art Briles will visit. Baylor appears to be putting itself in a very good position here.
Class 5A Division I
Temple (12-1) vs. Austin Vandergrift (12-2); 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Alamodome
Really, it's not certain if any Baylor coach will be there - there's probably a good chance someone will be there - to watch the mid-semester enrollee QB Chad President play. Obviously, Baylor knows its future at the QB position is competing for a state championship. We'll try to update that before Saturday.
Class 4A Division I
Navasota (14-0) vs. Liberty Hill (12-2); 7:00 p.m. Friday, McLane Stadium
Yes, Baylor coaches are OK to see this game in person with the game on their grounds. This is the contact period. Look for WR coach Kendal Briles to be on site to watch phenom 2016 wide receiver commit Tren'Davian Dickson to play. Dickson has both the Texas and national records for TD receptions. Going into Friday's game, he's at 29 receptions for 1,033 yards.
Class 4A Division II
Celina (12-2) vs. Gilmer (14-0); 7:30 p.m. Friday, SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium
It doesn't matter that the game is being played on another college campus, Baylor should have coaches there including DB coach Carlton Buckels and you can probably bet Art Briles could be there. Of course, the staff is keeping tabs on Blake Lynch but continuing to build its relationship with DB Kris Boyd. If you didn't see it, it appears that Boyd will take an official visit to Baylor on Jan. 23. He'll be taking that with Houston Lamar DB Holton Hill.
-SicEmSports
Malik Jefferson's picture
No doubt you saw Mesquite Poteet LB Malik Jefferson's picture tweeted with him, Jim Gush, Art Briles and Brian Norwood. We learned that it was a really good visit between Jefferson and the coaches.
In fact, there didn't seem to be much concern that Jefferson was taking an official visit to UCLA this weekend.
It's Jefferson's last official before he makes his commitment decision on Dec. 19. Baylor was named as one of his Top seven schools. While the Bears didn't earn an official visit, Jefferson has been to the campus on several occasions.
Obviously, Baylor's second consecutive Big 12 championship resonated with Jefferson. That's being matched against Texas A&M, Texas, LSU, TCU, Oklahoma and UCLA.
While most recruiting experts believe the race is between Texas and Texas A&M, the fact the Baylor has maintained this darkhorse status proves anything is possible.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Agim gets a visit
Hope (AR) 2016 defensive end McTelvin Agim seems to have a growing connection with the Baylor coaching staff. On Thursday, he visited with Baylor defensive line coach Chris Achuff.
Now, you don't travel about 385 miles if you don't think anything substantive is there.
Ranked No. 82 by Rivals, Agim is not viewing Baylor with interest. He's viewing the Bears with major interest. While he couldn't attend the Dec. 6 game against Kansas State, he was at McLane Stadium for the Nov. 22 meeting with Oklahoma State.
Baylor has invited him to its Junior Day on Jan. 31, 2015.
"Everything went good,'' Agim said. "Coach Achuff just came to visit for a while. [My interest in Baylor] went more after they came here. They really want me. I just got to get a ride for the junior day.''
-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 are through the regular season. We will have a final version once the bowl season has concluded
1. Baylor - Consecutive Big 12 titles; consecutive 11-win seasons
2. TCU - The Big 12's surprise team nearly made the Final Four
3. Kansas State - WR Tyler Lockett winding down a record-setting career
4. Oklahoma - This season completely washed out with no passing game
5. Texas - Texas Bowl should be intriguing against old rival Arkansas
6. West Virginia - Dana Holgorsen's job is safe for another year
7. Oklahoma State - Tyreek Hill willed the Cowboys into the postseason
8. Texas Tech - Lots of questions to answer in the offseason
9. Kansas - New coach David Beaty has a lot of work to do
10. Iowa State - Paul Rhoads survives but 2015 must show improvement
-Kevin Lonnquist
Emptying the Notebook
>Baylor junior offensive lineman Daniel Sepulveda was named to the first team in 2006, he became the first Bear honored since Santana Dotson in 1991.
>Southlake Carroll 2016 safety Obi Eboh has been invited to Baylor's junior day on Jan. 31. More invitations are coming. Obviously, the invites already include the five 2016 commits in Silsbee OL Patrick Hudson, Dickson, Grandview QB Zach Smith, Kountze Ath Grayland Arnold and Port Arthur Memorial RB Kameron Martin.
>Maybe it's old news. Maybe it's not. Baylor is pretty much out of it on Fort Bend Marshall DB Kendall Sheffield. Remember, Sheffield had a really good view of Baylor early. However, it appears he might be looking more out of state since his first three officials went to Ohio State, Florida State and USC.
>It also looks like Baylor's chances of prying McKinney North RB Ronald Jones II away from Oklahoma State are slipping by the day. Barring anything odd, the fact that head coach Mike Gundy appears to be ready to return in 2015.
>Finally, watch Allen 2016 weak side defensive Levi Onwuzurike. Baylor may have incentive to watch him in the Class 6A Division I state semifinal at 6:00 p.m. Saturday at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Baylor already paid a visit earlier this week. Onwuzurike has offers from Duke and Texas Tech.
-SicEmSports
