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: Rivals is expected to release its second-to-last 2016 rankings next week. The 100 is scheduled for Monday. The 250 is slated for Tuesday. Of course, Baylor’s national team ranking should be impacted by this. Players that will be affected are Sachse wide receiver Devin Duvernay (No. 66), Silsbee offensive lineman Patrick Hudson (No. 29); Copperas Cove offensive lineman J.P. Urquidez (No. 164) and Port Arthur Memorial running back Kameron Martin (No. 232). Other players who have a chance to move into the 250 are Grandview quarterback Zach Smith (four stars but not in the 250), Navasota wide receiver Tren’Davian Dickson (three stars and a 5.7 rating) and Plano Prestonwood linebacker Deonte Williams (three stars and a 5.7 rating). There will be one more rankings period following the high school all-star games in early January.
Baylor-Texas visitors
The following is a list of visitors who have told SicEmSports they plan to attend Saturday morning’s game against Texas. The list is subject to change. However, Saturday is a scheduled SAT test day. Several players have already indicated that they will not be able to attend to because of that.
>Zach Smith, QB, Grandview (2016 Baylor commit; official visit – mid-semester enrollee)
>Tren’Davian Dickson, WR, Navasota (2016 Baylor commit; official visit – mid-semester enrollee)
>Amani Bledsoe, DE, Lawrence, KS (2016 Baylor offer; official visit)
>Jeremy Faulk, DT, Garden City C.C. (2016 Baylor offer; official visit)
>Brandon Jones, S, Nacogdoches (2016 Baylor offer; Rivals No. 31)
>Zach Farrar, WR, SL Carroll (2016 Baylor interest)
>Avery Davis. QB, Cedar Hill (2017 Baylor interest)
>Toneil Carter, RB, Houston Langham Creek (2017 Baylor offer; Rivals No. 48) – He’s a maybe
>Kameron Martin, RB, Port Arthur Memorial (2016 Baylor commit)
>Bravvion Roy, NT, Spring (2016 Baylor commit)
>Rajah Preciado, S, College Station (2016 Baylor commit)
>Hezekiah Jones, WR, Stafford (2017 Baylor commit)
>Tyler Natee, Ath, Euless Trinity (2016 Baylor interest)
>Donovan Stiner, S, Houston Bellaire (2017 Baylor commit) – He’s a maybe
>Patrick Hudson, OL, Silsbee (2016 Baylor commit; Rivals No. 29)
>Rashauud Paul, Ath, Bremond (2017 Baylor interest)
>Luke Jeter, DE, SL Carroll (2017 Baylor interest)
>Robert Barnes, S, SL Carroll (2017 Baylor offer; Oklahoma commit)
>Austin Deculus, OL, Cy Fair (2017 Baylor offer; Rivals No. 151)
>Max Wright, DE, Katy Taylor (2018 Baylor offer)
-Kevin Lonnquist
On Tyler Natee
This is a very interesting recruitment of the one-time Euless Trinity QB. Baylor has not offered him. Obviously, that's not his destination for college. Baylor is looking at Natee (6-1, 235) on the defensive side of the ball - either defensive tackle or linebacker. Either position makes sense. It would appear that the coaching staff wants to see how other options pan out before moving forward with him aggressively. He was in Waco for the Oklahoma game and attended the Jan. 31 Junior Day.
I've seen him in person. He moves pretty well on his feet. When he's chased in the pocket, he can sidestep and move laterally better than you think he does. Natee does need to change his shape.
We'll just watch how this develops. I wouldn't suspect that anything (offer) will occur until sometime down the road, if at all.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Rivals 250 from Kansas talks visit
Lawrence (KS) defensive end Amani Bledsoe will visit Baylor this weekend. A late addition to the four-star prospect’s recruitment, the Bears offered the 6-foot-5, 272-pound senior November 6th, a day after their Thursday night game at Kansas State. Having already tripped to North Carolina State, Oklahoma, and Oregon, the No. 10 strongside DE in the class of 2016 is looking forward to learning more about the Bears.
“I don’t really know them too much,” Bledsoe said of Baylor. “I know it’s in Waco. I’ve been there before. It’s a smaller campus, nice dorms. When I was driving past it, the new stadium wasn’t finished yet. I’ve heard a lot about the new stadium. I won’t know too much until after the visit.”
Linebackers coach Jim Gush has been the lead recruiter for the top prospect in Kansas. A man familiar with the Sunflower State, he coached at K-State from 1999 to 2001, after spending 12 years on the staff at Garden City (KS) Community College. The fifth-year Bears assistant has talked with Bledsoe about the Baylor program, and, specifically, their strength along the defensive line.
“Coach Gush has just been calling like once a week since they offered,” Bledsoe said of Gush. “I was aware of (Andrew) Billings and (Shawn) Oakman and everything, that those guys were strong for them. Just kind of the history, and the uprise of Baylor the last five years.”
A two-way starter at Lawrence High, Bledsoe was honored as the Sunflower League’s Most Valuable Player this season, on the strength of his 82 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 8 sacks, and 42 pancake blocks as an offensive lineman. An active defender on the Lions defensive front, the four-star DE also logged seven batted passes, three forced fumbles, and three blocked punts as a senior.
A Kansas Top 11 team selection, and a finalist for the prestigious Buck Buchanan Memorial Award, honoring the most outstanding lineman in Kansas City, Bledsoe led his squad to a 10-1 record, and the Lions first league championship since 1993.
“Just the program itself,” he said of what he’s looking forward to seeing most at Baylor. “How they handle certain situations in the game. I want to see how their defensive line reacts, so I can see how they are coached up in the game, and see the environment of the stadium."
Bledsoe is also anxious to meet head coach Art Briles. The architect of the Bears back-to-back conference championships, the athletic DL is curious what the 2013 Big 12 Coach of the Year is planning for him, should he choose Baylor.
“I haven’t talked to him yet,” Bledsoe said of Briles. “That’s something I want to talk with him about, see what kind of coach he is, and where he sees me fit in with the defense. I know he and the defensive line coach (Chris Achuff) could have different opinions on where they see me fitting in.”
“I think he mentioned something about defensive tackle,” Bledsoe said of his conversations with Gush. “But that could have changed. I haven’t heard anyone say anything about that in a long time.”
-Randy Withers
Publisher KansasGridiron.com
Commits meet – Part III
For the third time this season, Baylor 2016 commitments are going to be on opposite sidelines. Frisco Lone Star safety Chris Miller will be involved in two of them.
At 5:30 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Miller and Frisco Lone Star face Lancaster and safety Kenan Ivy meet for the Class 5A Division II Region II championship. It’s been an unprecedented season for Lone Star at 12-1. However, Lancaster (10-3) and Ivy have made these deep runs in the past.
Ivy and Miller should be in a future Baylor secondary. Ironically, they were among the earliest commits of the 2016 class.
“He looked really good against the teams he played against from what we saw on film,’’ Ivy said. “[Chris] is a player too.’’
The first of the meetings between the Baylor recruits was when Miller faced cornerback Raleigh Texada in Frisco Centennial in October. Lone Star won, 28-14, Oct. 9. The second meeting was last week was when Plano Prestonwood and 2016 linebacker commit Deonte Williams defeated 2017 wide receiver commit Jhamon Ausbon Houston St. Thomas in the TAPPS semifinals last week, 49-23.
Miller took note of his worthy opponent. The winner advances to the state semifinals to play the winner of Lake Dallas-Everman.
“He can hit and has great downhill speed,’’ Miller said. “He has a lot big play ability.’’
-Kevin Lonnquist
Setting the bar
College Station High School’s football program is only two varsity seasons old. However, Baylor safety commit Rajah Preciado made an impression that future defensive players will try to follow.
Preciado leaves College Station as the program’s all-time leading tackler with 252 (133 in 2015 and 119 in 2014). He also had three interceptions and five defensive/special teams touchdowns.
Preciado was a player who grew on the coaching staff during the camp season. He appeared at the May 31 camp at McLane Stadium and then was invited for a second camp the following week. He was offered and committed on July 13.
“Baylor got itself a really good one,’’ College Station assistant Kyle King said.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Vanderbilt Podcast – An early look
No. 23/25 Baylor (6-1) plays host to No. 13/16 Vanderbilt (6-1) at 7:00 p.m. Sunday at the Ferrell Center. Baylor has won 29 consecutive non-conference games at home going back to 2012. However, this will be the best test that this team has faced in that kind of situation in years.
Earlier on Thursday, your publisher spent a few minutes talking about the game with our Vanderbilt Rivals colleagues. Just click the link inside the tweet. The interview is about 5-10 minutes.
NOTE: Irving MacArthur 3-star 2016 guard Andrew Jones is expected to be in Waco for the game. No official visit date has been set for him as far as we know. However, it's probably looking like sometime in 2016 during the Big 12 season. Jones is going to be a spring signee.
-Kevin Lonnquist
Big 12 Weekend
The final weekend of the 2015 regular season for Saturday Dec. 5. Both game times are central. Television listings are noted. The games are listed in chronological order. Rankings are through the latest College Football Poll.
Texas (4-7, 3-5) at No. 12 Baylor (9-2, 6-2); 11:00 a.m. McLane Stadium, Waco (ESPN) – Series: Texas leads, 74-26-4 – Key stat for Texas: Defensive back Dylan Haines is second in the Big 12 with five interceptions. He is also averaging better than 20 yards per interception return. Key stat for Baylor: Since starting 4-of-5 against Oklahoma State, sophomore starting quarterback Chris Johnson is 8-of-29 for 68 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
West Virginia (7-4, 4-4) at Kansas State (5-6, 2-6); 3:30 p.m. Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Manhattan, KS (FOX Sports 1) – Series: Kansas State leads, 4-1 – The Mountaineers are already bowl eligible but are trying to end the regular season on five-game winning streak. Kansas State needs to win to become bowl eligible. But a loss doesn’t eliminate the Wildcats from bowl contention either. They could still go because the 40 bowls do not have enough six-win teams. The Mountaineer defense has created the most turnovers in the conference (29) and collected the most interceptions (21). Kansas State has created only 13 turnovers. The key for the Wildcats (344.7, 9th) is that they must create some offense against the Big 12’s No. 2 defense (393.6).
-SicEmSports
Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports ranks the Big 12 teams based on the past week’s performance. Agree or disagree, it makes for good discussion.
1. Oklahoma – Big 12 Champion Sooners going to the college football playoffs
2. TCU – At 10 wins for the 10th time in the last 14 seasons
3. Baylor – Passing attack is a shell of itself
4. Oklahoma State – Allowed 103 points in the last two games
5. West Virginia – Dana Holgorsen's job appears safe
6. Texas Tech – Scored at least 25 points in every game this season
7. Kansas State – A bowl win or lose?
8. Texas – Really inept quarterback play
9. Iowa State – New head coach Matt Campbell building his staff
10. Kansas – The recruiting season could not have come fast enough
-Kevin Lonnquist
Emptying the Notebook
>One thing to watch for with Baylor’s offensive line is on the right side. It’s believed that right tackle Pat Colbert is dealing with some shoulder issues. That would help explain why he has struggled recently. If Colbert plays but is spelled, there’s a chance starting left guard Blake Muir could slide over to that spot. It would just depend on how much pain Colbert can withstand.
>Baylor already knows its bowl destination regardless of the outcome on Saturday. Of course, if the Bears beat Texas, they are going to the Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Years Day 2016 in New Orleans. However, if the Bears lose, they would play in the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 29 in Orlando, FL. That game would feature a team from either the ACC or Notre Dame. With the Irish projected to play in a New Years 6 Bowl, some projections are showing North Carolina presuming the Tar Heels lose to Clemson in the Saturday’s ACC championship.
>If Baylor scores on its opening possession Saturday, the Bears would accomplish the unthinkable. They have scored on their first possession in each of the first 11 games.
>Deonte Williams and Plano Prestonwood (11-2) will be playing for a TAPPS Division I championship against Dallas Bishop Dunne (12-0) at noon Saturday in Bastrop. This is a rematch of district rivals. Bishop Dunne won the first meeting, 28-21, Oct. 9. Dunne features Baylor 2017 defensive back target Chevin Calloway. Calloway has made at least four known visits to Baylor since being offered back in the spring. He has considered Baylor one of his early favorites.
>With Baylor picking up activity with Allen 2016 defensive end Levi Onwuzurike and Lawrence, KS DE Amani Bledsoe, it could be another indication that things with Trophy Club Byron Nelson defensive end Brandon Bowen are moving in the wrong direction. There is nothing to indicate that Bowen is planning to attend Saturday’s game against Texas. But we’ll keep checking.
-SicEmSports
