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
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
