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Baylor Blitz: March 27, 2015

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k lonnquist

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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.



By KEVIN LONNQUIST



Publisher

Note: Stephen Cook and I will be at the RCS event on Sunday in Cedar Hill. Any notes from Houston will be provided from Rivals Matt Clare.


They came to Waco; left with offers


Augustus Hawkins High School in South Central Los Angeles has produced its share of great players. But Baylor's growing national persona planted the seed for certain members of this program to take a trip to the Southwest and visit Baylor.

Hawkins wasn't on spring break but head coach Milvon James coordinated a way to keep his prized recruits - 2017 WRs Joseph Lewis (6-2, 197), Taariq Johnson (6-3, 210) and 2018 WR Jalen Hall (6-4, 184) - on pace in the classroom.

But the visit to Baylor proved to be the best idea. The Bears offered all three. And neither was expecting it. Lewis and Johnson were offered before practice. Johnson was offered during the practice. Naturally, the trio was drawn to Baylor's star wide receivers, K.D. Cannon and Corey Coleman.

"It was a dream offer for me,'' Johnson said. "I like the high tempo offense and how the receivers keep working on their craft. I really liked getting to know Corey Coleman. He took some to talk with us.''

Said the 4-star Lewis: "I had no idea this offer was coming. I was surprised but very blessed. I really liked KD. You can tell he's very competitive.''

Said Hall: "I like to compete, and I tell these guys like to compete too. KD has a lot of energy. It's a great looking campus.''

The three took some time to see some of the Baylor campus and several facilities. They couldn't fit it all in. However, it's safe to say all three saw enough to remain interested. Obviously, each presents size that could make it extremely difficult for a secondary to find the right answer. Lewis had 978 receiving yards and six TDs while Hall finished 2014 with 1,151 yards and nine scores. None of them knows their official 40 times but that didn't seem to be a problem with the Baylor coaching staff.

Their journey to Baylor really came as a result of them and James watching college football on Saturday afternoons. When the channel changed to a Baylor game, it had their attention. Time will tell where this is going. What is certain is that the three would like to return to Texas for Baylor's camp series in June. They also visited TCU and SMU and are expected to visit Oklahoma Friday.

"I want to come back,'' Johnson said. "I like Texas. It's big and spread out. Where I live everything is spread out. I was very impressed.''



Rivals Camp Series: Speed & Skill Houston (Saturday)

Baylor already has its quarterback (Grandview's Zach Smith) and running back (Port Arthur Memorial's Kameron Martin). But there are still plenty of targets who are expected to attend. They are more on the defensive end. Note: These players are not participating in the Rivals Camp Series Sunday in Cedar Hill.

Jordan Carmouche, LB, Manvel (Baylor 2016 offer)

Erick Fowler, LB, Manor (Baylor 2016 offer)

Dontavious Jackson, LB, Alief Elsik (Baylor 2016 offer)

Clifton Lewis, LB Hightower (2016 Baylor offer)

Jeffrey McCulloch, LB, Aldine Davis (2016 Baylor offer)

Parrish Cobb, DB, Waco La Vega (2016 Baylor offer)

Eric Monroe, S, Galena Park North Shore (2016 Baylor offer - he's a maybe)

Martin will be competing at this event. But he's going to treat this like it's first event.

"I'm looking forward to competing and just going out and handling my business,'' he said. " I want to have fun and help get a lot of exposure. You never want to stop working. I'm not going to stop working. I want to focus on my footwork.''


Rivals Camp Series: Cedar Hill (Sunday)


Nearly 200 registered and walk-up 2016 and 2017 recruits are expected to arrive Sunday morning. This will be an all-day event filled with drills and one-on-one settings. So let's take a look at the key Baylor recruits who are expected to arrive. We'll go by position.


QB Chris Robison
, Mesquite Horn (2017 Baylor interest, Rivals 100)

QB Shawn Robinson, Denton Guyer (2017 Baylor offer, Rivals 100)

Comment: Both Robison and Robinson attended Baylor's camps in the summer of 2014. Each really impressed the coaching staff and are being heavily tracked. We're looking for accuracy and throwing through tight windows. There's a chance 2016 commit Zach Smith from Grandview will arrive.

RB Aubrey White, Wylie East (2016 Baylor interest)

Comment: If Baylor is going to make a move here, it's probably looking at him for another position.


WR Devin Duvernay
, Sachse, (2016 Baylor offer, Rivals 250)

WR Will Farrar, Southlake Carroll (2016 Baylor interest)

WR Hezekiah Jones, Houston Stafford (2017 Baylor offer, Rivals 100)

WR Marquez Stevenson, Shreveport (LA) Woodlawn (2016 Baylor offer)

Comment: Baylor has appeared to move on from Stevenson. Of course, it still covets Duvernay and continues to work that relationship. There's no secret that the Bears want Jones. But he's a national Rivals 100 recruit and is in no hurry to rush anything. Farrar is recruit Baylor knows.

OL Travis Bruffy, Fort Bend Ridge Point (2016 Baylor interest)

OL Jean Delance, North Mesquite (2016 Baylor offer)

OL Greg Little, Allen (2016 Baylor offer, Texas A&M commit; Rivals 100)

OL J.P. Urquidez, Copperas Cove (2016 Baylor offer; Rivals 250)

OL Denzel Okafor, Lewisville (2016 Baylor interest)

Comment: Baylor has to do some work to get back into the Delance recruiting. However, the Bears may wait to see what happens with Urquidez. Bruffy and Okafor are players the staff knows but are likely down their chart. However, the staff likes Bruffy as he has been on the Baylor campus several times.


DT Chris Daniels
, Euless Trinity (2016 Baylor offer; Rivals 100)

DT Kendell Jones, Killeen Shoemaker (2016 Baylor offer; Rivals 100)

DT Bravvion Roy, Spring (2016 Baylor offer)

Comment: Daniels and Jones have been erupting over the last several months. Baylor was one of the first to offer each. As for Roy, we'll see how much movement. It will be fun to see the matchups when the top offensive and defensive linemen are matched against each other.


DE McTelvin Agim
, Hope (AR) (Baylor 2016 Baylor offer; Rivals 100)

DE Houston Miller, Keller (2016 Baylor interest)

DE Levi Onwuzurike, Allen (2016 Baylor offer)

Comment: Obviously, the big target is Agim, whom Baylor has been working on for about 14 months since I offered him. Onwuzurike was offered in January. Miller has been to Baylor's campus several times. What Baylor sees in him in the spring could be telling.


DB Eric Cuffee
, Waco, (Baylor 2016 offer)

DB Jared Mayden, Sachse (Baylor 2016 offer; Rivals 205)

DB Donovan Duvernay, Sachse (Baylor 2016 offer)

DB Raleigh Texada, Frisco Centennial (Baylor 2016 commit)

DB Andraez Williams, Calvary Academy (LA) (Baylor 2016 offer)

DB Rodarius Williams, Calvary Academy (LA) (Baylor 2016 offer)

Comment: Familiar names on this list as Baylor is in pursuit of all of them. Of course, Texada is already committed. It looks like the Bears are back in the Mayden recruitment. Cuffee has seen his name spread nationally. The offers to the Williams brothers solidify Baylor's desire to work Northern Louisiana.

LB - There's just not a player in this group that Baylor is making a run at. Those candidates are in Houston on Saturday.

S Deontay Anderson, Manvel (Baylor 2016 offer; Rivals 100)

S Brandon Jones, Nacogdoches (Baylor 2016 offer; Rivals 100)

S Jaylon Jones, Allen (Baylor 2016 offer)

Comment: Baylor would love to snare one of these three. But it's becoming more and more of a reality that neither will make a decision any time soon.


Ath Tyrell Alexander
, Lancaster (Baylor 2016 offer)

Ath Shyheim Carter, Kentwood (LA) (Baylor 2016 offer; Rivals 100; Alabama commit)

Ath Greg Eisworth, South Grand Prairie (Baylor 2016 offer)

Ath Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Southlake Carroll (Baylor 2016 interest)

Ath Jaylon Jackson, Cedar Hill (Baylor 2017 interest)

Ath K.D. Nixon, DeSoto (Baylor 2017 interest)

Ath Jeffrey Okudah, South Grand Prairie (Baylor 2017 offer; Rivals 100)

Comment: Alexander, Eisworth and Okudah have been on the Baylor campus multiple times. So has Jackson. But his time will come. Baylor just offered Carter last week. We'll see what the latest is with him.

Notable: Trophy Club Byron Nelson DE Brandon Bowen, Calvary Academy S Chanse Sylvie, DeSoto QB Tristen Wallace, Arlington Bowie 2016 OL Tope Imade, Baylor 2016 S commit Kenan Ivy and Plano East 2017 LB Anthony Hines III are among those where Baylor has interest or has offered and are coming to the event.


MBB: Grade check

With the 2014-15 men's basketball season in the books with a 24-10 record and an appearance in the NCAA tournament, let's give our grades for this team which made The Dance for the second consecutive season. This is in alphabetical order.

Kenny Chery, PG, Sr. - Grade: B+ - He shouldn't be remembered for the free throw that he missed late against Georgia State. Chery will be remembered for solid ball handling, mostly stead scoring and Baylor's all-time free throw shooter. There were times when his offensive game would come and go, but he battled through an injury early in the season.

Deng Deng, F, Jr - Grade: D- -- You don't like to fail anyone in these situations but the reality is Deng just never played well enough to belong in the rotation. While he got a lot of playing time early, he only saw 51 minutes in Big 12 play and scored only five points. It's a pretty important offseason for him coming up so he can earn Scott Drew's trust.

Al Freeman, G, RS FR - Grade: C+ -- There were times you could see Freeman start to get it. There were other times he looked lost. But all in all, it was a credible year as the third guard behind Chery and Lester Medford. I really look for him to have a breakout 2015-16.

Rico Gathers, PF, Jr - Grade: A - He finished the season with 18 double doubles and was among the NCAA's leaders in rebounds (11.6). Gathers' only flaw was not being able to finish around the rim in close games. But other than that, it was a season where his talent came to the forefront.

John Heard, F, Jr. - Grade: Inc. - Not really fair to grade him since he really wasn't expected to be a factor. But it was nice he was given a scholarship in December.

T.J Maston, F, Fr. - Grade: Inc. - Just not a lot of minutes for the true freshman from DeSoto with other front court options. He only saw 36 of them on the court.

Lester Medford, G, Jr. - Grade: C -- I'm a little tougher on him because I really expected him to be more of a scorer for this team (7.6 ppg). That's just not good enough for the second guard. If you're asked to shoot, you can't shoot 39 percent from the field. He was solid with a 2-to-1 assists to turnover ratio.

Austin Mills, G, Jr. - Grade: Inc. - The transfer from Pepperdine wasn't expected to do much and didn't. But he did earn a scholarship. Also, he will be remembered for hitting a big 3-point basket at Iowa State.

Johnathan Motley, F, RS FR - Grade: C - Reports of a huge offseason proved true. Motley finished the season with good numbers (7.7 ppg, 4.2 RPG) but it did seem that he wore down as the Big 12 season kept going. A great learning experience for him.

Royce O'Neale, F, Sr. - Grade: B - Pretty much a rock for this team (10.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 43% 3). O'Neale emerged as the glue guy for this team with solid ball handling and could draw a defender away with his perimeter game.

Taurean Prince, F, Jr. - Grade: A+ -- Where would this offense be without him? He led the team in scoring (13.8 ppg) and shot 39.5 percent from long distance. The Big 12's 6th man of the year and deservedly so. Prince will be in the starting lineup for 2015-16.

Ishmail Wainright, F, So. - Grade: D - This is pretty much going to be his role for the rest of his career: come off the bench for a couple of minutes here and there and grab a rebound. Like Deng, Wainwright's offseason is going to be pretty important for this team to provide more scoring options in the block.


Baseball: vs. Oklahoma


Baylor (10-14, 2-4) continues its Big 12 homestand with a three-game series against Oklahoma (17-10, 2-1). The Sooners are coming off a series win against Texas Tech last week. This is a pretty tight all-time series with Oklahoma leading, 41-39. However, Baylor is 25-15 in Waco and won two of three in Norman in 2014.

Pitching matchups

Friday - Baylor LHP Daniel Castano (1-3, 2.35 ERA) vs. Oklahoma RHP Jake Elliott (3-2, 3.03)

Saturday - Baylor RHP Drew Tolson (0-5, 5.02) vs. Oklahoma Alec Hansen (3-2, 3.34)

Sunday - Baylor TBA vs. Oklahoma RHP Corey Copping (3-0, 2.14)


Emptying the Notebook


>Baylor wraps up spring football on April 2. But there are only two practices remaining. We've done some digging and learned these are among the players who need to have a strong finish.

OL Desmine Hilliard

DB Terrence Singleton

LB Raaquan Davis

In Hilliard's case, that's probably a matter of consistency. He didn't look that great the Friday Night Lights event. Singleton has come back from injury. But his athleticism is something Baylor really needs for the secondary. Davis has to provide depth at linebacker.


>We checked around and there is nothing else in the immediate future about Baylor announcing an out-of-conference series. Any future games would be set from 2020 and beyond. Baylor AD Ian McCaw has said the non-conference schedule is locked up through 2019.
 
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