By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
A review of how this Baylor 2021 class is coming together. With 19 commits, Baylor has the No. 27 class in the country. The Bears are looking at taking a full class of 25, although that could change given how the NCAA recently ruled that athletes in any fall sports would not lose a year of eligibility.
The 2021 class started to come together in the fall of 2019 when Cy Ranch DB Romario Noel committed on Sept. 24. Rated the No. 102 player in Texas, Noel committed when the Bears were first to offer. Since then, Texas, Colorado, Houston, Utah and Kansas have all offered.
In late October, West Orange-Stark linebacker Tyrone Brown committed to the Bears. And if there are good players to be found in that program, noted Golden Triangle savant, Baylor Director of Recruiting James Blanchard, will find them first. Texas is nosing around. So far, Baylor remains the only offer. He is rated No. 140 in Texas.
Then Baylor’s old and new staff had to finish the 2020 class before continuing with 2021. On March 1 at Baylor’s Junior Day, George Ranch wide receiver Javon Gipson became commit No. 3. The Bears beat out the likes of Kansas, Northwestern, Iowa State and Houston for him. He is rated No. 95 in Texas.
Another combination of old staff and new staff worked well to keep the vibe going with Weatherford safety Cicero Caston. On March 4, the lanky defender announced his verbal commitment. Florida, Florida State, Arkansas and Texas Tech were among those who offered Caston. He is rated No. 61 in Texas.
When the outbreak hit in March, Baylor’s commitment run came to a halt. And while Lindale running back Jordan Jenkins had fallen off the radar in many parts, he didn’t with the Bears. A long relationship with new RB coach Justin “Juice” Johnson culminated in Jenkins committing on April 4 as commit No. 5. He is rated No. 70 in Texas.
In mid-April (April 15), the Bears continued to add to their secondary by going into Oklahoma State’s backyard and securing the commitment of Stillwater (OK) defensive back Tevin Williams. Another DB with length (6-1), Williams formed a strong relationship with the new staff. He is the No. 37 rated player at his position and the No. 4 player in Oklahoma.
He was off the radar for pretty much his entire recruitment. But Albuquerque (NM) Sandia defensive end Sam Carrell’s name became known 24 hours after Williams committed as the eighth commit. Talks with the Baylor staff had been ongoing for two months before a discussion with head coach Dave Aranda took place. The rest was history.
April 29 turned into one of the pivotal days for the 2021 class. About a week after offering Alvin Shadow Creek dual-threat QB Kyron Drones, the Bears were able to land his commitment. He is commit No. 9. It was a big move because it appeared that the program was not going to have any luck with the QBs it had previously offered. Drones accounted for more than 4,100 yards of total offense in leading the Sharks to the 2019 Class 5A Division I state championship. He is rated No. 105 in Texas.
In another recruiting burst that ran 24 hours, the Bears were able to secure the commitment of 3-star Georgetown offensive lineman Connor Heffernan on April 30. He was the first offensive lineman selected for the 2021 class. There were other offers including Colorado State, Syracuse and Academy programs. However, the Bears won out.
Baylor continued to address its needs along the fronts. On May 7, it focused on the defensive line when it secured the commitment of Denton Guyer defensive end Cooper Lanz. Lanz had just finished playing his first year on DL for the Wildcats. He was another express commit. Baylor offered him on April 30.
Knowing that it needed more help along the offensive line, Baylor used the rapid offer-commit combination to land Wall offensive lineman Tate Williams. While he said he is a little green on pass protection – due to the style of offense Wall plays – he had the measureables that the Baylor coaches liked. He was offered and committed within 24 hours when he committed on May 9.
An entertaining battle between Baylor and SMU for Duncanville wide receiver Roderick Daniels became even more intense over the last 24 hours. Finally, the Bears rallied past the Mustangs and secured the speedster’s commitment on Mother’s Day (May 10). Daniels is rated No. 86 in Texas.
Baylor's scorching May continued the following weekend when it added to the skills class. Summer Creek wide receiver Elijah Bean was considered a foregone conclusion that he would end up with the Bears. Those sentiments had been echoed since February. He announced his commitment on May 15.
Within 24 hours Mansfield Summit wide receiver Hal Presley had his day. In late April, Presley released a Top 10 that included Baylor, Texas, USC and Utah among them. But the tall and physical pass catcher knew that Baylor was his leader and announced that May 16 afternoon that he was going to the Bears.
Of course, Baylor couldn't get out of May without adding one more. It took until the last day of the month to do it (May 31). But this time the program not only went out of Texas, it went out of its immediate region. St. Louis De Smet defensive tackle Dakote Doyle had seen enough of what he wanted to see from the Bears and announced his commitment. He became the 15th member of the class.
June ended with a flourish. On June 26, Baylor stayed in DFW and picked up arguably its best defensive line prospect since James Lynch when DeSoto's Byron Murphy committed. A strong relationship with Baylor Associate Head Coach Joey McGuire played a major role. Murphy created a Top 10 list in late that included the Bears. But the conventional wisdom was that it was down to the Bears, Mississippi State and Minnesota. Murphy, one of five 3-star 5.7 recruits in this class, is commit No. 16.
Fireworks went off in a lot of ways on June 4. Dave Aranda's staff went into Louisiana for the first time and added a position of need in linebacker. LaPlace (LA) East St. John's Jackie Marshallannounced he was committing the Bears. Marshall had a Top 5 of Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, La. Tech and Baylor. He is commit No. 17.
Then Aug. 8 became a 2-for-1 scenario.
We start off with Manor safety Devin Lemear who announced that Saturday afternoon that he was committing to Aranda’s program. He should be the final piece to the secondary. Shortly after he de-committed from TCU, Baylor quickly offered Lemear and a relationship between him and safeties coach Matthew Powledge grew. Baylor has talked to him about becoming a safety in the manner that Grant Delpit developed into one for Aranda at LSU. Texas was one of the offers. He became the 18th commitment.
That evening, Dallas Jesuit offensive tackle Ryan Lengyel announced his commitment. It was a decision that came down to Baylor and Texas. But Lengyel credited the connection he had with the Bears’ staff even prior to the offer. Baylor had been talking to Lengyel since May before offering July. To top things off, Lengyel made his debut as a 3-star recruit with a 5.7 rating when the latest round of ratings was released in mid-August. Lengyel is commit No. 19.
Baylor continues to be on pace to produce its best recruiting class since the 2016. That highly decorated assembly finished No. 16.
More coverage as we continue to roll on.
Publisher
A review of how this Baylor 2021 class is coming together. With 19 commits, Baylor has the No. 27 class in the country. The Bears are looking at taking a full class of 25, although that could change given how the NCAA recently ruled that athletes in any fall sports would not lose a year of eligibility.
The 2021 class started to come together in the fall of 2019 when Cy Ranch DB Romario Noel committed on Sept. 24. Rated the No. 102 player in Texas, Noel committed when the Bears were first to offer. Since then, Texas, Colorado, Houston, Utah and Kansas have all offered.
In late October, West Orange-Stark linebacker Tyrone Brown committed to the Bears. And if there are good players to be found in that program, noted Golden Triangle savant, Baylor Director of Recruiting James Blanchard, will find them first. Texas is nosing around. So far, Baylor remains the only offer. He is rated No. 140 in Texas.
Then Baylor’s old and new staff had to finish the 2020 class before continuing with 2021. On March 1 at Baylor’s Junior Day, George Ranch wide receiver Javon Gipson became commit No. 3. The Bears beat out the likes of Kansas, Northwestern, Iowa State and Houston for him. He is rated No. 95 in Texas.
Another combination of old staff and new staff worked well to keep the vibe going with Weatherford safety Cicero Caston. On March 4, the lanky defender announced his verbal commitment. Florida, Florida State, Arkansas and Texas Tech were among those who offered Caston. He is rated No. 61 in Texas.
When the outbreak hit in March, Baylor’s commitment run came to a halt. And while Lindale running back Jordan Jenkins had fallen off the radar in many parts, he didn’t with the Bears. A long relationship with new RB coach Justin “Juice” Johnson culminated in Jenkins committing on April 4 as commit No. 5. He is rated No. 70 in Texas.
In mid-April (April 15), the Bears continued to add to their secondary by going into Oklahoma State’s backyard and securing the commitment of Stillwater (OK) defensive back Tevin Williams. Another DB with length (6-1), Williams formed a strong relationship with the new staff. He is the No. 37 rated player at his position and the No. 4 player in Oklahoma.
He was off the radar for pretty much his entire recruitment. But Albuquerque (NM) Sandia defensive end Sam Carrell’s name became known 24 hours after Williams committed as the eighth commit. Talks with the Baylor staff had been ongoing for two months before a discussion with head coach Dave Aranda took place. The rest was history.
April 29 turned into one of the pivotal days for the 2021 class. About a week after offering Alvin Shadow Creek dual-threat QB Kyron Drones, the Bears were able to land his commitment. He is commit No. 9. It was a big move because it appeared that the program was not going to have any luck with the QBs it had previously offered. Drones accounted for more than 4,100 yards of total offense in leading the Sharks to the 2019 Class 5A Division I state championship. He is rated No. 105 in Texas.
In another recruiting burst that ran 24 hours, the Bears were able to secure the commitment of 3-star Georgetown offensive lineman Connor Heffernan on April 30. He was the first offensive lineman selected for the 2021 class. There were other offers including Colorado State, Syracuse and Academy programs. However, the Bears won out.
Baylor continued to address its needs along the fronts. On May 7, it focused on the defensive line when it secured the commitment of Denton Guyer defensive end Cooper Lanz. Lanz had just finished playing his first year on DL for the Wildcats. He was another express commit. Baylor offered him on April 30.
Knowing that it needed more help along the offensive line, Baylor used the rapid offer-commit combination to land Wall offensive lineman Tate Williams. While he said he is a little green on pass protection – due to the style of offense Wall plays – he had the measureables that the Baylor coaches liked. He was offered and committed within 24 hours when he committed on May 9.
An entertaining battle between Baylor and SMU for Duncanville wide receiver Roderick Daniels became even more intense over the last 24 hours. Finally, the Bears rallied past the Mustangs and secured the speedster’s commitment on Mother’s Day (May 10). Daniels is rated No. 86 in Texas.
Baylor's scorching May continued the following weekend when it added to the skills class. Summer Creek wide receiver Elijah Bean was considered a foregone conclusion that he would end up with the Bears. Those sentiments had been echoed since February. He announced his commitment on May 15.
Within 24 hours Mansfield Summit wide receiver Hal Presley had his day. In late April, Presley released a Top 10 that included Baylor, Texas, USC and Utah among them. But the tall and physical pass catcher knew that Baylor was his leader and announced that May 16 afternoon that he was going to the Bears.
Of course, Baylor couldn't get out of May without adding one more. It took until the last day of the month to do it (May 31). But this time the program not only went out of Texas, it went out of its immediate region. St. Louis De Smet defensive tackle Dakote Doyle had seen enough of what he wanted to see from the Bears and announced his commitment. He became the 15th member of the class.
June ended with a flourish. On June 26, Baylor stayed in DFW and picked up arguably its best defensive line prospect since James Lynch when DeSoto's Byron Murphy committed. A strong relationship with Baylor Associate Head Coach Joey McGuire played a major role. Murphy created a Top 10 list in late that included the Bears. But the conventional wisdom was that it was down to the Bears, Mississippi State and Minnesota. Murphy, one of five 3-star 5.7 recruits in this class, is commit No. 16.
Fireworks went off in a lot of ways on June 4. Dave Aranda's staff went into Louisiana for the first time and added a position of need in linebacker. LaPlace (LA) East St. John's Jackie Marshallannounced he was committing the Bears. Marshall had a Top 5 of Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, La. Tech and Baylor. He is commit No. 17.
Then Aug. 8 became a 2-for-1 scenario.
We start off with Manor safety Devin Lemear who announced that Saturday afternoon that he was committing to Aranda’s program. He should be the final piece to the secondary. Shortly after he de-committed from TCU, Baylor quickly offered Lemear and a relationship between him and safeties coach Matthew Powledge grew. Baylor has talked to him about becoming a safety in the manner that Grant Delpit developed into one for Aranda at LSU. Texas was one of the offers. He became the 18th commitment.
That evening, Dallas Jesuit offensive tackle Ryan Lengyel announced his commitment. It was a decision that came down to Baylor and Texas. But Lengyel credited the connection he had with the Bears’ staff even prior to the offer. Baylor had been talking to Lengyel since May before offering July. To top things off, Lengyel made his debut as a 3-star recruit with a 5.7 rating when the latest round of ratings was released in mid-August. Lengyel is commit No. 19.
Baylor continues to be on pace to produce its best recruiting class since the 2016. That highly decorated assembly finished No. 16.
More coverage as we continue to roll on.
