It is time for another installment of the ‘Independence Column’. I will always begin with the ground rules because we will have new folks (hopefully) joining us all the time. Everything that is reported in the Independence Column must stay in the Independence Column. That's the way this deal works and the way it will always work. Sometimes the information is sensitive enough that it simply does not need to be passed on beyond the eyes of this thread.
This is a special feature for subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because it is the only way to ensure that the information stays here and is exclusive to the Baylor fan base that subscribes to www.InsideBaylorSports.com. This will only work if everyone helps make it work. We have been pretty good about information from this site not ending up on other Baylor sites and on other message boards and I appreciate that.
**************************************************
Look for one big announcement on Monday in regards to the site
Of course the news of the week is still going to be Henry Dugat and our news for the IC is that we have no news. It could go down any day and we will be around and on top of it to break it to you. I still think that Baylor leads but still think it is too close to call and the longer this stretches out, the more I tend to think that the Bears may be losing ground.
I hope I’m wrong.
**************************************************
We wanted to catch up with a few of the 2004 signees and get some updates on them before they left home to come to Waco. We were able to catch up with the following…
Ben Hixson is looking to report in a few weeks when he gets done with his summer job, which will be in a few weeks. He is looking forward to taking the Bears to a bowl game and one game is going to be circled on his calendar.
“Oh yeah, UT. I’ve got several friends that are gonna be in that game. They have been talking their trash. They’ve been throwing their hook em horns around and telling me what they’re gonna do.”
Unnamed UT player, “We’re gonna kill ‘em. I’ve been giving him heck ever since we decided where we’re gonna go. I’ve been throwing my horns around and stuff. He says just wait. He tells me that he’s gonna light me up. He says Vince who? I tell him he’ll find out. Cedric who? You’ll find out. You’ll meet him soon enough. “
Hixson, “Those UT guys have the biggest mouths. They’re always talking about their hook em horns. I don’t know I think they’re on the decline.”
Hixson participated in the Oil Bowl All-Star game and has become quick friends with Arkansas signee and Euless Trinity safety Desmond Williams.
After taking a nice long family vacation to Orlando, FL and Disneyworld, Nate Cook is excited about his freshman campaign at Baylor. His updated measurements were 6’3”, 195 lbs. He still does not know if he will red-shirt but stressed that the coaching staff said they are looking for people to make plays and that he might be one of them.
He also said that he is in great shape and works out five days a week with his father. He is planning on moving to Waco at the end of July.
Chris Green is ready to get to Waco. So ready, in fact, that he is moving to Waco tomorrow, July 10. He is moving into an apartment and will begin going through summer workouts and stay in Waco until the rest of the team reports.
Over the summer, while in Richmond (TX), Green has worked out with one of his high school coaches, former Chicago Bear Barry Minter, four to fives times a week. His current weight is 270 lbs.
Trey Payne is looking to get a head start as he plans to get to campus next Thursday or Friday. He plans to join the workouts and get in on some 7-on-7 action. This summer Trey has been lifting weights and practicing with the La Marque 7-on-7 team.
Vincent Rhodes probably had the craziest summer. He’s been all over the place. He went to Cancun for his senior trip and had a little fun and then he came back and went out to California where he got a taste of the spot light.
“I was on the “Price is Right”. We had to get in line at 10 and the show didn’t start until 2. I didn’t get called up but I had my name tag on and I was in the audience.”
For those that are interested the show will air October 11.
While he was out on the west coast he also bumped into Gary Payton at the BMW shop outside of the “Price is Right” studio.
Vincent will be playing in the North-South All-Star game with fellow signee Jacoby Jones. Vincent will be doing a journal for us the week of July 12 – 16 and he will report to campus August 9.
Jacoby Jones is hard at work and will be reporting to Waco on August 8. He is working in a feed store and is working out this summer. Like Vincent he will be playing in the North-South All-Star game in Houston on July 27. He will be doing a journal of the week he is at the game. He reports on the 22nd and will be coached by Coach Dodge of Southlake Carroll.
Note: All the signees are expecting the Bears to put up better numbers than last year and are looking forward to going bowling.
**************************************************
I got a chance to catch up with Tim Watts, Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst while on his trip Atlanta for the Adidas Camp. He was able to see Baylor commit CJ Jerrells play as well as watch Baylor recruit Desmond Carter play and was able to give us a scouting report on both.
On CJ – “This kid is just really quick. He sees the floor so well, he has a nice outside shot and can shoot it for range.”
“He will have to get better with his ball handling but has a good upside because he can defend so well. He is a great defender and that will keep him on the floor because Coach Drew will love that about him.”
On Desmond Carter – “He is more of a pure point guard. He’s not very big but is put together really well. He was one of the more impressive kids at the Memorial Tournament.
The thing I really like about the kid is that he can drive to the basket and create his own shot. That always helps him create for his teammates.
**************************************************
Marcus Jackson has recently picked up another offer from UL-Monroe and Houston appears to be getting closer to extending an offer. Houston holds a slight edge at this point, but Marcus is starting to realize the Baylor coaches are after him hard.
“Baylor, I haven’t been to their school yet really. All the coaches seem cool. They always write me something funny. I’m just waiting to see what the campus is like.”
Funny?
“They’re always talking about Baylor’s quarterback. I don’t know it’s just funny to me. It’ll say Baylor’s quarterback and then it’ll have a picture of me or my name or a star around my number. I just didn’t think college coaches would be all pumped up like that about a prospect.”
It also looks like Marcus and teammate R.J. Jackson are looking to go to the same school. The only school to offer both so far is Baylor. If Houston offers they will join Baylor in that regard. Marcus plans to head to LSU towards the end of July and hopes to attract an offer from them. If that were to happen LSU would become #1.
**************************************************
A lot of questions have been asked about the quarterback targets for the Bears. This year the Bears have offered Marcus Jackson of Houston Westside, Chase Daniel of Southlake Carroll, and Derek Shaw of Oceanside (CA). The Bears appear to be in the best position for Marcus Jackson of the three and if things don’t work out look for the Bears to start looking out of state.
The coaching staff is not going after a lot of quarterbacks for the class of 2005. That should tell us a few things. They are satisfied with the quarterback position for the next year or so. They feel good about Terence Parks and about the possibility of Twaneil Spead from the class of 2004.
**************************************************
Remember:
I just want you guys to understand that there are recruit’s, recruit’s parents, players and VERY IMPORTANT PERSONS INVOLVED WITH BAYLOR ATHLETICS who read and/or subscribe to this site.
This is just a note to make sure that you handle yourself and temper your conversation and critiques with some understanding of the reading audience.
Other than that, speak your peace, talk trash, and enjoy the site.
This is a special feature for subscribers only. The reason why it is posted on the premium board is because it is the only way to ensure that the information stays here and is exclusive to the Baylor fan base that subscribes to www.InsideBaylorSports.com. This will only work if everyone helps make it work. We have been pretty good about information from this site not ending up on other Baylor sites and on other message boards and I appreciate that.
**************************************************
Look for one big announcement on Monday in regards to the site
Of course the news of the week is still going to be Henry Dugat and our news for the IC is that we have no news. It could go down any day and we will be around and on top of it to break it to you. I still think that Baylor leads but still think it is too close to call and the longer this stretches out, the more I tend to think that the Bears may be losing ground.
I hope I’m wrong.
**************************************************
We wanted to catch up with a few of the 2004 signees and get some updates on them before they left home to come to Waco. We were able to catch up with the following…
Ben Hixson is looking to report in a few weeks when he gets done with his summer job, which will be in a few weeks. He is looking forward to taking the Bears to a bowl game and one game is going to be circled on his calendar.
“Oh yeah, UT. I’ve got several friends that are gonna be in that game. They have been talking their trash. They’ve been throwing their hook em horns around and telling me what they’re gonna do.”
Unnamed UT player, “We’re gonna kill ‘em. I’ve been giving him heck ever since we decided where we’re gonna go. I’ve been throwing my horns around and stuff. He says just wait. He tells me that he’s gonna light me up. He says Vince who? I tell him he’ll find out. Cedric who? You’ll find out. You’ll meet him soon enough. “
Hixson, “Those UT guys have the biggest mouths. They’re always talking about their hook em horns. I don’t know I think they’re on the decline.”
Hixson participated in the Oil Bowl All-Star game and has become quick friends with Arkansas signee and Euless Trinity safety Desmond Williams.
After taking a nice long family vacation to Orlando, FL and Disneyworld, Nate Cook is excited about his freshman campaign at Baylor. His updated measurements were 6’3”, 195 lbs. He still does not know if he will red-shirt but stressed that the coaching staff said they are looking for people to make plays and that he might be one of them.
He also said that he is in great shape and works out five days a week with his father. He is planning on moving to Waco at the end of July.
Chris Green is ready to get to Waco. So ready, in fact, that he is moving to Waco tomorrow, July 10. He is moving into an apartment and will begin going through summer workouts and stay in Waco until the rest of the team reports.
Over the summer, while in Richmond (TX), Green has worked out with one of his high school coaches, former Chicago Bear Barry Minter, four to fives times a week. His current weight is 270 lbs.
Trey Payne is looking to get a head start as he plans to get to campus next Thursday or Friday. He plans to join the workouts and get in on some 7-on-7 action. This summer Trey has been lifting weights and practicing with the La Marque 7-on-7 team.
Vincent Rhodes probably had the craziest summer. He’s been all over the place. He went to Cancun for his senior trip and had a little fun and then he came back and went out to California where he got a taste of the spot light.
“I was on the “Price is Right”. We had to get in line at 10 and the show didn’t start until 2. I didn’t get called up but I had my name tag on and I was in the audience.”
For those that are interested the show will air October 11.
While he was out on the west coast he also bumped into Gary Payton at the BMW shop outside of the “Price is Right” studio.
Vincent will be playing in the North-South All-Star game with fellow signee Jacoby Jones. Vincent will be doing a journal for us the week of July 12 – 16 and he will report to campus August 9.
Jacoby Jones is hard at work and will be reporting to Waco on August 8. He is working in a feed store and is working out this summer. Like Vincent he will be playing in the North-South All-Star game in Houston on July 27. He will be doing a journal of the week he is at the game. He reports on the 22nd and will be coached by Coach Dodge of Southlake Carroll.
Note: All the signees are expecting the Bears to put up better numbers than last year and are looking forward to going bowling.
**************************************************
I got a chance to catch up with Tim Watts, Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst while on his trip Atlanta for the Adidas Camp. He was able to see Baylor commit CJ Jerrells play as well as watch Baylor recruit Desmond Carter play and was able to give us a scouting report on both.
On CJ – “This kid is just really quick. He sees the floor so well, he has a nice outside shot and can shoot it for range.”
“He will have to get better with his ball handling but has a good upside because he can defend so well. He is a great defender and that will keep him on the floor because Coach Drew will love that about him.”
On Desmond Carter – “He is more of a pure point guard. He’s not very big but is put together really well. He was one of the more impressive kids at the Memorial Tournament.
The thing I really like about the kid is that he can drive to the basket and create his own shot. That always helps him create for his teammates.
**************************************************
Marcus Jackson has recently picked up another offer from UL-Monroe and Houston appears to be getting closer to extending an offer. Houston holds a slight edge at this point, but Marcus is starting to realize the Baylor coaches are after him hard.
“Baylor, I haven’t been to their school yet really. All the coaches seem cool. They always write me something funny. I’m just waiting to see what the campus is like.”
Funny?
“They’re always talking about Baylor’s quarterback. I don’t know it’s just funny to me. It’ll say Baylor’s quarterback and then it’ll have a picture of me or my name or a star around my number. I just didn’t think college coaches would be all pumped up like that about a prospect.”
It also looks like Marcus and teammate R.J. Jackson are looking to go to the same school. The only school to offer both so far is Baylor. If Houston offers they will join Baylor in that regard. Marcus plans to head to LSU towards the end of July and hopes to attract an offer from them. If that were to happen LSU would become #1.
**************************************************
A lot of questions have been asked about the quarterback targets for the Bears. This year the Bears have offered Marcus Jackson of Houston Westside, Chase Daniel of Southlake Carroll, and Derek Shaw of Oceanside (CA). The Bears appear to be in the best position for Marcus Jackson of the three and if things don’t work out look for the Bears to start looking out of state.
The coaching staff is not going after a lot of quarterbacks for the class of 2005. That should tell us a few things. They are satisfied with the quarterback position for the next year or so. They feel good about Terence Parks and about the possibility of Twaneil Spead from the class of 2004.
**************************************************
Remember:
I just want you guys to understand that there are recruit’s, recruit’s parents, players and VERY IMPORTANT PERSONS INVOLVED WITH BAYLOR ATHLETICS who read and/or subscribe to this site.
This is just a note to make sure that you handle yourself and temper your conversation and critiques with some understanding of the reading audience.
Other than that, speak your peace, talk trash, and enjoy the site.
