Does anyone in Texas remember that big orange ball that used to hang in the sky? For us in the northern half of God's Country, we haven't seen much of it over the last four weeks. It appears that's changing. We're going to see the sun (cue The Beatles song) for several consecutive days. Just nice to experience normalcy again with temperatures in the 70s and dry. It really does impact your daily mood.
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None of us know how Baylor's recruiting is going to end up. What I do know is that Baylor is poised to bring in the best class ever. Granted, it's March and there's a long way to go. However, there are more recruits that I'm speaking with who have such a different feeling about the program than in years past. For example, you saw the note where Alief Elsik linebacker Dontavious Jackson said Friday he has a great feel for Baylor and the direction it is headed.
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Then this is a little new news: Houston MacArthur defensive end Isaiah Chambers said over the weekend that he really loves Baylor and the coaching staff. Of course, it's been well chronicled that Baylor has been pushing on him for months - as early as last July's summer camp in Waco - trying to land his commitment. The staff even tried to secure a commitment on Jan. 31 at Junior Day. While it hasn't happened yet, you get the sense that Baylor is in a good position here with him.
I also think Baylor likes where it is with Copperas Cove offensive lineman J.P. Urquidez. But I'm sure Texas people feel the same way too. Then you have the Rivals 100 stars in wide receiver Nate Craig-Myers and athlete Shyheim Carter expressing some excitement that they got a Baylor offer. At least, that's what they're saying publicly, but I have no reason not to believe them. As this process unfolds, don't be surprised if Baylor lands more big names. I would also not be surprised if this program is one of those that is waiting for some big names to announce a commitment decision on Feb. 3, 2016.
But my point is that we're starting to see Baylor's national brand take hold and reach kids and make an impact. It's in the early stages. Success breeds visibility. Sustained success makes its last. This coaching staff isn't bashful of going toe to toe with the usual suspects. When Baylor offered Carter, who has been committed to Alabama since last July, it made me think of that line in the move The Untouchables when Sean Connery's character Malone looked at Kevin Costner's character Elliott Ness and said: "They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way.''
Really, that's what recruiting is: This is a cutthroat business. And the only way you can get to the table is to win and win a lot. Baylor has the hardware to back it up minus the postseason frustrations. But when you're 22-4 with consecutive Big 12 championships to show recruits (look for those trophies to make the June camp tour), you have every reason to feel like you belong and why you can compete with Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State and Oregon much less Texas and Oklahoma in your conference.
So how did the Friday Night Lights event go? Well, if the weather was better I think it would have been spectacular. I had a lot of kids who told me that they couldn't get to it because of the rain mixed with the rush hour traffic. One of those was Frisco Lone Star safety Chris Miller. He told me they had to turn around because they couldn't move in rush hour. He was really disappointed that he couldn't get down there. Same thing with Cy Springs wide receiver Donnell Dunn. The rain and traffic just proved to be a problem. Still, they got about 30 recruits there including Manvel LB Jordan Carmouche (look what he said in the recruit reactions) and the reactions were pretty solid. I think Baylor will do this again. I think this staff will look at what went well and what didn't go well and tweak what it thinks is necessary for the 2016 version. But even if they move this to a Saturday afternoon spring game, the best thing about this experience is that it's going to be held at McLane Stadium. That's a big arrows in the quiver.
***
Time has passed from the Friday Night Lights scrimmage. As we review the quarterback situation, I think Seth Russell has a chance to do more things free-lance if a play breaks down. That can be either a good thing or a bad thing. He can make the play that will cause you to say, "I have no idea how he did that,'' followed by the play that will cause you to say, "What is he doing?" I believe that's who Seth Russell is. He's a riverboat gambler. So you're going to have to live with some of the good and some of the bad. Believe me, I'm not down on Seth. What I am saying is that this 2015 offense is going to take on a different personality. You won't have the All-American kid in Bryce Petty doing all the right things and saying all the right things. Seth will say the right things, of course. But that's fine because if you're asking Seth to be programmed like Bryce then that's not fair to him or to the offense. He has to be what he is and be the best at it. What he has to do is look at the film and see how he can compensate for the some arm strength issues and improve the quickness of his release. This is March. This isn't September. There is still time. But it's a pretty important offseason.
One more final thought on the skirmish: I'm a 40-something guy who can be stubborn. As a friend of my late father (her husband is a Baylor grad) told me: "You're not your father's son. You're his clone." I get that there's heat of the moment and there's great competitiveness and guys are going hard. It's going to happen. I'm not in la la land thinking this will never happen and should never happen because it does. The big picture for me is hoping this doesn't happen in the season involving a key player where not only is he penalized but then ejected meaning he can't play the following week. I have no doubt that the coaching staff has addressed it with these players. But these young men have to understand it too. Granted this was between two redshirt freshmen (Verkedrick Vaughns and Ishamael Zamora) so maybe they're still trying to figure things out. But that's where you also need your veterans in the locker room to pull each aside and explain the ways of the world.
I still find the whole thing with LaQuan McGowan interesting where a 300-pound young man is catching passes. His YAC can really be impressive. Do you want to be a 195-pound safety going head-to-head against that? Baylor will use him but it's going to have to be where it picks its spots with him.
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FYI: I haven't played an NCAA tournament bracket in about 10 years. And I haven't missed it. I love the tournament. I just don't want my experience ruined because a Final Four team went out in the round of 64.
I guess Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby should be relieved that Oklahoma and West Virginia are advancing to the Sweet 16. Outside of Baylor's stunning exit, I'm really not surprised what happened to the conference in the tournament. I haven't liked Kansas' team all year. The Jayhawks don't score the ball well. No Cliff AIexander limited them. Plus, they ran up against a team in Wichita St. which made that game personal. I thought Iowa State's draw could get the Cyclones into the Sweet 16, but we saw how they lived on the edge toward the end of the season. They trailed by double digits in their last five games (prior to UAB) and came back to win all of them. Texas was big flop and now we'll see what happens with Rick Barnes. I still can't understand Baylor's implosion. But I'm also of the belief that the tournament makes you play a different game than the one you played from November through early March. The question is how you deal with it. I think Kentucky is going to flatten West Virginia. And I think Michigan State will out tough Oklahoma and send the Sooners home. Was the Big 12 over rated? What do they say, you're judged in March?
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Does it almost feel like the women's NCAA tournament is really starting this weekend in Oklahoma City? Really, these were exhibition games the Lady Bears played against Northwestern State and Arkansas over the weekend. And these were nice gates for the Ferrell Center even though the NCAA gets a cut of the action. I'm sure the Lady Bears will get through Iowa without much of a problem on Friday. The season will then come down to a highly anticipated matchup with Notre Dame on Sunday.
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Nice to see baseball experience a little success over the weekend by taking two of three against West Virginia. The Bears have to do that this coming weekend against Oklahoma.
***
Now a little recap on the other sports:
>The third-ranked Baylor men's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 1 Oklahoma in the finale of the BNP Paribas Collegiate Challenge presented by Oracle at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Sunday. The Bears suffered its second loss to Oklahoma on the season, after falling 4-2 to the Sooners at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February. Baylor (14-3) lost its first doubles point of the year and won only one match in singles against Oklahoma (15-1).
>Baylor softball takes on North Texas in Denton on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
>The sixth-ranked Baylor women's tennis team remained perfect in Big 12 action by topping No. 21 TCU, 4-1, at the Hurd Tennis Center Sunday. Baylor improved to 15-4 and 3-0 in conference action, while TCU fell to 10-6 overall and 3-1 in league play.
>In rainy conditions, Baylor's track and field team produced six event wins on Friday at the TCU Invitational at Lowdon Track and Field Stadium. Sophomore Kiana Hawn earned the crown in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.57).
Senior Derwin Graham carded a first-place finish in the 1,500-meter with a time of 3:59.32.
***
Finally, the spring football season continues this week with practices on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
From the random juke box, I'm bringing out a lost hit from the greatness of Journey.
This post was edited on 3/23 10:04 AM by K Lonnquist
***
None of us know how Baylor's recruiting is going to end up. What I do know is that Baylor is poised to bring in the best class ever. Granted, it's March and there's a long way to go. However, there are more recruits that I'm speaking with who have such a different feeling about the program than in years past. For example, you saw the note where Alief Elsik linebacker Dontavious Jackson said Friday he has a great feel for Baylor and the direction it is headed.
***
Then this is a little new news: Houston MacArthur defensive end Isaiah Chambers said over the weekend that he really loves Baylor and the coaching staff. Of course, it's been well chronicled that Baylor has been pushing on him for months - as early as last July's summer camp in Waco - trying to land his commitment. The staff even tried to secure a commitment on Jan. 31 at Junior Day. While it hasn't happened yet, you get the sense that Baylor is in a good position here with him.
I also think Baylor likes where it is with Copperas Cove offensive lineman J.P. Urquidez. But I'm sure Texas people feel the same way too. Then you have the Rivals 100 stars in wide receiver Nate Craig-Myers and athlete Shyheim Carter expressing some excitement that they got a Baylor offer. At least, that's what they're saying publicly, but I have no reason not to believe them. As this process unfolds, don't be surprised if Baylor lands more big names. I would also not be surprised if this program is one of those that is waiting for some big names to announce a commitment decision on Feb. 3, 2016.
But my point is that we're starting to see Baylor's national brand take hold and reach kids and make an impact. It's in the early stages. Success breeds visibility. Sustained success makes its last. This coaching staff isn't bashful of going toe to toe with the usual suspects. When Baylor offered Carter, who has been committed to Alabama since last July, it made me think of that line in the move The Untouchables when Sean Connery's character Malone looked at Kevin Costner's character Elliott Ness and said: "They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That's the Chicago way.''
Really, that's what recruiting is: This is a cutthroat business. And the only way you can get to the table is to win and win a lot. Baylor has the hardware to back it up minus the postseason frustrations. But when you're 22-4 with consecutive Big 12 championships to show recruits (look for those trophies to make the June camp tour), you have every reason to feel like you belong and why you can compete with Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State and Oregon much less Texas and Oklahoma in your conference.
So how did the Friday Night Lights event go? Well, if the weather was better I think it would have been spectacular. I had a lot of kids who told me that they couldn't get to it because of the rain mixed with the rush hour traffic. One of those was Frisco Lone Star safety Chris Miller. He told me they had to turn around because they couldn't move in rush hour. He was really disappointed that he couldn't get down there. Same thing with Cy Springs wide receiver Donnell Dunn. The rain and traffic just proved to be a problem. Still, they got about 30 recruits there including Manvel LB Jordan Carmouche (look what he said in the recruit reactions) and the reactions were pretty solid. I think Baylor will do this again. I think this staff will look at what went well and what didn't go well and tweak what it thinks is necessary for the 2016 version. But even if they move this to a Saturday afternoon spring game, the best thing about this experience is that it's going to be held at McLane Stadium. That's a big arrows in the quiver.
***
Time has passed from the Friday Night Lights scrimmage. As we review the quarterback situation, I think Seth Russell has a chance to do more things free-lance if a play breaks down. That can be either a good thing or a bad thing. He can make the play that will cause you to say, "I have no idea how he did that,'' followed by the play that will cause you to say, "What is he doing?" I believe that's who Seth Russell is. He's a riverboat gambler. So you're going to have to live with some of the good and some of the bad. Believe me, I'm not down on Seth. What I am saying is that this 2015 offense is going to take on a different personality. You won't have the All-American kid in Bryce Petty doing all the right things and saying all the right things. Seth will say the right things, of course. But that's fine because if you're asking Seth to be programmed like Bryce then that's not fair to him or to the offense. He has to be what he is and be the best at it. What he has to do is look at the film and see how he can compensate for the some arm strength issues and improve the quickness of his release. This is March. This isn't September. There is still time. But it's a pretty important offseason.
One more final thought on the skirmish: I'm a 40-something guy who can be stubborn. As a friend of my late father (her husband is a Baylor grad) told me: "You're not your father's son. You're his clone." I get that there's heat of the moment and there's great competitiveness and guys are going hard. It's going to happen. I'm not in la la land thinking this will never happen and should never happen because it does. The big picture for me is hoping this doesn't happen in the season involving a key player where not only is he penalized but then ejected meaning he can't play the following week. I have no doubt that the coaching staff has addressed it with these players. But these young men have to understand it too. Granted this was between two redshirt freshmen (Verkedrick Vaughns and Ishamael Zamora) so maybe they're still trying to figure things out. But that's where you also need your veterans in the locker room to pull each aside and explain the ways of the world.
I still find the whole thing with LaQuan McGowan interesting where a 300-pound young man is catching passes. His YAC can really be impressive. Do you want to be a 195-pound safety going head-to-head against that? Baylor will use him but it's going to have to be where it picks its spots with him.
***
FYI: I haven't played an NCAA tournament bracket in about 10 years. And I haven't missed it. I love the tournament. I just don't want my experience ruined because a Final Four team went out in the round of 64.
I guess Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby should be relieved that Oklahoma and West Virginia are advancing to the Sweet 16. Outside of Baylor's stunning exit, I'm really not surprised what happened to the conference in the tournament. I haven't liked Kansas' team all year. The Jayhawks don't score the ball well. No Cliff AIexander limited them. Plus, they ran up against a team in Wichita St. which made that game personal. I thought Iowa State's draw could get the Cyclones into the Sweet 16, but we saw how they lived on the edge toward the end of the season. They trailed by double digits in their last five games (prior to UAB) and came back to win all of them. Texas was big flop and now we'll see what happens with Rick Barnes. I still can't understand Baylor's implosion. But I'm also of the belief that the tournament makes you play a different game than the one you played from November through early March. The question is how you deal with it. I think Kentucky is going to flatten West Virginia. And I think Michigan State will out tough Oklahoma and send the Sooners home. Was the Big 12 over rated? What do they say, you're judged in March?
***
Does it almost feel like the women's NCAA tournament is really starting this weekend in Oklahoma City? Really, these were exhibition games the Lady Bears played against Northwestern State and Arkansas over the weekend. And these were nice gates for the Ferrell Center even though the NCAA gets a cut of the action. I'm sure the Lady Bears will get through Iowa without much of a problem on Friday. The season will then come down to a highly anticipated matchup with Notre Dame on Sunday.
***
Nice to see baseball experience a little success over the weekend by taking two of three against West Virginia. The Bears have to do that this coming weekend against Oklahoma.
***
Now a little recap on the other sports:
>The third-ranked Baylor men's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 1 Oklahoma in the finale of the BNP Paribas Collegiate Challenge presented by Oracle at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Sunday. The Bears suffered its second loss to Oklahoma on the season, after falling 4-2 to the Sooners at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February. Baylor (14-3) lost its first doubles point of the year and won only one match in singles against Oklahoma (15-1).
>Baylor softball takes on North Texas in Denton on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
>The sixth-ranked Baylor women's tennis team remained perfect in Big 12 action by topping No. 21 TCU, 4-1, at the Hurd Tennis Center Sunday. Baylor improved to 15-4 and 3-0 in conference action, while TCU fell to 10-6 overall and 3-1 in league play.
>In rainy conditions, Baylor's track and field team produced six event wins on Friday at the TCU Invitational at Lowdon Track and Field Stadium. Sophomore Kiana Hawn earned the crown in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.57).
Senior Derwin Graham carded a first-place finish in the 1,500-meter with a time of 3:59.32.
***
Finally, the spring football season continues this week with practices on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
From the random juke box, I'm bringing out a lost hit from the greatness of Journey.
This post was edited on 3/23 10:04 AM by K Lonnquist
