By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
The RJB has kind of gotten into this mode of going with the news of the weekend in order to serve as the genesis for the weekend selection.
We just had the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby, the Run for the Roses. And the incredible story surrounding the longshot winner Rich Strike is truly one they’ll talk about for years.
This horse entered the derby field the day before the race, was given 80-1 odds and found a way to edge out favorite Epicenter by three-quarters of a length. It’s the second greatest upset in the history of the most exciting two minutes in racing. The greatest was in 1913.
Now, it’s unlikely this horse has a chance to win the Triple Crown. But you never know until they break from the starter’s gate.
Indeed, the RJB found the perfect song to match theme by going with the late great George Jones recorded and released in 1964. It peaked at No. 3 in 1965 on the Country Hits chart. Jones equates his relationships in the form of a metaphor from thoroughbred horse racing.
Sawyer Brown was among those groups that covered Jones’ classic. But their version in 1989 gained the most acclaim.
*****
Just a heads up that I’m doing some business traveling out East this week between Sunday and late Wednesday. My interaction with you all might be a little sporadic. I don’t anticipate any recruiting movement with commitments. But of course, I say that…
*****
The only thing you can say about the sport football and the month of May is that they don’t match.
Oil and water if you will. Sure, the coaches are going traveling school to school during the evaluation period and will wind up attending high school spring game of their choice where they want to take another look at favored targets.
It probably would mean a little more on the Baylor front had Dave Aranda’s staff had been more active on the transfer portal recruiting front. But they just aren’t.
LSU transfer linebacker Josh White, who had already committed, just wrapped up his visit on Sunday. He was the only visitor.
Outside of him, Tulsa defensive tackle Jaxon Player and long snapper Corbin Robertson, Baylor just doesn’t make it a practice to pursue a slew of these types of players.
This program is very selective. That’s how everything went down last year. While the Bears added to the offensive line in Grant Miller and Jacob Gall, there was a need for more.
But the lesson of the portal is that there’s a reason there are so many players in it. Indeed, they want to find greener pastures. In other words, a chance to play. However, if you’re not in the at one percent of those who enter, the chances are really high you will not better your situation. You likely will drop a division or a full classification in football because either there isn’t room or you’re just not good enough anymore.
If a player can live with the “demotion” then that’s his choice. More than 2,000 players entered the portal before the May 1 cutoff (that was last Sunday).
The most recent for the Bears to do so were quarterback Gerry Bohanon and defensive lineman Josh Landry. I double checked with our Rivals portal people this week to make sure no one else got in before May 1 and those were the only two.
Because they are first-time transfers and entered before that date, they are immediately eligible to play this coming fall.
Yet look where this moving is taking one of them. Let’s start with Bohanon who among his pursuers were Missouri in the SEC and South Florida in the G5 American Athletic Conference. That’s the league losing Houston, UCF and Cincinnati to the Big 12 by 2023-24.
Missouri presumably passed on Bohanon. USF didn’t. It kind of makes sense. The Bulls have been one of the worst D1 programs in the last couple of seasons at 3-18. They went 2-10 in 2021. Coached former Clemson CO-OC Jeff Scott, he’s probably feeling the need to find somebody who can get his offense going in the right direction. He’s also probably feeling a sense of urgency because his seat might get warm if he pulls off another dreadful season.
Scott went with a freshman Timmy McClain last year and that didn’t out so great. McClain threw for 1,888 yards and just five touchdowns. He also completed just 55 percent of his passes.
Clearly, the Bulls needed an upgrade at the position. They don’t have tremendous options down there. Bohanon solves that.
My believe is that he won’t get pushed in fall camp that much by any of the QBs on the roster. It’s his job.
"I picked USF because I believe in that staff, I believe in the culture, I believe in the change that's coming," Bohanon told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. "I believe in the players, I believe in Tampa. That staff is the staff you want to play for, they're going to give (you) everything they have on and off the field."
Bohanon also shared with Thamel that he was considering BYU, Liberty, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma.
Well, we’ve heard that culture line a ton of times in the past. Just about every player ever recruited in the history of this sport – high school or college – refer to that as one of their reasons.
But it’s pretty simple for Bohanon. USF is his best chance to start.
Indeed, it would seem to be a drastic move for someone who just played in the Sugar Bowl (he wasn’t very good throwing for 40 yards but also still working through his hamstring injury) and was on Big 12 championship team.
But this is the lesson for anyone who thinks their program is “the place to be”. Baylor is by far a better program than USF. Not even up for discussion. A quarterback, who started 12 games in 2021 but just lost the starting job to someone who is better, wants to use his last two years of eligibility at a place where he can make an impact.
Dave Aranda’s program is in position to compete for Big 12 titles and have a chance to reach the college football playoffs. It bears repeating Bohanon was not going to be the guy to do that. You need a next-level quarterback. Bohanon did everything that was asked. He was solid in 2021. But his ceiling is limited.
USF may be ideal because there is house money in front him. The Bulls won’t have high expectations. But if they can climb back toward respectability this fall and find a way to become bowl eligible or get close, then he will have helped in that program’s rebuild.
He already walks into that locker room with credibility because of what he did at Baylor. Bohanon should be an influence throughout the locker room.
As for Landry, he’s looking for a new place. Chances are it will be at G5 or FCS program. It’s a shame because when he came here as a 4-star recruit, there was a lot of excitement.
However, when you read the story of so many highly recruits that wound up going somewhere less (far less) than where they were, it only reveals they got buried on the depth chart, they weren’t as good as the projections thought they were going to be out of a high school, or their careers were derailed by injuries.
Landry is no different than Bohanon. Being a part of a great 2021 season at Baylor will be a lifetime memory. He can show family and friends his bling and tell the stories. For now, he wants to finish his college career on his terms at a place where he hopes to make an immediate impact.
What fans and followers need to appreciate is that while they view Baylor with unbridled passion, love, support and loyalty, it doesn’t translate the same way all the time to players who worked for years playing the game they loved only to never get off the sideline. For those, they want to end that chapter differently playing the game they love no matter the location.
It’s about fulfillment.
*****
With the portal deadline for 2021-22 American Football Coaches Association executive director Todd Berry told ESPN the organization will propose two portal windows. The first will come between late November and mid-December. The second is between April 15-May 1.
These are during recruiting contact periods. It also controls the process to where the fall and spring football seasons are not disrupted. This could also curtail the number of players who actually enter it.
We’ll see how this plays out.
*****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
>The Big 12 outdoor T&F meet is Friday-Sunday at Texas Tech.
> Baylor head coach Nicki Collen announced the signing of transfer Dre'Una Edwards from Kentucky. The 6-foot-2 forward was unstoppable for Kentucky during its 10-game winning streak toward the end of the season. During that stretch, Edwards averaged 20.5 points per game, including a career-high 30 at Missouri and 27 against South Carolina. She finished the season second on the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game off 44.1 percent shooting from the field.
>WBB also announced the transfer Aijha Blackwell from Missouri. The junior will have two years of eligibility after earning All-SEC honors in each of her three seasons at Missouri. Blackwell led the Tigers in scoring last season with 15.4 points to go with 13.0 rebounds per game, a mark that ranked second nationally. She shot .495 from the floor and .338 from 3-point range.
>Finally, WBB added Stanford transfer Jana Van Gytenbeek. The sophomore will have three years of eligibility after racking up back-to-back Pac-12 championships in addition to a national championship during her time at Stanford. Van Gytenbeek averaged 2.2 points in 8.3 minutes off the bench for the Cardinal.
>Baylor women's golf will make its third appearance at Karsten Creek Golf Club when the Bears open the NCAA Stillwater regional on Monday morning. Baylor will play with Oklahoma State and Arizona in round one. The top four teams from each of the six regional sites will advance to the National Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona.
>Baylor softball fell to No. 14 Texas, 6-0, Sunday afternoon at Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin. Texas won the series, 2-1, to conclude the regular season. BU (28-23, 6-12) will head to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to play in the Big 12 Softball Tournament. Baylor will be seeded 5th and play 4th-seeded Iowa State at noon Thursday in OKC.
>No. 3 men’s tennis will host No. 18 Stanford in the NCAA Super Regional next Friday at home.
Let’s make it a great week!
Publisher
The RJB has kind of gotten into this mode of going with the news of the weekend in order to serve as the genesis for the weekend selection.
We just had the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby, the Run for the Roses. And the incredible story surrounding the longshot winner Rich Strike is truly one they’ll talk about for years.
This horse entered the derby field the day before the race, was given 80-1 odds and found a way to edge out favorite Epicenter by three-quarters of a length. It’s the second greatest upset in the history of the most exciting two minutes in racing. The greatest was in 1913.
Now, it’s unlikely this horse has a chance to win the Triple Crown. But you never know until they break from the starter’s gate.
Indeed, the RJB found the perfect song to match theme by going with the late great George Jones recorded and released in 1964. It peaked at No. 3 in 1965 on the Country Hits chart. Jones equates his relationships in the form of a metaphor from thoroughbred horse racing.
Sawyer Brown was among those groups that covered Jones’ classic. But their version in 1989 gained the most acclaim.
*****
Just a heads up that I’m doing some business traveling out East this week between Sunday and late Wednesday. My interaction with you all might be a little sporadic. I don’t anticipate any recruiting movement with commitments. But of course, I say that…
*****
The only thing you can say about the sport football and the month of May is that they don’t match.
Oil and water if you will. Sure, the coaches are going traveling school to school during the evaluation period and will wind up attending high school spring game of their choice where they want to take another look at favored targets.
It probably would mean a little more on the Baylor front had Dave Aranda’s staff had been more active on the transfer portal recruiting front. But they just aren’t.
LSU transfer linebacker Josh White, who had already committed, just wrapped up his visit on Sunday. He was the only visitor.
Outside of him, Tulsa defensive tackle Jaxon Player and long snapper Corbin Robertson, Baylor just doesn’t make it a practice to pursue a slew of these types of players.
This program is very selective. That’s how everything went down last year. While the Bears added to the offensive line in Grant Miller and Jacob Gall, there was a need for more.
But the lesson of the portal is that there’s a reason there are so many players in it. Indeed, they want to find greener pastures. In other words, a chance to play. However, if you’re not in the at one percent of those who enter, the chances are really high you will not better your situation. You likely will drop a division or a full classification in football because either there isn’t room or you’re just not good enough anymore.
If a player can live with the “demotion” then that’s his choice. More than 2,000 players entered the portal before the May 1 cutoff (that was last Sunday).
The most recent for the Bears to do so were quarterback Gerry Bohanon and defensive lineman Josh Landry. I double checked with our Rivals portal people this week to make sure no one else got in before May 1 and those were the only two.
Because they are first-time transfers and entered before that date, they are immediately eligible to play this coming fall.
Yet look where this moving is taking one of them. Let’s start with Bohanon who among his pursuers were Missouri in the SEC and South Florida in the G5 American Athletic Conference. That’s the league losing Houston, UCF and Cincinnati to the Big 12 by 2023-24.
Missouri presumably passed on Bohanon. USF didn’t. It kind of makes sense. The Bulls have been one of the worst D1 programs in the last couple of seasons at 3-18. They went 2-10 in 2021. Coached former Clemson CO-OC Jeff Scott, he’s probably feeling the need to find somebody who can get his offense going in the right direction. He’s also probably feeling a sense of urgency because his seat might get warm if he pulls off another dreadful season.
Scott went with a freshman Timmy McClain last year and that didn’t out so great. McClain threw for 1,888 yards and just five touchdowns. He also completed just 55 percent of his passes.
Clearly, the Bulls needed an upgrade at the position. They don’t have tremendous options down there. Bohanon solves that.
My believe is that he won’t get pushed in fall camp that much by any of the QBs on the roster. It’s his job.
"I picked USF because I believe in that staff, I believe in the culture, I believe in the change that's coming," Bohanon told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. "I believe in the players, I believe in Tampa. That staff is the staff you want to play for, they're going to give (you) everything they have on and off the field."
Bohanon also shared with Thamel that he was considering BYU, Liberty, Georgia Tech and Oklahoma.
Well, we’ve heard that culture line a ton of times in the past. Just about every player ever recruited in the history of this sport – high school or college – refer to that as one of their reasons.
But it’s pretty simple for Bohanon. USF is his best chance to start.
Indeed, it would seem to be a drastic move for someone who just played in the Sugar Bowl (he wasn’t very good throwing for 40 yards but also still working through his hamstring injury) and was on Big 12 championship team.
But this is the lesson for anyone who thinks their program is “the place to be”. Baylor is by far a better program than USF. Not even up for discussion. A quarterback, who started 12 games in 2021 but just lost the starting job to someone who is better, wants to use his last two years of eligibility at a place where he can make an impact.
Dave Aranda’s program is in position to compete for Big 12 titles and have a chance to reach the college football playoffs. It bears repeating Bohanon was not going to be the guy to do that. You need a next-level quarterback. Bohanon did everything that was asked. He was solid in 2021. But his ceiling is limited.
USF may be ideal because there is house money in front him. The Bulls won’t have high expectations. But if they can climb back toward respectability this fall and find a way to become bowl eligible or get close, then he will have helped in that program’s rebuild.
He already walks into that locker room with credibility because of what he did at Baylor. Bohanon should be an influence throughout the locker room.
As for Landry, he’s looking for a new place. Chances are it will be at G5 or FCS program. It’s a shame because when he came here as a 4-star recruit, there was a lot of excitement.
However, when you read the story of so many highly recruits that wound up going somewhere less (far less) than where they were, it only reveals they got buried on the depth chart, they weren’t as good as the projections thought they were going to be out of a high school, or their careers were derailed by injuries.
Landry is no different than Bohanon. Being a part of a great 2021 season at Baylor will be a lifetime memory. He can show family and friends his bling and tell the stories. For now, he wants to finish his college career on his terms at a place where he hopes to make an immediate impact.
What fans and followers need to appreciate is that while they view Baylor with unbridled passion, love, support and loyalty, it doesn’t translate the same way all the time to players who worked for years playing the game they loved only to never get off the sideline. For those, they want to end that chapter differently playing the game they love no matter the location.
It’s about fulfillment.
*****
With the portal deadline for 2021-22 American Football Coaches Association executive director Todd Berry told ESPN the organization will propose two portal windows. The first will come between late November and mid-December. The second is between April 15-May 1.
These are during recruiting contact periods. It also controls the process to where the fall and spring football seasons are not disrupted. This could also curtail the number of players who actually enter it.
We’ll see how this plays out.
*****
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
>The Big 12 outdoor T&F meet is Friday-Sunday at Texas Tech.
> Baylor head coach Nicki Collen announced the signing of transfer Dre'Una Edwards from Kentucky. The 6-foot-2 forward was unstoppable for Kentucky during its 10-game winning streak toward the end of the season. During that stretch, Edwards averaged 20.5 points per game, including a career-high 30 at Missouri and 27 against South Carolina. She finished the season second on the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game off 44.1 percent shooting from the field.
>WBB also announced the transfer Aijha Blackwell from Missouri. The junior will have two years of eligibility after earning All-SEC honors in each of her three seasons at Missouri. Blackwell led the Tigers in scoring last season with 15.4 points to go with 13.0 rebounds per game, a mark that ranked second nationally. She shot .495 from the floor and .338 from 3-point range.
>Finally, WBB added Stanford transfer Jana Van Gytenbeek. The sophomore will have three years of eligibility after racking up back-to-back Pac-12 championships in addition to a national championship during her time at Stanford. Van Gytenbeek averaged 2.2 points in 8.3 minutes off the bench for the Cardinal.
>Baylor women's golf will make its third appearance at Karsten Creek Golf Club when the Bears open the NCAA Stillwater regional on Monday morning. Baylor will play with Oklahoma State and Arizona in round one. The top four teams from each of the six regional sites will advance to the National Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona.
>Baylor softball fell to No. 14 Texas, 6-0, Sunday afternoon at Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin. Texas won the series, 2-1, to conclude the regular season. BU (28-23, 6-12) will head to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to play in the Big 12 Softball Tournament. Baylor will be seeded 5th and play 4th-seeded Iowa State at noon Thursday in OKC.
>No. 3 men’s tennis will host No. 18 Stanford in the NCAA Super Regional next Friday at home.
Let’s make it a great week!
