Baylor Football Recruiting Update: Briles' Next QB is Commit #22

David Smoak of 1660 ESPN in Waco is reporting that Seth Russell, senior QB from Garland HS in Garland, Texas, switched his verbal commitment from Kansas to Baylor this morning after having visited Baylor this past weekend. Welcome to Baylor, Seth!

Russell is a 6'3"-6'4" (depending on who you ask), 195 lb dual-threat QB. His HS coach describes him as running at 4.4-4.5 .40 and 21.7 in the 200, both of which would be quite impressive.

Given that Russell possesses offers from only Baylor, Kansas, North Texas, and Wake Forest, it's safe to say that he has flown under the radar in his recruitment, but from watching the video below (and I'm no scout, mind you), I can see what Briles and Montgomery liked so much in Russell. To my uneducated eyes, he seems to have good arm strength, the ability to run, and the ability to throw on the run. I know that those three things are particularly important to Art Briles; he believes that if you have the physical tools to be able to make every throw and do so while evading a rush, he can coach you to make good decisions at the same time.

I made no secret of my recruitlust for Devin Fuller and his incredible physical ability, and I am still somewhat disappointed that we couldn't wrangle a visit with him. That being said, I am very excited to have Russell in the fold at Baylor University for this recruiting class, which is shaping up to be one of the best in years. I trust Art Briles and his evaluation of QBs and if he thinks Seth Russell can play, that's all I need to know. Russell will almost definitely need a redshirt year, but since we are losing Nick Florence after this coming season and Bryce Petty will be a junior, we desperately needed another young QB on campus that could be ready to play if the worst (knock on wood) happened.

The really good news about a commit like this, where the player has flown under the radar and may not be considered as highly as the Devin Fullers of the world, is that he shouldn't really cost us anything on the recruiting trail next year when the state of Texas boasts 3 elite QB recruits (Swoopes, Barrett, and Johnson) we will almost certainly chase.

I've attached Russell's 2011 highlight video from Youtube below the jump. Please let me know what you think if you see something you think I missed.

Seth Russell Garland High School Quarterback Highlight Video 2011 (via ChiefRussell1)