ODB 2012 Recruit Impact Rankings: 17-20

We continue the recruit impact rankings tonight beginning at #20 and working our way down. As I said yesterday, we'll be going in groups of 4 all the way down to #1, the recruit I believe will have the most impact for Baylor University from the 2012 recruiting class. In case you missed it, here is the final 2012 Baylor Football Recruiting Chart.

To quote myself from yesterday:

This is purely my own opinion of how things will shake out from Baylor's 2012 class; you are all free to disagree. I actually encourage it. This is supposed to be something fun, not negative, and by ranking one player beneath or above another, I'm not trying to make value judgments of those players or their skills. I can and will be wrong. I'm not hating.

If you think I'm totally wrong about a player, tell me why you think so and where you think that player should be. If you have inside information about how these players are viewed by the coaching staff, I would especially love to hear that.

Tonight's group consists of a RB, two DBs, and an OT. Head below the jump to find out who they are.

20. Devin Chafin – RB – Burkburnett HS ( Burkburnett, TX)- I’m not sure exactly why the 6-0, 205 lb. Chafin doesn’t excite me more. He’s got what I would consider good size for the position and decent speed (247Sports has him at a 4.50 40), and his stats from his senior year (1200 yards rushing with 17 TDs, > 6 yards per carry) are also fairly good. Maybe it’s the fact that he didn’t have any other offers from BCS programs. Maybe it’s the fact that Briles chose to highlight his hand-eye coordination rather than power or speed. I’ve watched his highlight videos and I see a poor man’s Ganaway (of course, I didn’t think before this season Ganaway would amount to much, either, so take that for what it’s worth). I’m not trying to be all negative, but I just don’t see a Big XII caliber RB. The only reason he’s above some of the guys beneath him is that an every-down RB could be something we need in the very near future if Seastrunk doesn’t pan out (remember he's got 3 years to play 3) in that role and/or Glasco Martin can't stay on the field. BJ Allen could be another player to look at for the future at RB.

19. Patrick Levels – CB – Roosevelt HS ( Dallas, TX) - Levels was one of the final commitments in Baylor’s 2012 class and a recruit nobody knew much about before Signing Day. It turns out that was largely by design; our coaching staff identified the 5-10, 180 pound 3A Defensive Player of the Year as someone they needed to hide. The tactic almost didn’t work as Levels reports late offers from both Texas Tech and TCU. It’s easy to see why; Levels amassed an incredible 177 tackles (118 solo) and 8 picks (4 returned for TDs) on defense and showed game-breaking ability in the return game. Another of Baylor’s athletic lottery tickets, Levels is just about the size it seems Phil Bennett wants at CB and will definitely benefit from a redshirt year. Now that I’m writing about him, I’m tempted to move him even further up the list. There are two, possibly three more-polished CBs ahead of him on these rankings, so, even though I am excited about his athletic potential, the work he’ll have to do to harness it pushes him down somewhat. 177 tackles in 11 games!

18. Terrell Burt – CB – Wylie HS (Wylie, TX) - Another smallish CB in the mold Phil Bennett apparently loves, Terrell Burt committed to Baylor in March of 2011 as one of the first members of the 2012 class and never wavered in that commitment. Burt is an extremely fast cornerback whose stats from 2011 don’t jump off the page like those of Mr. Levels, but I’ve been told that the coaching staff absolutely loves this kid. He got an early offer from one of Baylor’s junior days last spring and jumped on it. This is one of those situations where ranking players like this is extremely difficult because I could make an argument for a guy like Burt (or Levels, for that matter) to jump much higher on the list. Burt’s biggest weakness that I can see is size; at only 165 pounds (according to the latest update I can find), Burt is going to need to use his redshirt year to begin adding size and strength or else he’ll get run over by bigger receivers.

17. Kyle Fuller – OL – Wylie HS ( Wylie, TX) – A teammate of #18 on this list, Fuller is one of many recruits whose ranking I’m actually quite torn about. I went back and forth on putting Fuller in this spot versus another lineman in the class. What convinced me to go with Fuller here is his eventual position in college. I’m not discounting the possibility that an 18-year-old could continue to grow, but Fuller doesn’t have what I would call elite size. He is listed at 6-4, 270 lbs and I’ve read that his frame is not ideal for adding significant weight, but it is worth noting that Coach Briles raved about Fuller’s quickness and range. Those two things combine to make it seem to me like he’s destined for a tackle spot or a move to center. Baylor has recruited extremely well on the OL the past few years and looks like it will continue in 2013, so I’m not sure where Fuller fits just yet.