I hate to be the bearer of further bad news with regard to QB recruiting, but Old Tappan, New Jersey QB Devin Fuller confirmed to me tonight that he has eliminated Baylor University from consideration. Baylor had been in the running for Fuller's last official visit next weekend, but Fuller has decided to take that visit to Arizona and leave Baylor in the cold.
The comments from Mr. Fuller (Devin's dad) earlier in the week probably tell the story here; Baylor simply got into the race too late to make up the ground needed to secure a commitment. Recruiting is a process at every level and no matter how attractive a program may objectively seem to be, and Baylor certainly seems to be attractive to an elite dual threat QB recruit, building a relationship with a recruit is often more important than simply jumping in and waving around a Heisman Trophy. (Before anyone freaks out, that's not what I think our coaches did. I'm oversimplifying on purpose). That aspect of recruiting- building relationships-- is something our coaches have been able to do recently with guys like Javonte Magee and Brian Nance, but we just didn't have enough time with Fuller to make up the lost ground.
This is obviously a blow to Baylor's QB recruiting, but it's far from fatal. I've been pretty overt about my concern for our QB situation for next year, but I was probably wrong to expect a high school commitment this year, even from a guy like Fuller, to really do much about that. This was also not the only egg in our recruiting basket; the staff has recently ramped up its efforts to recruit Kansas commit Seth Russell and is bringing him in for an official visit this weekend. I'll post his measurables and video tomorrow for thoughts from you guys.
Wherever he ends up, I want to wish Devin the best of luck in his future endeavors. He is an incredible talent at the QB position (which I hope he gets to continue playing rather than be forced to move to something like safety ... *cough* TCU) and will be fun to watch from afar. He also had very complimentary things to say (in a brief exchange, mind you) about Baylor, if that helps the downtrodden masses with their grief.