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Just warning you now, this post has changed considerably in the last few hours. I'll try to summarize.
If you had asked me going into today what our biggest needs were in the 2014 recruiting class, my answer probably would have been a JUCO corner and potentially a LB to take some of the heat off Kendall Ehrlich, Aiavion Edwards, and the crew next year in the wake of Eddie Lackey's graduation. Baylor answered those needs and then some with three JUCO commits in as many hours.
New Commits:
CB Chris Sanders -- 6-1, 185 pounds, HUDL profile, Twitter: @Official_ChrisS
CB Tion Wright -- 5-9, 170 pounds, HUDL profile, Twitter: @WrightTion
LB Grant Campbell -- 6-1, 225 pounds, HUDL profile, Twitter: Unknown
Must Reads
Commit #1: Chris Sanders
The first to commit this evening was Eastern Arizona CC's Chris Sanders. Sanders, once a high-3* recruit as a safety coming out of high school, was apparently once a Georgia Bulldog with current Auburn QB Nick Marshall before leaving the school in 2011 and going the JUCO direction. From Athens he went to Georgia Military College, where he was once again dismissed for "[falling] back into his old ways."
I'm not going to speculate on what that means. Art Briles has previously described himself as being in the "kid-saving business," and it appears he's got another now that either needs saving or has recently saved himself. I don't know. If he thinks Chris Sanders is worth a scholarship in this class and that our needs justify the risk, that's his call to make.
What I do know is that with the loss of our top 3 CBs, the aforementioned Williams and Morton as well as former-MBBer Demetri Goodson, to graduation, Baylor probably needed some experienced blood at the position. One returning backup who received significant playing time this season in relief, redshirt freshman Xavien Howard, will return next year. Joining him off the rare senior redshirt will be speedster Tyler Stephenson, who has flashed promise while having trouble in the past staying healthy. We will also have a slew of other young players like Ryan Reid, Terrance Singleton, and Austin Jupe. Now, apparently, we'll have Sanders and...
Commit #2: Tion Wright:
From what it sounds like, Wright will have 3 or 4 years to play 3 at Baylor, so I've slotted him in as a sophomore. His HUDL profile lists him at 5-10, his 247Sports' profile at 5-9. I'm going with 5-9, which puts him right in Phil Bennett's wheelhouse as a Joe Williams-style speed/cover corner. He's going to fit in very well here. That leaves us with the position matrix for CBs below. It's much more balanced.
Updated Position Matrix for CB:
Eligibility Remaining | ||||||||||
No. | Player | Year | Ht/Wt. | Position | Starts | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
27 |
Tyler Stephenson |
SR | 5-11/170 | CB | 5 |
|||||
UNK |
Chris Sanders |
JR | 6-1/185 | CB | JC |
|||||
37 | Josh Benenoch | JR | 5-10/205 | CB | -- |
|||||
47 | Kevin Mitchell | JR | 6-0/175 | CB | -- |
|||||
UNK | Tion Wright |
SO |
5-9/170 | CB | JC | |||||
24 |
Terrance Singleton |
RS-SO | 5-11/195 | CB | -- |
|||||
19 | Ryan Reid |
RS-SO | 5-9/195 | CB | -- |
|||||
18 |
Xavien Howard |
RS-SO | 6-2/200 | CB | -- |
|||||
17 |
Austin Jupe |
RS-FR | 6-0/185 | CB | -- |
|||||
UNK |
Verkedric Vaughns |
FR | 5-10/180 | CB | HS |
|||||
UNK |
Jourdan Blake |
FR | 6-1/185 | CB | HS |
I'm doing a little hand-waving on this, and I know that. Tion Wright's eligibility isn't exactly correct in that he should have 4 years to play 3, I've just given him all three years up front. He could conceivably redshirt and retain three years. That's possible. Jupe could easily be a safety, not a corner.
Commit #3: Grant Campbell
Doesn't have a 247Sports profile (don't read anything into that, it's just the way JUCO recruiting works, as I've said), and I don't know much about him. His HUDL video above is very impressive to my eyes. I'll update as more info becomes available.
What a crazy night for Baylor recruiting. Are you kidding me? http://t.co/5QsQrmX2Gv has the details.
— Kevin Lonnquist (@baylorrivals) December 17, 2013