Baylor flips another: DT Andrew Morris switches from Rice as #18

Right off the bat, I want to address something that I've gotten quite a few questions about lately: quantity vs. quality. There appears to be an undercurrent of thought among Baylor fans that we're moving too quickly in recruiting and spacing ourselves out of potential impact recruits down the road. It doesn't help that idea when we're flipping guys like Ira Lewis and Andrew Morris who, on the surface, have relatively few offers and aren't ranked very highly. Morris is probably the most concerning one yet, since he's ranked as a 2* by 247Sports with a grade of 78.

Here's why that doesn't bother me: our coaches know how to identify talent and are getting the guys we want. As I mentioned yesterday in the June Recruiting Thread, as well, I don't think we're really crowding ourselves out of elite recruits, either, given that the elite recruits we'd potentially want to get, we might still get. Take a look at my Wish List and you'll see what I mean; the elite recruits like John Bonney and John Plattenburg are still there on defense, K.D. Cannon and Jovan Pruitt are still there on offense. If we can get those players, we'll still get them and have room. Considering at least three recruits in this class that I know of: Davion Hall, Jordan Feuerbacher, and Terrance Williams, are all coming in at semester, we have more room than you think.

I think what we're seeing now is a deliberate change in strategy. The coaching staff wants to get 2014 solidified before the season begins to start working on 2015, where we already have 1 commit in QB Chad President and are looking good for several more. That class, which is largely uncommitted at this point, may be the first real chance we have to make a significant improvement in the minds of most upper-echelon recruits, as the excitement over A&M possibly dies down and we continue to move forward, particularly on defense. I think they want to get 2014 as close to finished as possible-- and by the way, it's likely that we probably don't see many more commits in the very near future due to waiting on the elite guys-- so they can move on, striking while the iron is blazing hot.

But going back to the specific recruit in this instance, Andrew Morris is someone this coaching staff offered over a month ago as someone they really wanted. They saw his size-- 6-2, 295 according to his coach-- and that he could play nose tackle, an exceedingly difficult position to recruit, and felt like he was worth taking no matter who else came on board. They wanted Andrew Morris and now they have him. And guys who can play NT at that size don't exactly fall from trees, leading me to believe that he's probably due for a relatively significant upgrade in the next evaluation period. If rankings matter to you, the ranking in the first weekend of February, 2014 should matter a lot more than the one now.

Take a look at Morris' HUDL profile and tell me if you think he's not worthy of a spot, knowing what we've gone through in the past trying to find guys who can play the nose. Watch his explosiveness, the way he uses his size to occupy blockers, and the relentless drive to finish every play. Look at all those things and then tell me you think we should have waited on this guy, who may not have waited on us, for the chance at someone "better."

In the meantime, we should all welcome Andrew Morris, the 18th recruit in Baylor's 2014 class. Sic 'em, Andrew!