Baylor gets its MLB: Rockdale's James David is #19 for 2014

After being linked to the Bears for weeks as a likely commit, Rockdale LB James David finally made the call to Art Briles (and it was accepted) last night and is a Baylor Bear. His recruitment may get a little more interesting over the next few months since grades are apparently an issue, but for now, Baylor has the MLB it's been searching for in this class. Here's a link to his HUDL profile so you can see him in action.

James is the younger brother of Derek, a former top recruit lost to criminal allegations, and a high-3* recruit graded at 89 by 247Sports. That grade puts him just on the cusp of 4* status and makes him our 5th-highest ranked recruit for 2014 after Hall, Zamora, Williams, and Rockwell. David is a heat-seeking missile at the LB spot with outstanding size (6-3, 225) and an offer list that should finally quell a few of the concerns I talked about in the last thread over taking guys too quickly. OU, South Carolina, and TCU all offered David before the Bears snagged him, and I'd say all three of those schools know a little bit about playing defense. I'll take just about any LB with a TCU offer and feel pretty good about it.

I feel like I've said an updated version of this a hundred times in the last month or so, but it's really only been just over a dozen: With David in the class, the Bears now have 19 commitments for 2014 with the last 6 coming on the defensive side of the ball. Our class is now pretty evenly split between offense and defense, with 10 and 9 commits on each side, respectively. The presence of David (a clear MLB), Dorsey (probably a OLB at Baylor) and Jamie Jacobs (either a DE or a OLB) means we're probably done at that spot, so mark it off your list. We are full on linebackers (again, barring something weird happening).

Just a warning: I think we're probably getting to the point where things should slow down considerably. Despite my best efforts to assure you that space is less an issue than you probably think, most of the guys left on our board could take a while to make their decisions. I'd be shocked if Cannon decided before the season began (or ended, really), and several of the defenders are the same way. It's still entirely possible we get to 20 or 21 commits relatively quickly, but after that, don't freak out if we hit a bit of a dry patch, at least for 2014. 2015 kids could start popping at any point, sating our lust for recruiting news all the same.

In case you want to give David a follow on twitter, he is active and excited about coming to Baylor. Sic 'em, James!