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2015 is upon us!
247Sports' Crystal Ball:
Baylor's 2015 Crystal Ball Prediction List / Mark Moore's Predictions
Check back on these often; the predictions update every day.
2015 Recruiting Class -- National Rank: 33, Commits: 19
Must Reads
OFFENSE: QB (1/1), RB (1/1), WR (2/3), TE (1/1), OL (3/3)
QB: Jarrett Stidham (HUDL) -- On campus, enrolled.
RB: JaMycal Hasty (HUDL)
WR: Blake Lynch (HUDL) -- On campus, enrolled.
WR: Devontre Stricklin (HUDL)
C/TE: Sam Tecklenburg (HUDL)
OT: Riley Daniel (HUDL)
OT: Dominic Desouza (JUCO) (HUDL)-- On campus, enrolled.
OT: Maurice Porter (JUCO) (HUDL)
DEFENSE: DT (0/0), DE (1/1), LB (3/3), NB (1/1), CB (2/3), S (2/2)
DE: Tyrone Hunt (HUDL)
MLB: Lenoy Jones, Jr. (HUDL)
OLB: Jordan Williams (HUDL)
OLB/NB: Eric Ogor (HUDL)
LB/NB: Clay Johnston (HUDL-- private at this moment)
CB: Jordan Tolbert (HUDL)
CB: Tony Nicholson (HUDL)
CB: Henry Black (HUDL)
S: Jameson Houston (HUDL)
S: J.W. Ketchum III (HUDL)
K/P: Drew Galitz (HUDL)
2015 Wish List:
(Percentages are drawn from 247Sports' Crystal Ball, not my own imagination.)
We're now at the point where only a few potential recruits remain from what we know. I'll update this when/if we know more.
All of the players above hold Baylor offers and have indicated at least some interest in the Bears such that their inclusion is not simply the result of wishful thinking.
Players Removed (who did not commit to us): Kris Boyd (not coming), Kahlil Haughton (OU), Malik Jefferson (UT) Anthony Wheeler (interest waned), Corey Dauphine (Tech), Ronald Jones, Jr. (interest waned), LB Cameron Townsend (UT) OT Deya Mhiesen (Oklahoma State), OT Madison Akamnonu (Texas Tech), OT Conner Dyer(Texas Tech), S PJ Locke (Oregon), DT/OT Du'Vonta Lampkin (Texas), WR Ryan Newsome (spot gone), DE James Lockhart (A&M), LB Richard Moore (spot gone, A&M), CB Marcus Lewis (Florida), OT Keaton Sutherland (A&M), CB P.J. Mbanasor (Oklahoma), LB Ricky DeBerry (Oklahoma), RB Chris Warren (Baylor backed off), S Larry Pryor (A&M).
2016 Recruiting Class -- National Rank: 6, Commits: 6
OFFENSE: QB (1/?), RB (1/?), WR (1/?), OL (1/?)
QB: Zach Smith (Film)
RB: Kameron Martin (Film)
WR: Tren'Davian Dickson (Film)
OL: Patrick Hudson (Film)
DEFENSE: DT (1/?), CB (1/?)
DT: Jordan Elliott (HUDL)
CB: Grayland Arnold (HUDL)
2016 Wish List:
This will be basically a shot in the dark based off our 2016 offer list. Some of them are more obvious than others based on who we've had in town and how many times we've heard their names. I think we can assume that we'll be at 85 scholarships again with the 2015 class. We have 18 juniors (by their classification now) graduating in 2016. I think we're safe projecting a class of around 20, maybe more, on that basis.
RB: Devwah Whaley
WR: Devin Duvernay (10% BU)
WR: Courtney Lark (38% BU)
WR: Jeremy Smith (33% BU)
OL: J.P. Urquidez (46% BU)
DT: Kendell Jones
DE: Isaiah Chambers
DE: Justin Madubuike
DE/LB: Erick Fowler
CB: Jared Mayden (46% BU)
S: Deontay Anderson
This is by far the earliest I've ever tried to put together a Wish List, and before you tell me that the vast majority of these guys are 5*s we won't get, I know that. There will be a ton of movement on this list since I'm starting so early.
UPDATES:
2015 Recruiting:
1/30 Visitors: A couple of sites have indicated that our staff is looking to bring in 2/3 official visitors this weekend that are not currently listed anywhere because they want to keep things quiet. At this time, Decoud and Patterson (both of whom have been previously listed) will not be visiting.
CB Henry Black (1/30): Commits! Listed at 6-1, 184 pounds, Black chose the Bears over Texas Tech in the end.
I Have Officially Committed To Baylor University! #SicEmBears #Blessed
— Henry Jackpot Black❌ (@hb9era) January 30, 2015
DE Tyrone Hunt (1/27): One of the guys that is visiting this weekend and that should commit immediately. Baylor offered today.
Arp head coach Dale Irwin has confirmed to me @InsideUTSA's report that 2015 DL Tyrone Hunt has been offered by Baylor. #SicEm #bEASTtexas
— Clint Buckley (@ClintBuckley) January 27, 2015
WR Damarkus Lodge (1/27): Listed a Top 4 with Baylor in it previously and hosted our coaches for an in-home visit, but look for him to go wherever Kyler Murray goes.
JUCO CB Treston Decoud (1/27): No longer listed as a visitor for 1/30.
CBs Holton Hill and Kris Boyd (1/26): Announcing Friday. Since Baylor is no longer recruiting Boyd and they are likely to go somewhere together, I'm going to assume we're out. My somewhat educated guess is that they choose Texas.
OT Riley Daniel (1/25): Committed! Baylor really wanted this kid and fended off late charges from Texas Tech and Florida. Also held an offer from Kansas State.
#580 #DreamBigDreamBaylor #NotStandingStill
— Coach Art Briles (@CoachArtBriles) January 25, 2015
CB Kris Boyd (1/21): Baylor canceled his official visit before it ever began and is no longer recruiting the 4* CB.
LB Jordan Williams (1/16): Committed!
LB Eric Ogor (1/16): Committed! I'm going to do an update post this weekend about Ogor and Lenoy Jones (below), who committed yesterday. Hit the link to check out Ogor's stats from this year: 34 TFL, 15 sacks, 9 forced fumbles ... it just goes on and on. His film (linked above) shows him playing some safety in addition to linebacker, so he could be an option at NB in addition to OLB.
CB Henry Black (1/11): Baylor offered last week after following him for some time and now the CBs (Crystal Balls) are rolling in.
CB Antoine Stephens (1/7): Ended up committing to Oklahoma.
QB Jarrett Stidham (1/7): Now officially the #1 QB overall in 247's rankings. The blurb ($$):
Though Stidham was hurt and missed parts of the Under Armour practices, we think he’s the best quarterback in the 2015 class based on a quick release, smooth athleticism, a strong arm and a gamer’s mentality. He’ll continue the Heisman hype in Waco under Art Briles.
CB Holton Hill (1/1): Update with him on 247Sports says he will visit Baylor in January, but that we aren't among his top 3 right now.
RB Soso Jamabo (1/1): Reportedly mentioned Baylor as a potential visit spot in January. We'll see.
LB Eric Ogor (1/1): 2 Crystal Balls came in for the lightly-recruited LB from Richmond, TX. You can view his film here. Plays a lot of LB and even some S in his senior film. Is not rated by 247Sports.
2016 Recruiting:
Baylor's first Junior Day of the 2016 cycle is coming up this weekend. The lists that I've seen are incredible in terms of talent. I'll try to organize a list here without stealing that info.
DT Jordan Elliott (1/31): Committed!
OT Patrick Hudson (1/27): Did not attend A&M's Junior Day this past weekend, apparently.
OT J.P. Urquidez (1/1): Attended Baylor's game today after going to UT's bowl earlier this week. Then gave his top 8:
2017 Recruiting:
QB Tate Martell (1/27): Taking a break from ruling Dorne to come visit TCU and Baylor this weekend.
Unofficial Visits to Baylor and TCU this weekend! pic.twitter.com/Ip2DulytdN
— Tate Martell (@TheTateMartell) January 27, 2015
WR Hezekiah Jones (1/27): We offered today.
Just recieved my 3rd offer from Baylor University pic.twitter.com/tTmm5z7MxM
— #⃣9⃣ (@_hezekiahh) January 27, 2015
RECRUITING THOUGHTS:
2015 Class Needs:
Baylor has 18 commits now for the 2015 cycle and will likely finish things off this weekend with Tyrone Hunt.
Changelog:
1/1/2015: Created January Recruiting Thread
1/7/2015: New 2015 offer to CB Antoine Stephens.
1/11/2015: Added more information and reworked the Wish List a bit since the numbers are so low now.
1/16/2015: A trio of new LB commits.
1/19/2015: Kris Boyd OV set up.
1/21/2015: Kris Boyd OV canceled.
1/25/2015:Riley Daniel commits!
1/27/2015: Cleaned things up, changed some info. Added HUDL links for all commits.
1/30/2015: Henry Black commits!
1/31/2015: Jordan Elliott commits!
Call to Action:
ODBers-- by this point, it's become patently obvious that the biggest victim, content-wise, in ODB's rise in other areas has been this monthly recruiting thread, one of the staples of our lineup that I know a ton of people enjoy thoroughly.
I want to make this right and get the Recruiting Threads back on track, but I can't do it alone. If you've ever wanted to contribute to ODB but didn't think you had time, now is your chance to help. Here's what I need:
If you see any recruiting information of any kind, whether it's on Twitter or elsewhere, link/embed it in the comments if you don't see me get to it. That includes tweets of mine that somehow don't make the thread; the purpose here is to isolate and report everything we can find about Baylor Football recruiting. I'm talking visit rumors, offers, guys that may be opening things back up that we might want, whatever. If it's about recruiting and you see it, post it here unless it's already been posted.
I don't intend for this to be some huge undertaking for the common man or for anyone to go out of their way. Rather, my hope is that through crowdsourcing, we can take advantage of the numerous sets of eyes we have on social media and otherwise to get as much information into these threads as possible.
Thanks,
Mark Seymour