4* DE Brandon Bowen commits to Baylor over Oregon and Oklahoma

Baylor's needs on the defensive line for the 2016 are widely known, and today, our recruiting took a big step in the right direction when DE Brandon Bowen, long considered a Baylor lean, finally pulled the trigger and committed.  The first indication we got about it was from Briles' tweet:

#214 Welcome to the family! #LetsEat #GangGreenD #50in5 #Family

— Coach Art Briles (@CoachArtBriles) January 1, 2016

This threw me off at first because Trophy Club, where Bowen lives, is actually in Tarrant and Denton counties, making its area code (I think) either 817 or 682. Regardless, Colt Barber of BearsTruth confirmed the commitment a few minutes later, and then Bowen himself made it as official as it gets:

Words can't describe how excited I am to be a Baylor bear this is truly a blessing!!! pic.twitter.com/zgHZFZj86C

— TallDreadHead (@Watwouldbowendo) January 1, 2016

Snagging Bowen, a 4* DE ranked in the Top 200 players in the country by 247's Composite rankings, is as big as it gets for us right now.  Let's take a closer look:

Vital Statistics

Name: Brandon Bowen
Position: DE
School: Byron Nelson HS (Trophy Club, TX)
Mascot: Bobcats
Height: 6-5
Weight: 227 lbs
Rankings: Composite: 92.62 (4*, #167 Nat'l, #12 DE) 247: 89 (3*, #27 DT)
Profiles: 247Sports, Rivals, Scout, ESPN
Offers: Baylor, Oklahoma, Oregon, Michigan, TCU, Texas, Miami, etc.
Video: HUDL

To say that Bowen's commitment is huge for this class is an understatement.  Before today, Baylor had just Bravvion Roy and Michael Johnson committed on the defensive line from the high school ranks (and Jeremy Faulk as a JUCO).  We definitely wanted to take at least two more, possible three.  With Bowen as the first, look for Baylor to continue putting pressure on Levi Onwuzurike, who I believe will probably move inside in college, and trying to flip A&M commit Mark Jackson.

Here's our class as it currently stands.  I don't think the national ranks have updated to reflect Bowen's commitment, but I have seen #9 thrown around a bit on the Twitterverse.

QB: Zach Smith(Signed FAA)
RB: Kameron Martin
WR: Jared Atkinson
WR: Devin Duvernay
WR: Tren'Davian Dickson(Signed FAA)
WR: Denzel Mims
OT: Patrick Hudson
OG: Branton Autry (JUCO)(Signed FAA)
OT: JP Urquidez

DT: Bravvion Roy
DT: Jeremy Faulk (JUCO)(Signed FAA)
DE: Brandon Bowen
DE: Micheal Johnson
LB: Deonte Williams
CB: Grayland Arnold
CB: Donovan Duvernay
CB: Raleigh Texada
CB: Rajah Preciado
S: Chris Miller
S: Kenan Ivy

Bowen gives us 20 commits, and I expect we're looking at a class around 24-25.  Give me Onwuzurike, Malcolm Pridgeon (JUCO OT), Brandon Jones (dreaming big here!), and Mark Jackson, and let's call it a day!