Baylor Football Recruiting: 2016 National Signing Day Primer

Believe it or not, this will be the FIFTH recruiting class that ODB has tracked to completion since the blog came into being in 2011.  By this time tomorrow, at least 22 new recruits are expected to be part of Baylor's football program (including the 4 that have already signed and enrolled, just for simplicity), as a result of what is clearly the best class in Art Briles' 9-year tenure in Waco and probably the best in about a generation.

The big day is almost here. Don't miss any coverage from https://t.co/5YkoYUdNxY starting at 7amCT Wed. #SignBU pic.twitter.com/Ph9NuKM72t

— Baylor Football (@BUFootball) February 2, 2016

National Signing Day Drama

In addition to the 22 we already have and/or are trying to keep, there's three other names you need to know of recruits that are announcing at various points tomorrow.  Of those three, the biggest fish (in terms of rankings) is Nacogdoches S Brandon Jones, who will make his choice known tomorrow morning at 8:30 on ESPNU.  He's down to Baylor, UT, and A&M.  The biggest in terms of actual size is JUCO OT Malcolm Pridgeon, who will decide at some point tomorrow between Baylor and Ohio State.  Finally, we have #1-ranked K Quinn Nordin, who will reportedly pick between Baylor, USC, and Michigan.  I don't know when he's announcing.

If Baylor gets none of those three guys, we're probably looking at a finish around #15 in the country.  If we get all of them, you're probably in the top 10.

One other thing worth noting is that OT Patrick Hudson is technically supposed to announce sometime tomorrow between Baylor and UT, but I don't think Baylor folks are all that worried at this time.  We'll keep on top of it.

Baylor's 2016 Recruiting Class

Turning now to the 22 recruits already committed, those of you familiar with how I do things every year will recall that I keep a Google Spreadsheet of our recruiting results that is available for view here.  It has links to each recruit's HUDL and 247Sports' profiles, vital information (height/weight), and recruiting rankings, since that's what everyone seems to care about.  One note: the positions listed are taken directly from the recruit's profiles.  I'm not projecting anyone for anywhere else in the charts (though I will get to a little bit of that below).

Before I post the charts, I wanted to point out the elevated success Baylor has had since I started tracking things here in getting 4/5-star recruits (according to either 247Sports' own rankings or their Composite ranking):

2012: 4
2013: 5
2014: 5
2015: 4
2016: 12
2017: 5*

*It's February 2, 2016.  They sign in a year.

This isn't exactly scientific, since a couple of guys (Brian Nance and Maurice Porter) signed in two different years, but it's close.  Shown a different way, this is our Composite ranking for each of those same classes:

2012: 84.21
2013: 83.75
2014: 85.10
2015: 85.12
2016: 88.32
2017: 92.79

Now to the 'cruits!

This is a solid class top-to-bottom.  We're extremely strong in the trenches with 2 4* OTs, including one of the best in the country in Patrick Hudson.  We have a new Four Horsemen at WR led by Duvernay and Dickson, and with Atkinson and Mims flying somewhat under the radar.  Kameron Martin is the RB Baylor wanted in this class more than any other, and we got him. And to lead things off, Baylor offered and snagged Zach Smith, an early-enrollee that is already working in the system.  The only thing I wish we had here was a TE, since it appears that Kaden Smith will get in to Stanford (but that's something to watch!).

With Andrew Billings leaving early for the NFL, Baylor did about as well as possible trying to replace him with potential impact JUCOs in Osborne and Faulk.  My only wish is that we'd managed to get another HS DT in a very strong year for that position in Texas.  I think we'll look back there and wish we'd gotten another to pair with Roy somewhere along the line.

In the secondary, Baylor loaded up with 7 recruits (possibly 8) identified by the services as either corners or safeties.  Before you freak out about that, though, my prediction is that at least 3 of those guys never play in the secondary: Miller (NB), Donovan Duvernay (IR), and maybe Texada.  The real strength of the class here is in Arnold and Cobb, both of whom I would expect to see playing time immediately next season. They're that good.

Additional Random Thoughts:

• Favorite Under-the-Radar Guy: Jared Atkinson.
  
• Biggest Non-JUCO Immediate Impact: Devin Duvernay
• Highest Drafted Class Member: Patrick Hudson
• Best Recruiter (Among the Recruits): Kameron Martin
• Biggest Mystery: Rajah Preciado
• I Wish We Had Another: HS DT.

In the coming days, we'll debrief more about this class after everybody signs on the dotted line, so be thinking about your questions and what you might want to know.  Also, make sure to say an extra prayer for our undecided guys that they'll find their way to Baylor!

See you in the morning!  Our Open Thread here will kick off at 7 AM.