PORTAL UPDATE: A Tight End, Linebacker, and Corner Come Out, a Kicker Goes In

Dave Aranda and the Baylor staff have continued to remake the roster in recent days through the Transfer Portal with three new commitments after a big recruiting weekend in Waco. At the same time, another existing player has entered the Portal, evidencing his intent to leave the program. That brings the total number of incoming (new) Baylor players to eight (8), and the total number of exiting players to nine (9).

We’ll take the exiting player first. Yesterday, Baylor kicker Noah Rauschenberg announced his intention to transfer on Twitter. Rauschenberg has been Baylor’s kickoff specialist for the last couple of years and could transfer with one year of eligibility remaining assuming he did not have a medical redshirt year of which I am unaware. We do not have any additional information about his destination at this time but wish him luck going forward!

Before we turn to the incoming players, let’s take stock once again using the list from the last thread. Before this week, Baylor had five (5) Portal commitments in terms of transfers from other D-1 schools. Those commits (and their most-recent schools of origin) are:

1. OL Clark Barrington (BYU)
2. OL Campbell Barrington (BYU)
3. RB Dominic Richardson (Oklahoma State)
4. WR Ketron Jackson (Arkansas)
5. K Jack Stone (Michigan State)

Beginning Sunday afternoon when this weekend’s visits concluded, we added three (3) more. First up was Miami CB Isaiah Dunson. From Twitter:

Dunson is a former 4* recruit from Georgia that signed with Miami in the 2020 class that should have three (3) years of eligibility remaining at Baylor (with 2020 itself being the COVID year).

Next up was former UNT TE Jake Roberts, who committed yesterday but also visited this past weekend. From Twitter:

Word is that several other programs took runs at Roberts before he committed here, including Oklahoma. Roberts is a former 3* recruit from the 2020 class that, like Dunson, should have three (3) years of eligibility remaining. Roberts had 43 catches for 541 yards and 3 TDs while in Denton.

Finally, today Baylor landed a commitment from a heretofore unknown (at least to most, including me) name: former Liberty LB Mike Smith. From Twitter:

Smith was reportedly recruited by A&M and others while in the Portal and had 85 tackles, including 10 for loss, and half a sack after joining the Flames from JUCO this season.

So add those three (3) to the previous five (5), and Baylor now has eight (8) total from the Portal this season. We are almost certainly not done taking transfers, considering we still want/need/have to have one QB, at a minimum. We also are reportedly looking at more defensive help and potentially others depending on who else we might lose. And before anyone freaks out about all this transfer movement, this is just how things go nowadays.

As far as room ... I just don’t know. By my count, we are projected to be over the 85-scholarship limit as things currently stand, but I reminded myself earlier today, that will only happen when the the summer arrivals from the 2023 recruiting class get here in June. Until then, we have room with departing seniors and transfers out. Still, I am projecting that we are over (and will be more over if/when we get a QB), so I would expect more attrition to occur over the coming weeks before those summer recruits arrive.

In the meantime, welcome our new additions to Baylor!