Big 12 Spotlight: Rhule's bad look, more pre-NSD storylines

After a hectic past few weeks, it’s easy to forget that there is still a National Signing Day to come in February. While many teams in the Big 12 locked up the majority of their classes in December, there are still some things to keep an eye on as prospects prepare to sign their letters of intent.

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In one fell swoop, Matt Rhule became a posterboy of sorts for many of the concerns that some had around the Early Signing Period, but the layers of his decision to interview and then ultimately back away from the Colts job could cast a light on other major issues.

Obviously, Baylor didn’t have a good season in 2017. Perhaps some thought the Bears could have mustered together more than one win, but Rhule’s job shouldn’t have been expected to be in jeopardy because of that. Or should it? Maybe he caught wind that even amid the turmoil the program has suffered, he should have had a better end product and now enters next season on the hot seat.

In the wake of the news that he may have been looking elsewhere, Rhule called a team meeting yesterday to discuss the matter with his players. Three-star defensive back J.T. Woods, who has enrolled early, said that his impression of things after the fact was that the inquiry was blown out of proportion.

“It was nothing too serious,” he said.

Other signees have a similar feeling about the matter. Under Armour All-American cornerback Byron Hanspard maintained nothing but more of the same positive feelings he's expressed about the program since signing last month.

"I'm not worried at all - I know Coach Rhule is all in," he said. "We're just excited to get the year started. Some great things will be taking place and we can't wait to kick off."

No coach is guaranteed to stay at any one job, but if anyone should have been expected to - under the pretense that he was hired - it was Rhule. If he had left one season after signing a seven-year contract and after so many players signing their letters of intent in during the Early Signing Period, there may have been yet another rush for recently signed Baylor players to rescind their arrangements. Even though Rhule is now apparently staying, this still could raise a red flag to players considering taking one of the few remaining spots in Baylor's 2018 class that he could already be looking for other opportunities.

Plenty of pats on the back have been given to Tom Herman and his staff for the recruiting class they have assembled this year. Heading into the Early Signing Period the focus was on beefing up the offensive line after it was determined a number of linemen from last season wouldn’t be returning for various reasons. Now, the focus of Longhorns fans and coaches has turned to the other side of the line, and everyone is holding their breath that Rivals250 defensive tackle Keondre Coburn holds to his commitment and signs next month. Fellow Rivals250 prospect Keaontay Ingram,
a running back, is also unsigned, but between those two positions the more dire need appears to be at DT, and there are fewer Plan Bs for Coburn than there appear to be if something were to happen with Ingram.

Kliff Kingsbury may have saved his job with a season-ending win over the Longhorns to close out the season. That was good news for the Red Raiders on the recruiting front, as Texas Tech likely held on to the commitments of three four-star commitments because of that. Of course, all three of those players are offensive prospects, and things fell through earlier this season with Cameron Valentine, who had been Tech’s highest-ranked defensive prospect since his commitment earlier in the fall.

While it may be an oversimplified way of looking at things, the Red Raiders made significant improvements to their defense this past season, allowing 33 fewer yards through the air and 77 fewer yards on the ground than they did in 2016 - while creating more turnovers. But Valentine is a defensive end, and if there is one area that Tech has struggled in more than any other in recruiting it’s along the defensive front. Tech only has 12 of its 16 committed players signed - which may be a slight cause for concern - but there are still plenty of available spots in its class to beef up defensively.

Although the Cyclones slipped out of the Top 25 at the end of the season, they certainly put themselves on the map this past fall and head coach Matt Campbell’s stock was as high as anybody’s by the end of the year. That didn’t necessarily translate into Iowa State landing a bunch of new commitments, but following the Early Signing Period all but one had been signed. Most of the major recruiting news since then has been about the efforts the staff has made toward 2019 prospects, but Iowa State has made 2018 four-star receiver Nikko Hall a priority, and he plans to take an official visit later this month. Iowa State won over many a college football fan this season with its underdog story, so to end this year without at least one four-star player would be somewhat of a disappointment.

As has always been the case this time of year, players that had previously gone the majority of their recruitment without an abundance of fanfare are now considered to be top talents. In years past, players committed to non-Power Five programs led the way, but with so many recruits now signed, the relatively precious few uncommitted prospects with considerable upside are the new rock stars. Katy, Texas, defensive tackle Moro Ojomo is one of the best examples. And even though Oklahoma State has been courting him far longer than others, Ojomo released a top seven on Thursday that included the likes of Oklahoma, TCU and Texas.

Ojomo has been confirmed to be among the official visitors in Norman this weekend, but Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon and Texas A&M all still remain in the picture, as well. Ojomo is certainly a talent that will benefit someone, but he is enjoying a much busier next few weeks ahead of National Signing Day in February than perhaps he would have had the Early Signing Period not been in play this year.