Recruiting Snapshot: Baylor
While most of college football has been put on hold, recruiting marches on. The class of 2021 has seen a wave of commitments since the start of April, and the team rankings have adjusted to reflect growing classes. We are taking a snapshot of each class in their order of the Rivals Team Rankings and continue with Baylor at No. 19.
BAYLOR
Current rank: No. 19
Number of commits: 14
Top commits: Three-star S Cicero Caston; three-star OL Conner Heffernan; three-star WR Hal Presley; three-star S Tevin Williams
Top targets: Four-star S JD Coffey; four-star LB Kendrick Blackshire; four-star WR Theodore Knox; four-star WR Ketron Jackson
LOCAL REACTION
“The biggest impression is that Baylor’s efforts in Texas have been restored and strengthened. While it always landed a majority of its players from The Lone Star State, there just appears to be a better focus with Dave Aranda’s staff. Most of the 2021 targets that it has committed are players that it had highly prioritized.
"The recruitment of Alvin Shadow Creek 2021 QB Kyron Drones and the short timeframe to get him is pretty exceptional given that everything trended toward Auburn. When the Bears entered the picture, everything changed. Jordan Jenkins is a really solid RB find. The staff also has a great jump on the secondary led by Caston. There are needs left to fill on both the offensive line and linebacker.’’– Kevin Lonnquist, SicEmSports.com
NATIONAL REACTION
"Baylor won its fair share of head-to-head, in-state recruiting battles in 2020, signing four-star running back Taye McWilliams and flipping four-star defensive end James Sylvester away from TCU. If Matt Rhule did not leave Waco for the Carolina Panthers, it wouldn't have been surprising to see one or two more four-star defensive linemen in Baylor's 2020 haul.
"Dave Aranda takes over in Waco after a strong stint as LSU's defensive coordinator. Aranda brought several LSU staffers with him to Baylor and it's immediately paying dividends. The Bears have locked in their quarterback for the 2021 class in Drones and have some quality foundational pieces in place like Heffernan, Caston and Presley, to name a few.The Baylor staff does a terrific job of finding diamonds in the rough and developing talent. Heffernan and small-town lineman Tate Williams are proof of that.
"But if Baylor is going to continue to ascend in the Big 12, it'll have to add some four- and five-star talent to the roster. Landing Presley over Texas, USC and Michigan State and winning the Drones sweepstakes over several other in-state and SEC schools was colossal. With a new staff in place, the Bears remain in a good spot with several of the top uncommitted players in the state, but they'll need to win a few more of those recruiting battles to take the next step." – Sam Spiegelman, South Central recruiting analyst