Sting Factor: Cedric Roberts' decommitment from Baylor
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment we assign a score from 1 to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
Cedric Roberts committed to Baylor in February with little fanfare.
The three-star defensive tackle from Pflugerville (Texas) Hendrickson landed his offer from Baylor and committed to the Bears and that was a wrap.
That was until last week when Roberts backed off his pledge to Baylor and succinctly thanked his coaches for all that they’ve done and said he wanted to open his recruitment back up.
Shortly after that decision, Boston College offered to join a group that includes Colorado State, SMU, UTSA and Utah State. There are some rumors that Texas is starting to sniff around a little bit as well and might get more interested in Roberts in the coming weeks.
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LOCAL REACTION
The loss of Cedric Roberts is a stunner. Baylor found him first and had him as an offer and immediate commit type of situation. Hard to know how this unraveled. But he is close to Texas, of course. That could be a factor. And the camp season is approaching so he may want to see what his stock really is. Time will tell if Baylor can try and get him back. But the rule is when prospects decommit, they rarely return. - Kevin Lonnquist, SicEmSports.com
Sting factor: 6
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NATIONAL REACTION
Baylor was 2-7 this past season, the Bears allowed 4.4 yards per carry and gave up 20 rushing touchdowns. Coach Dave Aranda and his team need all the help they can get along the defensive front and someone like Roberts would have been a perfect addition - a talented, under-the-radar prospect who got a big offer from Baylor and pounced on it. If the Baylor coaching staff continues to pursue Roberts he might rejoin the class but they do have to start over in his recruitment. If the three-star has a big summer on the camp circuit or Texas decides to offer then this could be even tougher to handle. Baylor is rebuilding and needs help up front. Roberts provided that so losing him in this recruiting class is unfortunate. - Adam Gorney, Rivals National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 6