Sting Factor: QB Zach Pyron backs off pledge to 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 one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
When Zach Pyron committed to Baylor in March his only other Power Five offer came from Kansas State.
Since that time, Vanderbilt has gotten involved and Alabama is definitely showing much more interest. Pyron’s recruitment could pick up even more in the coming days and weeks as the high three-star quarterback announced over the weekend that he was backing off his Baylor pledge.
The Pinson (Ala.) Pinson Valley standout said his decision did not come down to one school - the Crimson Tide saw him throw this summer and he went to their season-opening win over Miami. But an offer from Alabama would definitely be a major thing to consider.
More schools could get involved now that Pyron is back on the market. But this also deals a serious blow to Baylor, which believed it had a top quarterback locked up in this class only to see him move on as the season got underway.
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LOCAL REACTION
This loss of Zach Pyron is about as tough a loss as it gets for Baylor. In a climate where programs are taking only one quarterback and most homes have been found so early, Baylor is in a position where it must scramble to find a new QB target.
Pyron was arguably the alpha of the 2022 class. He was active on social media and became a pretty aggressive recruiter in his own right for this class. His game also took another step when he competed in the Elite 11 Finals. The new concern is what this means for other key offensive commits. - Kevin Lonnquist, SicEmSports.com
Sting Factor: 10
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NATIONAL REACTION
Pyron was impressive this summer at the Elite 11 and he was an integral part of this Baylor recruiting class, so there is absolutely no question that his decommitment hurts the Bears a lot. Right now, 28 of the top 30 pro-style quarterbacks in this class are committed, so Baylor will either have to flip a committed quarterback or take a shot at someone who is really under the radar.
This really hurts the Bears if some skill players decide to look elsewhere because they wanted to play with Pyron exclusively or if top targets stop showing interest in Baylor because there is no quarterback in this class.
Coach Dave Aranda and his staff have some major work to do here, but this is still salvageable with signing day months away. - Adam Gorney, national recruiting director
Sting Factor: 8