Sting Factor: Tyler Turner's 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 one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
When Tyler Turner committed to Baylor in January it was a big pickup for the Bears, who were coming off a great season, an impressive run and things picked up even more when the four-star safety joined the 2023 class.
But two months later, the San Antonio (Texas) Brennan is back on the market backing off his pledge to Baylor and reopening his recruitment.
Since March 1, Turner has landed offers from Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Visits to Texas and Utah for officials are being planned as well and then Turner said he plans to figure out the rest of his recruitment with so many new schools getting involved.
The Bears still have a strong early 2023 class led by quarterback Austin Novosad and linebacker Christian Brathwaite along with some impressive defensive backs but Turner is one of the best safeties in the state of Texas, if not nationally, and someone Baylor could have definitely used.
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LOCAL REACTION
Baylor's rise on the national scene has helped it attract national recruits. But that also means that it's going to be in more tough battles to hang on to them. Tyler Turner's decision to move on and evaluate other options hurts because he fits what Dave Aranda wants from its Star position. Turner rose from a three-star to a four-star during his commitment to the Bears. Texas Tech has started to make a serious push. Oklahoma and Texas offers impact this as well. Turner has said he still will consider Baylor and may go watch a spring practice. Time will tell. - Kevin Lonnquist, SicEmSports.com
Sting factor: 8
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NATIONAL REACTION
Baylor beat Texas by a touchdown and Oklahoma by double-digits this past season. The Bears won the Big 12 with a thrilling win over Oklahoma State and then took out Ole Miss in the bowl game. There was a lot of momentum heading into the offseason. Getting Turner on board was big because he’s a perfect fit for coach Dave Aranda’s defense and he’s a relatively local prospect that was locked in. But Texas is going to make a serious run here. Oklahoma will be interesting to watch especially if he visits. There will be others. It’s always tough to get a kid to re-commit so Turner looks headed elsewhere and that’s unfortunate for the Bears. - Adam Gorney, Rivals National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 7