It was December 28th that Baylor opened the gates to their 2017 recruiting class – an entrance previously tarnished by the controversies of a difficult year. On that Wednesday morning, Houston Lamar senior defensive back Trevon Lewis announced his commitment to the Bears, effectively inviting fellow Texas athletes to grasp for available scholarships to the previously illustrious program, bolstered by the recruiting presence of new coach Matt Rhule.
A reported yesterday, Xavier Newman is the latest commit to join a resurgent Baylor class that now ranks No. 66 in the nation, filling the 2017 class with three additional recruits Sunday.
https://twitter.com/XavierNewman55/status/820701848084639745
Players joining the highly-touted DeSoto prospect are fellow offensive lineman Eleasah Anderson (Alief Taylor) and Jason Moore (Frisco Independence), Henderson wide receiver Trestan Ebner also joins the fray, bringing the Bears total recruitment to 12 student athletes – 11 since coach Rhule started at Baylor in early December. The first-year Bears coach is settling in at Waco riding two back-to-back 10-win seasons and a Cactus Bowl victory for Baylor against Boise State, the only FBS postseason win this year.
Already, Coach Rhule has promised a rejuvenated effort in recruiting locally, and fleshing out a previously compromised roster, stating on www.baylorbears.com: “Now, we’re going to focus our recruiting efforts here in Texas. We’re not coming here to go out and recruit kids all across the country. I just want to make sure everybody understands just how excited kids all across the country are when they see Baylor. But, there are a lot of great football players here in Texas that we’re going to get a chance to recruit.”
The journey has been a difficult and treacherous climb from the dredges of Baylor’s controversial year. After the firing of coach Art Briles amidst accusations of mishandling sexual assault claims, eight pledges decommitted. The dissolution of the roster began with the departure of 5-star recruit Baron Browning and concluded late November, when 3-star cornerback Noah Daniels opted to join the Horned Frogs. Only Jalen Pitre (Stafford, 3-star safety) remained in a national class that ranked No. 163 – the lowest amongst all Texas and all active FBS programs.
Returning players are currently giving coach Rhule endorsements, in particular fourth-year junior linebacker Taylor Young of DeSoto:
https://twitter.com/tyoung_01/status/816514046392496132
Baylor is a program on the rise, and incoming freshman are enticed by the opportunities to play immediately, since the majority of the ’16 and ’17 was lost to the negative fallout over scandal.
Current Texas names in the upcoming class include Charlie Brewer (Lake Travis, QB), Timarcus Davis (College Station, CB), James Lynch (Round Rock, DT), Abram Smith (Abilene, RB) and RJ Sneed (Cy Ranch, WR).
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