Thursday, February 05, 2009
By John Werner
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Working feverishly until the final hours, Baylor football coach Art Briles believes his staff delivered a broad and talented recruiting class on national signing day.
With eight commitments in the final 10 days of recruiting, the Bears brought their class to a hefty 29 players. It’s arguably the deepest and most versatile class the Bears have landed since joining the Big 12 in 1996.
“We’re extremely pumped about the 2009 signing class,” Briles said Wednesday. “This is a heck of a class with good football players across the board. Our coaching staff hustled and pushed through and stayed in contact with recruits until the end, and that really saved us. We worked very hard to get these players.”
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- Chad Conine: Results of hard work evident at Midway, other schools on signing day
- Capsule bios for the new Baylor football recruits
- Briles, Baylor football produce deep, versatile recruiting class
- China Spring standout Hicks, other local players find homes on signing day
Baylor’s class ranked No. 43 nationally and seventh among Big 12 teams in Scout.com’s recruiting rankings. Briles signed the players he needed, and believes they will make a major impact on the program. He said Baylor’s newly completed Highers Athletics Complex on University Parks Drive helped seal the deal on some recruits.
“We know the players we needed, and we got them,” Briles said. “The new facility helped tremendously, and it brought our recruiting to a whole different level. The reality is that we would have missed out on four to eight recruits without it.”
The persistence of the Baylor coaches paid off as several recruits switched commitments. Marshall receiver Darius Jones (Oklahoma), Houston Stratford defensive end Terrance Lloyd (Missouri), Dickinson offensive lineman Ivory Wade (Texas A&M), Houston St. Pius X defensive end Rico Forbes (Texas A&M) and Beaumont Ozen receiver Willie Jefferson (Houston) all switched to Baylor.
After signing just four four-star players in the previous seven years, Baylor landed three Rivals.com four-star recruits in this year’s class — Butte (Calif.) Community College offensive lineman Danny Watkins, Round Rock Stony Point running back Glasco Martin and SuperPrep All-American Wade.
Briles put a major emphasis on signing offensive linemen, and came up with seven. The Bears signed five three-star offensive linemen — Tyler Junior College’s Philip Blake, Blinn College’s Marquis Franklin, North Crowley’s Cyril Richardson, South Garland’s Jeramie Roberts and Nederland’s Stefan Huber.
“We feel like this is probably the best offensive line class we’ve ever been associated with,” Briles said. “All those guys got offers from multiple schools.”
The Bears also loaded up at wide receiver by bringing in Houston Lamar’s Josh Gordon, Lancaster’s Skyler Scott, Temple’s Tevin Reese, Jones and Jefferson. The 6-7 Jefferson was a last-minute pledge Tuesday after he originally committed to the University of Houston.
“We felt he was the best one out there, and we were extremely pleased to get him,” Briles said. “He’s a big, athletic receiver who will create some mismatches for us.”
Excited about Griffin
Most of the receivers said a big draw to Baylor was the opportunity to play with quarterback Robert Griffin.
“Robert is a player with discipline and vision, and that rubs off on people,” Briles said. “People like to be around people with a plan.”
One of the jewels of Baylor’s class is Martin, who rushed for 1,613 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior for Round Rock Stony Point.
“I think Glasco’s potential is unlimited,” Briles said. “He’s a physical, quick and intelligent player. We think Glasco will get big and really powerful as a running back.”
Meanwhile, Terrance Ganaway will add depth at running back after playing for Briles at the University of Houston where he rushed for 550 yards and six touchdowns as a freshman in 2007. Following the death of his mother, Ganaway sat out last year and attended classes at Texarkana College, but will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in the fall.
Baylor also brought in some potential impact players on the defensive line, including Everman’s Deantre Harlan, Dallas Adamson’s Kelvin Palmer, Houston Stratford’s Terrance Lloyd and Forbes.
A native of the Bahamas, Forbes is a tremendous athlete who sat out last season because he was too old to play TAPPS football at 19. Briles said Forbes still has some work to do to get his transcript in order, but he’s got remarkable potential.
“He’s got worlds of ability, worlds of potential,” Briles said. “He can be a dominant football player.”
With 29 recruits, Baylor is four over the 25-player limit that teams can bring in every year. But Watkins can count toward last year’s class because he signed in December. Briles said he’s looking at grayshirting three of the new signees, which means they would enroll in January and count toward next year’s class. Midlothian quarterback Bryce Petty said he’s planning to enroll in January.
Though Briles signed a solid recruiting class last year two months after becoming Baylor’s coach, he believes a full year of recruiting helped his staff land more impact players this year.
“Last year, we had to hurry to get in on recruits,” Briles said. “But this year, we were able to establish more contacts early and develop more relationships with players.”
jwerner@wacotrib.com
757-5716
Comments
By Speedy
Feb 21, 2009 9:48 AM | Link to this
Jimbeaux,
Schools that know they are at the top really don't have to broadcast that they are better than struggling programs. By the way, LSU is NOT among the Top Ten Programs in College Football nor will they ever be there.
You are dreaming. Where was your team last year? To quote you, you were 7-5 and in the toilet bowl not smelling a national title. Didn't your Tigers lose to Alabama, Ole Miss, and Arkansas to close the season. Oops, I forgot, you won the toilet bowl.
You said that you were recruited by Grant Teaff. No question, that there has never been a coach at LSU with the integrity of Grant Teaff. By the way, who was the coach that you played for at LSU. I promise that you never won an SEC title nor played for a national title. Alabama is on the rise which will prevent you from playing in the National Title Game for the near future.
By John Patterson
Feb 8, 2009 8:07 AM | Link to this
I have been following BU football since they played at the Dutton Street Stadium.The first game I remember was in 1948.I have seen manu excellent games and I have seen some rather forgettable games.What some of you younger folks may not realize is that BU has a rather large intense fan support base. Some of the other schools in the conference don't. Yes, they have many fans as long as they win, but they don't always win. They do not handle losing well. Many years ago Texas was playing Baylor in Waco at Baylor Stadium. I personally saw a number of their charter buses come and a number of the fans were rather drunk and the game had not started yet. I be lieve we have an excellent coach now and great things are about to happen.
By GeraldMcNeilFan
Feb 7, 2009 3:15 PM | Link to this
Who won the 1985 Liberty Bowl? Here is a hint, LSU lost 21-7.
By texan
Feb 7, 2009 11:19 AM | Link to this
I am a man from Texas that now lives in the SEC COnference area. I have been to a couple of the games in this area. I agree with the man that talked about the people getting drunk. Bubba you are the one that needs to move on. I didn't see LSU win the National Championship this year! Now Bubba I'll leave you with this thought! WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND! You days of losing are coming . SO JUST REMEMBER MY THOUGHT I LEFT YOU!
By BU Supporter
Feb 6, 2009 5:52 PM | Link to this
Hey Bubba:
(1) If LSU ever had more than 10 straight losing seasons, I promise you there would be plenty of empty seats in "the snake pit" as you put it.
(2) It's true that the "enthusiasm" in the stands at BU will probably never match that of the LSU fans because the majority of BU fans typically don't get drunk out of their minds before the game. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a "tee totaller" but I am proud that our fans tend to have at least a little class.
By BU Class of 75
Feb 6, 2009 5:33 PM | Link to this
To hspoon:
Your point is well taken about filling up the stadium no matter what but the reality is that full stadiums seldom occur for anybody if the product is a chronic loser. Being a private school with less than 30% of the student population of a UT or an A&M and residing in basically a good size small town, Baylor is very dependent on alums/fans traveling in sizable numbers from major TX population centers like DFW, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, etc. to attend games. Most fans from these Areas simply aren't going to take the time, effort, and endure the expense of regularly attending games that are often over (for all intents and purposes) before the 4th quarter even begins with their team getting their brains kicked in, which has sadly been the status of BU football by and large for the past 12 straight seasons.
The Bears made progress last season with at least being in most of the games in the 4th quarter, plus we do have the new impressive facilities, and Briles did just sign our best recruiting class since the inception of the Big 12, so there is definitely reason for hope. I believe we'll see better crowds next year and if and when the Bears actually have a winning season, I'm convinced 40K+ crowds at Floyd Casey will become the norm (even when the opponent doesn't bring at least half of the crowd) but it ain't going to happen until the fans have good reason to believe we can consistently line up against the "big boys" and have at least a decent shot of winning.
One of my vivid memories as a Bear fan is sitting in the end zone of the Cotton Bowl (because that's the best ticket I could get) on New Year's Day in 1981 and seeing a capacity crowd with a sea of green and gold shakers waving throughout the stadium as Grant Teaff's SWC champion team came on the field. The support IS there - it just needs to know the product on the field is THERE as well.
By Bubba
Feb 6, 2009 5:12 PM | Link to this
Hey Jimbeaux where are your thousands of Baylor alumni on Saturday afternoon? I went to the A&M game last fall and had never seen a more pathetic display of team spirit. You were beating A&M badly and there was absolutely no enthusiasm. Recruits see this and are disappointed. I know I was recuited by Teaff and your Bears. If you want to see fans that support their team go to an LSU home game at "The Snake Pit". Thats the field I spent my Saturday afternoons playing on. As for Grant Teaff he was a good coach not a great one. One more thing Jimbeaux while my Tigers are competing for a National Title each season and 10 plus wins, your Bears will be hoping for 6 wins and an invitation to the Toilet Bowl. Keep dreaming!
By Singletary Fan
Feb 6, 2009 11:41 AM | Link to this
If Singletary was our head coach we'd have even better players and challenging for a national title sooner rather than later.
By hspoon
Feb 6, 2009 10:49 AM | Link to this
Hey dollorbil, your statement about DKR and "potential" applies to all recruits everywhere, not just BU recruits. If other schools can beat their chests about a blue chip recruit, BU can too..and ought to! Someone talked about keeping kids in Texas...and that is a lofty and correct goal but many kids, even after they have been offered by UT, AM, TT, et al., have a hankering to see the world and go where the media gives them the most attention...LSU, USC and many other media darlings have a leg up..UT can only sign so many of them...20 so far this year....The facts are that almost every state loses kids to schools in other states...and that the nature of the game....a picture in the mind of a young guy, kin folks in another state, a family history in another state, etc...You know, TCU has done well in recent years in a good but not the best conference and they still don 't fill their stadium at home games..FT. Worth is a fairly big town in a significant media market but SMU, UH, UTEP, BU, Rice all have a hard time filling their stadiums...and that is a big problem with recruiting top nothc super blue chip kids and getting to the top of the heap from the middle or lower in the heap. If fans want the big time, they need to be big time...Iowa State, even when it is down, fills its stadium...so did Kansas when it was down...the the same goes for many of the schools in the Big 12 and other conferences...I remember when K-State couldn't think about winning, much less win, but every Saturday their stadium was full and Snyder took advantage of that and KSU moved from bottom to upper middle on the heap...When those who demand BU win all the time get off their butts and put up or shut up on Saturdays (in other words, fill the stadium no matter what the record is, on Saturday) consistently good recruiting will happen and consistent winning will follow. When a recruit sitting is Floyd Casey sees a major non-conference team come to Waco to play BU and only 20K to 25K are in the stands, it sends a message to that recruit...a much more important message than just good facilities and good coaches...Do you people get my message? Now Bu is making the athletics commitment in dollars and facilities and coaches...It is time BU students, alums and Wacoans follow suit and put up or shut the hell up...otherwise, even if Briles gets it done but the stands are half full, he will be gone and BU will be back where Bill Beall left it in short order!!!!
By dollorbil
Feb 6, 2009 7:33 AM | Link to this
Potential!!! definition: it means you ain't done it yet. this a quote from ex UT coach Darrell Royal when he was asked about a player that was said to have potential. Lets wait and how well this class of young bears do before we beat our chests.
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