Football Recruiting - Midlands Region: Big 12
Baylor had made it a priority to focus on the offensive line for its 2014 class. On Saturday, the Bears picked up their third offensive lineman and eighth overall commit of the class.
Offensive tackle Patrick Lawrence (Waxahachie, Texas/Waxahachie) gave Baylor his verbal commitment during an unofficial visit to Baylor. A 6-foot-6, 255-pound lineman, Lawrence joins three-star tackle Josh Pelzel (Rockdale, Texas/Rockdale) and guard Devonte Jones (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire) as the guys up front, along with Jordan Feuerbacher (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood Park), who is expected to line up as a flex tight end for the Bears.
Offensive tackle Patrick Lawrence (Waxahachie, Texas/Waxahachie) gave Baylor his verbal commitment during an unofficial visit to Baylor. A 6-foot-6, 255-pound lineman, Lawrence joins three-star tackle Josh Pelzel (Rockdale, Texas/Rockdale) and guard Devonte Jones (Bellaire, Texas/Bellaire) as the guys up front, along with Jordan Feuerbacher (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood Park), who is expected to line up as a flex tight end for the Bears.
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Defensive tackle C.J. Reese (San Antonio/Madison) reconfirmed his April commitment to Kansas State with all-points-bulletin text message Wednesday afternoon to the media masses.
“I’m done with my recruiting,” Reese texted. “I’m 100 percent with Kansas State.”
That message serves as a sigh of relief for Wildcats fans who may have originally thought Reese’s verbal was soft rather than solid. Now, the 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive lineman is doing two things -- working on becoming a better player during the spring and positioning himself as an unofficial player/recruiter for Kansas State. Reese is targeting one player in particular to join him in Manhattan, Kan., if given the chance.
“I’m done with my recruiting,” Reese texted. “I’m 100 percent with Kansas State.”
That message serves as a sigh of relief for Wildcats fans who may have originally thought Reese’s verbal was soft rather than solid. Now, the 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive lineman is doing two things -- working on becoming a better player during the spring and positioning himself as an unofficial player/recruiter for Kansas State. Reese is targeting one player in particular to join him in Manhattan, Kan., if given the chance.
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DALLAS -- Four-star linebacker and Texas commit Cameron Hampton (Dallas/Carter) saw the Longhorns’ 2014 recruiting class take a hit with decommitments from the Fort Worth (Texas) All Saints duo of offensive tackle Demetrius Knox and running back Daniel Gresham.
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Offensive lineman Lem Galeai (Euless, Texas/Trinity) has two favorites, and a decision might be looming -- but not before a key member of his family is with him.
Galeai, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound guard, said Oklahoma State and Baylor are neck and neck in his recruiting race. Both schools -- and any other potential darkhorses -- will have to wait until at least mid-June. Galeai said one person in particular has to be in attendance.
“I may do it after my brother comes home,” Galeai said, referring to his older brother Richard-Salanoa Afu Galeai. “He’s on a mission in Tonga, and he comes home on June 17.”
Galeai, a 6-foot-5, 305-pound guard, said Oklahoma State and Baylor are neck and neck in his recruiting race. Both schools -- and any other potential darkhorses -- will have to wait until at least mid-June. Galeai said one person in particular has to be in attendance.
“I may do it after my brother comes home,” Galeai said, referring to his older brother Richard-Salanoa Afu Galeai. “He’s on a mission in Tonga, and he comes home on June 17.”
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Inspired by Florida's "#ComePlayWRFortheJoker" campaign, our recruiting writers looked at other ways schools can sell themselves on the trail. Here's a look at recruiting pitches for the Big 12:
Baylor Bears
What they’re selling: The new 45,000-seat, $250-million on-campus stadium that will open in 2014. Recruiting is an arms race, and players like fancy stadiums and locker rooms, and Baylor’s upgrade puts them finally on the same level playing field as everybody else in the Big 12.
What they're missing: Help on defense -- specifically at defensive line and defensive back.
Iowa State Cyclones
What they’re selling: Paul Rhoads. He grew up miles from the campus and has helped turn around Iowa State with a physical and fundamentally sound style of football.
What they're missing: A true home-run threat at receiver.
Kansas Jayhawks
What they’re selling: Charlie Weis. He’s taken risks (juco infusion), repaired relationships with area high school coaches and widened KU’s recruiting pool.
What they're missing: Wins. When you’ve won only one conference game in three years, a little bit of everything is missing.
Kansas State Wildcats
What they’re selling: Bill Synder. The plan has worked for years in Manhattan. K-State doesn’t care how many stars a player has attached to his name, a player only earns an offer from K-State unless Snyder personally signs off on it after a lengthy review. It’s a plan that produced a No. 1 BCS ranking and a Big 12 championship in 2012.
What’s missing: I’ve been told by coaches for years that the most difficult position to recruit is defensive tackle. That’s why you often see even average defensive tackles rack up double-digit offers, and finding good depth at defensive tackle has been very difficult to do at K-State.
Oklahoma Sooners
What they’re selling: Oklahoma is proud of its football tradition, and few schools can match the Sooners’ track record for success, facilities and ability to prepare you for the next level.
What they're missing: A renewed focus on evaluating players. It’s what differentiated Bob Stoops’ staff when they started, and it’s how they found players like Sam Bradford, Josh Heupel, Juaquin Iglesias and Donald Stephenson. All at the time were considered to be three-star recruits but wound up being impact players for the Sooners.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
What they’re selling: Their ability to evaluate and develop offensive talent.
What they're missing: Elite players in the Lone Star State. With the best facilities in the conference, it might be just enough to get kids to visit.
Texas Longhorns
What they’re selling: Few in the nation can offer up the type of atmosphere, fan base, tradition and total student-athlete package like Texas can.
What they're missing: A true a difference-maker at quarterback. The last two Heisman Trophy winners have come from Texas high schools, and the Longhorns didn’t recruit one heavily and recruited the other as an athlete.
TCU Horned Frogs
What they’re selling: The Horned Frogs recruit to their style of smash-mouth play on both sides of the ball and don’t care how many stars a recruit has. It hurts them some in the recruiting rankings, but it helps them win a lot of ball games.
What they're missing: BCS conference depth. Heading into their second season in the Big 12 after a 7-6 season, the biggest thing the Horned Frogs need to do is to build the roster to be able to compete year in and year out in the BCS conference.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they’re selling: The Red Raiders went through a transition that brought Kliff Kingsbury to Lubbock, and the early reception has been nothing short of positive.
What they're missing: The Red Raiders have never had issues putting up points on people, but under Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach there was little defense being played.
West Virginia Mountaineers
What they’re selling: WVU is a force in the Atlantic region, can recruit well in Pennsylvania and is arguably one of the best schools at identifying offensive talent in the JC ranks.
What they're missing: The 2014 class will have to be all about rebuilding in Morgantown, as the needs are mounting while several impact players have moved on.
Baylor Bears
What they’re selling: The new 45,000-seat, $250-million on-campus stadium that will open in 2014. Recruiting is an arms race, and players like fancy stadiums and locker rooms, and Baylor’s upgrade puts them finally on the same level playing field as everybody else in the Big 12.
What they're missing: Help on defense -- specifically at defensive line and defensive back.
Iowa State Cyclones
What they’re selling: Paul Rhoads. He grew up miles from the campus and has helped turn around Iowa State with a physical and fundamentally sound style of football.
What they're missing: A true home-run threat at receiver.
Kansas Jayhawks
What they’re selling: Charlie Weis. He’s taken risks (juco infusion), repaired relationships with area high school coaches and widened KU’s recruiting pool.
What they're missing: Wins. When you’ve won only one conference game in three years, a little bit of everything is missing.
Kansas State Wildcats
What they’re selling: Bill Synder. The plan has worked for years in Manhattan. K-State doesn’t care how many stars a player has attached to his name, a player only earns an offer from K-State unless Snyder personally signs off on it after a lengthy review. It’s a plan that produced a No. 1 BCS ranking and a Big 12 championship in 2012.
What’s missing: I’ve been told by coaches for years that the most difficult position to recruit is defensive tackle. That’s why you often see even average defensive tackles rack up double-digit offers, and finding good depth at defensive tackle has been very difficult to do at K-State.
Oklahoma Sooners
What they’re selling: Oklahoma is proud of its football tradition, and few schools can match the Sooners’ track record for success, facilities and ability to prepare you for the next level.
What they're missing: A renewed focus on evaluating players. It’s what differentiated Bob Stoops’ staff when they started, and it’s how they found players like Sam Bradford, Josh Heupel, Juaquin Iglesias and Donald Stephenson. All at the time were considered to be three-star recruits but wound up being impact players for the Sooners.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
What they’re selling: Their ability to evaluate and develop offensive talent.
What they're missing: Elite players in the Lone Star State. With the best facilities in the conference, it might be just enough to get kids to visit.
Texas Longhorns
What they’re selling: Few in the nation can offer up the type of atmosphere, fan base, tradition and total student-athlete package like Texas can.
What they're missing: A true a difference-maker at quarterback. The last two Heisman Trophy winners have come from Texas high schools, and the Longhorns didn’t recruit one heavily and recruited the other as an athlete.
TCU Horned Frogs
What they’re selling: The Horned Frogs recruit to their style of smash-mouth play on both sides of the ball and don’t care how many stars a recruit has. It hurts them some in the recruiting rankings, but it helps them win a lot of ball games.
What they're missing: BCS conference depth. Heading into their second season in the Big 12 after a 7-6 season, the biggest thing the Horned Frogs need to do is to build the roster to be able to compete year in and year out in the BCS conference.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they’re selling: The Red Raiders went through a transition that brought Kliff Kingsbury to Lubbock, and the early reception has been nothing short of positive.
What they're missing: The Red Raiders have never had issues putting up points on people, but under Tommy Tuberville and Mike Leach there was little defense being played.
West Virginia Mountaineers
What they’re selling: WVU is a force in the Atlantic region, can recruit well in Pennsylvania and is arguably one of the best schools at identifying offensive talent in the JC ranks.
What they're missing: The 2014 class will have to be all about rebuilding in Morgantown, as the needs are mounting while several impact players have moved on.
Class of 2015 defensive tackle T.D. Moton (Shreveport, La./Calvary Baptist Academy) gets it. There’s reward for hard work -- and there’s incentive for reward.
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Texas Tech is getting a “Scooter.”
The Red Raiders picked up commitment No. 11 on Tuesday when wide receiver Byron "Scooter" Daniels (San Antonio/Madison) picked Texas Tech over offers from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
“It feels good,” said Daniels, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound receiver. “It actually feels like a weight’s lifted off.”
The Red Raiders picked up commitment No. 11 on Tuesday when wide receiver Byron "Scooter" Daniels (San Antonio/Madison) picked Texas Tech over offers from Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
“It feels good,” said Daniels, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound receiver. “It actually feels like a weight’s lifted off.”
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Some athletes simply have recognizable nicknames. Wide receiver Byron Daniels (San Antonio/Madison) is known around his high school as “Scooter.”
“I don’t even know how I got it,” Daniels said. “I was named after my dad, and it was something my family called me. When they called for Byron, both of us turned around.’”
Daniels said his grandfather was the first to call him Scooter. What many probably didn’t know was that the name would fit as a football player. In addition to being quick and elusive, he runs with a level of power that many 5-foot-11, 170-pound athletes don’t have.
That combination of talents has made Daniels a major recruiting target for several college programs. Daniels has seven offers, and he’s looking to earn more as the spring season progresses.
“I don’t even know how I got it,” Daniels said. “I was named after my dad, and it was something my family called me. When they called for Byron, both of us turned around.’”
Daniels said his grandfather was the first to call him Scooter. What many probably didn’t know was that the name would fit as a football player. In addition to being quick and elusive, he runs with a level of power that many 5-foot-11, 170-pound athletes don’t have.
That combination of talents has made Daniels a major recruiting target for several college programs. Daniels has seven offers, and he’s looking to earn more as the spring season progresses.
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After garnering new interest last week, Elijah Lee (Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs) has fielded a couple of questions about his commitment to Kansas State. The three-star outside linebacker committed to the Wildcats on March 26, but he’s landed two Big Ten offers since then that have made him further weigh his options in the recruiting game.
For those wondering if Kansas State is in jeopardy of losing him, Lee is the first to squash any potential rumors.
For those wondering if Kansas State is in jeopardy of losing him, Lee is the first to squash any potential rumors.
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Of all the Big 12 schools, Iowa State watched its recruiting for 2014 start out the gate the slowest. Saturday afternoon, the Cyclones picked up a sleeper who could be an asset to the growth of the class.
Cornerback De’Monte Ruth (Dallas/Wilmer-Hutchins) committed to Iowa State and joined four-star receiver Allen Lazard (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) in the 2014 class. Ruth, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back, chose Iowa State over an offer from Sam Houston State.
Cornerback De’Monte Ruth (Dallas/Wilmer-Hutchins) committed to Iowa State and joined four-star receiver Allen Lazard (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) in the 2014 class. Ruth, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back, chose Iowa State over an offer from Sam Houston State.
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Conner Dyer (Mesquite, Texas/Horn) is hoping the events of this week makes for a pleasant trend.
On Monday, the 2015 offensive tackle was without an offer. On Tuesday, Dyer landed his first offer from TCU. On Wednesday, Dyer scored his second offer from Texas Tech.
Will Thursday follow suit with Dyer’s third offer? Or third and a fourth? Or something along those lines?
On Monday, the 2015 offensive tackle was without an offer. On Tuesday, Dyer landed his first offer from TCU. On Wednesday, Dyer scored his second offer from Texas Tech.
Will Thursday follow suit with Dyer’s third offer? Or third and a fourth? Or something along those lines?
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Baylor picked up another commitment Wednesday afternoon, and in turn the Bears might have landed a player who can provide instant help on the offensive line for the 2014 season.
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Coach: Baylor a good spot for President 
April, 29, 2013
Apr 29
10:48
PM ET
By
Damon Sayles | ESPN.com
Temple (Texas) High School coach Mike Spradlin can go on for days about 2015 athlete Chad President. At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, President can line up at quarterback or wide receiver and be extremely comfortable on the field, so rambling about President can be fairly simple for Spradlin.
On Monday, President decided that he would take his talents to Baylor, and despite him being only a sophomore, it was a decision Spradlin fully supported. President became the first Baylor commitment of the 2015 class and chose the Bears over offers from Texas and Texas Tech.
Spradlin said President’s decision ultimately came down to Baylor and Texas. Spradlin also said President is expected to play quarterback.
On Monday, President decided that he would take his talents to Baylor, and despite him being only a sophomore, it was a decision Spradlin fully supported. President became the first Baylor commitment of the 2015 class and chose the Bears over offers from Texas and Texas Tech.
Spradlin said President’s decision ultimately came down to Baylor and Texas. Spradlin also said President is expected to play quarterback.
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Texas has been a recruiting hot spot for Kansas State for years, and on Saturday -- immediately following the school's spring game -- the Wildcats added one more Texan to their recruiting resume.
Linebacker Sam Sizelove (Argyle, Texas/Argyle) gave the Kansas State coaching staff his commitment Saturday afternoon. He became the sixth reported commitment for the Wildcats and the third player from the Lone Star State to commit to the reigning Big 12 co-champion.
Linebacker Sam Sizelove (Argyle, Texas/Argyle) gave the Kansas State coaching staff his commitment Saturday afternoon. He became the sixth reported commitment for the Wildcats and the third player from the Lone Star State to commit to the reigning Big 12 co-champion.
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Running back Auston Anderson (Plano, Texas/Plano West) is inching closer to 20 offers. He’s a player who rushed for 1,156 yards and 13 touchdowns -- all while sharing the rushing load with 2015 running back Soso Jamabo and 2013 quarterback Travis Korry -- and he’s someone looking to show last year was just the start of something spectacular.
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RECRUITING NATION MIDLANDS COVERAGE
The Midlands Region consists of the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and
Texas and is where Big 12 programs make a living recruiting. However, with the deep talent pool in the Lone Star State, teams from all over the country flock to the Midlands to find players.
More RecruitingNation blogs
RecruitingNation has the latest recruiting news from across the country:
• On The Trail
• East Region blog
• Midwest Region blog
• Southeast Region blog
• West Region blog
MIDLANDS RECRUITING CONTRIBUTORS
Sam KhanESPN Archive |
Max OlsonESPN Archive |
Bob PrzybyloESPN Archive |
Damon SaylesESPN Archive |
Mitch ShermanESPN Archive |
William WilkersonESPN Archive |
