This puts Baylor in the top 15 classes for 2025. Lots of time for things to change and we know these things are fluid. But still CRAZY considering coming off of last years record.

He's our 3rd 4 star in the class…with others still out there. This staff needs to prove they can pile up the W's on the field, but they are killing it on the recruiting trail so far.

Cautious optimism ensues.

Getting them to actually sign their letter of intent is the other half of the battle. Baylor seems to have upped NIL a bit and hired better recruiters in Spavital and the new running backs coach

So what's the difference in the old-vs-new on our NIL?

Do we still give free cupcakes and gut packs?

No Quarterback said:

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Getting them to actually sign their letter of intent is the other half of the battle. Baylor seems to have upped NIL a bit and hired better recruiters in Spavital and the new running backs coach

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Getting them to sign is true for every school…but you have to have a top 15 team for schools to want your talent to begin with for it to be a problem. Hopefully you hold a few and steal a few.

Too little too late. Class will fall apart once Aranda is canned in late November of this year. Undoubtedly, halfway through the season the staff and admin will point to the strong recruiting class as a reason to keep the faith, but you don't get to make that plea in year 5. 7 wins or bust.

guadalupeoso said:

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Too little too late. Class will fall apart once Aranda is canned in late November of this year. Undoubtedly, halfway through the season the staff and admin will point to the strong recruiting class as a reason to keep the faith, but you don't get to make that plea in year 5. 7 wins or bust.

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This is my hunch, and I already see the narrative being set by the crew that wants to keep him, for whatever their reasons. "Oh this is going to be such a hard schedule, five wins would be a sign of vast improvement. Remember, even Saban had down years!" etc.

guadalupeoso said:

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Too little too late. Class will fall apart once Aranda is canned in late November of this year. Undoubtedly, halfway through the season the staff and admin will point to the strong recruiting class as a reason to keep the faith, but you don't get to make that plea in year 5. 7 wins or bust.

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Which makes this all the more surprising that we are getting these pledges from these elite athletes. These recruits know he's on the hot seat.

Dman said:

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guadalupeoso said:

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Too little too late. Class will fall apart once Aranda is canned in late November of this year. Undoubtedly, halfway through the season the staff and admin will point to the strong recruiting class as a reason to keep the faith, but you don't get to make that plea in year 5. 7 wins or bust.

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Which makes this all the more surprising that we are getting these pledges from these elite athletes. These recruits know he's on the hot seat.

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I sometimes wonder how much these "pledges" are really just a bargaining chip for other teams to sweeten the NIL pot. And i'm not generally a cynic when it comes to NIL. It's all fair game, it is what it is. But it feels like commitments mean even less than they did 5 years ago, and they didn't mean much then.

guadalupeoso said:

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Too little too late. Class will fall apart once Aranda is canned in late November of this year. Undoubtedly, halfway through the season the staff and admin will point to the strong recruiting class as a reason to keep the faith, but you don't get to make that plea in year 5. 7 wins or bust.

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I agree...where was this sense of urgency to make changes to win last year after going 6-7 and getting embarrassed by Air Force the bowl game? Funny how motivated people get when they know they are on the hot seat.

It's never meant much. Last second flips have been happening for years. The bright side is since when are we in the top 15 of recruiting? Practically never. At least we're swinging. Sneak in 8 wins and maybe we can be knocking on 25.

boykin_spaniel said:

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It's never meant much. Last second flips have been happening for years. The bright side is since when are we in the top 15 of recruiting? Practically never. At least we're swinging. Sneak in 8 wins and maybe we can be knocking on 25.

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I agree with you, if we win enough games, then this is a great effort from the staff. The problem is that I think it will be completely meaningless if we don't get to 6-8 wins because if we are sitting at 4 wins come late November with a few late game collapses sprinkled in, then I think Aranda is gone and the class we've built will fall apart.

I have to think this is Aranda's new approach to NIL and the coaching additions. Whatever it is I like it!

Will be meaningful only with wins. Appreciate all the effort lately. Where was this after the Suger Bowl? It appears now Baylor leadership I
is concerned about being blamed for a wrong hire. Tired of hearing about the defensive genius. What we have seen the past 2 years is hardly genius or elite. Can this change? Only with wins. Is a 7 win season coming. I have a low confidence level. If it happens I will be the first with congrats. If we start 1-5 or 2-4 I'm sure leadership will encourage us to just hang in there but the lack of Alum support will call for a change. Sorry Dave, Mack and Linda were so tone deaf 2 years ago.

I'm an optimist who enters every season thinking the Big12 title is a possibility. Can't not do it. The wiring of an optimists brain. But you are correct a repeat of last year will crush the class as Aranda will be gone, so let's hope this staff figures it out and gets back to winning on the field so they can keep winning on the trail

I think I might've had a stroke reading this

guadalupeoso said:

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Dman said:

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guadalupeoso said:

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Too little too late. Class will fall apart once Aranda is canned in late November of this year. Undoubtedly, halfway through the season the staff and admin will point to the strong recruiting class as a reason to keep the faith, but you don't get to make that plea in year 5. 7 wins or bust.

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Which makes this all the more surprising that we are getting these pledges from these elite athletes. These recruits know he's on the hot seat.

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I sometimes wonder how much these "pledges" are really just a bargaining chip for other teams to sweeten the NIL pot. And i'm not generally a cynic when it comes to NIL. It's all fair game, it is what it is. But it feels like commitments mean even less than they did 5 years ago, and they didn't mean much then.

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Partly for the reasons you mentioned, I stopped following pledges / verbals over a decade ago. All I care about is who actually gets to campus.