Update: Four-star defensive lineman reacts to Baylor official visit
Baylor has landed a commitment from 2020 safety Devin Neal out of Lexington, Kentucky. The one-time Cincinnati pledge took an official visit to Baylor over the weekend and opted to sign with the Bears instead.
“The place overall is great and especially the coaches,” Neal said. “Coach (Matt) Rhule and Coach (Phil) Snow have a great plan that I like and it’s much bigger than football. They are raising successful young men and that’s what I’m seeking.”
2020 BAYLOR FOOTBALL COMMITMENT LIST
One of the major factors in his decision was the family atmosphere he was able to see firsthand.
“The loyalty that everyone has there,” Neal said. “There is a lot a lot of ex-Baylor players that are coaches for them and that’s a really great thing to see. Because to me it shows how tight that Baylor family is and that they help their own.”
An under recruited athlete prospect, Neal is being recruited as a safety by the Baylor coaching staff and is the prototype prospect for Phil Snow’s defensive scheme.
At 6-foot-0 and 190 pounds, Neal ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash, jumped a 39.2 inch vertical, and posted a 4.28-second shuttle time at The Opening Regional in Nashville in the spring. His 119.25 SPARQ score was one of the best in the country for the 2020 class.
Neal picked up an offer from the Baylor coaching staff back at the end of November.
BaylorLit 01 said:
so right now our top 5 are better than Kansas and K State, on par with Iowa State and Texas Tech, and behind the rest.
OU is understandable as they've beaten us most years over the past decade.BaylorLit 01 said:
We're both Baylor fans. I'm thrilled with the coaches and believe in them, but I think about what they've done with 3-star players and imagine what they could do with 4-star players.
They invited commits and 4-star players to the OV last weekend. For the OU and Texas games, Rhule was proud of the number of 4-star players at the games. The coaches want these players.
But for whatever reason, it doesn't appear that our 11-2 season has changed the recruiting landscape like they thought it would. They held off on recruiting and thought a great season would improve their pull for these blue chip players, but it has barely moved the needle. Kids like Hornsby where Baylor seems to be their logical choice are still unconvinced and opting to wait and hope for more options.
I'm just disappointed that Baylor getting a NY6 bowl and nearly making the Playoffs hasn't had a bigger effect on our recruiting to this point. We're still getting slow played by kids that would immediately jump on a Texas or OU offer.
BaylorLit 01 said:
We're both Baylor fans. I'm thrilled with the coaches and believe in them, but I think about what they've done with 3-star players and imagine what they could do with 4-star players.
They invited commits and 4-star players to the OV last weekend. For the OU and Texas games, Rhule was proud of the number of 4-star players at the games. The coaches want these players.
But for whatever reason, it doesn't appear that our 11-2 season has changed the recruiting landscape like they thought it would. They held off on recruiting and thought a great season would improve their pull for these blue chip players, but it has barely moved the needle. Kids like Hornsby where Baylor seems to be their logical choice are still unconvinced and opting to wait and hope for more options.
I'm just disappointed that Baylor getting a NY6 bowl and nearly making the Playoffs hasn't had a bigger effect on our recruiting to this point. We're still getting slow played by kids that would immediately jump on a Texas or OU offer.
