Marley Cook

Now that December is finally here and the transfer portal is set to open tomorrow, we can start tracking things this offseason. This thread will be posted weekly and I will be updating it with key notes or information that I gather.Transfer Portal RecruitingOffersWR, Cyrus Allen, Louisiana Tech WR, Ja'Mori Maclin, North Texas WR, Winston Wright Jr., Florida StateOL, Keyshawn Blackstock, Michigan State - Committed to ArkansasOL, Sterling Porcher, Mid Tennessee StateOL, Remington Strickland, Texas A&MDL, Marley Cook, Mid Tennessee StateNT, Chubba Maae, UC DavisOLB, Obi Ezeigbo, Gannon (D2)LB, Bangally Kamara, PittLB, Chris Paul Jr., Arkansas - Committed to Ole MissLB, Leon Lowery Jr., Syracuse - Committed to WisconsinLB, Ethan Barr, VanderbiltLB, Cooper McDonald, San Diego StateLB, Sam Brumfield, Mid Tennessee StateS, Trikweze Bridges, OregonHigh School RecruitingBaylor has 13 commits in the 2024 class after the decommitment of Bo Tate today. All are set to sign on Early National Signing Day a little later this month. I have confirmed that five of them will be enrolling early for the spring. That list includes: Nate Bennett, Brock Jackson, Koltin Sieracki, Kyland Reed, and Jadon Porter.Scholarship SituationStill working on gathering all of the players who commit to stay or announce leaving plus the one's who enter the portal tomorrow. I will update this as often as I can once guys officially enter the portal tomorrow.Announced Staying: 64Announced Transferring/Leaving: 7TE Drake DabneyOL George MaileOL Elijah EllisOL Connor Heffernan (retiring)OL Tate Williams (retiring)QB Blake Shapen S Alfonzo AllenOutstanding Decisions: 3OL Gavin ByersWR Javon GipsonRB Dom Richardson12/3 10:21PM Syracuse LB Leon Lowery committed to Wisconsin following his official visit. I have not confirmed if he will cancel his Oregon State and Baylor one's over the next couple weekends. My hunch at this time is that he will cancel those. Still very likely that December 15th date is a big recruiting weekend for Baylor and hopefully this next weekend will also be.Baylor offered San Diego State linebacker Cooper McDonald today. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound prospect has posted 83 tackles, nine for loss, and 3.5 sacks over the past two seasons. He is also from Texas (Justin/Northwest HS) and was recruited by Baylor some when he decided to transfer from Washington to San Diego State. Lots of transfers still being evaluated and it is also important to note that not all transfers post their offers. It has gotten better so far this year but some still won't so there is the possibility of others having offers. I will try my best to post guys who may have interest here but if not should get them out before a visit occurs.2024 RB commit Joseph Dodds posted 228 yards and 3 TDs on 39 carries, he also added 90 yards and a TD receiving in a 34-28 2OT win over Poth in the 3A Division II Regional Finals.12/4 11:25 amBaylor offers Vanderbilt LB Ethan Barr. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound prospect originally out of Flower Mound (TX) Marcus has totaled 219 tackles, seven for loss, one sack, and three interceptions over his four years at Vandy.12/4 1:08 PMSyracuse LB Leon Lowery has decommitted from Wisconsin after committing there yesterday. So it appears that his official visit will still happen on December 15th.12/4 1:12 PMAccording to various sources, Baylor has reached out to Central Michigan QB Jase Bauer and NC State QB MJ Morris. No offer extended yet.12/4 2:00 PMBaylor offers Louisiana Tech wide receiver Cyrus Allen. The 6-foot-0, 180-pound prospect posted 778 yards and four touchdowns this past season. He has two years of eligibility remaining.12/4 2:15 PMBaylor offers North Texas transfer wide receiver Ja'Mori Maclin. The 5-foot-11, 183-pound prospect totaled 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 57 receptions this past season.The staff is attacking the transfer portal right now and wide receiver is an area of emphasis as I have mentioned. Two wide receiver offers have gone out already today. They are finding scheme fits for this new Air Raid/Spread offense.12/4 3:15 PMBaylor offered Arkansas linebacker Chris Paul Jr. The 6-foot-1, 240-pound prospect posted 74 tackles, 6.5 for loss, and two sacks this past season to go along with his 62 tackles, eight for loss, and four sacks as a freshman.12/4 3:39 PMHearing that Syracuse LB Leon Lowery has moved up his official visit to this weekend from the 15th. Baylor is definitely in this one and clearly made him a priority which makes sense why sources are saying he decommitted from Wisconsin right after committing.12/4 4:30The coaches will be on the road this week to visit all the commits in the 2024 and 2025 classes. There is even a chance Jake Spavital makes it all the way to California to visit with Nate Bennett. This will be something to keep an eye on as they will also visit priority targets to finish out the 2024 class and continue the hot start on the 2025 class.12/4 6:30 PMI am expecting Middle Tennessee State defensive lineman Marley Cook to take an official visit to Baylor at some point during the next two weekends with this weekend being the most likely. Ohio State and Miami are trying to solidify visits as well.The 6-foot-2, 300-pound prospect has totaled 57 tackles, 19 for loss, and 10.5 sacks over the past three seasons. Since entering the transfer portal he has added offers from: Ohio State, Tennessee, Cal, Baylor, TCU, Kansas, Louisville, Boston College, Miami, Missouri, Liberty, UConn, Houston, Ole Miss, Pitt and Oregon State.12/4 10:03 pm CTSyracuse LB transfer Leon Lowery will be on campus Friday for his official visit. Middle Tennessee State DT Marley Cook will be on campus Thursday for his official visit.12/4 10:57 PMMiddle Tennessee State defensive lineman Marley Cook will have an in-home visit with the staff before heading to Waco for his official visit on Thursday.Also Jake Spavital was at Columbus High School with Shawn Bell to see 2025 commit Adam Schobel.12/5 9:18 AMNortheast Mississippi C.C linebacker Keaton Thomas will take his Baylor official visit this weekend.12/5 9:54 AMOfficial Visitor List for this WeekendComanche CB Kyler Beaty (Commit)Northeast Mississippi C.C LB Keaton Thomas Middle Tennessee State DL Marley Cook (Thursday-Saturday)Syracuse LB Leon Lowery Jr.12/6 9:25 AMMiddle Tennessee State defensive lineman Marley Cook had an in-home visit with Baylor defensive line coach Dennis Johnson last night. Everything seems to have gone well and he is still set to take his official visit starting tomorrow. He is my top transfer portal prospect who Baylor has offered so far.Also I have put in a prediction for JUCO linebacker Keaton Thomas who will be visiting this weekend on and official visit.12/6 10:33 AMKeep an eye on Vanderbilt QB AJ Swann, he is definitely one who the staff is evaluating and have some interest in. In 15 games the past two seasons he has posted 2,731 yards with 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has completed 56% of his passes. The 6-foot-3, 228-pound prospect had a breakout true freshman season before dealing with an elbow injury as a sophomore which caused him to only play in six games.12/6 11:23 AMBaylor has offered Oregon safety transfer Trikweze Bridges (6-3, 198). Played high school ball in Alabama, totaled 90 tackles, 4 INT and 9 PBU in his career at Oregon. One year of eligibility remaining. He played under Baylor DC Matt Powledge in the 2022 season. The two have a really strong relationship.12/6 5:23 PMBaylor has offered UC Davis nose tackle Chubba Maae out of the transfer portal. The 6-foot-2, 347-pound prospect has been a Big Sky All Conference player twice in his career. He has 59 tackles, eight for loss, and two sacks in his career. Dennis Johnson called to offer him this afternoon after initial contact was made this morning. Houston and Arizona have offered him.12/6 9:19 PMLook for Valdosta State OL Michael Marotta to take an official visit next week to Baylor. He doesn't hold an offer yet but has been in contact with the staff and is waiting on deeper conversations to get the visit scheduled. He has received notable offers from San Diego State, Texas Tech, UCF, and will visit UCF this weekend.Also on the OL, keep an eye on Texas A&M transfer Remington Strickland. He's picking up a lot of steam on the trail, and I'm expecting he's in similar path as Marotta as to setting up a visit. Strickland has a ton of attention and offers but his dad is a Baylor alum. Florida State WR Winston Wright is in conversations with the staff about taking a visit. Since picking up Baylor offer he has received offers from NC State, Northwestern and Mississippi State.12/7 12:02 PMVanderbilt quarterback AJ Swann is planning to take an official visit to Baylor and has been in contact with Jake Spavital who was in Nashville this week. No offer has been extended but it is rare for the staff to bring in transfers for visits who they don't want. Definitely something to keep an eye on and I will update as I hear more.12/7 1:08 PMSyracuse LB Leon Lowery Jr. is no longer taking an official visit to Baylor. I believe this was a decision on Baylor's end.12/7 1:39 PMLots of moving parts right now heading into the weekend. Currently the only official visitor on campus is Middle Tennessee State defensive lineman Marley Cook who will be at Baylor till Saturday. The rest of the group will arrive on Friday and stay till Sunday. The staff is working hard on getting a list together as they need to sort through priorities and make sure they can get as many priority prospects on campus the next two weekends as possible while being efficient. Keep in mind guys are still entering the portal so it makes this pretty tough as your priorities can change daily. The only names confirmed so far are Comanche CB commit Kyler Beaty and Northeast Mississippi C.C JUCO LB Keaton Thomas. I am expecting this list to grow as today ends and early tomorrow. I will keep y'all updated but things are going to move and change quickly over the next couple weekends.12/8 9:46 AMMiddle Tennessee State DL Marley Cook did not make it to Waco yesterday for his scheduled official visit. In fact, he has put all of his visits on pause for now, including Ohio State and Miami, the other two programs in his top three. Why? It's convoluted reasoning and I haven't received a straight answer from his group. The good news is that a visit to Baylor is not off the table.Opinion: If taking a visit to Baylor or not was left up to him, it wouldn't have been cancelled. Does that mean it was those around him? Could. This is the same group who represented Leon Lowery and his fiasco that resulted in him committing to Wisconsin, decommitting within 24 hours, and then ultimately recommitting.Does that mean Baylor hit pause? It could. Grayson mentioned in one of his updates that there were a lot of moving pieces for this weekend, but obviously Baylor isn't confirming anything with us to get a definite answer. But it is what it is now and Baylor will look to get that trip back on.12/8 11:00 AMBaylor has offered Pitt transfer linebacker Bangally Kamara. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound prospect posted 55 tackles, 6.5 for loss, two sacks, and five QB hurries in 10 games played this season. In 2022 he totaled 49 tackles, three for loss, one sack, and eight pass breakups. He has played both the STAR and MONEY positions in the Pitt defense.UCF, Michigan State, Houston, Kansas, and Mississippi State have all offered. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Very versatile prospect, physical playmaker, strong pass rusher, and good in coverage. He would be a tremendous addition.12/8 11:07 AMVanderbilt transfer LB Ethan Barr is set to arrive on Baylor's campus Sunday for an official visit. He has added offers from Cincy, Houston, Washington, and UCF since entering the portal. He has one season of eligibility remaining.12/8 11:12 AMUC Davis nose tackle Chubba Maae is taking an official visit to Arizona this weekend but is looking to set an official visit to Baylor some time next week. I will have more in an article once I get the exact date set.12/8 2:45 PMBaylor QB commit Nate Bennett had some quotes on Jake Spavital and his in-home visit with Shawn Bell. I will have more reactions from the in-home visits over the next week.On Spavital"Yes I have talked to him! We both communicated how excited we were to get to work at Baylor! I believe in his vision and he believes in me. Exciting times." "I know he wants to spread it out and go up tempo. Which me and him believe fits how I play well. He likes how I spin it. I'm just ready to get there and learn he basics and what I need to do."On In-home visit with Shawn Bell, his lead recruiter."Visit was awesome. Always love seeing Coach Shawn Bell. He was just answering any questions my family had and honestly most of it was just hanging out as we are super close with him. Spavital couldn't make it, but I've been talking with him."12/8 03:04 PMThe Baylor staff is spreading out the official visits as you can tell with Ethan Barr arriving on Sunday. There will be more who show up for official visits during the week and of course on the weekend as well. Just keep an eye on this as there are tons of moving parts to go along with a lot of shifts in priorities as they get to know prospects and new prospects enter the portal. These things change quickly as we saw with Marley Cook and Leon Lowery. There will likely be more of that with the flexible visit schedule coming up over the next week or so.