37 Days till Kickoff: Baylor’s #37 Mark Milton
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Mark Milton is a fifth-year senior cornerback from Houston, Texas. Depending on if he uses his extra year of Covid eligibility, Milton could return in 2023 for the Bears. Baylor’s website has him listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds.
With Jalen Pitre, Kalon Barnes, JT Woods, and Jairon McVea all heading to the NFL, the defensive backfield remains somewhat of a question heading into 2022 for BU. It’s believed Al Walcott will replace Pitre at the STAR position, which would lead to Mark Milton being the most experienced cornerback on the roster.
Our own Travis Roeder wrote a piece on the Baylor cornerbacks detailing that Milton was the “quintessential Matt Rhule recruit” — long and very fast. He played receiver in high school, and it took him a few years to get acclimated to the cornerback position. But he has vastly improved over his fours in Waco, and Travis says, “at worst, I think Milton is an average-ish Big 12 corner who has some lapses but retains great athleticism. At best, he’s a fringe All-Big 12 guy who becomes a complete corner. Something in the middle is most likely.”
As a junior in 2021, Milton played in all fourteen games and recorded two starts. He finished twelfth on the team with 26-tackles while also totaling two pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He started against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game and had six tackles. He also had four tackles and a pass breakup in the Sugar Bowl victory over Ole Miss.
The Houston native saw his playing time increase in 2020. He started three of the eight games he appeared in and saw career highs in tackles (17), pass breakups (2), and TFLs (1.5). Against Texas, Milton had his best statistical game of the season, recording four tackles, a TFL, and a PBU.
As a redshirt freshman in 2019, Milton appeared in all fourteen games and finished the year with seven tackles and one pass breakup. He forced his first career fumble in the loss against Oklahoma.
Coming out of Clear Brooke High School, Milton played both ways as a senior. He recorded 52 tackles, two TFLs, an interception, plus four receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He was a three-star recruit, the No. 114 player in Texas, and the No. 72 athlete nationally according to 247. He committed to Matt Rhule and Baylor in the class of 2018 over Missouri, Virginia, and Minnesota. After arriving on campus, Milton redshirted the 2018 season.