Baylor's New Recruiting Closer: A Reinvigorated NIL Program
Just under two weeks ago in Las Vegas at Big 12 Media Days when asked about winning a handful of recent recruiting battles, head coach Dave Aranda told 365 Sports ever so poignantly, “We’re paying players.”
Prior to that statement, Baylor had recently landed a commitment from defensive lineman Kamauryn Morgan, a highly regarded four-star prospect with a composite ranking over 92.
Following Media Days, the Bears added two more four-star prospects in Red Oak wide receiver Taz Williams and Richland running back Michael Turner. Turner supplanted Morgan as the highest-ranked prospect in the class with a composite of 93.14. Williams holds 50 offers from around the country.
On Monday, Aranda spoke more about Baylor’s hot stretch on the recruiting trail at the Texas High School Coach’s Association Convention in San Antonio.
“The ability to pick some of these fights that we’re picking, in terms of recruiting, ties back to the fact that we have the ability to close it out now,” Aranda said to the media in attendance.
“In the past, we’d been battling and fighting but unable to finish. Now, we have the ability to close it out and win some of these big recruiting battles because we have the NIL money that can back us up.”
As Colt Barber and Grayson Grundhoefer have reported on SicEm365, it’s not that Baylor is money-whipping prospects per se; it’s more so the fact that the Bears are now making competitive NIL offers to high school recruits on par with other similar programs across the state and conference – something that hasn’t been the case during the new NIL era.
Aside from the change in the program’s NIL principles, Baylor’s uptick in recruiting can also be directly traced to running backs coach Khenon Hall and wide receivers coach Dallas Baker. Hall, who was hired from SMU in December, and Baker are ranked as the No. 1 and No. 2 recruiters in the Big 12, per 247Sports.
“Khenon [Hall] has been great,” Aranda said. “He brings a lot of energy and enthusiasm. He brings a really strong work ethic and wants to win. He gets into [recruiting] battles and wants to close and finish the battles. When I think of Khenon, I also think of Dallas Baker getting into recruiting battles and winning his.”
Despite coming off a three-win season and Aranda’s job being in jeopardy heading into the fall, the Bears' recent success on the recruiting trail is the most they’ve had since 2018 under former head coach Matt Rhule. Aranda, however, understands the magnitude of expectations this season and knows how crucial winning will be this year.
“You have to have the resources to go out and build your brand and find kids that match [your program], but without winning, it’s an empty deal because the kids are going to want to know that you can make the playoff and be competitive in the playoff,” he said.
“Right now with Baylor, we’ve got a chip on our shoulder, and we have an outsider-type-of-thing going on, which is cool to see. But that has to be validated come this season on the field.”
Before Aranda and the Bears look to return to winning ways against Tarleton State in the season opener on Saturday, August 31, at McLane Stadium, Baylor will open its fall camp on Thursday, August 1.