Baylor's defensive development will force top defensive prospect to take note

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Matt Rhule said during his introductory press conference at Baylor that he was bringing Phil Snow and the No. 3-ranked defense nationally with him from Temple. Many people inside and outside of Waco scoffed at the notion, believing that was not possible in the Big 12 and specifically at Baylor.

Gary Patterson at TCU has been the only defensive coordinator to consistently field a defense that made the offensive minded head coaches of the Big 12 worry. Patterson did and continues to stymie to many of his opponents, but in a conference stereotyped as lacking defense for most of the decade, there was no reason to believe another defense could emerge. Though Iowa State made some waves with their three-man front, it had never allowed them to compete for Big 12 Championship

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Less than three calendar years after making that statement, Rhule’s defense is the best and most consistent defense in the league. On Saturday the Bears held Tom Herman’s Texas offense to 10 points, seven of which came with one second remaining on the clock. That was an offense that had been averaging 33.5 points per game against Power 5 opponents this season, including 38 against No. 1 LSU. 

The Bears have allowed just 5.9 points in first halves of Big 12 games this year, including holding a potent Oklahoma offense to 10 points. The Bears have held six of their eight Big 12 opponents without a touchdown in the first half, allowing first half touchdowns to only Oklahoma State and the Sooners. 

Including five total overtime periods against Texas Tech and TCU, the Bears are best in the Big 12 giving up just 21.4 points per game in Big 12 play. In regulation play the Bears are allowing 18.4 points per game, the best in the Big 12 by an even 7.0 points over Kansas State’s 25.4. No other Big 12 team has played an overtime game this fall. 

Additionally, the Bears are No. 1 in yards per play (5.05), turnovers forced (19), turnover margin (+7), tackles for loss (60.0), sacks (29.0) and passer rating (118.2). 

And that is all while still recovering from a depleted roster and developing the defensive depth needed while recruiting prospects who fit the preference of Rhule, Snow and the rest of the defensive staff. 

Rhule said after Baylor’s victory over Texas that player development and hard working players are the key to being this far ahead of schedule as a team. But for a program that hasn’t seen a defense this good for three decades or more, there is more to it than that.

“I'll say this to you,” Rhule said. “Recruiting is not ranking. Recruiting is not what people say it is. Recruiting is finding players that can play, develop them, put them in the right position.”

Baylor’s 2019 roster has a total of 13 four-star players according to 247Sports Team Talent Composite. Oklahoma (50) and Texas (46) lead the way in the league with the blue chips, each program having significantly more four-star or higher prospects than any other program in the Big 12.

But as Rhule said, there isn’t a big concern about the rankings of players on their staff from industries like Rivals, ESPN and 247Sports. The key is finding prospects who fit a certain set of criteria that is identified by the Baylor staff that might not always be accounted for in a players numerical ranking.

“I will say this,” Rhule said. “We knew what we were doing recruiting. We find good players. We got a lot of good players.”

“We have good players. Will have good players for years to come. It's about getting the right good players, guys that want the grind, want to work. We have those kind of kids.”

So as Baylor takes their recruiting out of neutral for 2020 as we enter the month of December, remember that their is a formula that’s being solved as prospects are being evaluated.

And to be frank, prospects need to start using the Baylor variable in their own personal decision formula if they want to see their ability maximized.