Underdogs - New Article on Rivals

[me@smu]

They're the "underdogs" and they rarely get the national spotlight shining down on them in the world of recruiting. However, several of those teams are heading into the fall with top prospects on board that experts believed wouldn't be possible to land.

Three-star athlete Billy Chavis became the next top Texas prospect to give Baylor his commitment.
Whether they're in a major conference or considered a mid-major team, numerous under-the-radar schools have tapped into early recruiting success with highly ranked players along with the chance to land even more. That starts with Baylor, a school that has consistently ranked dead last in the conference with their last five recruiting classes.

Things are changing.

This weekend two more Texas top 100 prospects, Billy Chavis and John Jones pulled the trigger and jumped on board with the Bears. Apparently Chavis knows that, like himself, several top prospects "shocked" experts with his pledge to Baylor.

"Me being a top national recruit, I know, and for me to commit to Baylor, there's a lot of coaches that are like 'what's going on?'" Chavis said. "I'm not concerned about what somebody else is going to say. It's my decision, my deal, and I feel real good about it."

The same surprising effect happened when other top recruits like high rated offensive linemen Courtney Green and Lonnie Edwards pulled the trigger early on for the Bears. Both have said they're solid and turned down numerous offers from inside and outside the Big 12 conference.

One "shocking" stat is that the Bears have already received commitments from nine prospects already rated at least three stars. That's one away from last year's total of 10 when they're class totaled 29 total signees.

While Baylor has received a lot of attention about their early class, the small group that TCU has put together so far shouldn't be ignored. Not only did they receive an early commitment from sleeper running back Jai Cavness but have recently added four-star Jeremy Kerley and highly rated safety Tejay Johnson.

Tejay Johnson was yet another top in-state target that TCU has landed in the last week. While many thought Kerley was headed to Texas A&M, he surprised several by turning down numerous scholarship offers within the region to commit to the Horned Frogs.

Comfort level and academics played a huge role. Now, he could visit other schools, but apparently the TCU coaching staff did an excellent job recruiting Kerley against big competition.

If that wasn't enough, Saturday after a camp visit, three-star safety Johnson decided he was going to stay in the Metroplex and go to TCU. Despite receiving offers from schools such as Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Arizona State, and Wisconsin, Johnson is as solid as a rock.

His ability to come in and play early was a big factor but also staying close to home helped. Being smack in the middle of prime recruiting territory obviously continues to help the Frogs build their program.

Also, the days of them just taking "sleepers" apparently has ended. No longer is a TCU offer going unnoticed and it's probably going to a guy that people need to take a second look at during evaluation.

Prospects like Jeff Olson were virtually unknown but the Frogs staff got involved very early. The fastest rising prospect in the state, Dallas defensive end Sam Acho, received one of his first offers from TCU and is yet prospect that shows how underrated the TCU staff is in regards to strong evaluation.

Sam Acho received early interest from TCU before others came along.
SMU and UTEP are two other schools that haven't been getting a ton of respect. Between last year and the current class, they're earning it by making national headlines of their own with some top prospects.

Last year, the Mustangs raised eyebrows picking up three-star Oklahoma City athlete Bryan McCann and nationally recruited Texan Phillip Burley. This year, three-star offensive lineman Josh LeRibeus turned down a host of scholarship offers from each coast to commit to SMU.

The Miners did some quality evaluation of their own last year picking up three-star tight end Jonny Moore, defensive end Robert Williams, and running back Donald Buckram.

The 2007 class obviously has kept the wave going in El Paso.

UTEP landed one of their biggest prospects in the last three classes with California signal caller Chasen Stangel jumping on board with the Miners. Stangel held scholarship offers from New Mexico, Purdue, SMU, Wyoming and several other programs.

Stangel turned down several offers because no school "impressed" him more than UTEP. The heavy recruitment and wide open offense obviously was a perfect fit for the California prospect.

Rice is another under the radar team that has benefited from a new energetic coaching staff with an aggressive approach. Landing three-star quarterback Nathan [deleted] certainly had a lot to do with quarterback coach Major Applewhite and a more wide open offense. However, credit is due to the high academic standard and early playing opportunity as well.

Whether it's tapping into a backyard talent pool, new schemes, or just a more aggressive approach than in year's past, all of these teams are making their presence felt despite recruiting a state that has big time competition.

Also, several schools like Baylor are bringing their classes to a close and don't be surprised if they finish out just as strong as they started.

[Stallion]

when did we hand over the keys to the City to TCU in recruiting?

[me@smu]

Huh?

This is some good pub about our recruiting class last year and the start of it this year. Considering all the negativity surrounding our recruits, it is nice to see Rivals stand up and take notice that we have been landing some solid recruits.

Keep up the good work PB!!

[Stallion]

there is nothing worse than a recruiting service patronizing the stragglers in the back. In case you can't read between the lines Baylor is kicking [deleted] with its best recruiting class in about 15 years. Meanwhile TCU committed yet another top eastern Metroplex prospect TeeJay Johnson from Garland. TCU owns SMU in its backyard over the last 3 years. The other schools are being patronized.

[me@smu]

Thanks for clarifying that the article says Baylor is having a good year...I missed the whole first half of the article. And care to argue that TCU has infact dominated recruiting when compared to us over the past three years? Those are facts...

However, seriously sometimes the glass can be half full. How can do you read negativity into a statement about us finally earning some respect on a national level by securing some solid recruits? You think people in oklahoma weren't shocked that Bryann McCann signed with us? You think people weren't suprised that Josh LeRibeus committed to us? Sometimes a statement can simply be what it sounds like; a compliment on a couple of good wins by Bennett and crew.

[PonySoprano]

TCU owns SMU in its backyard over the last 3 years.

Hasn't this been the case for more than just the past three years? In fact, I would assume this has been the case since 1988. Why are you just pointing out the last three years?