Feb. 7, 2002

Head football coach Kevin Steele sat down Thursday afternoon and answered questions from fans online. The following is a transcript of the chat session.

For archived transcripts of earlier chats, click here.

Benny in Houston: Coach Steele, thanks to you and your staff for the countless hours on the road away form your families and behind the scenes working your tails off for the program during the "off-season." Can you comment on the 2 remaining scholarships (specifically Mr. Baksas)? Anxious to see the product on the field this Fall. Y'all still have a lot of supporters out there!

Kevin Steele: Thanks for your support. At this time we cannot comment on any other remaining prospects.

Billy (TN): Coach, how difficult do you find it to compete in the recruiting scene being in the same state as traditional powerhouses Texas and Texas A&M?

Kevin Steele: Recruiting is difficult at most division I schools. We're aided by the quality of football players in the state of Texas and the superb coaching they receive. Plus, Baylor has a tremendous academic reputation that sells itself.

Pete (Waco): Hey Coach, looks like a great job on the recruiting class this year. We all hope to see some positive things in years to come from these young men. One area that you didn't seem to address was at defensive tackle, where it seems to me we may have a shortage after next year. Baylor has been vulnerable against the run, and I was wondering what your comments might be regarding this need or future additions at this position?

Kevin Steele: We are returning Ethan Kelly, Kevin Stevenson and Travis Hicks, as well as young players like Eric Jackson and Lorenzo Davis for next year. We did not land a defensive tackle, which will put that position at a premium for the following year.

Mike B, (Alexandria, VA): Are there any more players to sign before next season?

Kevin Steele: Mike B ... there could be one additional signee.

Kent (IA): Congrats to Coach Steele on a great recruiting class. Wish you the best of luck on the upcoming season. What player do you think will have the biggest impact this year?

Kevin Steele: Based on their high school careers and positions of need we have, Anthony Arline, Willie Andrews and Paul Mosely... because of maturity, LaQualan McDonald. And we expect all of our junior college recruits to contribute immediately.

John (Lincoln): Coach Steele, first I'd like to congratulate you on everything that you have accomplished and thank you for the hard work that you poured into the Husker program. We don't like having to play AGAINST you and Tommie, you are like family. My question is what have you learned from the recruiting process at Lincoln that you have applied to Baylor? What is the difference of recruiting as an assistant coach and a head coach?

Kevin Steele: John, the thoroughness and evaluation done in the recruiting process at Lincoln was a good learning experience early in my career. There is a tremendous difference recruiting as a head coach and an assistant coach. The contacts and relationships are built through numerous person-to-person visits as an assistant. The head coach cannot visit the prospect off-campus but one time. That is a big difference.

Scott (Dallas): As the only private school in the Big 12, I would think that Baylor would have a tremendous differntiator when recruiting against the larger State schools. However, with the strong Baptist influence, I sometimes wonder if there is a negative impact. Can you comment on this ... and congratulations on landing 7 of the State's top 100... it looks like you made a strong run at the end.

Kevin Steele: Our strong run at the end of the recruiting process can be attributed to the hard work and persistence of our assistant coaches and the outstanding job our present players did once we got the recruits on campus. The private school and faith-based mission of Baylor is often a tremendous advantage during recruiting.

Eric (Dallas): Do you think that Copeland and Newhouse will compliment each other? I have watched Reggie the past few years and it seems as if teams were able to key on him because of lack of depth at the reciever position, do you feel Copeland addresses this problem?

Kevin Steele: The addition of Vince Copeland and J.T. Thompson will definitely give us more weapons and help us dictate coverages. Combining those two, our high school signess and our returning players gives us more versatility and depth at the receiver position.

Jon (Detroit): How instrumental was new OC, Dave Baldwin, in recruiting WRs and RBs? Has he been on the road since joining the Bears?

Kevin Steele: Jon ... Dave was active in our recruiting on the road and we feel like he did have an impact with our offensive signees.

Eric (Dallas): Coach Steele, do you think that the signings on the OL will be enough to give us a fighting chance at pass protection? It has seemed for the past few years that we are undersized every year, but with these signings our it looks like we may be competitive.

Kevin Steele: Last year we made improvements in pass protection by considerably reducing the number of sacks we allowed. The young talent will provide more help in this area.

Duncan, OK : Coach, congratulations on such a great class. Noticed at least three good recruits from east Texas: Longview, Kilgore & Carlisle. Who assists in recruiting that area this year? Good job to that coach also. Thanks, Ken R

Kevin Steele: Dale Steele, our wide receivers coach, recruits East Texas for us. Thanks for your positive comments.

David (Tyler): We appear to be thin at safety this year. Any thoughts about moving Bobby Hart to safety with all the juco cornerbacks coming in?

Kevin Steele: Bobby is an accomplished corner, but we will find some players out of the mix of newcomers who can help at the safety position.

Austin: Coach, do you plan on redshirting all of the high school defensive recruits with the exception of the DB's?

Kevin Steele: The redshirt decision will be made as we enter the fall, but we will play anyone who improves our chances of winning.

Mike (Dayton): Coach Steele, a number of signess commented on the new locker room facilities as playing a big part in their decision. How big a factor were the facilities upgrades in recruiting?

Kevin Steele: Some people did not believe that facilities are a factor in recruiting, but they are very important to prospective student-athletes. We received many positive comments on the new facilities (locker room, weight room, training room). They are first class.

Travis(waco): Coach Steele, awesome job recruiting this year. I am a Bear faithful going to every home game and every feasable away game and I saw marked improvement each week. What will these players add to the team? Also will we see a improved running game and maybe some more I-formation plays?

Kevin Steele: Thanks for your comments. The biggest help will come from the speed that this class this class brings. And Dave Baldwin will utelize more formations and make our offense more diverse.

Jerry ....Lubbock: Seems all the major newspapers ranked us from 10th to last in the Big 12 recruiting.Can you visit with these people and see if we can,t get some good press..every since you have come we have had no press or bad press..are you afraid of the press?

Kevin Steele: No, Jerry, I enjoy the relationships we have with the media. However, we choose not to converse with the recruiting gurus about our in-house evaluations. This is not the case at every school.

B'HamBear: Who do you consider to be the sleeper of this class?

Kevin Steele: Two exceptional athletes that did not get a lot of attention were D.D. Terry and Akeem Rettig, possibly because of their early commitments.

Mike...dallas: Hi coach. Looks like a pretty good job this year. Who do you anticipate will be our center going into the fall?

Kevin Steele: Derrick Pearcy, Cedric Fields and Brad Schlueter are the candidates for center right now. All three have played the position in the past behind Joe Jackson, and we're confident one of them will step up and be a good player there this season.

Kevin B (DFW): I haven't heard much about Garner. He was not on any commit list I saw before signing day and seemed to come in at the last minute. Can you speak a little about him?

Kevin Steele: Jeff had committed early in the season. He's a big, athletic young man who we feel can develop into a good player for us.

Augustus (San Antonio): Congrats on the recruiting class. Are there any plans to move any of the O Linemen to The D Line?

Kevin Steele: Not at this time.

James (Dallas): Did you play football at Furman before you went to Tennessee?

Kevin Steele: Yes. Out of high school I signed and attended Furman University for a season and then transferred and walked on at the University of Tennessee. I would never use the word 'played' to describe my career. 'On the team' would be more accurate.

Mike...dallas: The speed just looks incredible. Which of these new high school recruits should I watch for at the State HS meet and on Coach Hart's team next year? Did your allowing these young men to participate in track also have any influence on their decision to come to Baylor?

Kevin Steele: The fact that we are a program that allows its players to also run track does help us in recruiting. Look for Lewis Hyman, Willie Andrews, D.D. Terry and Paul Mosley at the state meets this spring.

Eric (Dallas): With the loss of Dozier and Obriotti, who will be our TE this year?

Kevin Steele: Luke Groth, Shane Williams and Billy Crawford are the present candidates to replace those young men.

Anthony: Coach, Nobody has said much about Shawn Bell but to me he has to be the most underrated QB in the state. Can you comment on him

Kevin Steele: Shawn has a tremendous football mind, good feet and an accurate. He's a proven winner who finished his career as the third-most prolific passer in the history of Texas high school football. Our offensive staff is excited about Shawn joining our program.

Kevin B (DFW): Which of our redshirts from last year would you expect to have an impact this coming season?

Kevin Steele: DL Eric Jackson is one who comes to mind, as well as DB Maurice Lane and WR J Fields and Ryan Jeffrey.

Jake S (Ft Smith, AR): Coach, how big a factor are the superior graduation rates we've been seeing in luring these recruits?

Kevin Steele: Baylor's academics and our strong graduation rates are always a positives, especially with parents.

David (Pittsburgh): Good job this year! It seems that you've elevated the level of skill and speed in this class as opposed to the past two years. What made the difference for you this year?

Kevin Steele: The continuity in our coaching staff and the relationships they've built with high school coaches is beginning to pay dividends. Our players also did a tremendous job hosting these recruits when they came on their official visits. Plus, any speculation about the future of our staff seemed to completely disappear.

Patrick (Waco): Did you say that Ryan Jeffery is a Wide Receiver? I thought he was recruited as a quarterback? Has this changed?

Kevin Steele: Ryan Jeffrey is a quarterback.

Kevin (VA): Can we expect that all the members of this year's class will qualify academically?

Kevin Steele: Very rarely is there a class signed where there aren't academic concerns. At least two of these players will be junior college placements, and possibly one non-qualifier. No specific people in mind ... just playing the percentages. We signed this class with those numbers factored in.

Kevin Steele: Thanks for all the questions. Look forward to our next visit together. Spring ball starts March 11 and our Green-Gold game is April 6. See you there.