Matt Rhule Announces First Baylor Signing Class

Football 2/1/2017 12:00:00 AM

#SignBU Central | Complete Player Bios | Press Conference Transcription

WACO, Texas -- Baylor head coach Matt Rhule announced Wednesday the signing of 27 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to play football for the Bears. The first-year coach inked a 2017 signing class comprised entirely of freshmen, including four early enrollees who are taking part in the spring semester at Baylor.

"We're excited about this group of young men we signed today," Rhule said. "We think they represent a great future for the Baylor football program."

The class is highlighted by national top 300 prospects R.J. Sneed, a receiver from Cypress, Texas (ranked No. 194th nationally on ESPN300), Trestan Ebner, a receiver from Henderson, Texas (217th on ESPN300), Xavier Newman, an offensive lineman from DeSoto, Texas (246th on ESPN300) and Justin Harris, a defensive lineman from Gonzales, La. (276th by 247Sports).

"This is a special group, who believe in Baylor and our future," Rhule said. "They'll have an opportunity to receive an elite education and be developed into outstanding football players. These are not only high-character guys, they are leaders -- who will represent this university well, on the football field, in the classroom, and in the community."

The Baylor class includes 14 defensive players and 13 on offense. The emphasis of Coach Rhule and his staff was on linemen, who make up nearly half of the class; 13 of 27, seven on the defensive side and six on offense.

Baylor's class is made up predominantly of Texas high school athletes (20), but does include seven out-of-state signees, including three from New Jersey (one from Alabama, one from Arkansas, one from Florida and one from Louisiana).

The mid-year signees already enrolled at Baylor include Sneed, Charlie Brewer (QB from Austin, Texas), Jalen Pitre (S from Stafford, Texas) and Abram Smith (RB from Abilene, Texas).

BAYLOR FOOTBALL 2017 SIGNEES:

Name	Hometown	High School/Last School	Height	Weight	Pos.	Video
Eleasah Anderson	Houston, Texas	Alief Taylor HS	6-4	295	OL
Demarco "D.J." Artis	Sanford, Fla.	Seminole HS	6-2	220	R
Terrel Bernard	La Porte, Texas	La Porte HS	6-1	215	LB
Timarcus Davis	College Station, Texas	College Station HS	5-11	170	CB
Trestan Ebner	Henderson, Texas	Henderson HS	6-0	205	WR
Harrison Hand	Cherry Hill, N.J.	Cherry Hill West HS	6-0	190	CB
Justin Harris	Gonzales, La.	East Ascension HS	6-5	250	DL
Tyler Henderson	Kyle, Texas	Lehman HS	6-4	240	TE
Gavin Holmes	Justin, Texas	Northwest HS	5-11	195	WR
Bryson Jackson	Mansfield, Texas	Lake Ridge HS	6-2	200	LB
Khalil Keith	Alpine, Ala.	Winterboro HS	6-5	320	OL
Henry Klinge III	Southlake, Texas	Carroll HS	6-5	305	OL
Trevon Lewis	Houston, Texas	Lamar HS	6-0	190	S
Ashton Logan	Temple, Texas	Temple HS	6-2	220	LB
Johnathan Lovett	Burlington, N.J.	Cherokee HS	6-2	195	RB
James Lynch	Round Rock, Texas	Round Rock HS	6-4	285	DL
Cole Maxwell	Allen, Texas	Allen HS	6-5	245	DL
Ryan Miller	Southlake, Texas	Carroll HS	6-2	290	C
Jason Moore	Frisco, Texas	Independence HS	6-3	295	OL
Xavier Newman	DeSoto, Texas	DeSoto HS	6-3	300	OL
Chidi Ogbonnaya	Houston, Texas	Langham Creek HS	6-5	260	DL
Rob Saulin	Pennsville, N.J.	Pennsville Memorial HS	6-5	250	DL
BJ Thompson	England, Ark.	England HS	6-6	220	DL

SPRING ENROLLEES

Name	Hometown	High School/Last School	Height	Weight	Pos.	Video
Charlie Brewer	Austin, Texas	Lake Travis	6-1	190	QB
Jalen Pitre	Stafford, Texas	Stafford HS	6-0	200	S
Abram Smith	Abilene, Texas	Abilene HS	6-0	200	RB
R.J. Sneed	Cypress, Texas	Cypress Ranch HS	6-2	185	WR

2017 BAYLOR FOOTBALL SIGNING CLASS BREAKDOWN:
By State:
Texas (20)
New Jersey (3)
Alabama (1)
Arkansas (1)
Florida (1)
Louisiana (1)

By Position:
Offense (13 - 6 linemen, 4 receivers/ends, 2 running backs, 1 quarterback)
Defense (14 - 7 lineman, 3 linebackers, 4 backs)
Specialist (0)

By Class:
Freshmen (27)
Sophomores (0)
Juniors (0)

Print Friendly Version