Matt Rhule Continues To Build Up Front
2/7/2019 4:29:00 PM | Football
Both Lines Were Priorities in Bears’ 25-Man Signing Class.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Even coming off a six-win improvement and Baylor's eighth bowl game in nine years, Matt Rhule knows that the Bears will never be able to win at the highest level "until we can win up front."
That said, it should come as no surprise that three of the five players Rhule signed on Wednesday to cap off the 2019 recruiting class are either offensive or defensive linemen. All told, the 25-player class that's ranked 33rd nationally by Rivals.com includes eight defensive linemen and four prospects for the offensive line.
After losing the likes of Blake Blackmar, Patrick Lawrence and Josh Malin on offense and Ira Lewis, Greg Roberts and Xavier Jones on defense, "we just really felt like it was a great year to go out and replenish those guys, try to get some pass rushers, some interior guys and build the lines up," Rhule said.
Topping off the class and tipping the scales as the heaviest of the 25 players is 6-4, 330-pound offensive lineman Paul Matavao-Poialli from Daly City, Calif., a two-time all-league selection at Jefferson High School who played both ways. While the rest of the class was locked up long before an afternoon press conference, Matavao-Poialli didn't sign until 7:30 p.m. central Wednesday night.
"An unbelievably intriguing offensive line prospect," Rhule said. "A guy who played offensive line and defensive line, was even their short-yardage, goal-line quarterback. Tremendous athlete, 6-4, 330 pounds. Great talent and an even better person."
Asked if Matavao-Poialli is a candidate to become Baylor's short-yardage quarterback, Rhule said, "Why not? We lost Jalen Hurd, we need somebody."
But, he will also "be in the mix" to play in an offensive line that returns three starters. Elijah Ellis (6-6, 279) from Paris, Texas, also signed on Wednesday, joining December signees Blake Bedier from Snow College in Utah and Davis DiVall from Bridgton Academy in Maine.
"Elijah is a young man who came to our camp and I thought he was as talented as anyone I've ever seen at that age," Rhule said. "(He is) 6-foot-6 and (has) 37-inch arms, which are freakishly long arms. . . . We hope we don't have to play him right away, we want to give him some time. But, I think he's going to be a huge, huge man, and I really like his demeanor and his personality. I think he'll be a great offensive lineman for us."
On the other side of the line, the Bears added highly recruited defensive end Garmon Randolph (6-7, 234) from Jefferson, Ga., fending off a late push by LSU. Another two-way player, he registered 34 tackles, one sack, a fumble recovery and returned an interception for a touchdown, plus 14 catches for 205 yards and five touchdowns on offense.
Filling a glaring need at defensive end, Randolph joins a list of defensive line recruits that includes early-enrollees Logan Compton from Tomball and TJ Franklin from Temple.
"He's a tight end by trade, most people recruited him as a tight end, and he might end up doing that for us someday," Rhule said. "The more versatile you are, the better. We just have a vision of a guy who is 6-foot-7 and can run who with the right development can be a special physical athlete. He really can bring a pass rush to the team. At his size, as he develops and fills out, I'm excited about what he's going to be able to do."
The other two signees on Wednesday were all-state wide receiver Yusuf Terry from Philadelphia and record-setting kicker Noah Rauschenberg from Union High School in Tulsa, Okla. A 6-3, 175-pound receiver out of Imhotep Institute Charter who picked Baylor over offers from West Virginia, Maryland, Michigan State and Pitt, Terry is also a "really accomplished hockey player."
"I think the biggest thing you can say about him is he's tough, physically tough, mentally tough," Rhule said. "I like the edge he'll bring. The biggest thing is his best days are ahead of him. He'll get here and he'll really shine in our strength program. He'll get big, he'll get strong, he'll get fast, but he'll always have that edge, that toughness, that I think separates him from a lot of other guys."
Signing a kicker became more of an issue when Connor Martin suffered a torn ACL on a blocked kick in the Bear's 45-38 Texas Bowl victory over Vanderbilt. Freshman walk-on John Mayers filled in and booted three extra points, while sophomore Jay Sedwick handled kickoff duties.
As a senior, Rauschenberg connected on 10-of-16 field goals with a long of 54 yards and two others from 53, hit 52-of-54 extra point attempts and had touchbacks on 50 of 65 kickoffs. He also booted a 51-yard field goal as a junior and connected on 185 career PATs.
"We have a lot of confidence in John Mayers and Jay Sedwick, but we thought this would be a great time to recruit a kicker as well, just to have competition," Rhule said.
Including the 20 signees from December, "these are all young men who all came here for the right reason," Rhule said.
"They all want to be a part of something special. They all want to be part of a university that stands for something and be a part of a football program on the rise."
During Wednesday's press conference, Rhule also announced a staff reshuffling that has Director of Recruiting Marcus Satterfield moving to an on-field position as tight ends coach. Previously, Satterfield was Rhule's offensive coordinator at Temple from 2013-15.
"He's one of us, he knows how we do things," Rhule said of Satterfield. "He'll be the third guy on offense that has been an offensive coordinator for me. Those guys all bare the frustration of working for me."
Joey McGuire moves to the defensive side and was promoted to associate head coach, with linebackers coach Mike Siravo adding duties as the special teams coordinator. With cornerbacks coach Fran Brown leaving to take a job back at Temple University, Evan Cooper will coach the corners and defensive coordinator Phil Snow will be in charge of the safeties.
"As often as I can, I want to promote from within and keep building sort of our way of doing things," Rhule said.
Spring drills begin March 5 and conclude with the spring game on April 13 at McLane Stadium. The Bears will open the 2019 season with a home game against Stephen F. Austin on Aug. 31.
