Looking at Baylor and Oklahoma State Recruiting, What UCF Faces Entering the Big XII

The level of athletes and overall depth UCF Football will face come 2023 will be significantly better than the AAC, starting with Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Author:
Brian Smith
Publish date:
Feb 2, 2022 11:26 AM EST

ORLANDO - The Big XII will be a great step for UCF Football, but it’s also a challenge. There are numerous programs in the league that have NFL talent at multiple positions. It’s now up to the Knights to match that level of talent. To that end, here’s a look at a couple of key players from Baylor and Oklahoma State, the two teams that met in the Big XII Championship game.

Keep in mind, this is a snapshot of what the Knights will be going against versus the Bears and Cowboys, as well as the Big XII as a whole. It’s also a brief introduction to some top talent-producing programs in the state of Texas. It’s a good bet that the Knights will also be looking to dive into the deep end of the Texas talent pool; it’s loaded.

Baylor Bears

Head Coach Dave Aranda just helped to lead his squad to the Big XII Title in year two of his reign in Waco. He’s an excellent coach, and he’s probably just as good, if not better, talent evaluator.

Baylor won the league by primarily recruiting three star prospects that were coached up. In some ways, they are much like UCF. With the new success, perhaps Baylor starts finding a way to sign more elite talent. This first prospect certainly fits that mold.

Top Prospect

Defensive end/tight end Kain Roberts-Day from Festus, Mo. is a steal. After seeing him last spring at IMG Academy, he immediately stood out among numerous top prospects in attendance. He was already committed to Baylor before many schools even knew about him. That changed and for good reason. Long, quick, and with a frame that could fill out (he was 220 at the time, closer to 240 now), Roberts-Day was the hybrid edge defender or tight end that programs love. He will make an impact for Baylor. This is a young man that earned offers from Missouri, Alabama, Nebraska, Tennessee, Kentucky and others before signing with Baylor.

Prospect to Watch

It was hard not to pick Armani Winfield as Baylor’s top recruit. He can really run, possess prototypical size at 6’2”, 190-pounds, and he’s a natural receiver. In today’s world of college football where seemingly every program can throw the football all over the yard, Winfield can be a player that takes over a game. That’s why he earned offers from programs like Alabama, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, SMU, Purdue, Florida, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, and Southern California.

Where Did Baylor Find Prospects?

16 of Baylor’s signees coming into the second National Signing Day hailed from Texas. Considering the level of talent in the Lone Star State, that’s a good omen for the Bears.

Overall Thoughts on Baylor’s Recruiting Class

Speed. That’s what Baylor added. Coach Aranda is acquiring players that can run. He’s been a defensive coordinator prior to becoming a head coach, and now he’s adding the necessary pieces to have an absolutely dominant defensive unit, plus added weapons on offense like Winfield at receiver.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Few coaches have done more with less than Oklahoma State Head Coach Mike Gundy during his tenure in Stillwater, Okla. He’s regularly brought in middle-of-the-pack recruiting classes and still finished with really good records. Case in point, the Cowboys just won the Fiesta Bowl over Notre Dame 37-35 despite not recruiting anywhere near the level of the Irish. The man can coach, and so too can his staff.

Top Prospect

One of the most underrated players in the country is Stephon “Boogie” Johnson (Primary Photo for this article) from DeSoto (Texas) High School. He just announced for Oklahoma State today. As a wide receiver, he’s a true playmaker with the football in his hands, and he runs the route tree very well. This young man will not be on the sidelines for long in Stillwater. Originally committed to Oregon, he decided on Oklahoma State after the coaching change in Eugene, Ore.

Prospect to Watch

Playing opposite of Johnson at some point for Oklahoma State will be Talyn Shettron from Edmond (Okla.) Santa Fe. He’s the big bodied wide receiver that can play the boundary position and create mismatches. He’s also adept at making defenders miss, much like his soon to be teammate Johnson. They will be a very good one-two punch for the Pokes at wide receiver. He had offers from Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Auburn, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Texas and Texas A&M among others.

Where Did Oklahoma State Find Prospects?

This would be a home-grown class. Over half of the recruits played inside the border of Oklahoma. Further, Texas was the next state on the list, and that’s very important. Oklahoma State has always recruited Texas hard and its talent benefited the Cowboys well for decades.

Overall Thoughts on Oklahoma State’s Recruiting Class

The Cowboys produced a recruiting class that’s very athletic at the skill positions on both sides of the football – RB, WR, TE, CB, S, DE – and will help mend some fences that need to be addressed with losses from last season’s roster due to graduation, etc. Anyone playing Oklahoma State moving forward, they will absolutely need to be ready to slow down a high-powered offense, as well as see an increased level of speed for Oklahoma State’s defense.

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