On Monday, Baylor welcomed linebacker James David into its 2014 recruiting class. The Rockdale, Texas, native is the nation's No. 10 inside linebacker, but he also holds another distinction: He's Baylor's eighth commitment since May 31. That's a little less than one a day, but a heck of a run for the Bears.
It's also the Bears' 15th commit since May 1.
David's commitment gives Baylor 19 commits, making the Bears' class the biggest in the nation so far by four commits. Texas, Tennessee and Louisville all had 15 players committed as of Tuesday, but Baylor could be getting its dirty work on the recruiting trail done early.
Here's what our scouts say about David:
David is an explosive, rangy linebacker prospect who can be very disruptive when set free to attack. This is a pressure linebacker who plays the game fast and flows to the football with athletic movements. He looks for contact and is extremely tough and physical. He plays bigger than his sub-220-pound frame would indicate. Lacks ideal length and flexibility on the outside and might continue to bulk-up and play inside in college. He runs really well -- shows good sideline-to-sideline range and even better closing burst.
Most interesting to me? Three of Baylor's top five commits are defenders. Art Briles' reputation for offense is obvious, but upgrading the talent defensively is a huge key to continuing to build his program at Baylor. It's been the glaring weakness for most of his time there. That changed late last season and I see it continuing this year, but the Bears added ATH Davion Hall, the second commit of the class and No. 73 on the ESPN 150.
Only five of Baylor's 19 commits are ranked by ESPN.com at their position, but the Bears are currently No. 22 in our class rankings.
Here are the eight players who have joined the Bears' fold in the past two weeks:
James David, No. 10 ILB; Rockdale, Texas
T'Kevian Rockwell, No. 16 S; Wylie, Texas
Chad Adams, CB; Allen, Texas
Blake Blackmar, OT, Houston
Cordell Dorsey, LB; Abilene, Texas
Jourdan Blake, QB-DT; Princeton, Texas
Andrew Morris, DT; Mesquite, Texas
Ira Lewis, DE, Houston
Not a bad haul. The Bears' run of pure numbers is unlike anything we've seen in awhile in the Big 12. Eight commits in 10 days, including a pair of high-ranking players like David and Rockwell, is a welcome sign for any staff.