2017 Baylor Bears football team

The 2017 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bears played their home games at the McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas and competed in the Big 12 Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Matt Rhule. They finished the season 1–11 (1–8 in-conference) to finish in ninth place in the Big 12.

2017 Baylor Bears football
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	1–11 (1–8 Big 12)
Head coach	Matt Rhule (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Glenn Thomas (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Jeff Nixon (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Phil Snow (1st season)
Home stadium	McLane Stadium (Capacity: 45,140)
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Big 12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 Oklahoma y$^		8	–	1					12	–	2
No. 9 TCU y		7	–	2					11	–	3
No. 14 Oklahoma State		6	–	3					10	–	3
Texas		5	–	4					7	–	6
West Virginia		5	–	4					7	–	6
Kansas State		5	–	4					8	–	5
Iowa State		5	–	4					8	–	5
Texas Tech		3	–	6					6	–	7
Baylor		1	–	8					1	–	11
Kansas		0	–	9					1	–	11
Championship: Oklahoma 41, TCU 17
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Recruiting

Position key

Back	B		Center	C		Cornerback	CB		Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE		Defensive lineman	DL		Defensive tackle	DT		End	E
Fullback	FB		Guard	G		Halfback	HB		Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR		Offensive tackle	OT		Offensive lineman	OL		Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS		Punter	P		Punt returner	PR		Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB		Safety	S		Tight end	TE		Wide receiver	WR

Recruits

Baylor signed a total of 27 recruits.

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jalen Pitre S	Stafford, Texas	Stafford HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	Jul 24, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Trevon Lewis S	Houston, Texas	Lamar HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Dec 28, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Timarcus Davis CB	College Station, Texas	College Station HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Dec 31, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Charlie Brewer QB	Austin, Texas	Lake Travis HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	Dec 31, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
James Lynch DT	Round Rock, Texas	Round Rock HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	282 lb (128 kg)	Jan 4, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Abram Smith RB	Abilene, Texas	Abilene HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	Jan 5, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
RJ Sneed WR	Cypress, Texas	Cypress Ranch HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jan 7, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Harrison Hand CB	Cherry Hill, New Jersey	Cherry Hill HS West	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Jan 7, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Jason Moore OT	Frisco, Texas	Independence HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Jan 15, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Eleasah Anderson OG	Houston, Texas	Alief Taylor HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Jan 15, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Trestan Ebner WR	Henderson, Texas	Henderson HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	Jan 15, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Xavier Newman-Johnson OC	DeSoto, Texas	DeSoto HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	272 lb (123 kg)	Jan 15, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Ashton Logan S	Temple, Texas	Temple HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Jan 18, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Terrel Bernard LB	La Porte, Texas	La Porte HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jan 18, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Rob Saulin DE	Pennsville, New Jersey	Memorial HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Khahil Keith OT	Alpine, Alabama	Winterboro HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	293 lb (133 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Cole Maxwell DE	Allen, Texas	Allen HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Henry Klinge OG	Southlake, Texas	Carroll HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Bryson Jackson LB	Mansfield, Texas	Lake Ridge HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Gavin Holmes WR	Justin, Texas	Northwest HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	Jan 22, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Chidi Ogbonnaya DE	Houston, Texas	Langham Creek HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jan 26, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Ryan Miller C	Southlake, Texas	Carroll HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Jan 29, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Tyler Henderson TE	Kyle, Texas	Lehman HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jan 29, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Johnathan Lovett RB	Marlton, New Jersey	Cherokee HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jan 30, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
DeMarco Artis DE	Sanford, Florida	Seminole HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jan 31, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
B.J. Thompson DE	England, Arkansas	England HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Justin Harris DE	Gonzales, Louisiana	East Ascension HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Baylor Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017. "2017 Baylor Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 7, 2017.

Schedule

Baylor announced its 2017 football schedule on December 13, 2016. The 2017 schedule consisted of 6 home, 5 away and 1 neutral site game in the regular season. The Bears hosted Big 12 foes Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia, and will travel to Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and TCU. Baylor played Texas Tech for the seventh season in a row in Arlington, Texas.^[1]

The Bears hosted two of the three non-conference opponents, Liberty from the Big South Conference and UTSA from Conference USA and travel to Duke from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	Liberty*	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FS2	L 45–48	45,784
September 9	6:00 p.m.	UTSA*	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FSN	L 10–17	41,923
September 16	11:30 a.m.	at Duke*	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ACCRSN	L 20–34	26,714
September 23	5:30 p.m.	No. 3 Oklahoma	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FS1	L 41–49	43,573
September 30	2:30 p.m.	at Kansas State	Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium Manhattan, KS	ESPN2	L 20–33	52,293
October 14	2:30 p.m.	at No. 14 Oklahoma State	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	FS1	L 16–59	56,790
October 21	7:00 p.m.	No. 23 West Virginia	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FS2	L 36–38	45,389
October 28	11:00 a.m.	Texas	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	ESPNU	L 7–38	45,656
November 4	11:00 a.m.	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	FSN	W 38–9	21,797
November 11	11:00 a.m.	vs. Texas Tech	AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX (rivalry)	FSN	L 24–38	34,482
November 18	1:30 p.m.	Iowa State	McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FSN	L 13–23	40,653
November 24	11:30 a.m.	at No. 10 TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	FS1	L 22–45	43,015
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game All times are in Central time

Schedule Source:^[2]

Roster

2017 Baylor Bears football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 6 Trevor White   Jr RB 7 John Lovett Fr QB 8 Zach Smith   So QB 12 Charlie Brewer Fr QB 12 Anu Solomon   Sr WR 13 Tony Nicholson   So WR 14 Chris Platt   Jr WR 15 Denzel Mims   So WR 16 Jared Atkinson   So QB 16 Preston Heard   So QB 17 Garret McGuire Fr WR 17 Pooh Stricklin   So WR 18 Gavin Holmes Fr QB 18 Zack Bennema   So WR 19 R.J. Sneed Fr WR 21 Blake Lynch   So RB 22 Terence Williams   Jr RB 23 Obim Okeke   So TE 24 Ishmail Wainright Sr RB 25 Trestan Ebner Fr RB 28 Abram Smith Fr RB 30 Wyatt Schrepfer   Jr RB 33 JaMycal Hasty   So WR 34 Marques Jones   So RB 35 Dwyer Bucey   So RB 40 Jonathan Hockman   Sr RB 44 Dru Dixon Fr FB 47 Kyle Boyd   So OL 52 Sam Tecklenburg   So OL 55 Xavier Newman-Johnson   Fr OL 56 Tyrae Simmons   Sr OL 57 Jason Moore   Fr OL 58 Ty Smith   Fr OL 61 Khalil Keith   Fr OL 62 Dalton Justice   So OL 63 Daniel Russell   Sr OL 64 Ryan Miller   Fr OL 65 Christian Beard   Jr OL 69 Josh Malin   Jr OL 71 Jim Threet   Fr OL 72 Blake Blackmar   Jr OL 75 Eleasah Anderson   Fr OL 76 Mo Porter   Sr OL 77 Patrick Lawrence   Jr OL 78 Henry Klinge III   Fr OL 79 Jake Fruhmorgen   Jr WR 80 Tyler Jaynes   Sr WR 81 Blake Murphy   Sr TE 82 Tyler Henderson   Fr WR 83 Russell Morrison   Fr WR 84 Jalen Hurd   Sr TE 85 Jordan Feuerbacher   Sr TE 86 Rob Saulin   Fr TE 87 Jayson Clements   Jr WR 88 Quan Jones   Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 1 Taylor Young   Sr S 2 Taion Sells   Sr S 3 Chris Miller So CB 4 Grayland Arnold So DE 5 Brian Nance   Sr DT 9 Ira Lewis   Jr CB 11 Jameson Houston   So S 12 Davion Hall   Sr CB 13 Raleigh Texada   Fr LB 15 Eric Ogor   So S 18 Chance Waz   Sr CB 19 Niko Harrell   So S 20 Rajah Preciado   So CB 22 Jordan Tolbert   So LB 24 Jalen Pitre Fr LB 26 Terrel Bernard Fr S 27 Verkedric Vaughns   Jr LB 28 Henry Black   So S 29 Jarrod Koym   Jr S 30 Tre'von Lewis Fr CB 31 Harrison Hand Fr LB 32 Lenoy Jones Jr.   So DE 33 DJ Artis Fr CB 35 Ezekiel Brown   Fr LB 36 Allen Anderson   Fr CB 37 Timarcus Davis Fr LB 38 Jordan Williams   So S 39 John Arthur Fr DL 40 Deonte Williams   Jr S 41 Connor Stanton Fr S 42 Jairon McVea   Fr DE 43 Jamie Jacobs   Jr LB 44 Clay Johnston   So LB 45 Bryson Jackson   Jr DE 48 BJ Thompson Fr LB 49 Chad Kelly   Fr LB 50 Ashton Logan Fr DE 52 Greg Roberts   Jr DL 54 Will Jones   Jr DE 55 James Lockhart   Jr DE 56 K.J. Smith   Sr LB 57 Iain Hunter   Sr LB 58 Michael McNair   Fr LB 59 Koby Bullard   So DT 73 Chidi Ogbonnaya   Fr DT 78 Cody George   So DE 90 Tyrone Hunt   So DE 91 Andrew Morris   Jr DT 92 Micheal Johnson   So DT 93 James Lynch   Fr DE 94 Xavier Jones   Sr DE 96 Cole Maxwell   Fr DE 98 Justin Harris   Fr DT 99 Bravvion Roy   So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P/K 36 Drew Galitz   Jr K 89 Jay Sedwick Fr K 95 Peter Webster   So K/P 96 Connor Martin   So LS 41 Clint Kelly   Jr LS 46 Ross Matiscik   So LS 51 Chris Lutzel   So LS 67 Thor Rodoni   So	Head coach Matt Rhule Coordinators/assistant coaches Phil Snow – Defensive coordinator Jeff Nixon – Co-offensive coordinator / Running backs Fran Brown – Assistant head coach / defensive backs George DeLeone – Offensive line Joey McGuire – Tight ends Elijah Robinson – Defensive line Mike Siravo – Linebackers / recruiting coordniator Glenn Thomas – Quarterbacks Bob Bicknell – Wide receivers Shawn Bell – Analyst Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt Roster

References

1. (Press release). Baylor University Department of Athletics. December 13, 2016. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
2. "2017 Baylor Bears Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 14, 2017.