Sneed felt wanted by the Baylor staff

This past Saturday was quite an eventful day for the Baylor 2017 recruiting class. The program landed two commitments, including a surprise commitment from Cypress Ranch wide receiver R.J. Sneed, who flipped his verbal commitment from Ole Miss.

Things happened quickly between Baylor and Sneed, who officially arrived on campus in Waco for classes today.

"I started talking with Baylor a few days ago," Sneed said. "They did not know that I was interested and did not know that I could enroll early. Once the coaches found out that I was interested, then they got in contact with me and the offer followed shortly after our conversation.

"Coach (Shawn) Bell reached out first, and I didn't really know him before, but knew he was a high school coach here in Texas before joining Baylor. I could tell just talking with him that Baylor wanted me from day one. It wasn't 50-50 either, they wanted me badly and I always wanted to be somewhere that I was wanted.

"He quickly introduced me to the whole staff and I talked with everyone. They basically told me to trust the process and that I would have a great situation to come into at Baylor. The coaches were all very straight forward, we talked about the situation and how there is early playing time available to compete for this off-season."

Coach Rhule recently hired Matt Lubick to become the Baylor co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach, luring him away from Ole Miss - a position he had accepted and started for only 2-3 weeks.

While they weren't close per say, Sneed was already familar with Coach Lubick and it was something that helped with his decision to join the Baylor 2017 recruiting class.

"I know Coach Lubick came from Oregon, so the offense will be a little similar to that style of play and they will get the ball to playmakers in space," Sneed said. "We didn't really talk a lot after he arrived at Ole Miss, but things picked up once he accepted the position at Baylor. He also told me there was an immediate opportunity to earn playing time and get into the two-deep rotation at receiver.

"The combination of speaking with Coach Lubick and Coach Rhule really sold me on the opportunity at Baylor. They want us to come in and work, change the program around and I really just trust the entire coaching staff. Coach Rhule had back to back 10 win seasons at Temple recently, and I believe he can bring that same attitude and game plan to Baylor."

When Sneed mentions the staff got in touch a few days ago, he means about a week ago today - meaning the standout receiver only had a few days of his own to make a decision and ultimately move to Waco.

"The classes at Baylor start on Monday," Sneed said. "I thought about it for a day and talked with my parents, then decided to make my commitment. The opportunity to earn a great degree while coming in early to compete for playing time was too good to pass on. Plus, I spoke with Charlie (Brewer) before making my decision and we both agreed that the early opporutnity to help changed things around was exciting."

Sneed also shared his thoughts on graduating early and joining the program for spring practices.

"I'm excited, it lets me come in and get into the weight room and learn the playbook," Sneed said. "I feel like you get the same experience as coming in later in the summer, but I don't know for certain and I'm hoping it helps me get ahead in my college career."

While the standout receiver is already on campus, he does plan on helping the Baylor coaches on the recruiting trail as much as possible for this 2017 class.

"I'm trying to get my teammate Amaud Willis-Dalton there, plus Trestan (Ebner) from Henderson and K.D. (Nixon) from DeSoto," Sneed said. "I'm not sure how involved the coaches are with Amaud, but I know he had an offer from the previous staff. I should be able to speak with those guys once I'm on campus and they come for their official visits."

Rated a 5.6 three-star prospect, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver is listed as the No. 91 receiver prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He finished his senior season with 40 receptions for 700 yards and eight (8) touchdowns - earning District 17-6A All-District First Team Offense honors.

Sneed chose the Bears over several other offers, including offers from TCU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and others.