DESOTO, Texas -- One of the most explosive and dynamic prospects at the Dallas Nike Football Camp at Eagle Stadium recently was Longview (Texas) all-purpose back JaMycal Hasty, who posted one of the top SPARQ scores of the competition.
Energy, rise of Baylor program attracted four-star APB JaMycal Hasty
The Longview product is one of the fastest players in the state.
The consensus four-star prospect committed to Baylor a week before the event and spoke with SB Nation Recruiting briefly about his decision.
“Coach Briles, the energy,” Hasty said when asked about what made him choose the Bears. “When the coaches have energy, it translates to the players. I feel like I fit well into the offensive scheme.”
A resurgent program that won a Big 12 championship last season, Baylor has won 10 or more games in two of the last three seasons, one of the most successful stretches in program history -- only once before had the Bears won 10 or more games in a season. Recruits have taken notice and Hasty is no exception.
“I guess you could say in the last two years that my interest has increased in the program,” he said. “It’s definitely turned around and I just want to be part of it.”
The construction on McLane Stadium, the new football facility on the banks of the Brazos River, also attracted the attention of Hasty.
“Oh, it’s incredible,” Hasty said. “I can’t wait to get in there.”
One of the top all-purpose backs in the country, Hasty is equally dangerous as a runner and a receiver. The coaches have talked with him about playing some slot receiver and returning punts and kicks, but for the most part, the focus will be on the running back position when the Longview product arrives on campus.
In watching Hasty on film, that’s hardly a surprising decision. Coupled with the success of another smaller back last year in 5’8, 200-pound Shock Linwood, it’s apparent that Baylor won’t have to seek creative ways to showcase Hasty -- the base offense itself does that well enough for a player with a similar skill set.
Where once the Bears had to identify, evaluate and develop under-recruited talents like Linwood, whose best offer other than Baylor was from TCU (he was rated as a low three-star prospect by Rivals), Briles and his coaching staff have used the program’s recent success and bright future in McLane Stadium to compete for and land four-star prospects like Hasty with offers from Oklahoma State, Oregon and Texas, schools that used to win a large number of recruiting battles against Baylor.
That’s no longer the case, and as a result, the offensive roster in Waco is overflowing with talent and adding more each class.
Look no further for evidence of that than Hasty himself.
