Big part of Baylor's 2016 recruiting class looking for release from scholarships

By foxsports
Published

A chaotic week that saw Baylor not only lose coach Art Briles, but also its AD and president in the wake of a sexual assault scandal, has decimated the Bears' 2017 recruiting class, and seven freshmen from Baylor's 2016 class have asked, or plan to ask, for releases from their scholarships, according to an ESPN report.

On Wednesday night FOX Sports spoke to Collis Cobb, the father of one of those seven players, Parrish Cobb, a highly regarded cornerback. The elder Cobb told FOX that they filed to get his son's release from his LOI on Saturday, two days after Briles was let go, and someone in Baylor's compliance office told him they weren't willing to do it. Baylor has a 30-day deadline to respond to each recruit's request for a release and without that release, the recruit is not allowed to have any contact with another school.

The other Baylor signees requesting their release are J.P. Urquidez, Jared Atkinson, Kameron Martin, Donovan Duvernay and Patrick Hudson, according to the ESPN report, with Devin Duvernay, the top-ranked recruit in Baylor's class, planning on requesting his release, too.

On Wednesday Collis Cobb said he got a visit from Jim Grobe, Baylor's new acting head coach, and three other staffers who visited his home in Waco to try to convince them to stick with Baylor. The elder Cobb said it was a "good visit, but we let them know my son wants to pursue other options. His mind is made up."

The Cobbs' biggest concern is the uncertainty around Baylor. "Right now, we don't know the status of Baylor's football program," Collis Cobb said. "We don't know if (the current coaching staff) is going be there through 2017 or 2018. No one can give us that information."

Cobb is hoping Baylor understands his son's situation and lets him out since things have changed dramatically since he signed there in February. His son was supposed to report earlier this week and is now missing out on the first session of summer school, he said. He hopes Parrish will be able to be at his new school in time for the second summer session.

"All I can say is, it's in Baylor's hands now," Collis Cobb said. "I'm hoping they want to do right by these kids."