By DAVID CAMPBELL
Unlike many on national signing day, there was no last-minute decision for Rajah Preciado.
The College Station safety committed to Baylor last summer and signed his letter-of-intent Wednesday to play college football with the Bears.
“It’s relatively close and not just locationwise,” Preciado said of his decision to play in Waco. “The people there feel close to me. It was cool. Making the decision in the summertime enabled me to go into my senior year playing free and just having fun.”
Preciado will likely be called upon to help Baylor’s special teams.
“Rajah is a really smart kid who we offered at camp last spring,” Baylor coach Art Briles said. “We’re high on DBs in this class because these guys need to come in here and help us on special teams. They need to come in ready to get on the field against these explosive offenses in the Big 12, and this is one guy we think can do that.”
A special team standout, Preciado averaged 23.7 yards per punt return. He thinks he will fit into the Bears’ defense, too.
“The defense they run is the same as our defense here,” Preciado said. “That played a huge role because I come into the program really comfortable. I hope I can offer to them the kind of guy who can be dependable and play and do everything that’s right, be a good leader by example.”
Preciado’s signing gave Baylor a strong Brazos Valley contingent. Navasota’s record-setting wide receiver and U.S. Army All-American Tren’Davian Dickson is already enrolled at Baylor.
“Our four receivers we signed this year: [Dickson], Jared Atkinson, Denzel Mims and Devin Duvernay, that’s the top receiving class in America,” Briles said. “And it’s not even close.”
Will Phillips, who played linebacker for the Class 3A Division II state finalist Franklin Lions, signed with the Rice Owls.
“Will is a dominant player who is ready to step up to the collegiate level after showcasing his talents on both sides of the ball in high school,” Rice coach David Bailiff said.
Local schools held special ceremonies to honor the athletes who signed Wednesday.
Among the group, four Bryan football players will advance to college in pairs. Quarterback B.J. Ross and defensive end/linebacker Dedrick Davis will be Crusaders at Mary Hardin-Baylor, while Texas A&T signed Viking defensive linemen Daryl Anderson and Tyson Washington. A&T, a Houston-area school with no conference affiliation, has played against members of the Southwest Junior College Football Conference.
Bryan’s Rebecca Adcock signed to play soccer at McNeese State.
Rudder’s Landri Brown signed for volleyball on Wednesday afternoon, after five Ranger student-athletes signed during a morning get-together at the Rudder Cafe. Brown will attend Southwestern in Georgetown.
Rudder’s signing day started late Wednesday morning with five football players. Bailey Giffen’s decision to attend UT-Permian Basis was for football and baseball. Giffen is a kicker and punter in football. Corsicana’s Navarro got the signatures of Rudder wide receiver Brian Williams and defensive lineman Josh Peoples. Jamall Collins, who played high school in the offensive and defensive backfield, will also go to Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, while tight end Kevin Ford is bound for Northwest Oklahoma State.
A&M Consolidated’s ceremony included seven athletes in five different sports.
In football, Consol running back Tyri Merchant is set to play at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Defensive back and deep snapper Will Raffield will go to West Texas A&M and receiver Kennon Williams plans to attend Southwestern.
Consol tennis player Chad Nguyen inked with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Brooke Shirley signed for women’s soccer at Stephen F. Austin with Jasmyn Steels headed to Northwestern State in track. Haley Slocum also will walk on at Texas A&M in volleyball.
Joining Preciado signing letters of intent at College Station were fellow football players Travis Bettiol and Cedrick Williams. Bettiol will attend Tarleton State, and Williams signed with Blinn.
Two Lady Cougar soccer players also signed: Lauren Spohn with Harvard and Alexis Bullard with Sam Houston State.
Navasota featured a four-player signing ceremony with record-setting quarterback Shelton Eppler going to Trinity Valley and his Rattlers’ teammate, center Dorion Meyers, headed to Texas Lutheran.
Navasota softball players Kynsee Gesch (Dallas) and Madison Witherwax (Howard Payne) also signed.
Ray Smith’s signing made history at Anderson-Shiro. By joining Texas Lutheran, the defensive lineman became the Owls’ first player to sign to play college football.
Cameron defensive lineman D’Andre Adams signed to play football at Southwestern. Rockdale’s 6-foot-6 wide receiver Cristian Lara will play at Blinn.
Brenham goalkeeper Cassidy Musser signed on for soccer at Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Story courtesy of The B/CS Eagle