AUSTIN, Texas -- For some recruits, the process is both unnecessary and unappealing. They know where they want to go and need little more than that offer to end it, which is how it went down for 2015 Temple (Texas) athlete Chad President, he told SB Nation Recruiting at the Round Rock SQT on Saturday.
Despite offers from Texas and Texas Tech, the 6'2, 180-pound four-star prospect decided to make his commitment to Baylor in late April, even though his recruitment was set to take off during the spring and summer as one of the top 20 or so prospects in the 2015 Texas class.
"I can just get out of the recruiting process," President said of why he ended things so early. "I always wanted to go to Baylor, so when they offered me I was excited and wanted to commit already, but my parents wouldn't let me, so I waited it out and then finally made my decision. But I got it out of the way so I could focus on school and high school football, then go right up to Baylor to contribute."
While many recruits have recently become Bears fans because of Robert Griffin III and the overall success of the Art Briles offense, President said that he's been a fan for most of his life.
"Ever since I started watching college football I've been a Baylor fan, since I was about six years old and could start understanding the game," he said, noting that he went to his first game in Waco when he was seven.
One of the major questions regarding President when he committed was the position Baylor recruited him to play in College. Noting that it's been his "dream" to play quarterback in college, the Temple product confirmed that's the position he'll play, though he spent his sophomore season making big plays as one of the fastest receivers at his height in the state, gaining nearly 800 yards and scoring nine touchdowns while averaging 23 yards per reception.
Slated to take over signal-calling duties this fall for TCU signee Zach Allen, who enrolled early for the Horned Frogs this spring, President said that he has plenty of experience at the position despite his time at wide receiver last season.
"I've been working at quarterback since my freshman season," President said. "Even though I played wide receiver last season, I still went through quarterback drills in practice during the individual drills and then moved to receiver for the team sessions."
As if being a Baylor fan for so long wasn't enough to end his recruitment favorably for the green and gold faithful, President is also a big fan of Briles and and his ability to develop quarterbacks, something that was an important factor in his decision.
"It stood out a lot," he said of Briles' track record. "Looking at those guys, what RGII did and what Nick Florence did, nobody expected Nick Florence to have the type of year he did, but he did a tremendous job of leading that offense."
A recent visit to Waco helped strengthen the bond between head coach and future quarterback.
"I went up for a practice one day and walked around with Coach Briles seeing the campus and he's a really cool guy. It was like a father-son conversation and he pointed some stuff out to me about the recruiting process. It was just a good experience."
Ready to play in the "unstoppable offense" run by Briles, President also likes the quick, up-tempo nature of the attack and is excited about the wide receivers already committed in the 2014, whose reputation has preceded them.
"I know they showed out at the state track meet and so I'm excited to meet those guys once we all get settled. I heard they have blazing speed, so I'm just looking forward to throwing to them."
Still developing as a quarterback, President believes that his best attribute there currently is the athleticism that plays so well at wide receiver.
"My best attribute as a quarterback is rolling out of the pocket and getting on the move because you can run and throw it," he said.
Since President is more comfortable right now outside of the pocket, he's working on becoming more comfortable staying inside of it and delivering the ball to spots where he can make it easy for his wide receivers to bring it in.
In rainy conditions during pool play in the morning on Saturday, President wasn't able to truly show all of his skills as a quarterback with a wet football, but one play did stand out -- he rolled to his left and delivered a strike with optimal spin 30 yards downfield to a streaking wide receiver, the type of play that flashes significant upside, even if the overall product is still a bit on the raw side.
Now done with the process, President can relax this summer without having to worry about attending camps in an effort to pick up more offers, so he said he'll probably only attend a camp in Waco, but other than that plans on spending his time off from school working on his skills as a quarterback and working out.
President also had some final parting words about his anticipation for his time at Baylor.
"I can't wait until I step in and take control of that offense," he said, which he will do in the stadium in Waco, in which he said he is excited about playing, having driven by it and seen the blueprints.
There's some work to do until that can happen in terms of overall refinement, but, perhaps more so than any other coach in the Big 12, Briles seems like the right man for that job -- just look at his track record. President did, and it made the decision a no-brainer for him.
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