Baylor QB commit Austin Novosad among 2023 elite
AUSTIN, Texas (BVM) 鈥� Austin Novosad, a Baylor QB commit, says he feels like he鈥檚 been recruited twice. The Dripping Springs High School star quarterback had a few in-state Division I offers under his belt (Baylor, Houston, SMU, Texas Tech and others) following his sophomore season where he completed 65% of his passes for 2,673 yards and 35 touchdowns to just four interceptions.
But after another strong season during his junior campaign and another summer in the national spotlight, some of college football鈥檚 big dogs have come looking for Novosad鈥檚 services.
鈥淚 guess, now, schools are starting to really look for a QB and a lot of them are reaching out because I鈥檝e gotten a lot bigger over the last two years so a lot of them are noticing now,鈥� Novosad said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been crazy but it鈥檚 kind of like a second wind of recruiting.鈥�
https://twitter.com/Austin2novosad/status/1471465416929206280
Despite committing to Baylor back in December following a spectacular junior season where he threw for 3,399 yards and 40 touchdowns, big-name schools haven鈥檛 stopped courting Novosad, especially of late.
Stanford offered the 6-foot-3 QB in May before Ryan Day and Ohio State did the same on June 1. It was Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M who joined the party with an offer on June 25 and on Monday, Notre Dame stepped in to offer Novosad.
The extra attention isn鈥檛 due to luck or happenstance. The four-star QB has all the tools to be a Power 5 signal caller: a high football IQ, leadership, maturity, talent and skill. Novosad put it all together on film for his junior campaign and his growth from one season to the next is the biggest reason why he鈥檚 one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the Class of 2023.
鈥淚 think I played way more relaxed this year and you could just see the control throughout the game,鈥� Novosad said of his junior season. 鈥淎s you get older in your high school career, you get more comfortable and ultimately, you make smarter decisions and that shows in the film.
鈥淚 think the college coaches noticed that, too.鈥�
If anyone was still unsure of just how talented Novosad is, those qualms were put to bed when he was named an Elite 11 finalist. Joining USC commit Malachi Nelson, Tennessee commit Nico Iamaleava and other top-tier prospects, Novosad鈥檚 inclusion into the prestigious club proves he鈥檚 among the Class of 2023 elite.
饾悡饾悺饾悶 饾煇饾煄饾煇饾煇 饾悇饾惀饾悽饾惌饾悶 饾煆饾煆 馃弳
Determined by coaching staff – 50% junior season film & performance, 50% event evaluation and traits.
Listed alphabetically.
— Elite11 (@Elite11)
鈥淭he experience was great, just going out there and competing with some of the top QBs in the nation and learning from some of the best coaches, guys that have prepared NFL QBs,鈥� Novosad said of Elite 11. 鈥淥ver the week, you just learn a lot off the field, too. Several meetings go over leadership, how to be a leader on the team and help your teammates out. It鈥檚 little things like that that the Elite 11 does a great job of, just helping young, high school QBs really understand.鈥�
馃張 Elite11 馃張
Watch every throw from 猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍猸愶笍 Baylor commit Austin Novosad at Pro Day | | @baylorrivals | @RivalsNick | 馃帴
— Rivals (@Rivals)
The college football recruiting landscape is truly the Wild West and Novosad is positioned squarely in the middle of it. nationally in the Class of 2023, Novosad is still receiving offers and hearing pitches from other Power 5 coaches despite his pledge to Baylor.
It鈥檚 the nature of the beast.
While that may never change, some things that do differ is how some of these schools recruit already-committed athletes. Novosad said he鈥檚 seen this manifest itself in at least three different forms.
鈥淪ome (schools) might think they鈥檙e more superior or better, bigger maybe, and then others are like 鈥榠f you鈥檙e committed, that鈥檚 great, but we just want to let you know that we want to offer too just in case something goes wrong,鈥欌�� Novosad said. 鈥淪ome of them also look at it like 鈥榟ey, you can be committed anywhere and we鈥檙e still going to recruit you.
鈥淭hose are the kind of the three routes that they take to offer you but I think that, ultimately, if they really like you, they鈥檙e going to offer you anyway. It鈥檚 just kind of how it works.鈥�
Despite all the recent attention, Novosad鈥檚 response when asked if he鈥檚 still fully locked in with the first program to offer him came quickly and confidently.
鈥淵es sir,鈥� Novosad said.
The feeling Novosad got when stepping foot on Baylor鈥檚 campus helped him choose the Bears, but the coaching staff won him over even more so than that.
鈥淭hey (Baylor) really emphasize person over player and I think when you get on the campus and meet the guys, they鈥檙e a great person before they鈥檙e a player so that鈥檚 one thing I really liked,鈥� Novosad said. 鈥淭hen just the offense that Coach (Jeff) Grimes runs, I think I fit in great.鈥�
Before Novosad makes the two-hour trek north to Waco to begin his collegiate journey, he has one final run with Dripping Springs. After winning a share of a district title in each of the last six years and completing just the second undefeated regular season in school history in 2021, the Tigers will play in 6A 鈥� the largest classification in Texas 鈥� for the first time.
Two of Dripping Springs鈥� new opponents in District 26-6A 鈥� Lake Travis and Westlake 鈥� are perennial contenders with 19 state title game appearances between them.
鈥淭he competition is insane in that district,鈥� Novosad said of 6A. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really going to help prepare me and my whole team, just playing against those guys, the best of the best. It鈥檒l just push our guys to compete coming from a 5A district. I think we鈥檒l be just fine in that district and it鈥檒l be fun.鈥�
Novosad鈥檚 future as a Division I quarterback is set in stone but that doesn鈥檛 mean that there isn鈥檛 room to grow or things to prove during his senior season. Improvement year over year is what has gotten Novosad to this point, and there鈥檚 no reason to think that he鈥檒l turn his back on that very method.
鈥淓veryone can drop back and throw a fade but I think when you really see somebody鈥檚 eyes move with the defense, somebody control the defense with their eyes and manipulate defenders, that鈥檚 the next level right there,鈥� Novosad said. 鈥淐ontinuing to do that this next year is going to be good for me.鈥�
