Baylor Offers Carthage Running Back Keaontay Ingram

Keaontay Ingram is heating up within the East Texas recruiting sphere. So is the Baylor football program now that it has put to rest six months of coaching uncertainty.

New Bears head coach Matt Rhule's staff reached out to the junior Carthage running back Friday and presented him his fourth overall NCAA Division I scholarship offer. Baylor joins TCU and Missouri in the early chase as well as Stephen F. Austin from the FCS ranks of Division I.

Ingram, the Offensive MVP from the Class 4A Division I state championship game seven days ago, reported his new offer through his personal Twitter account. He ran for 180 yards and two scores to help give his school its fifth state title.

Ingram had no offers ahead of Carthage's state semifinal game 13 days ago.

Baylor has hit East Texas relatively hard since Rhule was hired Dec. 6.

Rhule's staff has other standing offers out for John Tyler senior quarterback Bryson Smith, Henderson senior receiver Trestan Ebner and Henderson senior running back Lakendrick VanZandt.

Prior to offering Ingram, Ebner announced Friday the end to his longtime commitment to TCU. The only thing that has changed in his recruiting process lately was an offer from Baylor on Monday.

Smith and VanZandt have made no moves from their respective commitments to Houston and TCU.

The Bears program finished the 2016 regular season with a 6-6 record under interim coach Jim Grobe, and the interim will surrender full control of the team to Rhule immediately after Baylor's Motel 6 Cactus Bowl appearance against Boise State on Tuesday.

Grobe, a Wake Forest legend, came out of retirement to coach this season and never offered many aspirations to take over the program full-time. He replaced Art Briles, who was fired ahead of the season in conjunction with Baylor's internal investigation into a string of football players committing sexual and non-sexual assaults on or near campus.

Rhule enters the picture after a successful four-year run at Temple in Philadelphia. His past two teams achieved 10-win seasons and his final contest was an American Athletic Conference championship game win.

Ingram, with the aid of 15 games played, finished the 2016 high school football season as East Texas' second-leading rusher. He ran for 2,225 yards and 31 touchdowns on 330 carries.

The back also caught 46 passes during the season and converted those into 476 yards and two scores.

Like all college football prospects currently in their junior year of high school, Ingram will become eligible to sign with any program that offers him in February of 2018.

2018 East Texas Football Players With Division I FBS Offers

• Tre Allison, John Tyler, LB, 6-0, 200 — offer from Mississippi State (1)
• Dekalen Goodson, John Tyler, DL, 6-0, 215 — offer from Mississippi State (1)
• Chasen Hines, Marshall, OL, 6-2, 326 — offers from Baylor, Minnesota, North Texas, TCU (4)
• Keaontay Ingram, Carthage, RB, 6-0, 198 -- offers from Baylor, Missouri, TCU (3)
• Demarvion Overshown, Arp, ATH, 6-4, 196 —offers from SMU, Texas, UTSA (3)