4-star Texas TE target Kedrick James decommits from Baylor

The fallout from the Pepper Hamilton findings and the termination of Baylor Bears head coach Art Briles reached the recruiting trail on Thursday afternoon, as Waco La Vega tight end Kedrick James announced his decommitment:

Due to the departure of Coach Briles, I'd like to open my recruiting and decommit from Baylor. Thank u Baylor staff esp Coach Lebby & Bedell

— Kedrick James (@kedrickjames044) May 26, 2016

The 6'4.5, 245-pounder originally committed to Baylor last July, but hadn't completely shut down his recruitment, taking two visits to Texas A&M between late January and the beginning of April. A consensus four-star prospect, James holds nearly 15 offers, including one from Texas, which currently holds a commitment from Bullard tight end Major Tennison.

So it remains to be seen whether or not the Longhorns will resume that pursuit, but with Tennison still keeping his options open until he sees how offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert's attack uses tight ends, it would make sense for position coach Jeff Traylor to get into contact with James, who is the state's No. 2 tight end.

Overall, James is the No. 248 prospect in the country, the No. 8 tight end, and the No. 38 player in Texas, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, though 247Sports has him as the No. 4 tight end.

There's no question that James is an incredible athlete for his size, but he's also a relatively raw player who seems to have a floor as low as his ceiling is high, so there would be a certain amount of risk associated with taking him. However, in the end he's probably too talented for Texas to pass up if he does show interest in the Longhorns, which is far from a given since the Aggies may now be his most likely destination.

Baylor now has five commits remaining in its 2017 class. For now.