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Baylor QB commit Austin Novosad among 2023 elite
Austin Novosad committed to Baylor in December after throwing 3,339 yards and 40 touchdowns as a junior for Dripping Springs High School. (Courtesy: @austin2novosad/Twitter)

Baylor QB commit Austin Novosad among 2023 elite

AUSTIN, Texas (BVM) – Austin Novosad, a Baylor QB commit, says he feels like he’s 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’s big dogs have come looking for Novosad’s services.

“I guess, now, schools are starting to really look for a QB and a lot of them are reaching out because I’ve gotten a lot bigger over the last two years so a lot of them are noticing now,” Novosad said. “It’s been crazy but it’s kind of like a second wind of recruiting.”

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’t 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’t 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’s one of the most sought-after quarterbacks in the Class of 2023.

“I think I played way more relaxed this year and you could just see the control throughout the game,” Novosad said of his junior season. “As you get older in your high school career, you get more comfortable and ultimately, you make smarter decisions and that shows in the film.

“I think the college coaches noticed that, too.”

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’s inclusion into the prestigious club proves he’s among the Class of 2023 elite.

“The 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,” Novosad said of Elite 11. “Over 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’s little things like that that the Elite 11 does a great job of, just helping young, high school QBs really understand.”

The college football recruiting landscape is truly the Wild West and Novosad is positioned squarely in the middle of it. A top 15 quarterback 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’s 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’s seen this manifest itself in at least three different forms.

“Some (schools) might think they’re more superior or better, bigger maybe, and then others are like ‘if you’re committed, that’s great, but we just want to let you know that we want to offer too just in case something goes wrong,’” Novosad said. “Some of them also look at it like ‘hey, you can be committed anywhere and we’re still going to recruit you.

“Those are the kind of the three routes that they take to offer you but I think that, ultimately, if they really like you, they’re going to offer you anyway. It’s just kind of how it works.”

Despite all the recent attention, Novosad’s response when asked if he’s still fully locked in with the first program to offer him came quickly and confidently.

“Yes sir,” Novosad said.

The feeling Novosad got when stepping foot on Baylor’s campus helped him choose the Bears, but the coaching staff won him over even more so than that.

“They (Baylor) really emphasize person over player and I think when you get on the campus and meet the guys, they’re a great person before they’re a player so that’s one thing I really liked,” Novosad said. “Then just the offense that Coach (Jeff) Grimes runs, I think I fit in great.”

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 – the largest classification in Texas – for the first time.

Two of Dripping Springs’ new opponents in District 26-6A – Lake Travis and Westlake – are perennial contenders with 19 state title game appearances between them.

“The competition is insane in that district,” Novosad said of 6A. “It’s really going to help prepare me and my whole team, just playing against those guys, the best of the best. It’ll just push our guys to compete coming from a 5A district. I think we’ll be just fine in that district and it’ll be fun.”

Novosad’s future as a Division I quarterback is set in stone but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t 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’s no reason to think that he’ll turn his back on that very method.

“Everyone can drop back and throw a fade but I think when you really see somebody’s eyes move with the defense, somebody control the defense with their eyes and manipulate defenders, that’s the next level right there,” Novosad said. “Continuing to do that this next year is going to be good for me.”