Kris Boyd Tweets Top 4: Which Team Is Best Fit for Versatile 4-Star

Four-star cornerback Kris Boyd named his top four schools Tuesday morning, narrowing his list without shedding much actual clarity.

The Gilmer, Texas, native is a favorite to stay near home, and he suggested as much by putting Baylor, Texas A&M and Texas on his final list. The only out-of-state school in the running is Alabama.

Boyd is the No. 104 overall player and No. 11 cornerback on the 247Sports composite rankings. The 247Sports proprietary rankings have him even higher, deeming him the No. 69 overall player and No. 8 cornerback in the class. Either way you swing it, he is one of the Top 25 uncommitted recruits; all four schools could use him.

But which school provides the best fit?

For playing-time reasons, the answer can't be Alabama. The Crimson Tide already have two 5-star cornerbacks (Kendall Sheffield and Minkah Fitzpatrick) committed this cycle and landed two 5-star cornerbacks (Tony Brown and Marlon Humphrey) in 2014. Why would Boyd leave the Lone Star State to join such a massive logjam?

Credit: 247Sports

The Texas schools, however, offer Boyd a chance to see the field early. He is not the most imposing prospect (5'11.5", 185 lbs), but 247Sports graded him a 9/10 for his reactive quickness, tackling and instincts. He is coming to college ready to play.

In that case, his best fit has to do with coaching: Which team gives him the best chance to maximize his potential?

With no disrespect to Phil Bennett, who has done a heck of a job with Baylor's defense, that probably means the Bears are out. Baylor has had just five defensive backs drafted since 1998 and two since 2008. And those two (Demetri Goodson in 2014 and Mikail Baker in 2011) both went outside the top 195 draft picks.

Texas, meanwhile, has called itself "DB U" for the better part of the past decade. The only school it contended with for that title was LSU, whose defensive coordinator, John Chavis, was hired to the same position at Texas A&M in December. Baylor could help Boyd become the player he wants to become, no doubt.

But Texas and Texas A&M are safer bets.

Choosing between this final two is difficult. Texas is losing some important pieces from its secondary, and head coach Charlie Strong and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford know how to develop defensive backs. They did it together at Florida. They did it together at Louisville. And they've already started doing it together in Austin.

Still, the chance to play for Chavis is something any young cornerback should consider—and probably, if given the opportunity, take advantage of.

Chavis helped Tre'Davious White break out as a true freshman cornerback in 2013, so he's not afraid to let young players play. And the list of stars he developed (Tyrann Mathieu, Morris Claiborne, Patrick Peterson) in five years at LSU is impressive.

"In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Chavis had the benefit of deeper and more talented defenses than what will initially be at his disposal in College Station, Texas," wrote Sam Kahn Jr. of ESPN.com "...[But] if they continue to acquire the necessary talent, the potential that exists in the Aggies' marriage to Chavis seems limitless."

Landing Boyd would constitute "acquiring the necessary talent." And the chance for Boyd to play in an LSU-type defense—but to do so without leaving his home state—is a hard deal to pass up.

He could do just fine at Texas, just like he could do just fine at Baylor or Alabama. All of those are fine programs.

But why not get in on the ground floor of the next DB U?