The school president and athletic director each signed 10-year extensions. They work really well together and dont necessarily need to physically dominate at the point of attack to make their outside zone system hum. Written by Brett Gibbons Brett is an avid sports traveler and former Division-I football recruiter for Bowling Green and Texas State. in returning offensive production theres reason to believe some of those close games are going to go the other way in 2023. Dont be surprised either if five-star linebacker Anthony Hill bullies his way onto the field either; hes that good. The strength of the offense lies up front. Cumulus and the Big 12 are not affiliated with this website. There was a point in spring where you say, Hes one of the top guys on our team, just based on production, Aranda said. But expecting TCU to reach the Big 12 title game again might be too much. However, they look to have a spectacular shot at doing so in 2022. Safety Christian Morgan is an experienced starter (leads them in INTs with 3) and physical SPARQ freak and smallish safety Devin Lemear has traits, but hes too inexperienced. But Texas Tech also just couldnt get healthy quarterback play with some downright awful injury luck at the position. With the Wildcats tied for the fourth-highest number of returning starters, and some of the players that Kansas State has back, are the Wildcats in position to become a dark horse Big 12 candidate in a year where there are few true frontrunners? (Kevin Jairaj / USA Today), Baylor linebacker Dillon Doyle finished second on the team in tackles with 90 and second with 8.5 tackles for loss. If he can win the job and take advantage of both of those returning offensive starters and some potential transfer upgrades, things may be all right. (Top photo of Dave Aranda: Stephen Lew / USA Today). 2022 Sugar Bowl odds: Baylor starting quarterback Gerry Bohanon expected to return from injury vs. Ole Miss Baylor should have starting QB Gerry Bohanon available off injury for Saturday's Sugar Bowl matchup vs. Ole Miss. The Bears are returning a total of 13 starters from last season, but they lost nearly all of their offensive production from 2021 and almost all of their starting secondary. The third and final of the three Big 12 schools who return 12 starters, Texas joins Kansas State with six returning starters on both offense and defense. 14. Although Baylor lost four key defenders via the NFL Draft and five starters total, theres a lot to like about the unit, starting with the defensive line. You just dont typically see that kind of shift within a season. At safety, the Bears will be inexperienced but talented. With a solid crop of returning players, the question will be whether that talent can start delivering results on the field. Our standards are so high that it is difficult to be who you say were going to be, but Im going to stay on the path, Aranda said. "I thought football had to be part of it, somehow." Although Baylor lost four key defenders via the NFL Draft and five starters total, theres a lot to like about the unit, starting with the defensive line. A more consistent downfield and intermediate passing game will be the big difference., Added Aranda: (Shapens) ability as a thrower to read coverages, to anticipate looks his arm is strong, his delivery can be unique. The Bears rotated anywhere from six to eight linemen per game last season, and the returning talent gives defensive coordinator Ron Roberts a chance to do that again, with potentially an even higher level of play. Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards will take over a lot of the running duties with the potential to really be successful as a one-two punch. This team went 2-3 in one-score games in the regular season; getting another win or two this year certainly wouldnt be a shock. The travel schedule is brutal for Baylor with trips to BYU, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas on tap. #Baylor RB @TayeMcwilliams on what its like behind a good O-line that returned so much talent:[Its] way easier, it makes life super easy. The Bears O-line was the most improved unit in 2021, becoming a true strength as the Bears led the Big 12 in rushing and allowed the third-fewest sacks. Key stat to know: Baylors stout defense forced the second-most third downs (200) in the Big 12 and 11th most in the Power 5 last season, a result of good early down defense. The 2021 season was no fluke. He and his wife, Karina, got married last January and have a 4-month-old daughter, Zoe.

Much of the fault is on Baylors second and third level defenders not hitting their run fits when runners spill wide. Wheat joined the Nevada staff in 2020, coaching safeties before shifting to linebackers in 2021. Unlike last year, they dont take care of the ball all that well. 2022 Baylor Football Preview. Brennan Armstrong entered the 2022 season as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the ACC but had the lowest completion percentage of his career as a starter. Ben Sims is the teams returning leader in receptions (31), receiving yards (361) and touchdown catches (six). Shapen showed promise in his two starts last year, the regular-season finale versus Texas Tech and the Big 12 championship win over Oklahoma State. Starters Gabe If the offense can make the most of a strong group of running backs led by Richard Reese and an athletic crop of wide receivers, Baylor should be pretty good the defense has a chance to improve from where it was a year ago. I expect an all conference season.6 TD catches in 21 pic.twitter.com/gOOF8Armmd. Can a transfer class that brings in a few potential impact players turn the tide? LSUs Josh White will try to bolster the linebacker corps, which does return middle linebacker Dillon Doyle. In comparison to Baylors six returning starters, BYU has a clear advantage in this department as they return a colossal 19 players from last years already stacked team. Copyright 2017-22 Heartland College Sports. Even with Bijan Robinson moving on, Texas still ranks third nationally in returning offensive production, and with Texas bringing in the No. This was a big component of their 38-35 win over OU in Norman, forcing Dillon Gabriel into 3 first half interceptions, even though OUs offense was otherwise humming along. Key stat to know: Baylors offensive line improvement from 2020 to 2021 was significant. A big physical front headlined by plus size nose tackle Siaki Ika isnt designed to compile stats, but to dominate the interior line of scrimmage and force runners to either collide into an interior wall or bounce wide on a rounded angle that allows easy clean up. Here are our predictions for the Big 12's order of finish in 2023. But he questions the quarterback depth. Your favorite teams, topics, and players all on your favorite mobile devices. He creates openings for himself that maybe others dont. Their preferred front lines up Baylor size and power on the specific Longhorn OL whove dealt with that least well and its important that the Longhorns have some run game wrinkles that allow advantageous blocking angles inside and create some conflict in Baylors clean up crew. On the plus side, Shapen will have a veteran offensive line led by defending Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year Connor Galvin and reinforced y Buffalow transfer Jacob Gall. "I thought football had to be part of it, somehow." Likely this will be another year like last year: West Virginia has the talent to sneak up and bite somebody, but might not have the consistent week-in, week-out results. Injuries certainly played a part, but the offseason attrition was also worrisome. With the heartbreak kid gone, Morgan has a great chance to shine in the spotlight as one of Baylors best defensive players. Returning that kind of experience should give Baylor the best offensive line in the Big 12, and possibly the country, in 2022. "We got married in Katy, Texas, about a mile from the high school stadium," he said. The Bears match up well in some spots to Texas, but theyre a five loss team for a reason. Doyle and Jones are plenty physical, but Jones can miss assignments and both can be exploited in space by Bijan or Keilan. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. Theyre headlined by OT Connor Galvin and C Jacob Gall. For there to be an ascent, there has to be a descent first. But West Virginia also ranks 89th in returning offensive production nationally, and doesnt really make up for it on the defensive side, where the Mountaineers are 49th. 17 Baylor Bears football team kicks off week four with a Big 12 Conference showdown against the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, 2022 Thats the next challenge.. SHARE If BYU football players, coaches were stocks, who would you buy? Baylor will contend for the Big 12 again this year. Morgan, the one returning starter in the group, will be deployed either at safety or star, depending on need. He joins an elite group of established, veteran O-lineman that are hoping to pound the rock en route to another successful season. Aranda likes how Blake Shapen is developing leadership skills: "The thing Im most proud of is his leadership and the art of when to say something and how to say it and being authentic with everything youve got. And while we dont think Cincinnati will be bad, the Bearcats rank last in the league in returning production, coming in at No. But Baylor also brings in 247Sports No. It finished fourth in the Big 12 in total D and tenth in the nation in scoring defense, but the it was really, really good at was taking the ball away. Remember, too: Texas regular season losses last year came by a total of 18 points. 2021 stats: Six sacks (second most), 7.0 TFL, 17 total tackles. It takes trust and a sense of safety to put yourself out there to die and then to be born again.. Baylor Bear Insider One of seven returning starters from a 31-20 Baylor team, sophomore infielder Tre Richardson didn't like that aching feeling last May when the Bears were the "first team out" when the NCAA Regional selections were announced. Breakdown: McWilliams time on the turf was limited, as he played behind two NFL running backs in Trestan Ebner and Abram Smith. Aranda stressed the need for reps among the candidates to get comfortable. And while Nebraska quarterback transfer Adrian Martinez couldnt give it a go in the spring, hes certainly an experienced option and would seem to be the frontrunner to take over for the graduated Skylar Thompson at quarterback. Those are some pretty big haymakers to take, and with Cincinnati bringing in 247Sports 11th-rated transfer class, Scott Satterfield could have a bit of an uphill climb to keep things where theyve been. Prod. The Bears have been a strong Big 12 road team, compiling a 3-1 record, and their play style and experience tends to travel well. Baylor (6-7 in 2022) (Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire, Getty) The biggest reason to propel the Bears down these rankings is that Baylor ranks 100th nationally in The tricky part will be actually defending the title with Oklahoma State still rolling, Oklahoma with their own defensive guru at the helm and Texas strengthening. Defense drove the Bears to the Big 12 title and if theres one thing Aranda can be counted on having, its a good defense. That could make picking the 14-team Big 12 an absolute madhouse with so many variables. The burst, football mind, physicality and speed that he has is gonna separate him, Aranda said. After losing eight players to the NFL over the summer, Baylor football will be forced to replace some big-time athletes from a 2021 Big 12 championship squad. And it wont get too much easier in the second half. Breakdown: Of course, Blake Shapen was going to make this list, but the Shreveport native should be well-known already. Its a big gamble, the second coach said. Mark Milton, who started two games at corner last year, is a strong candidate at cornerback. Almost a third of the league has less than 10 returning starters, and seven of the Big 12's teams have 12 or fewer. Gavin Byers, a sophomore who started the first eight games of the year at right tackle, also returns in 2022 and will provide depth for an already deep unit. Michael has covered Baylor football, men's and women's basketball, baseball and more. Baylor is the 45th ranked defense by FEI advanced statistics and while they allow only a reasonable 5.3 yards per play, offenses that are able to solve their disguised coverages and avoid turnovers will move the ball. A year ago, Grimes found his running back by moving linebacker Abram Smith, a former running back recruit, back to the position. How the star shakes out will impact the rest of the secondary. A better, and more cohesive showing on defense would both be a welcome sign and would allow either Card or Ewers a bit more cushion to get comfortable. That includes competition for incumbent quarterback Blake Shapen and likely plug-and-play starters on the offensive line for the Bears. The defense was stifling and the offense pounded the rock as the Bears worked their way through the Big 12 slate and took down ranked BYU. Hunter Dekkers is the likely Brock Purdy replacement, and he has some interesting traits to build around. Those expecting last year to be a one-off for Kansas arent looking at what Kansas brings back: the Jayhawks rank second nationally in returning production, including first offensively and 10th defensively. He will put the ball in peril and he isnt shy about taking deep shots, even on 3rd and forever. Hes watching closely, gauging whether the young players succeeding the departed stars will bring the same level of accountability. Shapen is 60 and quite mobile, but not the running threat represented by a Jalen Daniels or Adrian Martinez. Aranda said Baker has done wonders with the receiving corps and called it probably the most improved group of the spring. Its safe to expect him to continue performing at a high level as a blocker and as a lethal receiving threat for Shapen. The Longhorns could go as far as the quarterback position will take them this year, whether thats Hudson Card, who started two games last year, or Quinn Ewers, the former top-ranked overall prospect in the 2021 247Sports Composite. Will Howard, Kansas State An injury to Adrian Martinez in mid-October opened the door for Sims had the best season of his career with 361 yards and six touchdowns last year. Another opposing coach agrees that Baylors offensive and defensive lines will be the strength and expects the Bears to be a contender to return to the Big 12 championship game. A lot of Longhorn offensive success will rest on Sarks ability to scheme up run game solutions on a short week. Jun 16, 2022 7:08 PM EDT The Baylor Bears offense had some serious turnover this spring, with quarterback Gerry Bohanon hitting the NCAA Transfer Portal in And will Iowa States reluctance to fully embrace the transfer portal mean that the Cyclones wont fill the holes they do have? The Bears will ride the hot hand the 175 pound Reese has two games where he had 30+ carries, the 170 pound Sqwirl has a 25 carry game and theyre not going to worry about work load in a season finale. Defensively, Kansas brings back most of its pieces on the back end, but will need to hope a transfer class of defensive linemen can hit the ground running if the Jayhawks are to make major (and much-needed) improvements on that side of the ball. 2021 stats: Started all 14 games at center. Sixth-year senior Gavin Holmes has starting experience but has endured multiple injuries in his career. Expect more transfer help at running back (UNLVs Aidan Robbins) and on both lines. WACO, Texas Baylor football head coach Dave Aranda announced the signings of 20 student-athletes to the class of 2022 on Wednesday. Breakdown: Gall is as dependable as they come. The returning starters are listed in every preseason magazine and cited in nearly any preview. The 2022 class, which includes 21 signees, finished 36th. To fill the void, Aranda hired former Nevada assistant Ronnie Wheat. The biggest piece were moving through right now is probably just immaturity, Aranda told The Athletic. On defense, the second coach sees Baylors defensive line as the deepest in the Big 12. The 2022 Georgia Bulldogs will be replacing a lot of experience on both sides of the ball especially on defense. 124 nationally: 121st on offense and 107th on defense, are stepping up in conference AND are doing so while replacing head coach Luke Fickell, who went who went 53-10 over the last five years. STAR Al Walcott is of the Big Nickel variety (6-2, 220) and he can be exploited if Texas can hunt formations to put him 1 on 1 in the slot. Powledge, a Huntsville, Texas, native who played fullback at Sam Houston, is also back in his Texas roots. Only one league team brings back more than 14 starters, meaning that there's something of a hole at the top of the conference from where it has been in previous years. Aranda had to replace three departures from his on-field staff. Baylor ranked 10th in the country and first in the Big 12 in rushing offense in 2021, averaging 219.3 yards per game, leading the way to a Big 12 Championship. At middle linebacker, returning starter Dillon Doyle second on the team with 90 tackles in 2021 should be even better. The Bears enter the season ranked No. Theres a fair amount of moxie in him.. Besides Alabama or Georgia, I dont know whos got a better front scheme-wise than Baylor.. There are tangible questions that need answers, too. Only five scholarship players have entered the portal since August: Bohanon, Sneed, defensive lineman Josh Landry, former backup quarterback Jacob Zeno and safety Tyrone D. Brown. before going out with a concussion. Sneed (Colorado) entered after the 2021 season and Bohanon (USF) and Landry (Missouri) departed after spring football ended. With whats left of the returners, here is who will stand out among the bunch in hopes to repeat as conference champions. Add in Oklahoma State ranking 101st in returning defensive production, and the Cowboys have some question marks. You dont have to worry about a lot of things that you usually have to worry about. #SicEm, 2021 stats: 29 tackles, six pass breakups (led team), two tackles for loss.

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