Micah Mazzccua announced he was entering the portal on Twitter a couple hours ago. I've never really cared for the guy but still a massive loss on the offensive line. I believe he was the only lineman slated to return.

I don't see anything but I have gathered he is not happy with things based on posts the past month

Nvm… I found it after scrolling down a ways.

Hopefully he can find a place he's happy. I will say that I have interacted with plenty Baylor athletes in the past 5 years at my previous job and he was by far the most rude. Always expecting to get things for free and a jerk to me and other staff members. I guess it's just a Philly thing because nobody else on the team has an attitude like he does. We get it bro. You blocked for Blake Corum in high school. It doesn't mean you get to treat us insignificant folks like trash.

He will grow up someday.

I hope for his sake it's not too late.

I'm sorry to hear that, but based on that account it certainly seems like he'd have been encouraged to transfer if he hadn't made the call himself with the person/player emphasis. He was clearly a raw talent, but he was the most penalized OL we had in 2022 so his lack of discipline was evident.

Our OL might be a bit of a wreck in 2023.

MarcelloSwisher said:

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Hopefully he can find a place he's happy. I will say that I have interacted with plenty Baylor athletes in the past 5 years at my previous job and he was by far the most rude. Always expecting to get things for free and a jerk to me and other staff members. I guess it's just a Philly thing because nobody else on the team has an attitude like he does. We get it bro. You blocked for Blake Corum in high school. It doesn't mean you get to treat us insignificant folks like trash.

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That's very unfortunate & sad to hear that any player would behave in such a way. I wish him the best & hope he finds a place to help foster growth in his life since several have stated there are some issues.

I just looked at his Twitter I didn't see anything that indicated he was in the portal, maybe I'm missing something but I did see his brother announced he entered the portal and he retweeted it. Sorry I just looked again and seen it ignore this post

Mose Jeffery played in his place for most of the last two games. My guess is this is not a surprise to those close to the program -- and it may have been their preference.

parch said:

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I'm sorry to hear that, but based on that account it certainly seems like he'd have been encouraged to transfer if he hadn't made the call himself with the person/player emphasis. He was clearly a raw talent, but he was the most penalized OL we had in 2022 so his lack of discipline was evident.

Our OL might be a bit of a wreck in 2023.

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I don't think our OL will be as good as it was this year or last, but I don't think it will be a wreck either. Grimes and Mateos' system is a very OL-friendly one. We'll find guys who can competently do what we ask our linemen to do.

This is an early projection but the line will probably look something like this:

LT - Campbell Barrington
RT - Gavin Byers
RG - George Maile
LG - Ryan Lengyel
C - Timothy Dawn

bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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I'm sorry to hear that, but based on that account it certainly seems like he'd have been encouraged to transfer if he hadn't made the call himself with the person/player emphasis. He was clearly a raw talent, but he was the most penalized OL we had in 2022 so his lack of discipline was evident.

Our OL might be a bit of a wreck in 2023.

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We'll find guys who can competently do what we ask our linemen to do.

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Maybe. Maybe not. Byers is the only guy who's played a down who'll start in 2023, so the burden of proof is on Mateos after an underwhelming year with the most experienced OL in program history. We will take a step back in 2023, the only question is how big it will be.

NIL and the Portal changed everything. These college players now have agents and they aren't as professional at the NFL/NBA agents. They normally get 20% of the NIL money. Why is that significant?

Because if your school pays someone $200K a year to play, your agent can be shopping you to other school's NIL program to get more money. The agent will encourage the player to leave and go to another school - both can make more money.

The school is not supposed to be involved in NIL but it is hard for me to understand the process by which the school finds an athlete they are interested in and for the money to go after without the school being involved.

When head coach at Stanford recently retired/quit, the said schools had been recruiting his players all year. It is happening but it isn't being discussed.

I am not saying this is what is going on in this situation, but is happening across the board and I can see how it could get worse.

parch said:

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bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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I'm sorry to hear that, but based on that account it certainly seems like he'd have been encouraged to transfer if he hadn't made the call himself with the person/player emphasis. He was clearly a raw talent, but he was the most penalized OL we had in 2022 so his lack of discipline was evident.

Our OL might be a bit of a wreck in 2023.

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We'll find guys who can competently do what we ask our linemen to do.

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Maybe. Maybe not. Byers is the only guy who's played a down who'll start in 2023, so the burden of proof is on Mateos after an underwhelming year with the most experienced OL in program history. We will take a step back in 2023, the only question is how big it will be.

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This year wasn't underwhelming from an O-line perspective. That was a silly narrative perpetuated here that has no basis in fact. Our offensive line had another successful season by virtually every metric. Turnovers and dropped passes can't and shouldn't be placed at the feet of our O-line, which consistently opened holes for our backs and provided time for Shapen to operate.

Agreed. I would add that shapen often panicked his way into finding pressure that wasn't there, and the line did a great job run blocking this year all things considered

MarcelloSwisher said:

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This is an early projection but the line will probably look something like this:

LT - Campbell Barrington
RT - Gavin Byers
RG - George Maile
LG - Ryan Lengyel
C - Timothy Dawn

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I would expect Tate Williams to find his way into the rotation.

But for those who expect the offensive line to fall off a cliff, remember what our O-line looked like the year before Grimes and Mateos arrived. It was a putrid, Kevin Steele-esque mess. With the same players and a couple of key transfers, the new staff turned that unit into a strength.

We've already got one impact transfer, and I suspect we'll add a second before we're through. We're probably due a step backward, but I'd be surprised if we don't field a competent line unit next season.

This! Bear and I struggle to agree consistently but this he's spot on. The o line is way way down the ladder on the reasons for struggles this year. In fact I'd place them and RB and the very bottom of that ladder

bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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I'm sorry to hear that, but based on that account it certainly seems like he'd have been encouraged to transfer if he hadn't made the call himself with the person/player emphasis. He was clearly a raw talent, but he was the most penalized OL we had in 2022 so his lack of discipline was evident.

Our OL might be a bit of a wreck in 2023.

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We'll find guys who can competently do what we ask our linemen to do.

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Maybe. Maybe not. Byers is the only guy who's played a down who'll start in 2023, so the burden of proof is on Mateos after an underwhelming year with the most experienced OL in program history. We will take a step back in 2023, the only question is how big it will be.

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Our offensive line had another successful season by virtually every metric.

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No it didn't.

Areas we regressed statistically from 2021 to 2022 as judged by metrics universally used to chart o-line success:

• Percentage of carries (when four yards are available) that gain at least four yards: 18th to 78th
• Percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown: 43rd to 77th
• Sack rate for all non-garbage time pass attempts: 22nd to 55th
• Sack rate for standard downs pass attempts: 9th to 79th
• Average dropback pocket time: 4.7 seconds (2021) to 3.6 seconds (2022)

We improved in a few statistical categories but notably regressed in others. Our o-line was fine but underperformed in a few critical areas from year to year. They weren't the issue, but underwhelming in comparison to themselves is a perfectly reasonable read for their year.

parch said:

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bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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I'm sorry to hear that, but based on that account it certainly seems like he'd have been encouraged to transfer if he hadn't made the call himself with the person/player emphasis. He was clearly a raw talent, but he was the most penalized OL we had in 2022 so his lack of discipline was evident.

Our OL might be a bit of a wreck in 2023.

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We'll find guys who can competently do what we ask our linemen to do.

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Maybe. Maybe not. Byers is the only guy who's played a down who'll start in 2023, so the burden of proof is on Mateos after an underwhelming year with the most experienced OL in program history. We will take a step back in 2023, the only question is how big it will be.

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Our offensive line had another successful season by virtually every metric.

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No it didn't.

Areas we regressed statistically from 2021 to 2022 as judged by metrics universally used to chart o-line success:

• Percentage of carries (when four yards are available) that gain at least four yards: 18th to 78th
• Percentage of runs on third or fourth down, two yards or less to go, that achieved a first down or touchdown: 43rd to 77th
• Sack rate for all non-garbage time pass attempts: 22nd to 55th
• Sack rate for standard downs pass attempts: 9th to 79th
• Average dropback pocket time: 4.7 seconds (2021) to 3.6 seconds (2022)

We improved in a few statistical categories but notably regressed in others. Our o-line was fine but underperformed in a few critical areas from year to year. They weren't the issue, but underwhelming in comparison to themselves is a perfectly reasonable read for their year.

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Those cherry-picked statistics don't paint a complete picture, and as you mention here were posted only to reflect the areas in which we regressed.

And most of those areas say more about our change at the quarterback position than they do the offensive line. Replace Shapen with Gerry and all of our rushing and sack numbers improve. That's not on the line.

I'd also like to see those numbers with and without Khalil Keith in the lineup. Once our line was fully healthy, our yards per carry average rose by almost two yards.

What things was he unhappy about?

The point is that it's just not true to say we had another successful o-line season by virtually every metric. Nobody's saying we were a flaming wreck at OL, but the fact is that we were Joe Moore Award finalists in 2021, named a preseason top 10 line by PFF for 2022 and then graded well below that as a unit. That's the statistical definition of underwhelming.

Thanks for these stats! Our O-line seemed to be better suited for run blocking than pass protecting based on my eye test. They were also exposed when fast edge/LB rushed the QB/RB. Plenty of o-line mistakes along with the rest of the team that equates to being 6 - 6.

I had him followed like most Baylor players on Twitter.

He had some random tweets within 24 hours that expressed frustration. He was visually very upset in the Kansas State game when he was taken out by Mateos and replaced by Mose Jeffery. With him not starting the last 2 games and having no Baylor pictures or affiliation on Twitter the latter half of the season I started to wonder. His transfer confirmed my suspicions. To be clear this is my observations of his tweets and behavior.

parch said:

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The point is that it's just not true to say we had another successful o-line season by virtually every metric. Nobody's saying we were a flaming wreck at OL, but the fact is that we were Joe Moore Award finalists in 2021, named a preseason top 10 line by PFF for 2022 and then graded well below that as a unit. That's the statistical definition of underwhelming.

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I don't think anyone is arguing that this line was as successful as last year's. But I don't take a nebulous PFF rating as the end-all, be-all either.

I think the biggest difference between this year's line and last year's was the players around it, particularly the one behind center.

I told everyone before the season that our running game would suffer with the move from Bohanon to Shapen, and was dismissed by most. No one should have been surprised when it did. We traded 323 positive yards from our quarterback position for 104 -- about a third of which came during nonconference play. We also took on twice as many sacks, each of which is likely to kill the drive it comes in.

If Blake Shapen had been the player he was advertised to be and brought the things to the passing game that were predicted here, no one would be complaining about our offensive line now. That would have opened our running game, and our offensive numbers would have exceeded last year's.

Instead, we had a less efficient passing game, which helped lead to a less efficient running game. You can't ask a line of three- and four-star recruits to dominate Big 12 defenses. That's what they would have needed to do this year to match last year's performance.

bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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The point is that it's just not true to say we had another successful o-line season by virtually every metric. Nobody's saying we were a flaming wreck at OL, but the fact is that we were Joe Moore Award finalists in 2021, named a preseason top 10 line by PFF for 2022 and then graded well below that as a unit. That's the statistical definition of underwhelming.

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I don't think anyone is arguing that this line was as successful as last year's.

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My point is that this fact, and this fact alone, makes the OL's performance underwhelming. There's no reason to argue it. We can shunt off some things and point fingers at other players and position coaches, but the base fact at the end of the day is that the 2022 Baylor offensive line was not as successful or efficient at the things they could control as the 2021 offensive line despite being made up almost entirely of the same players - and in some areas they weren't even close. By the standards of like, Buffalo, yeah they were amazing. But by the standard they set in 2021, they underachieved. I will be interested to see what Mateos does with essentially a blank slate, but I wouldn't call it a foregone conclusion that they'll have it all figured out in 2023.

parch said:

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bear2be2 said:

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parch said:

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The point is that it's just not true to say we had another successful o-line season by virtually every metric. Nobody's saying we were a flaming wreck at OL, but the fact is that we were Joe Moore Award finalists in 2021, named a preseason top 10 line by PFF for 2022 and then graded well below that as a unit. That's the statistical definition of underwhelming.

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I don't think anyone is arguing that this line was as successful as last year's.

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My point is that this fact, and this fact alone, makes the OL's performance underwhelming. There's no reason to argue it. We can shunt off some things and point fingers at other players and position coaches, but the base fact at the end of the day is that the 2022 Baylor offensive line was not as successful or efficient at the things they could control as the 2021 offensive line despite being made up almost entirely of the same players - and in some areas they weren't even close. By the standards of like, Buffalo, yeah they were amazing. But by the standard they set in 2021, they underachieved. I will be interested to see what Mateos does with essentially a blank slate, but I wouldn't call it a foregone conclusion that they'll have it all figured out in 2023.

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I said last year I didn't think that unit was as dominant as the numbers would suggest and echoed that again this season. So my whole argument is that it was foolhardy to expect it to repeat that performance.

People here completely took for granted what Gerry brought to our running game. Anyone who expected us to repeat that rushing performance with Shapen behind center had completely unrealistic expectations.

And it wasn't just the new backs either. The same backs last year performed significantly better when sharing the backfield with Gerry than they did Blake. That decision always came with a significant sacrifice to the running game. That it also made the passing game worse is the only surprise.

bear2be2 said:

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Mose Jeffery played in his place for most of the last two games. My guess is this is not a surprise to those close to the program -- and it may have been their preference.

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he was suspender for violating team rules which is why Moses was playing in his spot

No one on staff is shedding tears….

Entitled cancer.

Onward.

I felt we missed the opportunity to have an offensive package for Drones….he'd have given DCs another wrinkle to contend with and prepare for.

VATech is a beautiful place….hope he does well.

My thoughts exactly. With an attitude like his it was only a matter of time. From a football stand point I'm seriously bummed but from a person over player stand point I'm thrilled we're practicing what we preach.

MarcelloSwisher said:

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My thoughts exactly. With an attitude like his it was only a matter of time. From a football stand point I'm seriously bummed but from a person over player stand point I'm thrilled we're practicing what we preach.

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where did you work?

Sunoco gas station on la salle next to 3rd street off & on for about 5 years up until this November when it got bought out. Only had negative experiences with two players in that whole time and he's one of them. (Other being a female basketball player who has since graduated) For what it's worth the rest of the guys on this years team are great. Ryan Lengyel, Javon Gipson, AJ McCarty, Snaxxx & Devin Lemear stand out in my head as some that are especially awesome and kind. Blake Shapen is great too which sucks because it makes me feel guilty af when I'm asking for him to be benched.

MarcelloSwisher said:

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Sunoco gas station on la salle next to 3rd street off & on for about 5 years up until this November when it got bought out. Only had negative experiences with two players in that whole time and he's one of them. For what it's worth the rest of the guys on this years team are great. Ryan Lengyel, Javon Gipson, AJ McCarty, Snaxxx & Devin Lemear stand out in my head as some that are especially awesome and kind. Blake Shapen is great too which sucks because it makes me feel guilty af when I'm asking for him to be benched.

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lol. I figured it was food related but a gas station makes even more sense. Let me guess, he wanted some wood tips on free free

Got pissed when I wouldn't let him get free slushes, got mad when I would ID him for gars ("you said it yourself you know who I am") he's just got the attitude of somebody who knows he's gonna get a big pay day in a couple years and sees everyone else like gas station and food attendants as beneath him. I'd literally smile and make it a point to say "what's up Micah" calling him by name like I do with all the players and he'd just look at me like you'd think I killed his dog. My other coworkers who didn't follow football like I did were shocked when they found out he was a player with how he acted.

MarcelloSwisher said:

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Got pissed when I wouldn't let him get free slushes, got mad when I would ID him for gars ("you said it yourself you know who I am") he's just got the attitude of somebody who knows he's gonna get a big pay day in a couple years and sees everyone else like gas station and food attendants as beneath him. I'd literally smile and make it a point to say "what's up Micah" calling him by name like I do with all the players and he'd just look at me like you'd think I killed his dog. My other coworkers who didn't follow football like I did were shocked when they found out he was a player with how he acted.

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dang