BigGameBaylorBear said:Baylorbears111 said:Aberzombie1892 said:FLBear5630 said:Youre a clown said:BUATX2000 said:
I don't know. Maybe Novosad knew something we didn't at the time about Decaf Dave and his staff. Outside of Dallas Baker and Khenon Hall, I've not seen anyone on this staff who can actually develop players.
Oregon did offer him a lot more money than we could, but contrary to popular belief, it wasn't just about the money. People were getting into his ear about what a big-time prospect he was and how he was too good to play in a conference where his marquee matchup would be against Texas Tech or BYU. I do blame Dave more than anything though, because he agreed to Novosad's demands to not take a quarterback in the previous class. It's one of the most dumb things Dave has done that he doesn't get enough heat for IMHO. Dave really is a guy that you could sell magic beans or Florida swamp land to
Of course, you do. Aranda is responsible for everything negative that happens. If he recruited someone else and Novosad left you would blame him for not honoring his words.
I hear there is a Volcano erupting in Italy. Etna going off. Damn Dave...
That's as bit on the nose, but this take is not too far off base in general. It's easy for some to look back in time in order to criticize certain decisions with the benefit of knowing the future; in reality, Novosad would not have seriously considered Baylor had Baylor brought in another higher end QB, and that is par for the course for high end QBs of that nature.
For the sake of comparison, Lagway almost certainly would not come to Baylor if Baylor signed another top 10 transfer QB prior to him signing. That's how this works.
The negative outcomes of the Novosad recruiting debacle were obvious from the outset. There is no "hindsight" that was being applied then or now and that is an incorrect reframing.
Timeline:
09/28/2021 - Baylor QB Jacob Zeno enters the portal.
12/16/2021 - Novosad Commits to Baylor
03/26/2022 - Novosad takes an "unofficial visit" to Texas A&M
05/08/2022 - Gerry Bohanon leaves Baylor and commits to USF
06/10/2022 - Novosad takes an "official visit" to Ohio State
06/17/2022 - Novosad takes an "official visit" to Baylor
06/25/2022 - Novosad takes a second "unofficial visit" to Texas A&M
07/26/2022 - Novosad takes an "unofficial visit" to Notre Dame
07/29/2022 - Novosad takes a third "unofficial visit" to Texas A&M.
11/30/2022 - Baylor QB Kyron Drones enters the portal.
12/21/2022 - Novosad decommits from Baylor and commits to Baylor.
Baylor's QB room at that time was literally just Blake Shapen. As others mentioned, Dave should get way more heat for that outcome than he does, as with most things related Dave Aranda he gets the kids gloves for some reason.
Dave's decision to not take a QB wasn't a failure in hindsight, it was a failure before it even happened and at the time and was obvious to all observers which is why it get brought up here time and again. Baylor needed a Big 12 level QB to compete and needed QBs to compete on the roster. Instead, we bet our mortgage on a guy that was never truly committed and paid them a pound of flesh by going against our own natures in seeking what is best for the university and the program.
Lagway is exactly the same situation. We need a QB and we need to get the best we can, but you can't plan around someone if he has no plan of being here. Tell him to sign and stop talking or he can piss off and take what you can get elsewhere.
Frankly, if you like Lagway and you want him to succeed, then he should go anywhere else as Dave loves to regress anyone with talent in his programs.
Our QB room has been atrocious during Dave's tenure. Goes to show how good our 2021 team was because Gerry is a mediocre QB at best.
Sawyer has been the best we've had so far, he was a blast to watch in 2024 but took a step back this year due to not using his legs
not calling you out here, BGBB, this is a general statement: Sawyer's mechanics regressed this past season - his accuracy and timing were inconsistent from play to play, varying in quality from from longtime NFL starter to CFB 3rd stringer. Beyond that, his release point/launch angle was really low for a guy his height and he had more batted balls than lots of QBs far shorter than him.
Those issues all cropped up in lots of plays wherein he was not being pressured heavily. While folks have rightly pointed out that our lack of run game hurt Sawyer in many ways, one of the indirect 'benefits' was that opposing teams often only rushed 1-2 players, preferring to have blanket coverage in the secondary...so Sawyer had plenty of time to work It is to our WRs and TEs credit that they were open so often against those pass coverages...flipside, on so many of those opportunities the miss was on Sawyer.
I think he's a stellar young man with immense talent. I think the right NFL situation for Sawyer is one where he can sit as a backup to the right guy for 2-3 years and soak knowledge up while building his toolkit with a dedicated full-time QB coach.
JERRY JONES, SAVE YOUR REPUTATION AND DRAFT SAWYER.
