Fruhmorgen, Valentin big pieces to Baylor's potential in 2018

If it was Mo Porter's bad ankle, a complex scheme that had yet to fall into place or relying on former tight ends and true freshmen on the left side of the offensive line, the Bears couldn't find a consistent push on opposing defenses in 2017.

In little over a year, Matt Rhule's staff has addressed those OL issues in an abrupt way that gives a positive outlook for his second season, but it wasn't prior to some rough sledding.

It started 18 months ago when Baylor's 2016 class saw itself stripped of potential 2017 starters and contributors Branton Autry, Patrick Hudson and JP Urquidez. Those blank spaces left on the roster occurred all prior to the arrival of Rhule in Waco, but he would personally see plenty additional attrition after his arrival in December of 2017.

The first year head coach saw his roster endure the retirement of starting left tackle Dom Desouza and potential starting center Sean Muir before the Bears even stepped foot on the field for spring drills. He then saw two additional offensive linemen, Josh Pelzel and Tanner Thrift, exit the program for medical concerns at the conclusion of the spring.

That left the Bears a total of five returning scholarship offensive linemen on the roster as the summer months approached with six true freshmen headed to campus. Tight ends Sam Tecklenburg and Josh Malin then made the move to the line to help bolster the depth and two of the six freshmen, Xavier Newman and Ryan Miller, would eventually play and start during their first year on campus.

By season's end, Rhule saw senior guard Ishmael Wilson exit the program while former junior college lineman Tyrae Simmons was relegated to being a special teams contributor only, leaving the Bears with only three of their original five to match with their newly acquired linemen.

Baylor's lack of depth wasn't for a lack of trying to find the right pieces to the puzzle to help them immediately.

The Bears pursued multiple immediately eligible transfers including highly regarded prospects Sunny Odogwu (Miami grad transfer) and George Moore (junior college) to no avail. Odogwu, despite his connection to the staff, landed at UCLA while Moore, despite a very good official visit, landed at Oregon.

The next best option? Begin preparing for the future.

Prior to the start of 2017, the Bears added a name familiar to locals, former Midway and Central Florida offensive lineman Christian Beard. Beard was added to the roster as a walk-on with the hopes of earning a scholarship as he attempted to prove his full recovery from a knee injury. Beard remains on the roster today as a redshirt junior and Rhule stated recently that the 6-foot-3, 300-pound interior lineman would have been a valuable piece to last season's unit. 

But the big coup was the addition of former Clemson offensive lineman Jake Fruhmorgen. Fruhmorgen, a former U.S. Army All-American and four-star prospect, started eight games for Clemson's 2016 National Championship team prior to being injured. Fruhmorgen eventually left Clemson and was set to return closer to home and attend the University of Florida, but another change of mind and a connection to George DeLeone brought him to Waco.

Fruhmorgen set out the 2017 season due to NCAA rules and will be eligible to compete in 2018 as a redshirt junior.

Despite losing Porter, Simmons and Wilson following the season, the Bears are looking at a net positive in terms of depth with the redshirt freshmen being ready for action and an additional five high school linemen in the 2018 class December.

However, one more experienced and physically mature piece would provide a luxury of flexibility and experienced depth, not to mention balance and stability to a unit that needed it in the worst way.

Meet Baylor's most recent commit, junior college prospect Johncarlo Valentin‍ (ASA College). Valentin, a prospect originally from Philidelphia, was familiar with Matt Rhule and the majority of his staff from their time at Temple. A 2016 Oklahoma signee, Valentin (6-4, 330) chose Baylor over offers from Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee and others.

Like any other position on the field, the value of an individual offensive lineman can't easily be measured. That is until something goes wrong such as a missed block or a blown assignment. More often than not in 2017, the offensive line had moments that were noticed by even the most casual observer.

At times it was being physically overwhelmed, at others it was players being new to their position. As an entire group the scheme was new and complex, creating confusion on many occasions. So how is that fixed? Finding size and maturity to go along with those already in place with hopes of finding the right combination.

In 12 games last fall, Baylor ranked No. 9 in third-down conversions in Big 12 play, No. 9 in red zone offense and No. 8 in rushing offense. The biggest correlation between the three? The inability to run the football when the opposing team knew they were going to run the football or their inability to win individual matchups in short-yardage situations.

The Bears finished as the No. 6 overall offense in the Big 12 in 2017, but it was their passing offense finishing the season ranked No. 24 in the nation that carried the overall total. Pass protection was consistently inconsistent throughout the season, primarily for reasons that have already been discussed, but when given time, the efficiency through the air proved to be among the best in the country. It just didn't happen often enough.

The combination of Fruhmorgen, who will have an entire calendar year under George Deleone's scheme after two years at Clemson, and Valentin, a true junior that will provide size and physical strength unlike everyone not named Blake Blackmar on the roster, will greatly supplement in many areas.

Fruhmorgen is likely slated for the left tackle position to replace Porter while Valentin provides a flexibility that can loosen up rotations and allow the best unit to be on the field at all times. The 6-foot-4, 330-pound prospect could play center, guard or tackle, allowing players like Xavier Newman, Sam Tecklenburg and even senior Patrick Lawrence to find their best overall position.

Make no mistake, while absorbing the scheme and development of strength and mass can be done during the offseason, depth issues of the magnitude between 2016 and 2017 aren't fixed overnight. But as the Bears move from one senior, two juniors, a sophomore and a freshman starting to the possibility of two seniors and three juniors, things should progress naturally.

How much? We should begin to see some answers this spring as to just how much the scheme has been implemented and how much maturity and stability comes with the new depth.