The FRO: Baylor Continues To Evaluate Transfer Portal
In Facts, Rumors & Opinions (aka FRO), the SicEm365 staff compiles their knowledge and speculation from a number of conversations for a piece to cover a variety of interesting topics on Baylor University and Baylor Athletics including football, basketball and recruiting.
Sights and Sounds of Baylor's Spring Game
Here are some quick observations of the 2022 Baylor Spring Game
Practice Observations: 3/29
I'm not going to wax poetic on what I observed in the 15-20 minutes of pre-practice yesterday, but several things did stand out to me during that period. I spent much of my time with OL/DL/JACK and then used the rest of the time with STAR and FS. You can tell the amount of time Vic and staff are pouring into the playersThe team is bigger in bodies and size. Just a better roster for this Spring run and into the Fall compared to the last two years with 3 deep across all positionsMose Jeffery seems to be taking the 1st string guard opening as he led warmups and took reps with 1st teamMicah Mazzccua looks like he's back up Mose and this will be a battle to watchThe other OL piece I noticed, outside of new technique was Grant Miller runing smoe 1st team at CThe new techniques looked to be an added jab step for power blocking and a leverage technique Mateos was executing himself to teach the players what he wantedI asked David Kaye how accurate the weights were for the players and he said the staff doesn't care what they weigh in the Spring on paper. I joked that we'll take the brunt of that info not being right for him on the message boards. He's still handling Football and Basketball SID gigs, which used to be two people, so if you see him, tell him thanks for te hard work he does.Galvin looks like you'd expect.Tate Williams wasn't out there, but have heard not to worryHave heard Williams is still off on pass protection, but he's got a year more to learnOk, let's talk Jackie Marshall. There is no way, no way he's 235. His legs are bigger than Gabe Hall and he's pushing 270+ and fluid. During a pass tip drill he just plucked the ball out of the air for an INT instead of batting it away. I'm not sure he gets on the field in front of Randolph, Obi, or Anyanwu to start, but he's going to be trouble late in games if an opponent thinks there will be a dropoff.Anthony Anyanwu looks great as well and recovered from the broken leg last year right before the season. He was the starter before the injury, so that tells you his potential. He's a solid 250ish and the explosion is thereJordan Jenkins just looks different than the other backs and that takes nothing away from Taye McWilliams or Josh Fleeks, but the thud from the blocking pad hitting him is like hearing Bo Jackson hit a baseball and Dickie ThonMcWilliams looks good and is running 1st reps and has more home run hitting ability than Jenkins from a speed standpoint, but late in a game is where Jenkins is going to demoralize defenses just dragging them for yards. Fleeks and Squirrel are great changes of pace and the speed jumps a little when each gets the ballGetting both in space will be something the new offensive sets utilizes or from what I could observe as each ran some quick curl routes for the QBsDevin Neal looks good as did Devin Lemear STAR is loaded with Christian Morgan, Romario Noel Lorando Johnson, Jr. out there with physicalityCoach Aranda has a notebook/notepad he carries around with him taking notes of position groups. Not sure if he's curing cancer on that notepad or just jotting down quick notes to review later, but it was something new compared to last year.
Roster: Staying or Going?
I put together an article on all the seniors on the roster as if they were all going to leave last week. Luckily, that isn't the case. We know the Bears invited to post season bowls by the NFL will be gone. I expected a few more to be gone as well.I am hearing to expect much of the OL that can will return. Another year under Mateos is what is being preached from some NFL scouts/agents to the players. That doesn't mean a player won't get a better grade than expected and take the opportunity, but for now, losing a 1-2 starters from the line is the expectation. If Baylor were to get Connor Galvin, Grant Miller, Jacob Gall, and possibly Khalil Keith back, it would allow the classes below time to get even more experience. Baylor would likely be on the market for a tackle in the portal and several names have popped on the scene and will continue to do so if Keith is unable to return. Micah Mazzccua should slide into Newman-Smith's position.Another area of need is obviously CB with Barnes, Milton, and Texada leaving the program after the season. Nothing on new names as of today from my end.There are rumors of 1-2 defensive linemen retiring after the bowl game, but with the rotations Ron Roberts runs on defense, the depth will remain strong.Dillon Doyle looks to remain on campus, but replacing Bernard will be a primary focus for the staff.
Post Practice Takeaways 4/17: Offense
Today wasn't as great weather wise, but the play picked up on both sides of the ball and improvement in certain areas was noticeable. I was joined by footballBob, Smoaky, and others to watch today and that was great as well. There will be a video of "Bob" and I talking about the practice and what we saw, but here is the written version.QBGerry Bohanon was out with the 1s first and he had his moments. I'd put him #2 of the QBs today. He still has his momenets where he isn't decisive or finding the right read. This is a new offense, but you'd still like him to bring this to the table as he learns.Jacob Zeno came out next and he's starting to separate himself a little here, IMO. His arm talent is there and he's making some reads while trusting his arm to get the ball there. Still room for improvement, but he had the best day.Blake Shapen seemed to regress a little today, but the arm talent is unquestionable. He's a gamer and tucked the ball a bit too much instead of going through the reads and pushing the ball upfield.Kyron Drones is going to be good. He is adjusting to the speed of the game and makes plays at times you shouldn't. He's more comfortable in 7 on 7 right now, but he did make solid throws in 11s.Brandon Bass is a walk-on and not afraid to force it in. He doesn't have the arm talent of the other 4 and is likely why he is a walk-on and he will be a great coach if that is where he wants to go after his career is done.RBTrestan Ebner has plenty of speed, but the area he still needs to work on is pass protection and trusting the blocks of the OL. He has a tendency to try to bounce it outside. He did better in the second half of practice when he cut inside and got extra yardage.Taye McWilliams was the second back out and he wasn't afraid to put his head in there and go for tough yards. He did have a pass go off his facemask that likely would have been a TD. He's going to be ready for the season and provide valuable carries/catches.Qualan Jones is a monster and he needs to show it more versus running upright. When he lowers his head he's a load. He did line up at FB for a few playsJonah White wasn't out there or I missed himSurprise of the day was Abram Smith getting plenty of carries and looking natural and smooth. I turned to "Bob" and said he may just end up at RB or playing both ways with the depth at LB. WRTyquan Thornton had a great TD and a few other playsRJ Sneed had one play and he got lit up at the end of it by JT Woods and they had some trash talk afterI didn't remember seeing EstradaJavon Gipson continue to impress me for a WR, not just freshman WRElijah Bean made some plays today and this was good to see as well. Seth Jones has sure hands and good speedJaylen Ellis gave up on a route Ithought would have gone for a TD, but otherwise was solid.Jackson Gleeson didn't do much todayGavin Holmes didn't practiceOLFirst team was LT Connor Galvin, Johncarlo Valentin, Xavier Newman, Micah Mazzccua, Gavin Byers Galvin was hobbled on a sprained left ankle and still solid to goodValentin had his moments of getting movement and then getting extended and beatenNewman was a bit better, but still not thereMazzccua surprised a couple of time as he was able to get movement and lock onto his manByers likely is the steal of the 2019 class for Baylor as he's going to be a good one as he maturesSecond OL was LT Elijah Ellis, Connor Heffernan, Casey Phillips, Grant Miller, Mose Jeffery Ellis is a mountain of a player and athletic. You see the flashes, but he still has struggles which should dissappear with age and experienceHeffernan has the feet, but needs the size and strength of agePhillips tried center and it was rough at times on snaps, but again, first time I've seen him there. Miller looked solid again. Not sure why he isn't at centerJeffery had his moments on run blocking, but pass blocking is likely at a guard levelThe OL overall is still a work in progress, but the learning they are doing by switching positions and groups is giving the staff a view of what they will become and what they need to work on for 2021. Finding the best five is the goal and developing the backups to step into a role if there is an injury.Defense later as well as the video of the breakdown
