Xavier Newman

Predicting the first string on offense and defense for the season opener against Texas State

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

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.