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Baylor Football

From QB to LB, Baylor has challenge ahead with ISU's Joel Lanning

June 1, 2017
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Every year teams have to adjust to new faces but this year, Baylor and the rest of the Big 12 have a strange question mark on the horizon with Iowa State.

Joel Lanning has become a well-known name in the conference, once considered the next big thing in Ames at quarterback. He certainly showed up against Baylor, putting up six touchdowns for the Cyclones the past two years. But his time under center looks to be up as Jacob Park overtook the position at the tail end of 2016, leaving Lanning in the dark.

It could be a Baker Mayfield-Davis Webb-Patrick Mahomes situation where the first two of that trio transferred because of competition with the younger predecessor but Lanning has decided to stay in Ames, trying his hand at….linebacker.

Flipping sides isn’t unheard of in college, Baylor even has a few to make the transition. It's most common among running backs and wide receivers to the secondary or somewhere in the trenches, QBs moving around is out of the ordinary. But if there’s someone that can make the move, it’s Lanning.

While Lanning was an efficient passer when he first came onto the scene in 2015, throwing 10 touchdowns in six games, he became more valuable tucking the ball.



As Park’s sidekick against Texas Tech, Lanning rushed for five touchdowns, dashing for 171 yards on 17 attempts. That certainly skewed his numbers for the year but he had a similar game against Oklahoma State in 2015, scoring twice with 130 yards on 14 attempts.

In all, Lanning had seven games rushing over 50 yards (and would have more without sacks costing him yards) and 15 touchdowns on the ground. He became ISU’s version of Tyrone Swoopes.

Obviously, the athleticism and physical requirements (6-foot-2, 235 pounds) are there for Lanning to move to linebacker. Having been a signal since his freshman year of high school, the mental makeup to call out disguised formations and offensive tendencies are there as well.

Still, the move seems too drastic to really know what he can do lurking in coverage or blitzing the A-gap. Head coach Matt Campbell doesn’t have hesitation, though, realizing he couldn’t have a Mayfield-Webb situation on his hands. Lanning is too much of a playmaker not to use.

“I kept watching the film and I’d think, ‘Man, this isn’t the best situation for our football team,’” Campbell said to ESPN’s Mitch Sherman, “We don’t have enough high-end players like Joel.’ Here’s one of the best players on our team, and he’s not on the field.”

Ultimately, Campbell went to the program’s director of strength and conditioning Rudy Wade to discuss the possibility of adding Lanning as the heart of the defense at MIKE linebacker. The leadership was already there, so Wade took on the challenge to get Lanning ready for a position he hasn’t played since junior high school.

Baylor will have nearly all season to get familiar with Lanning at his new position, playing the Cyclones the second-to-last game of the regular season. Virtually the entire team will have to become familiar with his game, though, as Campbell expects to keep using him on offense, especially in short yardage situations.
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From QB to LB, Baylor has challenge ahead with ISU's Joel Lanning

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