The Players' Take: Practicing Simple Better
Homecoming hoopla won't shake the Bears' focus this Saturday, but bad practice habits could sink any celebration if Siaki 'Apu' Ika and Ben Sims are any indication. Ahead of the Kansas contest, the player duo leaned heavily on talking about the basics, which seems to be the point with this team.
Aranda has spoken about intentionality plenty of times previously. Doing simple better was another oft-used term by him this offseason. Based on the results, it's not hard to see where better applying those principles could have impacted outcomes differently. So, here were Ika and Sims on Tuesday, speaking with a focus, and well-tempered frustration, about respect for their opponent, but mostly, the importance of good practice habits. Wait, we're talking about practice?
Asked where the team could take significant steps, Ika went to the same well several times.
"I feel like, we just got to play faster, get back to playing green, playing like us. I feel like during practice — when the lights aren't on and pressure isn't built — it's easy to play fast and say this and that. But we just got to do it when the lights turn on," he said.
Asked again about the most significant needs for improvement, he put a slightly different spin on the same message.
"Practice, for sure. I feel like that's where it all starts for everyone. How you practice, how you play. And I feel like, that's something we just need to get better at. Loving practice, practicing faster, love practicing with our teammates being here."
Few people saw a significant disconnect coming this season, but whether that's a coach-to-player, coach-to-coach, or player-to-player, it's clear that some loose connections on this team still need work. Earlier this week, Aranda spoke about it in some fashion, mentioning a certain mentality that had sometimes arisen: expecting wins just by showing up. The more he said, the more Ika talked about practice and its importance, to him at least. And, of course, the Dillon Doyle's of the world. But for others? Clearly, he sees something missing, too.
"In general, it feels like as the season has been going on, people just been going through the motions," he stated bluntly. "So, when we're put into those stressful situations in the games, and we don't know how to handle it. It's obviously something we need to address in practice. Put ourselves in those positions that we're going to be in on Saturday, not something that we're just running through just to get the period over with."
Ika's insight and wisdom are partly a product of experience and certainly one of maturity, as he now crosses the halfway point of his junior season. He's seen and been on both sides of different coins, and his path to success hasn't been a straight line. Nor is it finished. The Salt Lake City native won't be repeating Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors, but All-Big 12 is still possible as he's remained a force in the middle for this Baylor defense. Even if he, fans, and media all believe the unit and the d-line are capable of much more. But back to the wisdom, it's apparent reality, and probably some urgency is setting in when it comes to the tricky business of time. But at least it provides some valuable perspective.
"I'm a little older now. So I look at the game a little bit differently. Kind of starting to get to the point in my career where the number of guaranteed snaps is coming down. So, I've just been really trying to emphasize taking in everything, the wins and the losses, the good practices and the bad practices. It's just all part of it and I'm just glad to be here."
His offensive counterpart, tight end Ben Sims has been around Waco and the college game a bit longer, two seasons, to be exact. So as a fifth-year, he especially finds himself on the other side of college life. Yet, even with all that experience, Sims echoes the importance of practice habits when looking for ways this team can flip recent results. Echoing the staff's messages, while in the process, echoing Ika's concerns about the levels of effort and focus he sees on the roster.
"You know, it goes back to doing simple better, being more intentional in our practices. Like taking everything seriously, because the things that you do in practice show up in the game. So like really going back and looking at you know, practice tape, it turns out that you do the exact same thing in the game. So, just the intentionality of what we're doing every day," is something he's focused on personally.
During Sims' time in Waco, the Bears have had little to no trouble with Kansas but experienced a wild rollercoaster of results against everyone else. Many have taken the Jayhawks for granted and almost always gotten away with it. Almost. Hello there, Texas. To the point where KU seemingly became a Homecoming opponent fixture for schools seeking a feel-good, victorious weekend with all the alums back. Thankfully, Ika and Sims both seem to know; they're not walking into a meeting with those Kansas teams anymore, and the tune is slowly but surely changing under Lance Leipold. With or without Jalon Daniels at QB, McLane Stadium's hosting a team this weekend that will fight hard and is fully capable of putting up some points.
Like Baylor, the Jayhawks are also looking to rebound following consecutive losses and some dashed hopes. The implications of this outcome are significant for each side on Saturday. If losses are fuel, both teams should be riding on full tanks before kickoff. Still, the messages remain the same.
"Are you asking me if there's hunger on both sides? Yeah. I mean, absolutely. No one likes to lose two straight. Losing two straight's obviously difficult and hard. And you start kind of looking in the mirror more and questioning things," the senior tight end said. "But, you know, it's just coming back to doing simple better and being more intentional and doing the right things. And you know, what you do off the field is just as important as what you do on the field, and it's really about getting back on track."
One uncertainty looming ahead is who will play QB for the Bears, given Blake Shapen's exit last week. Regarding timing, the injury couldn't have been worse, given Shapen's great night statistically and the amount of time remaining in such an important contest. Plus, the stride the offense seemed to be hitting, particularly in the passing game. To what extent Shapen's absence affected the outcome last Thursday, we don't know, but it wasn't all bad news as backup Kyron Drones played most of the second half and performed well, given the circumstances. Some want to see him more regardless, as his talent, size, and potential is evident.
"Kyron's got the same abilities. I mean, like you saw in the game, he came in and didn't skip a beat. So, the confidence that the offense has in Kyron is second to none. We're ready for him to play if he needs to."
The Jayhawks will probably score some points, but they're also susceptible to giving some up. Either Baylor QB can score, but if Shapen is good to go, can he quickly relocate the rhythm we saw bubbling up last week? Part of which was Sims' early 1-yard touchdown run on the handoff from Baylor's QB1.
"Yeah, I felt like Blake was hitting his stride and I think that holds true for the entire offense. I feel like we're starting to put up good numbers and we're starting to do the right things and starting to clean up the mistakes as far as penalties and maybe some execution stuff but yeah, like he's playing his tail off so props to him."