There was one moment during Baylor’s spring practices that seemed to define Bravvion Roy heading into his second season in Waco.
The former four-star defensive tackle lined up for a one-on-one battle with senior left tackle Mo Porter, firing out of the gate to take control. It was as if Roy had a head start before the whistle like Jerry Seinfeld did in “The Race” (a favorite show of Matt Rhule by the way).
But when it seemed Roy won, pushing Porter back further, that’s when the left tackles cleats dug in deeper and pushed Roy to pave a path LaQuan McGowan could have scored with.
A start with loads of potential but something has been in the way to fully tap into just that. That was largely Roy’s experience last year, needing to suit up for the Bears his freshman year, a role he seemingly seemed ready for but met with small production as a back up before an injury forced him out of the rest of the season.
In six games, Roy had totaled five solo tackles and two assists with none behind the line and no sacks.
Compare that to former Baylor DT and four-star prospect Andrew Billings who ended his freshman campaign with 30 tackles in 11 games. Billings' production only rose the following two years, gaining enough steam to leave for the NFL a year early.
Playing behind sophomore Ira Lewis and forced into the depth chart when junior college tackle Jeremy Faulk was removed from the program, even the thought of Roy needing to be an adequate replacement for Billings shouldn't have even been discussed in 2016.
But the building blocks were there for Roy, a big body with a quick motor that doesn’t back down and untold strength. Roy arrived up around 335 pounds with the need to drop some weight before seeing the field.
After spring practice, Roy tips the scales at 320 pounds. As he showed against Porter, it has only improved his first step, but he is still learning to win the battles against top tier linemen like Porter (as far as pass protection is concerned).
Granted, the one play against Porter in a non-game situation is just a snapshot and if the senior left tackle would have lost, then the conversation would be going the other way, but one has to hope half of the unseen battles go in Roy’s favor to be confident in his growth in Waco.
Speaking with USA Today, defensive line coach Elijah Robinson hinted that Roy’s growth may not be quite as advanced as hoped but his surrounding cast should help round out those edges.
“I think the whole group overall had a good spring,” Robinson
said. “They’re doing a good job understanding the assignments we’ve laid out for them. I wouldn’t single out Bravvion but as a unit, those guys had a pretty good spring.”
Roy may not be ready for a banner season but rather, keep developing his game alongside fellow sophomore Michael Johnson who took first-team reps with Ira Lewis throughout the spring.
It’d be great to have Roy step in and wreck havoc in a role akin to Billings but that may be another year away, making his year without a redshirt look all the more unfortunate.