The Good, The Bad & The Ugly from Baylor's Week of Sports
Football dominated the news week, hitting the transfer portal and signing the first phase of their 2023 class — with one stunning exception — before closing a long, winding 2022 season with an unfortunate but fitting ending.
Here's a look at The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly from the past week in Baylor Football (Athletics).
The Good
Merry Christmas — First, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Omitting the obvious reason for the season, one of the only good things stemming from Baylor's bowl game was the quick turnaround into Christmas weekend — and the various distractions or areas of focus that can encompass. Sports-wise, a small sampling of bowl games, recruiting stories, a full NFL slate, and some Luka Doncic vs. the Lakers helped cleanse my sports palate over the weekend. The Armed Forces Bowl jokes will continue for a while, but the headlines were fleeting.
It's Over, Finally — I'm not too fond of this overall result and ending for departing players like Gavin Holmes, Siaki Ika, Bryson Jackson, Dillon Doyle, and so many others. But it's far less painful an ending knowing the success experienced last season by most of this roster. The bottom line is this overall group didn't click and perform at the same level in comparison, for whatever reasons. Following a fourth straight loss — that only reaffirmed significant question marks about the future — it was time to close this chapter and for everyone involved to regroup. New faces have entered the picture, while some familiar names have exited. That will continue on both accounts in the next few weeks and months. You hope this latest round of changes provides the missing spark needed to reenergize the wins on and off the field in 2023.
New Signing Class — The Bears saw 20 of 21 possible regular signees make it official on Wednesday, including freshly announced JUCO commit Jerrell Boykins Jr. The lone exception is Clear Falls linebacker, Corey Kelly. In addition, they also signed other portal pickups in Arkansas WR Ketron Cleveland and BYU offensive lineman Campbell Barrington, giving the program 22 official additions by day's end, with more news to come before Christmas Eve.
Transfer Portal — The portal taketh and giveth and was in the giving mood last week. Ketron Jackson, mentioned above, was a big get during the week. And post-NSD, the Bears added a second Barrington brother from BYU — and another offensive lineman — in Clark Barrington and later Oklahoma State running back Dominic Richardson. The retooling of the roster is fully underway, and from the signing class to the portal, the Bears made some significant personnel moves last week. So despite a couple of big disappointments, the news cycle featured plenty of positives, and the future isn't all doom and gloom.
Dillon Doyle — The senior linebacker was named the Big 12's Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year last week and earned Baylor's MVP honors in the Armed Forces Bowl loss after registering ten tackles. Following his final game with the Bears, he sat with Aranda in a challenging postgame situation, answering questions. He's been a great ambassador for the program, and I'd expect that to continue, no matter what the future holds.
Hoops Wins — Okay, I know neither team's victories qualify as terrific performances, but winning sure beats losing, and there's enough grumbling about football to fill most of this week's grouchier side. The No. 12 men edged Northwestern State, 58-48, while the No. 24 women hung around in the Top 25 by a thread and closed the non-conference with a 73-52 win over Long Beach State. Nicki Collen and the women take the court to open conference play on Saturday afternoon against TCU in Waco. The men close the non-con on Wednesday against Nicholls and then travel to Ames for the Big 12 opener on Saturday against Iowa State. So a big week is upcoming for both squads, and an essential turning of the calendar to conference play.
The Bad
Followup Campaign — Following the bowl loss, Aranda was asked by our own David Smoak if they failed to capitalize on last year's success or took a step back as a program. No matter how you slice it in the aftermath of the loss to the Air Force, it sure seems like a hard sell or outright denial to say otherwise. They lost four straight, including the bowl game in freezing temperatures at their CFP-bound arch-rival's stadium. Forgetting the last part and simply going from 12-2 to 6-7, no matter the personnel losses or situations begs questions about the upcoming direction changes. Especially when scheduled to lose even more experienced talent, and the Big 12 is anything but a cakewalk. Overall, it was a far less enjoyable run in year three, leaving the door open for plenty of skepticism about the future outlook, whether warranted or not.
Big 12 Bowls — I'll say it one final time before moving on entirely. With all due respect to the Armed Forces folks, no Big 12 team needs to be playing a bowl game in another Big 12 school's home venue. I understand the depth of bowl politics and that Air Force-Baylor won't fill up AT&T Stadium. Still, even with incredible hospitality, that felt all kinds of strange closing a postseason — and I'm sure for many Baylor guys — a career in that familiar setting. Fort Worth is a fun enough city to spend some time, and Amon Carter is an excellent venue, perfectly capable of hosting a bowl game. Still, I think the bowl stands to benefit significantly from going outside for different schools that would appreciate it more, too. And I know the Big 12 schools would definitely benefit from some better options.
QB Position & Depth — Well, the good news is Baylor made it through the season finale without breaking the emergency glass behind Blake Shapen, despite Kyron Drones' departure leaving depth at a low point. The problem is, many fans were dying to see Luke Anthony, Landry Kinne, or anyone else not named Blake Shapen running the offense before the game's end. With Austin Novosad's late recruiting betrayal, the Bears' quarterback room is severely lacking in quality depth moving forward, with no high school signee for the second consecutive year. This fact can't be spun positively at the moment, especially not after Shapen's performance against Air Force. Something has to change before spring ball, and it's safe to envision something in the form of at least one, if not two, quarterback signees via the portal or high school ranks. There's a lot to work on this offseason, but the QB room should be among the highest priorities.
The Ugly
The Weather — I don’t know how many of y’all made it outside through the entirety of that game. I salute each and every one of you because those were some miserable conditions and apparently one of the coldest bowl games ever. I can believe it.
Bowl Showing — Overall, that was an awful look on Friday. All due respect to Air Force, of course, as that's a good, well-coached, ten-win football team. They were better in every phase, which is part of the problem. Any hopes the extra prep time or Aranda taking over the defense would lead to significant changes in the level of play were unfounded. Instead, the result was more of what we've seen recently. From 6-3 and title hopes still alive entering the closing stretch to 6-7 with no rings, trophies, or much momentum is a harsh reality. That's different from how anyone wanted this season to end and not how many pictured it would go this year. I hate making it so black and white, as there are important relationships behind the scenes, and work put in makes those losses far more painful for the personnel involved. But that was ugly on Friday night, and despite the cold, a total letdown, especially for those who turned out in support.
Offense — Something has to give. Yes, the run game was ineffective, but Jeff Grimes and Blake Shapen have to find a way when that occurs, and neither had any answers for the Air Force defense. Shapen had a forgettable night that only further empowered his detractors, and the same for Grimes, whose offense would usually at least be able to show how close they were to scoring before an untimely interception or turnover on downs, for example. At least some success on the ground. But no, they could barely string drives together most of the night for one reason or another, including a complete lack of run game, held to an embarrassing 42 yards rushing on the night. Air Force QB Haaziq Daniels nearly matched Shapen's stat line on just 4-7 passing; still a big night in the air for the Falcons. I know they believe in Shapen, but he must have some legitimate competition this spring to instill any hope in this offense again. And for Grimes, what's next? For one, the Zach Wilson affiliation isn't what it used to be a couple of years ago. He's gone from a potential golden boy to likely an all-time NFL Draft bust.
Austin Novosad — Getting stood up at the altar on National Signing Day after a long engagement and fending off multiple prime suitors is a nightmare scenario. Most of the time, there are other fish in the sea, but given said timing, the sea is a little more depleted than usual. The Bears now have few choices to try and replenish their quarterback room for depth purposes, much less legitimate competition. I can somewhat understand Novosad's previous relationship with UTSA turned Oregon OC Will Stein, but after Shawn Bell and staff put in all that time, you pull that move on National Signing Day eve/morning? Those big NSD decisions are always part of the recruiting games and fireworks. I also get that he's a young man getting wooed by the sports' top brands and making a tough, impactful decision. But, the timing was atrocious and, most of all, unnecessary. If nothing else, it marks another memorable chapter in the Baylor recruiting chronicles and a new critical juncture for this program's roster building as the true offseason begins.
