BAYLOR (0-0) vs. LIBERTY (0-0)
McLane Stadium | 6 p.m. CT | FS2
ANU SOLOMON THE STARTING QB
After a spring, summer and fall battle between graduate transfer Anu Solomon, returning four-game starter Zach Smith, and true freshman and early enrollee Charlie Brewer, Solomon earned the starting position on Tuesday afternoon.
After arriving in January, Solomon went through spring drills and created the race between he and Smith, a 2016 four-game, as well Brewer, a true freshman who arrived in Waco as an early graduate.
In three seasons at Arizona, Solomon threw for 6,922 yards, 49 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. In his two full seasons for the Wildcats in 2014 and 2015, Solomon averaged 258.4 yards and slightly under two passing touchdowns per game.
During final season for Arizona in 2016, Solomon missed seven games due to injury.
SIDENOTE STORYLINE
Eight Bears will earn first career starts
Safety, Jairon McVea (Redshirt Freshman)
Center, Ryan Miller (True Freshman)
Linebacker, Jalen Pitre (True Freshman)
Cornerback, Harrison Hand (True Freshman)
Receiver, Tony Nicholson (Sophomore)
Running Back, JaMycal Hasty (Sophomore)
Defensive End, Brian Nance (Senior)
Safety, Chris Miller (Sophomore)
MATT RHULE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
On what Jalen Pitre means to Baylor…
“I think the reasons why he decided to stay here, his character, his integrity, his loyalty, the family that he comes from. I mean I really met him when we met for breakfast at the Olive Branch on his official visit when I sat down and said “hey, how are you doing, I’m Matt Rhule,” so it wasn’t like I even did a home visit with him and went to his house, because I got here so late. But I think those characteristics are why he’s a good player. He’s talented, but a lot of kids are talented. It’s that special something, that it-factor, to me, that makes you want to keep a guy and makes you want to play with a guy. Sometimes you’ll see me tweet out “OOU”, that guy’s “One Of Us”. I want to go win with that guy. That’s what Jalen is, and we’ve got a lot of those guys here. I’m going to show the team, I’ve got a guy that played for me at Temple that is playing for the Texans, and he actually came here and trained all offseason. He’s just one of us. And Jalen reminds me of him. He’s going to do whatever it takes for us to win. And if you’ve got a bunch of guys where it’s not about them but about the team, you’ve got a chance to have a great team.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jim Black
S, Jairon McVea
A walk-on safety, McVea is being pushed into the starting lineup for Baylor's season opener due to injuries and suspensions. Matt Rhule has noted his 4.38 40-yard dash offseason time and mentioned he is as talented as some of those with scholarships already. He will be asked to play and play a lot against Liberty.
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Jim Black
RB, JaMycal Hasty
Hasty played the 2016 season as Baylor's No. 3 back behind Shock Linwood and Terence Williams, but now he is asked to carry the load for the first few games of 2017 as Williams is recovering from injury. Hasty rushed for over 600 yards as a freshman and will need to step his game up even more this fall.
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Todd Nickle
WR, Denzel Mims
The emergence of the young group of receivers in Waco allowed Blake Lynch to become a utility man in 2017. That group was highlighted by Mims as an outside receiver with a lot of speed and length. The former four-star will need to grow into the role, but he is talented enough to be a go-to receiver.
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Jim Black
QB, Anu Solomon
Solomon was named the starting quarterback earlier this week and now he takes over for the 28th start of his college career. He will need to prove to be accurate and mobile, but most importantly he will need to prove to stay healthy. The starting QB job will be won in weeks three and four.
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