‘I Want to Win’: Hosea Wheeler Bringing Championship Mentality to Baylor's Defense

After spending much of the last eight months in eligibility limbo, sixth-year senior defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler finally got an answer to whether or not he could play this fall.

On Tuesday, in a McLennan County courthouse, Judge Ryan Luna granted Wheeler a temporary injunction, clearing the way for him to play at least the first three months of the season and, in the process, giving Baylor a huge boost in both morale and the middle of its defensive line.

“I was pretty tearful in the court,” Wheeler told the media in a Friday press conference. “I had my eyes down. I don’t like people seeing me cry, but it’s a big moment for me and my family. They can see me play football for one more year and hopefully win another national championship.”

Last season, the 6-foot-3, 306-pounder posted 31 tackles, four for loss, 11 quarterback pressures and two fumble recoveries as he played 420 snaps for the national champion Hoosiers. When defensive line coach Jacori Greer heard the good news, he couldn’t have been more ecstatic.

“I was fired up. I went home the night before, prayed and put it in God’s hands,” Greer said. “Luckily for us, it worked out the way we wanted. From a leadership standpoint, he gives us something different. From a playing standpoint, he does all the little things right. He’s vital for our success.”

Wheeler is expected to be one of Baylor’s best players on defense and has set a personal goal to be an All-American and All-Big 12 honoree this fall. Beyond his on-the-field play and big expectations, he brings a wealth of leadership and experience into the defensive line room.

“I help a lot of the guys out, the young guys, with their hands, their footwork,” Wheeler said. “Usually I can call out plays and help out the dudes. We do this thing called birds and rabbits, where if we know it's a pass, we can get off. If we know it's a rabbit, we just gear up for the run. I bring a lot of experience, an older-guy mentality and an aggressive mentality. I'm trying to get everybody to just go run through some stuff.”

Wheeler later added, “I’ve played on the biggest stage of them all, so I’m pretty confident. I just want to help my teammates become the best players they can be. If all 11 are functioning right, we’ll win. That’s the biggest thing for me — I want to win.”

Beyond Wheeler, Baylor has no shortage of talent in the trenches, namely fifth-year senior transfer Jamaal Whyce, who had 34 tackles, including six TFLs, three sacks and a fumble recovery last season with Marshall; he also represented Baylor at Big 12 Media Days earlier this summer.

Across his short time in Waco, Whyce, standing at 6-foot-4, 301 pounds, has developed a close relationship with Wheeler, saying, “I already felt he was gonna be eligible. There’s something special that you could feel. I met Hosea in February, and from the time we met, we just clicked.”

Whyce added, “When we would play together in the spring, we’d sit down and watch film after practice, and we’d be like, ‘Dang. We could really play together.’ Then Tez came along once he ended up getting healthy; then it was like, ‘Hold on. We could really put something together.’ Now that everybody else was putting their stuff together, I thought he was going to get his year back. There was too much going the right way for something to go wrong.”

Devonte Tezino, a fifth-year senior from Killeen, has experienced many highs and lows during his tenure at Baylor. Now that he’s back healthy after missing a good portion of the spring, Tezino feels like this could be the deepest defensive front he’s been a part of.

“When I first got here, we had a lot of good guys on the D-line, but I feel like this group of guys, they did a good job of putting us together,” Tezino said. “It’s really just the brotherhood. Everybody can play on the D-line. You can’t slack a day, or your job’s in jeopardy.”

With Wheeler, Whyce, Tezino and others slated to make an impact this fall, the Bears got another boost earlier this week when they added South Florida defensive tackle Traevon Mitchell to the mix.

Mitchell finished third among defensive linemen in the AAC with an 80.2 defensive grade and an 82.3 run defense grade. Mitchell gained a fifth year of eligibility through the class-wide preliminary injunction issued in Colorado and was seen as an insurance policy if Wheeler couldn’t play.

“When I first got to Baylor, he was a guy that we had targeted and looked at, but we found out he was out of eligibility, so we moved on from that,” Greer said while discussing Mitchell. “Then, next thing you know, the NCAA does [what it does]. There’s a new rule passing, and here we are.”

Greer continued, “He’s quick. He’s twitched up. He’s learning and trying to get into some shape right now. He has a little time to get right, so that’s the focus with him. [Kaeron Johnson], my assistant, is working with him one-on-one a lot of the time. We’re excited to have him. He definitely gives us a different element to our game that we don’t have.”

With Wheeler officially eligible, Mitchell added to the mix and no shortage of experienced options behind them, Greer believes Baylor has enough depth to rotate heavily without sacrificing production.

“It’s nice to be able to close your eyes and pick one and say, ‘Go out there,’ and I know the job will be done,” Greer said. “That’s the expectation. I want to play as many guys as they allow me to play. I want to be fast. I don’t want any drop-off. That’s what we’re building to. I wouldn’t say we’re there yet, but there will be guys that you don’t talk about who show up and play for us and do a really good job.”