Michael Haag, Baylor athletics blogger. He currently resides in Kansas City where he is a talk show host and program director at KCMO Talk Radio. 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Last year it was the Big 12 title. Sam Khan Jr. is a senior writer for The Athletic covering college football and recruiting primarily in Texas. Its one thing to go from being a weakness to a strength, Grimes said. If Bohanon takes to development the way many second-year starting quarterbacks so, Baylor could once again be the class of the league. Theres a lot to like about what the Golden Knights are building defensively for the future, and the good news is that with UCF ranking 43rd in returning defensive production, those younger players wont be needed immediately. After losing eight players to the NFL over the summer, Baylor football will be forced to replace some big-time athletes from a 2021 Big ", 2021 stats: Four sacks (T-third most), six TFLs (T-sixth most), played 13 games with 12 starts. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. If Shapen gets hurt this year, theyre (in trouble).. Mark Milton, who started two games at corner last year, is a strong candidate at cornerback. Safety Christian Morgan is an experienced starter (leads them in INTs with 3) and physical SPARQ freak and smallish safety Devin Lemear has traits, but hes too inexperienced. But those are all a far cry from a year ago, when it wasnt certain if Baylor could block consistently and installed a whole new offense. Baker played receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Florida Gators, winning championships with each. Replacing some of the losses on defense will be a bigger challenge, though Joey McGuires first year saw the Red Raiders play with physicality and toughness on that side of the ball, and Texas Tech added four defenders through the transfer portal, including three players up front. Sophomore Blake Shapen leads the Bears offense and hes had an inconsistent season, playing pretty well up to the West Virginia game where he had over 300 yards passing at halftime! Their star defensive ends will need to be replaced, but their five returning starters make the Wolverines worthy of a high ranking in the 2022 college football preseason top 25. Shapen is 60 and quite mobile, but not the running threat represented by a Jalen Daniels or Adrian Martinez. At safety, the Bears will be inexperienced but talented. The Waller native is set for another huge year, playing alongside some of the nations best D-lineman, who are good candidates to be on this list. Another opposing coach agrees that Baylors offensive and defensive lines will be the strength and expects the Bears to be a contender to return to the Big 12 championship game. Get the fastest scores, stats, news, LIVE videos, and more. Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew Named Coach Wooden Keys to Life Award Winner, Iowa States Ashley Joens, Oklahomas Madi Williams Named Finalists for the Cheryl Miller Award, Niners GM John Lynch Updates Brock Purdys Status, Surgery Timeline, Oklahoma TE Brayden Willis Announces 2022 Return, K-State Promotes Collin Klein to Offensive Coordinator. Ten of Kansas 11 offensive starters are back from a team that ranked in the top 10 in Offensive SP+; the lone exit comes at left tackle, where Kansas signed a former five-star recruit in Wisconsins Logan Brown. Powledge, a Huntsville, Texas, native who played fullback at Sam Houston, is also back in his Texas roots. Only one league team brings back more than 14 starters, meaning that there's something of a hole at the top of the conference from where it has been in previous years. Hes a guy that opened up his heart to the team and led his team in a real prideful, courageous way, Aranda said of Bohanon. All three specialists return: punter Issac Power, place kicker Isaiah Hankins and kickoff specialist Noah Rauschenberg. We did some decent things last year at times, but we were just inconsistent, Grimes said. Roberts will evaluate multiple options there, including returning safety Lorando Johnson, who backed up Pitre last year. Shouldnt we do it some other way?. Big TE Ben Sims is a chain mover, but 20 of his 30 catches happened in the first four games of the season. When the Bear running game hits it rhythm, its a lot of fun to watch and loading up the box can actually make things worse for the run defense. Josh Fleeks moved this offseason from receiver to running back. He scored two offensive touchdowns (rushing and receiving) versus BYU. Powledge, a Huntsville, Texas, native who played fullback at Sam Houston, is also back in his Texas roots. The Bears will ride the hot hand the 175 pound Reese has two games where he had 30+ carries, the 170 pound Sqwirl has a 25 carry game and theyre not going to worry about work load in a season finale. Baylor has added two more super-seniors to the list of returning players, as defensive linemen Cole Maxwell and Chidi Ogbonnaya have announced that they will be back in 2022. Power is in contention to be named the top punter in college football after averaging 45 yards per punt in 2021. At middle linebacker, returning starter Dillon Doyle second on the team with 90 tackles in 2021 should be even better. Max Duggan is a returning starter at quarterback, but must hold off last years backup in Chandler Morris. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Baylor Football (@BUFootball) November 19, 2022. Sims had the best season of his career with 361 yards and six touchdowns last year. Breakdown: Returning for his fifth season, the 2021 Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year will yet again be a force to be reckoned with in the trenches. With belief no longer an obstacle, Aranda fights different beasts: the teams attitude and maturity. 10:00 AM on Aug 5, 2022 CDT. In that regard, the Big 12 is a league in transition. The Bears return some experience at linebacker but must replace second-round draft pick Bernard. Im perfect. Matthew Powledge, Baylors former safeties and special teams coach, joined Dan Lannings staff at Oregon in December. The transfer portal will help the Sooners make up for some of the losses, and if Dillon Gabriel can join the five returning offensive starters and hit the ground running, the Sooners could take off. Powered by Capitol Presence & Olympus Cloud. Lorando Johnson, S Lorando Johnson likely wont declare in the 2023 NFL Draft cycle, but his name is one to keep in the memory banks. Hes the smallest guy out there but maybe the toughest guy, Grimes said. The Jayhawks may still be a year off; there a number of those projected starters still have more eligibility after this year. In the three games Shapen saw significant action Kansas State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State Shapen completed 71 percent of his passes and averaged 190 passing yards. Web2022 Football Roster - Baylor University Athletics Baylor University Athletics Scoreboard Football UAlbany Sep 3 6 PM ESPN + Football vs UAlbany September 3, 2022 6 PM There may be inexperience at those key offensive spots, but sufficient talent exists. Its another to go from being a strength to being leaders. Hes a great athlete, good blocker, and can get involved in the vertical pass game. That includes competition for incumbent quarterback Blake Shapen and likely plug-and-play starters on the offensive line for the Bears. 8 national ranking last fall and has Pac-12 title and CFP aspirations in 2023. Aranda recruited the 2020 four-star prospect while with the Tigers but left for Baylor before getting a chance to coach him. What should fans expect in 2022? Sophomore quarterback Baylor Romney, brother of wide receiver Gunner Romney, announced Friday on Twitter that he will not return to the Cougars in 2022. Im truly excited to see what the defense will accomplish in Josh Cameron, a former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship, gives the group some size (6-2, 210 pounds). The good is that Brent Venables may be just the coach to deal with that kind of roster turnover and has already drawn rave reviews for the way hes circled the wagons and begun building culture. Offensively, John Rhys Plumlee headlines a group that ranks 78th in returning offensive production, but may be more ready to hit the ground running with a strong group of wide receivers and Plumlees ability to impact games with his legs as well. The proof? The sample sizes are small, but also very promising for Morris. Still, he said, players wondered: Why are we doing this? But Oklahoma would tell you that some of the departures arent the worst thing in the world, and Brent Venables upset the apple cart a bit in the offseason by going guns blazing into the transfer portal. Key stat to know: Baylors offensive line improvement from 2020 to 2021 was significant. Its worth noting that while Baylor started the year rock-ribbed against the run with their massive interior Tite front, theyve surrendered 179 yards per game rushing over their last three games. Theres still plenty of talent in H-Town, and the offense still has enough pieces to cause havoc (the young receiving corps could be particularly nasty). But the defense let Houston down in a major way at times, including allowing 48 points to now-Big 12 foe Kansas, and will need to become more consistent in 2023. The Bears O-line was the most improved unit in 2021, becoming a true strength as the Bears led the Big 12 in rushing and allowed the third-fewest sacks. Related: Early 2022 Big 12 QB Preview and Rankings 3. Anticipate Gall to be another invaluable piece to a stellar offensive line group. Ika is a monster inside who will pose a handful for Majors and big defensive end TJ Franklin (6-5, 285) is a negligible pass rusher who is one of the best run stoppers in the league. The Bears have been a strong Big 12 road team, compiling a 3-1 record, and their play style and experience tends to travel well. While Kansas State had six on both sides of the ball and added a transfer quarterback to fill one of the openings, Oklahoma State returns seven starters from the nations 53rd-best offense, according to SP+, including quarterback Spencer Sanders. After a 2-7 debut during a season impacted by COVID-19, the head coach pulled his team together to win the Big 12 for the first time since 2014, going 12-2 with a victory in the Sugar Bowl to cap things off. Quinn Ewers should become more consistent in his second year as a starter, and getting a healthy Isaiah Neyor to catch passes next to Xavier Worthy could bring an impact newcomer who technically doesnt count as a newcomer. The Bears brought in two scholarship players thus far, both in the defensive front seven: Player and White. 2022 Sugar Bowl odds: Baylor starting quarterback Gerry Bohanon expected to return from injury vs. Ole Miss Baylor should have starting QB Gerry Bohanon available off injury for Saturday's Sugar Bowl matchup vs. Ole Miss. You gotta go down before you go up.. But when looking at what most Big 12 teams lose and the Longhorns ranking second in the conference in returning production (according to ESPNs Bill Connellys measurements), a Texas team that finished a game out of the Big 12 Championship Game probably makes for the best bet. February 8, 2023 7:57 pm CT. ESPN announced its returning production rankings for the 2023 season on Tuesday. After helping the Bears reach the semifinalist phase for the Joe Moore Award, he could target individual honors in 2022. Starters Gabe Hall, Siaki Ika and Cole Maxwell and rotational linemen TJ Franklin, Chidi Ogbonnaya and Brayden Utley return. Hes joined by Matt Jones, who has been a massive drop off from the cat quick NFL draftee Terrel Bernard. 17 Baylor Bears football team kicks off week four with a Big 12 Conference showdown against the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, 2022 Blake Shapen rode an excellent performance in the Big 12 title game to the starting job this spring, unseating Gerry Bohanon, who has since transferred and is now the starter at USF. 2021 stats: Six sacks (second most), 7.0 TFL, 17 total tackles. Will that lead to more wins? Defense drove the Bears to the Big 12 title and if theres one thing Aranda can be counted on having, its a good defense. There are also five transfers combined from those two cycles still around. CLICK HERE to download the CBS Sports Mobile App and get the latest on your team today. Grimes also looks at fifth-year senior Mose Jeffery, sophomore Micah Mazzccua and redshirt freshman tackle Tate Williams as possible contributors. Another key defensive position to fill is the star, Baylors hybrid nickelback/outside linebacker role, previously occupied by 2021 Big 12 defensive player of the year and second-round pick Pitre. But if he comes in and truly finds his footing, the Cougars could be too low here. Making the field bigger is preferable to playing in a phone booth. This year it could be the playoff by avoiding another loss like that pesky one against TCU. He and his wife, Karina, got married last January and have a 4-month-old daughter, Zoe. Texas has to press their advantages here and not concede confidence building throws to Shapen. 1 and in charge of moving the Bears forward on offense. In the history of the Big 12, 2023 will always stand as an outlier. Baylor returns four starters on the offensive line and has had five players return who have started at least eight games on the offensive line. Hill is among a number of players who could have breakout seasons in 2023. Breakdown: Another grizzled veteran, Morgan is stepping into a bigger role after playing alongside former Bear and current Los Angeles Charger JT Woods. Their preferred front lines up Baylor size and power on the specific Longhorn OL whove dealt with that least well and its important that the Longhorns have some run game wrinkles that allow advantageous blocking angles inside and create some conflict in Baylors clean up crew. The No. UFC 278: Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards fight card, start time, channel guide, Mets: Buck Showalter pours cold water on potential call-ups, Oregon football 2022 season prediction, preview, awards, 2022 bowl game, Jake Paul Is Hilariously Bad at Taking Batting Practice, Sorry Calipari, Paul Finebaum has spoken: Kentucky is a football school, Oklahoma football 2022 season prediction, preview, awards, 2022 bowl game, Nebraska WR Decoldest Crawford debuts in coolest HVAC ad possible. When Baylors outside zone running game is humming, theyre a Bear to defend as Reese and Sqwirl are adept at finding small creases or using their quickness to make sharp cuts against the grain when second level defenders overrun to the sideline. Talent hasnt been and will continue to not be the issue in Austin. When former outside linebackers coach Joey McGuire took the Texas Tech head coaching job in November, Aranda elevated quality control coach Caleb Collins. 247Sports writer Kevin Flaherty joined Athlon Sports A year ago, Grimes found his running back by moving linebacker Abram Smith, a former running back recruit, back to the position. With those two moved on, fall camp has indicated the Richmond native as being the likely bell cow back starting in Week 1, and hes impressed many as of late. Offensively, the coach praised the scheme and the job offensive line coach Eric Mateos does. They pulled a similar mind screw on Texas Tech, forcing three different QBs to throw a combined a 5 interceptions. Shapen can be very sharp in the play action game, but he tends to fixate on his first read and defenses that deny him quick decisions can turn him over and get to him in the pocket. The offense will have to start over at quarterback Texas Tech transfer Donovan Smith could be the pick there and must replace Tunes favorite target in Tank Dell. Each team's returning starter count comes from Athlon's look at the conference. Aranda signed a contract extension in February that is scheduled to keep him at the school through 2029, quieting coaching carousel discussion. With nine offensive returning starters and eight defensive returning starters and Lance Leipold getting his first spring with the team after signing on after spring ball last year, the Jayhawks should have significantly better understanding of the teams system and what it takes to compete in the Big 12. 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