2008 Baylor Bears Preview

Art Briles hasn’t had to worry about his next meal for quite a while. The successful coach reached the elite, $1 million level last November, when he signed a contract to replace Guy Morriss as the beleaguered Baylor head coach.

Two Minute Drill

A Quick Look at the Bears

First-year coach Art Briles certainly didn’t catch any breaks with this season’s schedule. Buffalo and Rice were replaced by 2007 bowl teams Wake Forest and Connecticut. With new schemes on both sides and only one holdover from last year’s staff, this could be a year of adjustments. Whoever ends up at quarterback, the biggest key will be protecting him. The Bears nearly cut their sack total in half — from 36 to 21 — but quarterback Blake Szymanski was still running for his life and got picked off 18 times. Jason Smith and Dan Gay form one of the better tackle duos in the league, but they can’t do it by themselves. Beefing up the running game will be one of the keys for Briles, whose Houston teams consistently ranked among the best in the nation with a balanced attack that could grind it out when needed. The defense seems to have more questions than answers, particularly in the secondary. And if there’s an injury or two up front, the Bears will have to turn to unproven and in some cases undersized linemen. There’s the usual buzz that seems to come with the arrival of a new coach. But a 1–3 start could diminish some of that excitement. If the Bears can top last year’s 3–9 finish, they should throw Briles a parade and hand him the keys to the city.

But his approach has never changed.

“I’ve always had the philosophy that I’m fighting every day for my next meal, because there’s really no guarantees,” says Briles, a native West Texan who led the University of Houston to a 34–28 record and four bowl games in five seasons. “There’s no givens out there. So every day you’ve got to live your best and work your best to prepare yourself to be the best.”

Along those same lines, Briles inherits a program that’s hungry — no, starving — for wins. The Bears have suffered through 12 consecutive losing seasons since joining the Big 12 and haven’t been to a bowl game since 1994.

“That’s one of the things that attracted me to Baylor was because the people here are hungry,” Briles says. “They want to win. Now, wanting to win and understanding how to win are two different things. I can want to grow hair, but it’s not going to happen. But I really don’t look at this as a challenge. It’s an opportunity.”

With seven returning starters, the pieces appear to be in place on offense. Especially if the quarterback can produce anywhere close to the way Kevin Kolb — an eventual second-round NFL draft choice — did in his first year under Briles at Houston.

While the quarterback position was front and center in the spotlight through most of the spring, Briles says he’s more concerned with who’s going to play left guard and cornerback.

His theory is that the talent is there at quarterback. He’s just got to pick the right guy among freshman phenom Robert Griffin, returning starter Blake Szymanski and Miami (Fla.) transfer Kirby Freeman, who received a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately.

The bigger concerns are depth on the defensive line, in the secondary and at running back — and plugging gaping holes in a defense that allowed 461.6 yards and 37 points per game last season.

Then there’s the matter of a difficult non-conference schedule, highlighted by 2007 bowl teams Wake Forest and Connecticut. And a murderer’s row known as the Big 12 South, which includes five bowl teams and two ranked in last year’s final top 10.

“We can’t be looking up all the time, thinking, ‘Wow! These teams are tough,’” Briles says. “We’ve got to get in there and get on equal ground with some of those folks. When people talk about the Big 12 South, our name needs to be thrown into the mix.”

Quarterbacks

The Bears have a serious numbers problem at quarterback, where Navarro (Texas) College transfer Jeremy Sanders will be thrown into the mix this summer with an already crowded field. “That’s why they call me coach,” Briles says. “It’s an issue right now. But in the next 12-18 months, it will not be an issue, because I’m not a heavy quarterbacks coach. I like to keep two, maybe three on scholarship, and go from there.” With only one year of eligibility remaining, Freeman seems like the safe choice. He made seven starts in three years at Miami, throwing for 1,311 yards and 12 touchdowns with 16 interceptions and earning Offensive MVP honors in the 2006 MPC Computers Bowl. But Szymanski is coming off a sophomore season in which he threw for a school-record 2,844 yards and 22 TDs, and Griffin sparkled in the spring after enrolling early. Then there’s Sanders, a 6'3", 220-pound junior “who passed puppyhood a long time ago,” Briles says. “He’s a man.”

Running backs

Sophomore Jay Finley had his moments last year — rushing for 80 yards on 15 carries in a 34–21 win at Buffalo — and then sent a message with a strong showing in the spring game, where he ran for 73 yards and two TDs on only eight carries. True freshman Jarred Salubi from Waco High also will get a shot along with seniors Jacoby Jones and Ray Sims, a converted safety. “We’re going to be a tough football team, because that’s something we can control,” Briles says. “Those guys are going to fight for yards, and the offensive line is going to fight to help them. That’s not a question mark. That’s a given.”

Receivers

If junior David Gettis finally lives up to his hype, the Bears could have a solid receiving corps with Ernest Smith, Thomas White and Mikail Baker. Gettis was fifth on the team last year with 31 catches for 407 yards. “We expect a big year out of David. He’s not a polished receiver right now. He’s got a long way to go to become a guy that you can depend on every play. But that’s what we’ve got to get him to,” Briles says. Incoming recruits T.J. Scranton and Kendall Wright should also provide immediate help, and there’s solid depth at the “big receiver” spot with Justin Akers, Brad Taylor and converted quarterback John David Weed.

Offensive linemen

Three out of the four spots are solid with returning starters Jason Smith and Dan Gay at the tackles and J.D. Walton at center. But there are still burning questions at guard. Junior college transfer James Barnard started every game last season and could be the answer at right guard. Rodney Brisbon, a former junior college All-American who originally signed with Houston last year, was still trying to get some eligibility issues cleared up late this spring. But if he does qualify, the 6'6", 330-pounder could lock down another spot. They could be a year away, but there’s good depth at the backup positions with redshirt freshmen Courtney Green, John Jones, Larry Bradley, Joe Korbel and Hunter Hightower.

Defensive linemen

Much like the offense, the defensive front is solid at the starting positions but short on depth. In the middle, senior Vincent Rhodes and junior Trey Bryant are Big 12-caliber players who combined for 66 tackles, six stops behind the line, 3.5 sacks and seven quarterback hurries. But the depth behind them was such a problem that former walk-on offensive lineman Sam Sledge was moved to defensive tackle in the spring. A two-year starter, former tight end Jason Lamb has been the Bears’ most consistent pass-rusher with six sacks, 12 quarterback hurries and 10.5 tackles for a loss over the last two seasons. After a three-year hitch in the U.S. Army, including a six-month tour in Iraq, senior defensive end Leon Freeman shouldn’t find it too difficult to fight his way through the Big 12 South. He had a sack in last year’s opener against TCU and led the team with 9.5 stops behind the line.

Linebackers

Even with the switch from the 4-2-5 to a 4-3 alignment, linebacker is easily the strongest position on the team. Junior Joe Pawelek has earned second-team All-Big 12 honors the last two years, amassing 185 tackles with four sacks, two interceptions and three forced fumbles. And he seems to be a better fit playing inside in the 4-3. Unlike so many other positions, there’s good depth across the board. Sophomore Chris Francis backs up Pawelek in the middle, while junior Antonio Jones, sophomores Antonio Johnson and Earl Patin and redshirt freshman Elliot Coffey will rotate at the outside spots.

Defensive backs

While cornerback was probably the biggest question mark coming into the spring, converted receiver Krys Buerck and former safety Dwain Crawford seem to have at least given first-year coordinator Brian Norwood some options. Junior free safety Jordan Lake finished fourth in the Big 12 last year with 120 tackles, but he missed all of the contact work this spring after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery.

Specialists

While the Bears struggled on all of the special teams last season, especially with freshman kickers, four-year deep-snapper Jonathan Weeks leaves some big shoes to fill. Those duties will likely fall on juniors Carter Brunelle or Casey Cooper. Derek Epperson had a tough time replacing two-time Ray Guy Award winner Daniel Sepulveda at punter, averaging just 39.1 yards per kick. But he got better as the season wore on and nailed 12 kicks inside the 20. Kicker Shea Brewster missed 5-of-8 field goal attempts and could get a serious challenge from incoming freshman Ben Parks, a two-time all-state pick who handled all the kicking chores for Class 3A Argyle.

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