Now hes the uncontested No. Dave Aranda enters Year 3 in Waco in considerably better shape than last year, with a Big 12 Championship in the trophy case. That includes competition for incumbent quarterback Blake Shapen and likely plug-and-play starters on the offensive line for the Bears. But perhaps the single biggest reason to believe in Oklahoma: (Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire, Getty), (Photo: Jay Biggerstaff, USA TODAY Sports), (Photo: James Guillory, USA TODAY Sports), according to ESPNs Bill Connellys measurements, When we looked at how teams fared in one-score games. Taye McWilliams is the leading returning rusher but had only 17 carries in 10 games last year. At safety, the Bears will be inexperienced but talented. Redshirt freshman Devin Lemear graded out the highest of all the safeties this spring, Roberts said. This team went 2-3 in one-score games in the regular season; getting another win or two this year certainly wouldnt be a shock. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. Defensively, Kansas brings back most of its pieces on the back end, but will need to hope a transfer class of defensive linemen can hit the ground running if the Jayhawks are to make major (and much-needed) improvements on that side of the ball. Much like Morgan, he is stepping into an expanded role. The 2022 class, which includes 21 signees, finished 36th. 2022 College Football Returning Production Rankings Team Ret. The 2021 Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year eats up two-to-three blocks and plugs up running lanes, giving the rest of the Baylor defense lots of flexibility and reduced stress. Another year in Venables defensive system couldnt hurt either, as Oklahoma struggled at times to be assignment sound on that side of the ball. Hunter Dekkers is the likely Brock Purdy replacement, and he has some interesting traits to build around. Now its just about getting experience on the field so theyre comfortable.. before going out with a concussion. Whoever wins the job should have plenty of talent to utilize, but will need the offensive line to come together. WebBaylors special teams will be in good hands with junior punter Issac Power and freshman kicker Isaiah Hankins returning. Sims is a staple of the Baylor offense and saw his production soar in 2021. This article was first published in the Cougar WebThe official 2022 Football schedule for the Baylor University Bears The OL is also stacked with returning starters and a few players who havent spent as much time in the trenches, so Im hoping that those who have led in the past: senior RG Sam Tecklenburg and C Jake Fruhmorgen will encourage the younger players to step up when theyre needed. You can learn more about Pete by visiting his personal website: PeteMundo.com. If youre talking about which team is the Big 12 favorite, Im going with Baylor because of what they have up front, the coach said. The defense was stifling and the offense pounded the rock as the Bears worked their way through the Big 12 slate and took down ranked BYU. Baylor ranked 10th in the country and first in the Big 12 in rushing offense in 2021, averaging 219.3 yards per game, leading the way to a Big 12 Championship. The sample sizes are small, but also very promising for Morris. 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. Aranda had to replace three departures from his on-field staff. Finding another Terrel Bernard or Jalen Pitre on defense is a tall task. AJ McCarty is ready to contribute at corner and Chateau Reed may be the most talented of Baylors corners, Roberts said. 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. Baylor is the 45th ranked defense by FEI advanced statistics and while they allow only a reasonable 5.3 yards per play, offenses that are able to solve their disguised coverages and avoid turnovers will move the ball. Gavin Byers, a sophomore who started the first eight games of the year at right tackle, also returns in 2022 and will provide depth for an already deep unit. February 8, 2023 7:57 pm CT. ESPN announced its returning production rankings for the 2023 season on Tuesday. Roberts will evaluate multiple options there, including returning safety Lorando Johnson, who backed up Pitre last year. Diminutive Richard Reese (908 yards, 14 tds, 5.2 per carry) and Sqwirl Williams (530 yards, 4 tds, 5.8 per carry) are the speed component while 245 pound Qualan Jones (403 yards, 7 tds, 5.5 per carry) brings the pain. The QB will also be working with a rebuilt receiving corps. Seth Jones, another sophomore, is up to nearly 200 pounds after being recruited at 180. 124 nationally: 121st on offense and 107th on defense, are stepping up in conference AND are doing so while replacing head coach Luke Fickell, who went who went 53-10 over the last five years. Will that be enough for the Cyclones to overcome the leagues lowest returning starter count? It finished fourth in the Big 12 in total D and tenth in the nation in scoring defense, but the it was really, really good at was taking the ball away. This 67 edge JACK Garmon Randolph leads them in sacks with 4.5 on the season. Written by Brett Gibbons Brett is an avid sports traveler and former Division-I football recruiter for Bowling Green and Texas State. Expect more transfer help at running back (UNLVs Aidan Robbins) and on both lines. Collins joined the Baylor staff in 2020 and spent three seasons with Aranda at LSU.

2022 Baylor Football Preview. Related: Early 2022 Big 12 QB Preview and Rankings 3. The 2019 class, which ranked 35th, has nine of the 24 signees still with the team, but the retention rates in 2020 (17 of the 18 signees are still with Baylor) and 2021 (16 of 17) are superb. Alan Bowman transferred in to potentially take over the quarterback spot after Spencer Sanders departure, but Bowman struggled to stay healthy at Texas Tech and he attempted all of 11 passes over the last two years at Michigan combined. Former Baylor standout linebacker and Sugar Bowl MVP Terrel Bernard is a Buffalo Bill, leaving Doyle to pick up the slack. The 2021 second-team All-AAC selection should thrive being back in his hometown of Waco. Run blocking has improved, Aranda said. Besides Alabama or Georgia, I dont know whos got a better front scheme-wise than Baylor.. Brennan Armstrong entered the 2022 season as one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the ACC but had the lowest completion percentage of his career as a starter. The Cyclones starter count includes five on offense and three on defense, with the former group including a new starter at quarterback. Six four-star prospects and 14 three-star recruits headline BU's 26th-ranked class, according With the heartbreak kid gone, Morgan has a great chance to shine in the spotlight as one of Baylors best defensive players. In run blocking in 2020, the Bears averaged 1.4 yards per rush before first contact, which was last in the Big 12 and 111th in the FBS. Big TE Ben Sims is a chain mover, but 20 of his 30 catches happened in the first four games of the season. Note: Baylor OC Jeff Grimes loves trick plays. How will Shapen develop? Josh Cameron, a former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship, gives the group some size (6-2, 210 pounds). The Wolfpack will be competing in the ACC during the 2022 season. 240 pound interior linebacker Dillon Doyle leads them in tackles and is also solid dropping into zone coverages (2 interceptions). 247Sports writer Kevin Flaherty joined Athlon Sports Here's a look at each Big 12 team's returning starters for the 2022 season. It resulted in nine 100-yard performances and 1,621 rushing yards, the most in Baylor history. Sixth-year senior Gavin Holmes has starting experience but has endured multiple injuries in his career. He knows a thing or two because hes seen a thing or two over the course of his collegiate career. They work really well together and dont necessarily need to physically dominate at the point of attack to make their outside zone system hum. Baylor Bears Preview 2022: Defense Dave Aranda knows how to get a defense to produce, and this one should be more than fine. Roberts is leaning toward Walcott at star and Johnson at corner. Thats the next challenge.. The travel schedule is brutal for Baylor with trips to BYU, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Texas on tap. Hes the smallest guy out there but maybe the toughest guy, Grimes said. With both coordinators back and all the returnees on the line of scrimmage, Baylor can figure it out. The second coach expects Baylors running game will again be solid but noted how little production returns at receiver. 2005-2023 CBS INTERACTIVE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Aranda recruited the 2020 four-star prospect while with the Tigers but left for Baylor before getting a chance to coach him. A veteran leader on the back end, Baylor will rely on Morgan to make an impact in 2022. Per PFF, Baylor QBs were pressured 35.2 percent of the time in 2020 (8th in the Big 12, 96th in the FBS) but only 29.1 percent of the time in 2021 (first in the conference, 45th nationally). 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. Perhaps the fog has never fully lifted as he was particularly ineffective as the season progressed against Kansas, Oklahoma and Kansas State. Starters Gabe Venables defensive bonafides will be put to the test with a talented, but young, group that brings back four defensive starters. The ranking takes a look at data on both sides of the football for all FBS teams in the country. It sets the tone for everything.. Breakdown: McWilliams time on the turf was limited, as he played behind two NFL running backs in Trestan Ebner and Abram Smith. 17 Baylor Bears football team kicks off week four with a Big 12 Conference showdown against the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, 2022 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. And that would typically seem to indicate some regression. Starters Gabe Hall, Siaki Ika and Cole Maxwell and rotational linemen TJ Franklin, Chidi Ogbonnaya and Brayden Utley return. Enter Sonny Dykes, who took the short jaunt from Dallas, and SMU, to Fort Worth. "I thought football had to be part of it, somehow." In the history of the Big 12, 2023 will always stand as an outlier. SHARE If BYU football players, coaches were stocks, who would you buy? 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. Will the Bears scratch and claw for progress the way the 2021 team did? Breakdown: Apu, one of Halls companions, is one of the best nose guards in the country. Everything theyre doing, I feel good about it, Roberts said. Tyquan Thornton, R.J. Snead and Drew Estrada have all departed, leaving tight end Ben Sims as the leading returning pass-catcher along with tight end Drake Dabney. All three specialists return: punter Issac Power, place kicker Isaiah Hankins and kickoff specialist Noah Rauschenberg. March 1, 2023 12:56 pm CT. College football writers are taking notice of the Longhorns loaded returning roster. The Bears have six players on preseason watch lists for national awards. But there are no proven backs with Smith and Trestan Ebner gone. A lot of Longhorn offensive success will rest on Sarks ability to scheme up run game solutions on a short week. Returning that kind of experience should give Baylor the best offensive line in the Big 12, and possibly the country, in 2022. Breakdown: Of course, Blake Shapen was going to make this list, but the Shreveport native should be well-known already. Baker played receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Florida Gators, winning championships with each. Will that lead to more wins? Already an A+ run defender and also shows flashes of having passing down value to melt the pocket. Hes a graduate of BGSU and works as an auditor for Google content curation products. Jun 16, 2022 7:08 PM EDT The Baylor Bears offense had some serious turnover this spring, with quarterback Gerry Bohanon hitting the NCAA Transfer Portal in Powledge, a Huntsville, Texas, native who played fullback at Sam Houston, is also back in his Texas roots. Miller returns after a solid year, Byers could play guard or tackle and Jeffery and Mazzccua will also compete for those spots. The Longhorns could go as far as the quarterback position will take them this year, whether thats Hudson Card, who started two games last year, or Quinn Ewers, the former top-ranked overall prospect in the 2021 247Sports Composite. Much of the fault is on Baylors second and third level defenders not hitting their run fits when runners spill wide. Fleeks has all the ability in the world, and Baldwin is a dynamic player with really good speed. Other receivers could get looks at returner. They can probably look at the 20-13 Norristown loss where the Eagles made a goal line stand and a few kneel-downs to pull off the upset as a turning point, Hill is among a number of players who could have breakout seasons in 2023. 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 While talent and certainly coaching are major indicators, perhaps nothing is quite as important as having good players who have already seen the field. A native Houstonian, Sam graduated from the University of Houston. The Bears have a three-headed running back group comprised of two scatbacks and one power runner. Tay McWilliams is the top returning player at running back and he had just 181 yards on 17 carries last year. It might be way too early for college football predictions, but before the rest of the country hits the field for spring ball, here are our early predictions for Power-5 conference champions in 2023. Breaking down the five best futures bets, picks, and predictions for the 2022 season. Will receive lots of Vita Vea comps. Following that group is a young trio: redshirt freshman Cisco Caston, true freshman Devyn Bobby and third-year sophomore Mike Harris. SHARE If BYU football players, coaches were stocks, who would you buy? Baylor football shocked the Big 12 last year. The Bears have young athletes out wide capable of explosive plays, but they are remarkably inconsistent and inexperienced. The proof? The good news? UW, of course, finished an 11-2 season with a No. 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. Redshirt freshman Kyron Drones was thrust into the backup role after Bohanons November hamstring injury. 8 national ranking last fall and has Pac-12 title and CFP aspirations in 2023. Prod. Michael Haag, Baylor athletics blogger. The Bears should be one of the top three teams in the Big 12, and it shouldnt surprise anyone if theyre back in the conference title game in December. Talent hasnt been and will continue to not be the issue in Austin. A year ago, Dave Aranda sensed his team still having doubts. Gabe Hall (6-6, 300) is the best pass rusher of the group (3.5 sacks) but all three of them exist to dominate the run and own the line of scrimmage from tackle to tackle. 10:00 AM on Aug 5, 2022 CDT. Each of the new schools comes in at a different place, and the 2022 Big 12 title game participants, TCU and Kansas State, both had major losses on at least one side of the ball. The Bears have some athletes and plenty of raw speed, but theyre inconsistent. You just dont typically see that kind of shift within a season. 247Sports writer Kevin Flaherty joined Athlon Sports in predicting Texas to finish first in the Big 12 conference. Guess you have to call 2022 a disappointment for Coach Billy Hawthorne entering his sixth season in 2023 off a .500 season when 16 starters returned including four OLers and a TE. A better, and more cohesive showing on defense would both be a welcome sign and would allow either Card or Ewers a bit more cushion to get comfortable. On the line, starters at four positions return: left tackle Connor Galvin, center Jacob Gall, right guard Grant Miller and both right tackles, Khalil Keith and Gavin Byers. Doyle and Jones are plenty physical, but Jones can miss assignments and both can be exploited in space by Bijan or Keilan. Hill is among a number of players who could have breakout seasons in 2023. Can Iowa State replace Xavier Hutchinson, who seemed like the offenses only option at times last year? 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