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Thoughts on Baylor's second scrimmage

Mar 21, 2011; Waco, TX, USA; A general view of the Baylor pro day event at Allison Indoor Facility at Baylor University. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE
Mar 21, 2011; Waco, TX, USA; A general view of the Baylor pro day event at Allison Indoor Facility at Baylor University. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

So it turns out Baylor had a scrimmage today! Are you surprised? Me, too. I had no idea one was scheduled. But it was. And BaylorBears.com already has the wrap-up post posted.

Now, before you freak out about the fact that the offenses (1st, 2nd, and 3rd-teams) combined for an Alamo Bowl-esque 670 yards with 464 through the air, remember that the first-team offense faces the second-team defense and vice versa. I think the third-teamers might face University High. (I need a citation on that). According to the article above, the first defense didn't surrender a touchdown until the final drive of the scrimmage, earning them the following praise from Head Coach Art Briles:

"I actually thought the first defense had a great day," Baylor coach Art Briles said after the second of three scrimmages during fall camp. "They got a little winded there at the end and gave up the one there late. But up to that point, I thought they played really well. The first offense didn't start out as confident as we needed to be, not finishing the drives. But they went down and got a couple scores late. Overall, I thought it was very productive."

That's not the only positive aspect of today's scrimmage, either. Hit the jump for my thoughts.

  • After the last scrimmage, I wondered whether the low rushing totals might be a sign of good defense or bad offense. It was actually neither; inside running plays were whistled dead at first contact with defenders. That practice was not repeated today with immediate effect. Jarred Salubi, Glasco Martin, and Lache Seastrunk combined for 156 yards on 24 carries. That's an average of 6.5 yards per attempt. I'll avoid overreacting (again) about what that might mean for the defense.
  • Lache Seastrunk showed his potential on the last play of the scrimmage with a 33-yard score straight up the middle against the first-team defense. He finished with 57 yards on 8 carries with 2 TDs. Glasco added 41 yards on 8 carries (with a TD) behind Salubi's team-leading 58 yards on 8. They all got 8 carries, apparently. True freshman Rashodrick Linwood was running with the third-team offense and went 6 for 22.
  • Nick Florence was 20-25 for 216 yards and a touchdown to bring his total numbers to 28 of 36 for 439 and 3 TDs with no interceptions. Petty apparently improved on his disappointing first scrimmage, going 16-22 for 130 yards. He also added a rushing TD.
  • Javonte Magee had a sack. I'm telling you, he's going to be a beast. Gary Mason, Jr. added two today to bring his scrimmage total to three, and his battery-mate Terrance Lloyd had one of his own.
  • Not much else to glean from the stats except that Kendall Erhlich is running with the third-team defense at MLB. He picked off a Seth Russell pass. Russell is firmly the third-team QB now.
  • Seastrunk fumbled once, which sucks, but the mention of it reveals something extremely intriguing to me:

The first-team defense came up with several stops, including a Lache Seastrunk fumble that safety Sam Holl scooped up. Holl is a returning starter at down safety, but has also played more of a linebacker in a 3-4 package that defensive coordinator Phil Bennett has installed.

A 3-4 defense, huh? I wonder who predicted that might happen? And it appears that Sam Holl spins down to a linebacker in that alignment. Is that instead of Prince Kent? My guess is that Terrell Burt comes in as a safety and Holl joins Dixon, Hager, and Lackey as LBs. Holl is nowhere close to big enough to play OLB in that formation, though. How does this work? I need more information.

  • Shawn Oakman had 3 tackles as part of, I'm guessing, the second-team defense. They must think he's going to be eligible if they're giving him this much run in important scrimmages.
  • Terrence Williams caught his TD pass (22-yarder) over Darius Jones, who was playing with the second-team defense. I've heard that Demetri Goodson and K.J. Morton are the starters at present, so does that make Joe Williams and Jones the backups? That one fact alone probably isn't enough to say at this point. I wish they'd update the depth charts and let us know for sure.
  • Lache's last TD was the longest of the day, and the article mentions that the longer pass plays from the previous scrimmage weren't available this afternoon. That suggests to me that Bennett's staff has worked purposefully to avoid giving up big plays. And they were successful.