Daily Bears Report 7/23/17 - Baylor’s Whirlwind Rhule

Lady Bears

Baylor Women Set Record Ranking in 2016-17 Capital One Cup - By Andrew Miner, Our Daily Bears, Women's golf, softball and basketball top eight performances for Baylor rank Baylor 20th in the Capital One Cup.

WBB Announces Nonconference Schedule - Baylor Official Athletic Site, The seven-time defending Big 12 regular season champion Baylor women's basketball program announced its nonconference schedule on Wednesday afternoon. The Lady bears will host eight home games inside the Ferrell Center, including two exhibition games and a marquee matchup against Kentucky for the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Football

New Baylor coach Matt Rhule seems the right man for the job | News OK, Matt Rhule talks fast. Real fast. Philadelphia fast. East Coast fast.

“It was hard for me to understand him at first,” said Baylor junior Blake Blackmar, whose Texan drawl befits an offensive lineman from Houston.

Baylor quarterback battle remains in state of flux | Baylor Bears Football | wacotrib.com, You can ask the question, but you might not like the answer. But go ahead, ask it anyway.

Hey, Matt Rhule, who’s your quarterback? The answer will come quickly, and it’ll be the same every time – I don’t know. It’s not that Baylor’s first-year coach is trying to be coy or sly or secretive. At this point, he honestly doesn’t know.

Tennessee Vols football defensive quality control coach Stephen Smith hired at Baylor, Tennessee defensive quality control coach Stephen Smith is headed to join Matt Rhule's staff at Baylor.

Matt Rhule has clear vision for new-look Baylor offense. | David Ubben, Sports on Earth, For the better part of the last decade, "Baylor" and "offense" were as synonymous as "Alabama" and "dominance." So what does new coach Matt Rhule have planned for the Bears' offense? His plan is both versatile and ambitious.

"The teams I respect the most, the Alabamas, the old USC teams, the New England Patriots, if they need to be in five-wide and they're behind like [the Patriots] were in the Super Bowl, they're going to be in five-wide and throw it," he said. "If they're ahead, they're going to get in the I-formation and bloody your nose until they win the game. So versatility, when people say 'pro style,' that's what I think of, to do whatever you need to do to win a game."

He's not shying away from clear goals, either. For Rhule, success is measured by a handful of metrics:

200 rushing yards per game

45 percent third-down conversion rate

70 percent red zone touchdown percentage

No stupid turnovers

"We're going to run inside zone, outside zone, power, counter and throw in some RPOs. As a defensive guy, I think that's an illegal thing, but if you can do it, I'm going to do it," Rhule said. "I could run the triple option and those numbers would all still be my things that I want to reach. That sort of formula, however we get to it, we get to it."

Rhule's whirlwind tour continues in Houston | Baylor Bears Football | wacotrib.com, Matt Rhule’s whirlwind speaking tour continues.

Baylor coach Matt Rhule offers glimmers of hope for 2017 season, Baylor football went through a tough year in 2016. However, new head coach Matt Rhule is bringing new hope for the program in 2017.

Meet the Bears

Football to Host 'Meet the Bears' August 19 - Baylor Official Athletic Site, Baylor's football team, including head coach Matt Rhule will be available to sign autographs at the annual Meet the Bears fan appreciation event Saturday, August 19 at McLane Stadium from 2:30-4 p.m.

Big XII Update

Big 12 football can be saved by Big 12 teams | News OK
Other conferences have rallied from depressed reputations, but the Big 12 has the biggest hill to climb.

Big 12 still withholding revenue as Baylor assessment continues | NCAA Football | Sporting News, "It is obviously a very complex situation, and because of the lawsuits, it is — it will have some effect on the time frame of our verification process, but we are moving forward with it," Bowlsby said at Big 12 media day in Frisco, Texas. "We continue to withhold the 25 percent of their revenue distribution, and we'll continue to do that as long as this is a pending matter."

One Hundred Years Ago

World War I's Camp MacArthur, Rich Field helped shape modern Waco | Military | wacotrib.com, Construction started 100 years ago this month on the World War I encampment in North Waco that would ultimately bring more than 80,000 soldiers through Waco between 1917 and 1919. A Camp MacArthur football team played Baylor University.

Not So Long Ago

Utah Jazz sign veteran big man Ekpe Udoh | NBA | Sporting News, Standing 6-10 with a 7-foot-4½-inch wingspan, Udoh (6-10, 245, Baylor) enters his first season with the Jazz, after a successful stint with Fenerbahce Ulker (Turkey) from 2015-17. During the 2016-17 season, he appeared in 61 games (47 starts) in the Euroleague and Turkish Basketball Super League, averaging 11.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 blocks in 29.4 minutes per game.

Sims Named to SWATA Hall of Fame - Baylor Official Athletic Site, Four years after receiving the organization's Most Distinguished Award, longtime Baylor trainer Mike Sims has been named to the Southwest Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame.

Too Long Ago

Maybe Not Long Enough Ago