clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Baylor Football: March 23 Spring Scrimmage Stats

Baylor held its second real scrimmage of the spring today in front of a crowd of recruits and onlookers at the Highers Athletic Complex. Reports are relatively limited, but here's everything I can find.

By Mark C. Moore
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

From what I've read, most of Petty's "misses" were either overthrows or good plays by the defense. He didn't leave many, if any, short and only had one interception, which I believe was returned for a touchdown by Sam Holl.

One thing I noticed from reading a short play-by-play on a subscription board is that Petty doesn't run much. Russell is much quicker to tuck the ball and run than Petty is (we'll talk about that more in a minute), and there were few designed runs for Petty that I could see. Maybe once we get actual rushing statistics, we'll know a little bit more about that. I do know Russell scored a touchdown on one such run, though.

If you have no idea who "Brandon Brown" is, you're not alone. That name is completely unfamiliar to me. "Jay Lee" isn't, obviously, as I've been hoping and praying that he would step up. He apparently has. Clay Fuller, a former minor league oufielder-turned-Baylor walk-on at WR, is apparently also going to get his chance to make a mark and did so today in a big way. He has speed to burn and should get plenty of touches this season opposite Tevin Reese. Corey Coleman didn't register any statistics that I'm aware of because he is apparently injured again.

From looking at the roster, it appears Brandon Brown, like Fuller, walked on two years ago and redshirted this past season. I'm guessing he ran with the third team offense today, which basically ran a 7-on-7 against the third-team defense, so his numbers are probably inflated. I'll see if I can't find more info about him.

I haven't made a big deal out of it so far this spring, but the sacks issue is beginning to worry me. Before you freak out, it's not a reflection of the offensive line at all; most of the time when I've heard about sacks being a problem in practice it isn't that our OL is getting beaten, it's that Bryce Petty is simply holding on to the ball far too long. Getting rid of the ball more quickly is something they're working on, but it appears he's not there yet. 8 sacks is ... far too many.

I'm waiting to see what kind of rushing statistics we had from this scrimmage, but if past scrimmages are any indication, those stats will be shoddy, at best. Plays are generally blown dead immediately after first contact between the back and a defender, especially when that contact happens inside, so it's hard to tell how the play would develop in a normal situation. I think at last year's spring game the leading rusher had something like 23 yards total.

Baylor's actual Spring Game this year will be two weeks from today at the Highers Athletic Complex, and I fully intend as of this moment to be there. We should get a better look at both sides since it will be the culmination of the entire spring practice schedule.

UPDATE: BaylorBears.com has a recap of the scrimmage up praising the defense for its performance today. There are more than a few interesting tidbits.

Re: WR Jay Lee

"It kind of translates from the way he's been working out," Briles said of Lee, a 6-3, 205-pound sophomore from Allen, Texas. "He's been exceptional in workout, exceptional all winter in the weight room in strength and conditioning, and he was exceptional today. It just shows that if you do things right for a long time, pretty soon it pays off for you."

DE Shawn Oakman

"That's an easy guy to single out," Briles said of Oakman. "I talked about one guy at the end of practice, and it was him, just because of the way he played with passion and energy and the way he used his ability. A lot of guys have the ability, but they don't bring it every time. He brings it every snap, and that's why he's got a chance to be dominant."

The bigger picture:

"We just made some plays, which the offense did not really do the first scrimmage," said sixth-year Baylor head coach Art Briles. "That gives you the feeling that maybe we're getting on track a little bit, which we need to do. The defense is making it hard on the offense, because the defense is good, now. They're doing a good job. So, it's making the offense have to be a little more precise, execute a little better and make more plays. That's a good thing."

In his entire time at Baylor, I've never heard Art Briles refer to our defense as "good" on the whole. They've played well, they've had good games, but they've never been "good." He just said they are now.

I don't know if that's true or not because coaches (generally) BS all the time. But Art Briles doesn't.

In This Stream

Baylor Football: 2013 Spring Drills

View all 18 stories

More From Our Daily Bears