Michael Haag is a Journalism student at Baylor University in Waco, TX. The Horned Frogs suffered a surprising collapse last year, particularly defensively, that ushered in changes at the highest levels. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas, 10 key Baylor players to know in 2022: Returning O-line, D-line alleviates concerns, Everything you need to know about Baylor football: Key storylines, predictions and more, Ray Davis optimistic, anxious about Rangers season amidst tumultuous TV situation, Cowboys Mike McCarthy has more power, fewer excuses. Much like Morgan, he is stepping into an expanded role. The arrival of four-star freshman Armani Winfield could be right on time. When former outside linebackers coach Joey McGuire took the Texas Tech head coaching job in November, Aranda elevated quality control coach Caleb Collins. Try a week on us. On the other side of the ball, West Virginia will need some of the younger players it has landed in recent classes to pan out sooner rather than later. The top three tight ends on the 2021 depth chart return. Zeno (transferred to UAB) and Brown both entered the portal last September. . Sophomore Monaray Baldwin starred in the Sugar Bowl with a 48-yard second-half touchdown run. SHARE If BYU football players, coaches were stocks, who would you buy? Sixth-year senior Gavin Holmes has starting experience but has endured multiple injuries in his career. Remaining steady in the trenches should be a big help to the offense. 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 12 championship squad. With Texas and Oklahoma moving their Big 12 ousters to 2024 rather than 2025, this season will mark the only one that includes the two departing conference schools along with the four new additions: BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF. 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). Dont expect too big a slide, if any, overall. He played pretty well against TCU, so maybe hes on the rebound. The Longhorns werent far off. Wake Forest Demon Deacons Sam Hartman is likely back for Wake Forest, which makes a If Alabama transfer Amari Kight can be part of an offensive line that keeps Plumlee upright, UCF could surprise and finish much higher than this. Its one thing to go from being a weakness to a strength, Grimes said. Hes long and has some quickness, but hes a one trick finesse pony. The next group of schools Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, and TCU lost two starters. While talent and certainly coaching are major indicators, perhaps nothing is quite as important as having good players who have already seen the field. With who they return upfront, expect the road-grading to continue in 2022. They have 150+ combined starts in aggregate. Texas safeties and linebackers cant get caught up in trash and must fit the cutback lanes. Will that lead to more wins? The ranking takes a look at data on both sides of the football for all FBS teams in the country. Prod. True freshman Kyron Drones might be a factor in the fall camp battle for the open gig. Related: College Football's Top Quarterbacks on the Rise for 2023 4. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. With Connor Galvin Hes an athletic and ridiculously strong 0-tech NT thats very light on his feet for his size. Key stat to know: Baylors stout defense forced the second-most third downs (200) in the Big 12 and 11th most in the Power 5 last season, a result of good early down defense. 2023 On3 Media, Inc. All rights reserved. And they found some young pieces along the way, adding a few pretty good transfers as well. Bohanon averaged only 157.9 passing yards per game and his completion percentage dipped to 61.5 percent in conference play. Roberts will evaluate multiple options there, including returning safety Lorando Johnson, who backed up Pitre last year. Their preferred front lines up Baylor size and power on the specific Longhorn OL whove dealt with that least well and its important that the Longhorns have some run game wrinkles that allow advantageous blocking angles inside and create some conflict in Baylors clean up crew. Breakdown: McWilliams time on the turf was limited, as he played behind two NFL running backs in Trestan Ebner and Abram Smith. He will put the ball in peril and he isnt shy about taking deep shots, even on 3rd and forever. We did some decent things last year at times, but we were just inconsistent, Grimes said. Iowa State enters 2022 without OT Derek Schweiger (67.1 The players are responding well to him. The NFL Draft and NFL Draft Logo are copyright of the National Football League and in no way are owned by Ourlads Scouting Services LLC. 2021 stats: Started all 14 games at left tackle. Likely this will be another year like last year: West Virginia has the talent to sneak up and bite somebody, but might not have the consistent week-in, week-out results. And with seven of 11 starters returning on defense, the Red Raiders could bow up on that side of the ball with increased experience and the toughness that McGuire is attempting to instill. Our standards are so high that it is difficult to be who you say were going to be, but Im going to stay on the path, Aranda said. Michael has covered Baylor football, men's and women's basketball, baseball and more. Whoever wins the job should have plenty of talent to utilize, but will need the offensive line to come together. 3 overall class (including both high school talent and the Longhorns smaller transfer class), Texas should get some increased firepower on both sides of the ball. The Big 12 may look wide open but Baylor proved themselves last year and could come back as sharp as ever with a higher ceiling at quarterback and a defense capable of holding down whatever offense they face. Ranking 77th nationally in returning production, the Sooners are somewhat middle of the pack in the Big 12 in that category. For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages. Sophomore Blake Shapen leads the Bears offense and hes had an inconsistent season, playing pretty well up to the West Virginia game where he had over 300 yards passing at halftime! The third and final of the three Big 12 schools who return 12 starters, Texas joins Kansas State with six returning starters on both offense and defense. Monaray Baldwin is their best deep threat, but the young 165 pounder can struggle to get off of physical corners. 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. Key stat to know: Baylors offensive line improvement from 2020 to 2021 was significant. Joey McGuires first team will be fascinating to watch with an offense that returns four starters but also adds Zach Kittley, the architect of last years explosive Western Kentucky group. STAR Al Walcott is of the Big Nickel variety (6-2, 220) and he can be exploited if Texas can hunt formations to put him 1 on 1 in the slot. His physical talent has always been there, but his improved maturity and preparation have readied him this season for the No. Remember, too, that while BYUs production numbers arent super high (middle of the Big 12 pack at No. 2021 stats: 62-86 passes for 596 yards and five TDs (six games, two starts). (We have) to come from a position of powerlessness, a sense of, Hey, were fighting for every edge. Will the rushing attack be as reliable as it was a year ago? The biggest reason to propel the Bears down these rankings is that Baylor ranks 100th nationally in returning production, third-to-last in the Big 12. Daniel Green has been among the Big 12s best linebackers when healthy, and hell try to shore up a defense that ranks 94th in returning production, but was sprinkling through some of the younger players over the course of the season. 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. That was a full yard improvement over 2020, which was seventh in the Big 12 and 62nd nationally. The corners are unremarkable but have some size and are well schooled. The Mountaineers looked like a better team with Garrett Greene at quarterback because of his toughness and ability to make big plays with his legs when he needed to. And while the Cyclones are getting younger on defense, theres talent there and Iowa State boasts one of the Big 12s top defensive coordinators in Jon Heacock. We looked at not just the numbers for each team, but breakdowns on each side of the ball and whether teams return starters at the most important positions on the football field as well. Wheat joined the Nevada staff in 2020, coaching safeties before shifting to linebackers in 2021. Following that group is a young trio: redshirt freshman Cisco Caston, true freshman Devyn Bobby and third-year sophomore Mike Harris. 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. Remember: this team went 1-6 in one-score games last year, including 0-6 in Big 12 play. One of the most important factors in a team's success in college football is its returning experience. Sims had the best season of his career with 361 yards and six touchdowns last year. 70 nationally), the players that the Cougars replace departures with are often older and more physically ready to step in than the traditional redshirt freshman or sophomore. Iowa States Ashley Joens and Bad blood spilled over in a major way during the opening round of the SEC Womens Basketball Tournament between Florida and Kentucky About us: HCS is owned and operated by Pete Mundo. Two years ago, Kansas had the youngest team in college football. This is a let it hang out game and Sark and PK should expect Dave Aranda to go for it on 4th down until Texas punishes them for it. The nucleus of the 2021 team is largely gone, with six players chosen in the NFL Draft. The proof? There are certainly unknowns. Itll be giving up a soft edge (pretty unlikely) or second level defenders overrunning or being paralyzed by backfield candy (more likely) allowing Baylor runners a crease in the alley. The plethora of linebacker options is a good problem to have, Aranda said. In the history of the Big 12, 2023 will always stand as an outlier. Venables defensive bonafides will be put to the test with a talented, but young, group that brings back four defensive starters. The challenge for Texas wont be physicality. Gavin Yates saw action as a freshman walk-on last year, and freshman Kelsey Johnson has impressed since arriving. Finding another Terrel Bernard or Jalen Pitre on defense is a tall task. The best aspect of the Bear secondary is their ability to hone in on an offenses preferred routes and force turnovers with sucker coverages. He scored two offensive touchdowns (rushing and receiving) versus BYU. The 6-7, 265-pound junior should build on his 2021, which included 29 tackles and three sacks in 11 games. A lot of Longhorn offensive success will rest on Sarks ability to scheme up run game solutions on a short week. Although not getting the glitz and glamour, the Bears can feel great knowing Apu is lining up opposite of the center this season. Now hes the uncontested No. 247Sports writer Kevin Flaherty joined Athlon Sports Already an A+ run defender and also shows flashes of having passing down value to melt the pocket. 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