The Wildcats have their 12 returning starters equally spread across both sides of the ball, with six on offense and six on defense. Anticipate Gall to be another invaluable piece to a stellar offensive line group. In the return game, Baylor lost Ebner, a third-round pick and the Big 12 special teams player of the year. And with the departure of Max Duggan, Kendre Miller and Quentin Johnston TCU ranks 130th (!!!) Sixth-year senior Gavin Holmes has starting experience but has endured multiple injuries in his career. If Bohanon takes to development the way many second-year starting quarterbacks so, Baylor could once again be the class of the league. The good is that Brent Venables may be just the coach to deal with that kind of roster turnover and has already drawn rave reviews for the way hes circled the wagons and begun building culture. The Cougars are the top-ranked newcomer here, though whether that plays out will likely depend on whether Kedon Slovis can re-find some of the magic he showed a few years back at USC. 17 Baylor Bears football team kicks off week four with a Big 12 Conference showdown against the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones in Ames, 2022 A big physical front headlined by plus size nose tackle Siaki Ika isnt designed to compile stats, but to dominate the interior line of scrimmage and force runners to either collide into an interior wall or bounce wide on a rounded angle that allows easy clean up. 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. The Bears badly miss Jalen Pitre and JT Woods. Max Duggan is a returning starter at quarterback, but must hold off last years backup in Chandler Morris. The players are responding well to him. Point, blank period. Baylor returns four starters on the offensive line and has had five players return who have started at least eight games on the offensive line. The Bears return some experience at linebacker but must replace second-round draft pick Bernard. Except for that group, every Baylor signing class since 2017 has ranked either fourth or fifth in the Big 12. Hill is among a number of players who could have breakout seasons in 2023. Previously, he spent eight years covering college sports at ESPN.com and seven years as a sports reporter at the Houston Chronicle. 2022 Baylor Football Preview. Aranda called Player a twitchy and instinctive playmaker who creates havoc. Baylor football 2021 season in review Arandas second season in charge could hardly have gone more perfectly. In comparison to Baylors six returning starters, BYU has a clear advantage in this department as they return a colossal 19 players from last years already stacked team. Devin Neal, who played 13 games last year, is also in the hunt. Whoever wins the job should have plenty of talent to utilize, but will need the offensive line to come together. Power is in contention to be named the top punter in college football after averaging 45 yards per punt in 2021. But Oklahoma would tell you that some of the departures arent the worst thing in the world, and Brent Venables upset the apple cart a bit in the offseason by going guns blazing into the transfer portal. Heres why he prefers it that way, Are these Rangers good? But perhaps the single biggest reason to believe in Oklahoma: When we looked at how teams fared in one-score games, the Sooners went 0-5 (0-4 in the article, then lost a one-score bowl game). It certainly helps that one of the offensive starters is Deuce Vaughn. Those expecting last year to be a one-off for Kansas arent looking at what Kansas brings back: the Jayhawks rank second nationally in returning production, including first offensively and 10th defensively. Losing Deuce Vaughn and Felix Anudike-Uzomah arguably the Wildcats best player on offense and defense, respectively certainly hurts. Safety Christian Morgan is an experienced starter (leads them in INTs with 3) and physical SPARQ freak and smallish safety Devin Lemear has traits, but hes too inexperienced. Can a transfer class that brings in a few potential impact players turn the tide? The top three tight ends on the 2021 depth chart return. In the starting lineup, Grimes expects competition at both guard spots. Besides Alabama or Georgia, I dont know whos got a better front scheme-wise than Baylor.. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. Michael has covered Baylor football, men's and women's basketball, baseball and more. We did some decent things last year at times, but we were just inconsistent, Grimes said. Baylor had a backloaded schedule in terms of difficulty and theyre on a two game slide after being obliterated by Kansas State 31-3 and then losing a heartbreaker to TCU by one point in which they outplayed (an injured-riddled) TCU for most of the game. With whats left of the returners, here is who will stand out among the bunch in hopes to repeat as conference champions. Baylor Bears Preview 2022: Defense Dave Aranda knows how to get a defense to produce, and this one should be more than fine. Oklahoma and Texas will loom in the second half of the season but the Oct. 1 matchup with Oklahoma State could be the early indicator of what the Bears are capable of. He and his wife, Karina, got married last January and have a 4-month-old daughter, Zoe. Those are some pretty big haymakers to take, and with Cincinnati bringing in 247Sports 11th-rated transfer class, Scott Satterfield could have a bit of an uphill climb to keep things where theyve been. 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 2021 class ranked 41st. And it wont get too much easier in the second half. He picked up All-Big-12 first-team honors and is now in pursuit of national recognition. It resulted in nine 100-yard performances and 1,621 rushing yards, the most in Baylor history. WebThe official 2022 Football schedule for the Baylor University Bears Aranda likes how Blake Shapen is developing leadership skills: "The thing Im most proud of is his leadership and the art of when to say something and how to say it and being authentic with everything youve got. 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. On defense, the second coach sees Baylors defensive line as the deepest in the Big 12. And the unit got a boost in the offseason, when Baylor landed Tulsa defensive tackle transfer Jaxon Player, a Waco, Texas, native and two-time All-AAC selection. You can learn more about Pete by visiting his personal website: PeteMundo.com. Both are expected to contribute immediately. This is a tough one. Doyle and Jones are plenty physical, but Jones can miss assignments and both can be exploited in space by Bijan or Keilan. Matt Jones, who played all 14 games and was fifth on the team in tackles, will begin the year as Bernards successor at weakside linebacker. The Cyclones were one of the nations most experienced teams last year the reason for Iowa States lofty preseason expectations and now need to start over in a major way after a number of those players moved on. 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. Studying what Oklahoma and Kansas State did to them will be instructive. Breaking down the five best futures bets, picks, and predictions for the 2022 season. Previewing Baylor Bears defense for 2022 season. Josh Cameron, a former walk-on who was awarded a scholarship, gives the group some size (6-2, 210 pounds). He covered the 2022 Allstate Sugar Bowl and multiple Texas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in Waco. The clearest strength of the Baylor offense is an OL that represents the 2nd most seasoned unit in college football. The Bears are returning a total of 13 starters from last season, but they lost nearly all of their offensive production from 2021 and almost all of their starting secondary. Michael Haag, Baylor athletics blogger. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. (Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes, USA TODAY Sports), (Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire, Getty), (Photo: David Stacy/Icon Sportswire, Getty), (Photo: Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports), (Photo: John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports). Only one league team brings back more than 14 starters, meaning that there's something of a hole at the top of the conference from where it has been in previous years. With Connor Galvin making the announcement that he will come back next season on Friday, the Bear will bring back all four of those guys. Everything theyre doing, I feel good about it, Roberts said. 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. With the heartbreak kid gone, Morgan has a great chance to shine in the spotlight as one of Baylors best defensive players. Bohanons passing numbers were solid in nonconference play (66.6 percent completion rate, 626 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in three games) but his yardage and completion rate dipped in Big 12 games. Theres a lot to like about what the Golden Knights are building defensively for the future, and the good news is that with UCF ranking 43rd in returning defensive production, those younger players wont be needed immediately. A year ago, Dave Aranda sensed his team still having doubts. Prod. UFC 278: Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards fight card, start time, channel guide, Mets: Buck Showalter pours cold water on potential call-ups, Oregon football 2022 season prediction, preview, awards, 2022 bowl game, Jake Paul Is Hilariously Bad at Taking Batting Practice, Sorry Calipari, Paul Finebaum has spoken: Kentucky is a football school, Oklahoma football 2022 season prediction, preview, awards, 2022 bowl game, Nebraska WR Decoldest Crawford debuts in coolest HVAC ad possible. A '21 start against Baylor (461 passing yards and two scores and 70 rushing yards) showcased Morris' talent. Hunter Dekkers is the likely Brock Purdy replacement, and he has some interesting traits to build around. . Build your customFanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis onFanSided.com and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. However, this years group will have some major absences to contend with, including Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jalen Pitre and All-Big-12 first-team linebacker selection Terrel Bernard. Wheat joined the Nevada staff in 2020, coaching safeties before shifting to linebackers in 2021. This makes the Bears Breakdown: Of course, Blake Shapen was going to make this list, but the Shreveport native should be well-known already. But expecting TCU to reach the Big 12 title game again might be too much. "We got married in Katy, Texas, about a mile from the high school stadium," he said. 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. Jahdae Barron and Ryan Watts have the potential to shut down Baylors receivers if Dshawn Jamison or Terrance Brooks can bring it on the other side. 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. But those are all a far cry from a year ago, when it wasnt certain if Baylor could block consistently and installed a whole new offense. Dave Aranda enters Year 3 in Waco in considerably better shape than last year, with a Big 12 Championship in the trophy case. Quinn Ewers should become more consistent in his second year as a starter, and getting a healthy Isaiah Neyor to catch passes next to Xavier Worthy could bring an impact newcomer who technically doesnt count as a newcomer. Six four-star prospects and 14 three-star recruits headline BU's 26th-ranked class, according How will Shapen develop? The burst, football mind, physicality and speed that he has is gonna separate him, Aranda said. In the history of the Big 12, 2023 will always stand as an outlier. You just dont typically see that kind of shift within a season. Pass protection improved immensely, too. The Bears have some athletes and plenty of raw speed, but theyre inconsistent. 2021 stats: Six sacks (second most), 7.0 TFL, 17 total tackles. Still, he said, players wondered: Why are we doing this? The second coach expects Baylors running game will again be solid but noted how little production returns at receiver. Dykes inherits six offensive starters and seven defensive starters, and theres plenty of room for growth on both sides. Talent hasnt been and will continue to not be the issue in Austin. Sophomore Tony Anyanwu, whom Roberts said was the starting jack before foot surgery forced him to miss the season, will be in the mix, as well as redshirt freshman Jackie Marshall. 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. The Bears won the league last year, return their starting quarterback from a season ago in Gerry Bohanon and top all other projected contenders and rank second in the Big 12 in returning starters. Leading receiver Tyquan Thornton is off to the NFL and No. Michael Haag is a Journalism student at Baylor University in Waco, TX. He returns the attention of major offensive line award voters. During a 12-0 regular season, the Horned Frogs went a perfect 5-0 in one-score games, meaning TCU wasnt far from a vastly different season. The tricky part will be actually defending the title with Oklahoma State still rolling, Oklahoma with their own defensive guru at the helm and Texas strengthening. Flahertys reasoning: While the team loses plenty on the defensive side, the Wildcats return Will Howard and all five offensive linemen. In Baylor history turn the tide pick Bernard 2nd most seasoned unit in college football 4-month-old daughter,.! 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