By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
With Baylor adding so many new pieces to the 2023 football roster through the NCAA transfer portal, SicEmSports provides a daily series of breaking down each of these new members and how they fit into the program moving forward.
Mike Smith
Pos.: LB
School: Liberty
Ht./Wt.: 6-1, 225
Remaining Eligibility: 2 years
What he brings: His productivity jumps out. Wherever the ball was, so was Smith. Liberty’s 2022 defense based out of the 4-2-5. Smith was asked to move sideline to sideline with the nickel back going in different directions. He was the Flames’ leading tackler with 85 stops (45 solo, 40 assisted) and 10 TFLs. With his size, he has the flexibility to play either the middle or on the outside. In the Boca Raton Bowl loss to Toledo, Smith made it count with 16 tackles (six solo), 1.5 TFL, a half sack and a forced fumble. Quietly, this could be the best addition the Baylor coaching staff made over this portal period.
What are the concerns: There is a phrase associated with running backs “too many miles on the tire” because of how many rushing attempts they had over time and the number of hits they incurred just causes them to wear down. The same can be said for linebackers. They’re typically the leading tacklers and sometimes that just happens. Maybe that’s something to watch with Smith. The other matter for him is to make the adjustment from G5/Independent football to the P5 level. There is a difference. Liberty played such P5 teams in BYU, Wake Forest Virginia Tech and Arkansas. However, that wasn’t week after week.
How he helps the room: Experience is No. 1. Leadership as a second. This is a room that has some youth, talent but a lot of inexperience. Because he has two years, Smith can serve as that bridge as others make their way up and become fixtures on the second tier of the defense. This will be a big spring for the likes of Jackie Marshall, Will Williams and Tyrone Brown to join Smith, Matt Jones and perhaps Josh White (White suffered a concussion early in 2022 and was pretty much unavailable).
2023 Expectations: Track records mean something. Between his junior college days at Mississippi Gulf Coast and his lone season at Liberty, Smith averaged 111 tackles per season. Something between what he did with Liberty and that average would be ideal. Baylor needs him to be solid in run support. At times, the Bears rushing defense looked really good (it wasn’t that bad against Air Force in the Armed Forces bowl facing the triple option) and at times, it wasn’t that great. As a frame of reference, the graduated Dillon Doyle led Baylor with 90 tackles but only a half TFL. It would be a good thing if Smith can duplicate or come close to the TFL number ha had at Liberty.
Publisher
With Baylor adding so many new pieces to the 2023 football roster through the NCAA transfer portal, SicEmSports provides a daily series of breaking down each of these new members and how they fit into the program moving forward.
Mike Smith
Pos.: LB
School: Liberty
Ht./Wt.: 6-1, 225
Remaining Eligibility: 2 years
What he brings: His productivity jumps out. Wherever the ball was, so was Smith. Liberty’s 2022 defense based out of the 4-2-5. Smith was asked to move sideline to sideline with the nickel back going in different directions. He was the Flames’ leading tackler with 85 stops (45 solo, 40 assisted) and 10 TFLs. With his size, he has the flexibility to play either the middle or on the outside. In the Boca Raton Bowl loss to Toledo, Smith made it count with 16 tackles (six solo), 1.5 TFL, a half sack and a forced fumble. Quietly, this could be the best addition the Baylor coaching staff made over this portal period.
What are the concerns: There is a phrase associated with running backs “too many miles on the tire” because of how many rushing attempts they had over time and the number of hits they incurred just causes them to wear down. The same can be said for linebackers. They’re typically the leading tacklers and sometimes that just happens. Maybe that’s something to watch with Smith. The other matter for him is to make the adjustment from G5/Independent football to the P5 level. There is a difference. Liberty played such P5 teams in BYU, Wake Forest Virginia Tech and Arkansas. However, that wasn’t week after week.
How he helps the room: Experience is No. 1. Leadership as a second. This is a room that has some youth, talent but a lot of inexperience. Because he has two years, Smith can serve as that bridge as others make their way up and become fixtures on the second tier of the defense. This will be a big spring for the likes of Jackie Marshall, Will Williams and Tyrone Brown to join Smith, Matt Jones and perhaps Josh White (White suffered a concussion early in 2022 and was pretty much unavailable).
2023 Expectations: Track records mean something. Between his junior college days at Mississippi Gulf Coast and his lone season at Liberty, Smith averaged 111 tackles per season. Something between what he did with Liberty and that average would be ideal. Baylor needs him to be solid in run support. At times, the Bears rushing defense looked really good (it wasn’t that bad against Air Force in the Armed Forces bowl facing the triple option) and at times, it wasn’t that great. As a frame of reference, the graduated Dillon Doyle led Baylor with 90 tackles but only a half TFL. It would be a good thing if Smith can duplicate or come close to the TFL number ha had at Liberty.
