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.
Sawyer Robertson
Pos.: QB
School: Mississippi State
Ht./Wt.: 6-4-210
Remaining Eligibility: 3 years
What he brings: Well, Robertson looks the part of a big-time P5 quarterback with his size. He was a Rivals250 recruit coming out of Lubbock Coronado High School and understood all of the nuances of the Air Raid offense while he was in Starkville, MS. He knows how to read defenses and distribute the ball to receivers. Robertson also has a big arm so if there are shots that need to be made downfield or he must fit something in a tight window, he can do that. There is a high ceiling with him.
What are the concerns: Given that Robertson redshirted in 2021 and appeared in five games in 2022 – mostly in mop up duty – there’s always going to be the natural reaction of can he do it at the P5 level every week. The late Mike Leach talked in spring camp 2022 that Robertson had an opportunity to unseat veteran Will Rogers as the starting quarterback. Obviously, that did not happen. In fact, there just wasn’t a chance to see Robertson play meaningful snaps. He never threw a pass against a SEC opponent. The attempts came against Arizona, Bowling Green and East Tennessee State. Combined, Robertson was 6-11 for 23 yards.
How he helps the room: He’s the only other signal caller on scholarship after Blake Shapen. It’s just those two along with some backups led by Northern Arizona transfer and Austin native RJ Martinez. Martinez likely will be the No. 3 QB behind those two and take the spot that was held by Luke Anthony in 2022. For Robertson, this is a case where he can assert himself,
2023 Expectations: That really depends on how the Baylor coaches view spring football when it begins on March 21. Robertson has said he wants to compete and do the best job that he can. However, if head coach Dave Aranda, offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and QB coach Shawn Bell decide they want a true competition for the starting job, then the tone of the spring and perhaps even further into fall camp becomes far different. Should this be Shapen’s job to lose, he would have to play very poorly in order to do that. Conversely, Robertson would have to give the Baylor coaches reasons to make the switch. The expectations really come back to how this coaching staff navigates this room. It needs to be better after what happened in 2022.
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.
Sawyer Robertson
Pos.: QB
School: Mississippi State
Ht./Wt.: 6-4-210
Remaining Eligibility: 3 years
What he brings: Well, Robertson looks the part of a big-time P5 quarterback with his size. He was a Rivals250 recruit coming out of Lubbock Coronado High School and understood all of the nuances of the Air Raid offense while he was in Starkville, MS. He knows how to read defenses and distribute the ball to receivers. Robertson also has a big arm so if there are shots that need to be made downfield or he must fit something in a tight window, he can do that. There is a high ceiling with him.
What are the concerns: Given that Robertson redshirted in 2021 and appeared in five games in 2022 – mostly in mop up duty – there’s always going to be the natural reaction of can he do it at the P5 level every week. The late Mike Leach talked in spring camp 2022 that Robertson had an opportunity to unseat veteran Will Rogers as the starting quarterback. Obviously, that did not happen. In fact, there just wasn’t a chance to see Robertson play meaningful snaps. He never threw a pass against a SEC opponent. The attempts came against Arizona, Bowling Green and East Tennessee State. Combined, Robertson was 6-11 for 23 yards.
How he helps the room: He’s the only other signal caller on scholarship after Blake Shapen. It’s just those two along with some backups led by Northern Arizona transfer and Austin native RJ Martinez. Martinez likely will be the No. 3 QB behind those two and take the spot that was held by Luke Anthony in 2022. For Robertson, this is a case where he can assert himself,
2023 Expectations: That really depends on how the Baylor coaches view spring football when it begins on March 21. Robertson has said he wants to compete and do the best job that he can. However, if head coach Dave Aranda, offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes and QB coach Shawn Bell decide they want a true competition for the starting job, then the tone of the spring and perhaps even further into fall camp becomes far different. Should this be Shapen’s job to lose, he would have to play very poorly in order to do that. Conversely, Robertson would have to give the Baylor coaches reasons to make the switch. The expectations really come back to how this coaching staff navigates this room. It needs to be better after what happened in 2022.
