Baylor Coach Dave Aranda
Opening Statement…
“Our outcome tonight, it is sad for all of us and our senior class. Thank God for Dillon Doyle and the relationships you build. The people that they are. It is hard to say goodbye, especially after an outcome like this and that is where we are at. I am proud of the fight that we had. The game was out of reach, and we were still out there fighting for a yard. We were able to come off the field excited and that speaks for these guys.
“From a team perspective it is a disappointing end to a disappointing season. There is a lot to be learned for our returners and younger people. A lot to look at and try to emulate as well. The fight that we just mentioned, the showing up under tough circumstances and never backing down and putting yourselves out there. Those are things we can build on.”
Comparing last season’s Big 12 title with this year…
“It is a completely different team from last year to this year. There was a lot of learning from me. I look back now and have had some time to do this prior to this question. I see the things coming, and things we didn’t see coming and it may be a lack of experience on my part. To be transparent about it only helps you get better. The college football world as it changes, through the portal and everything else, is my personal view of that is it is something here to stay and I think all of that has grown this year. This year could really be looked at as a lesson. I just see us getting better. For the guys that are returning to see the work, they are going to see the work, and the adversity, and how to handle it and be better for it.”
What is the next step for Baylor in the offseason…
“We are still in the midst of recruiting and there are a couple of valued spots where we have some valued prospects for. January is a limited window to get some guys to campus and see if something can work out because of all of it. We are finalizing our team now in terms of what that team will look like for next year. The third part is the class we just signed, and we are so excited to get them settled in and setting standards and expectations to see if we can get started off on the right spot. That is good for a team that has had some tough lessons and different ways to do it. We all have to get aligned to do it the right way.”
On the play of Shapen…
“I was disappointed on a whole offensively. In previous games there was more juice and excitement. I was way disappointed in the lack of that. I think it really starts with the run game. That is the identity of our offense, and you can argue our team. A lot of credit goes to Air Force. We didn’t hold up to our side of the bargain. I could see Blake (Shapen) pressing, and there was a lot to improve on.”
On the energy coming into the game…
“We talked about with 20 seconds left in the game we were still fighting for it. Even the possession before where we were still fighting for it. Those are all views of the fight. Christian Morgan made a great play, and you look at his journey and learning experiences and people that have come to him and help him and the trust that people have in him and to see him fight there at the end. There was a lot of positive in that.
Opening Statement…
“Our outcome tonight, it is sad for all of us and our senior class. Thank God for Dillon Doyle and the relationships you build. The people that they are. It is hard to say goodbye, especially after an outcome like this and that is where we are at. I am proud of the fight that we had. The game was out of reach, and we were still out there fighting for a yard. We were able to come off the field excited and that speaks for these guys.
“From a team perspective it is a disappointing end to a disappointing season. There is a lot to be learned for our returners and younger people. A lot to look at and try to emulate as well. The fight that we just mentioned, the showing up under tough circumstances and never backing down and putting yourselves out there. Those are things we can build on.”
Comparing last season’s Big 12 title with this year…
“It is a completely different team from last year to this year. There was a lot of learning from me. I look back now and have had some time to do this prior to this question. I see the things coming, and things we didn’t see coming and it may be a lack of experience on my part. To be transparent about it only helps you get better. The college football world as it changes, through the portal and everything else, is my personal view of that is it is something here to stay and I think all of that has grown this year. This year could really be looked at as a lesson. I just see us getting better. For the guys that are returning to see the work, they are going to see the work, and the adversity, and how to handle it and be better for it.”
What is the next step for Baylor in the offseason…
“We are still in the midst of recruiting and there are a couple of valued spots where we have some valued prospects for. January is a limited window to get some guys to campus and see if something can work out because of all of it. We are finalizing our team now in terms of what that team will look like for next year. The third part is the class we just signed, and we are so excited to get them settled in and setting standards and expectations to see if we can get started off on the right spot. That is good for a team that has had some tough lessons and different ways to do it. We all have to get aligned to do it the right way.”
On the play of Shapen…
“I was disappointed on a whole offensively. In previous games there was more juice and excitement. I was way disappointed in the lack of that. I think it really starts with the run game. That is the identity of our offense, and you can argue our team. A lot of credit goes to Air Force. We didn’t hold up to our side of the bargain. I could see Blake (Shapen) pressing, and there was a lot to improve on.”
On the energy coming into the game…
“We talked about with 20 seconds left in the game we were still fighting for it. Even the possession before where we were still fighting for it. Those are all views of the fight. Christian Morgan made a great play, and you look at his journey and learning experiences and people that have come to him and help him and the trust that people have in him and to see him fight there at the end. There was a lot of positive in that.
