By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor’s quarterback roster shrunk on Wednesday when backup Kyron Drones announced his intentions to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Drones can officially enter on Monday.
Drones is the third Bears’ QB to leave. Gerry Bohanon (South Florida) left in late April. Walk-on CJ Rogers (Texas State) left in June.
When Baylor plays its bowl game later this month it will be down to one scholarship QB in starter Blake Shapen. The presumed backup for the game is walk-on Luke Anthony.
So where does Baylor go from here? Let’s take a look:
On campus
Shapen played every game this year and had 93 percent of the passing attempts by all of the Baylor signal callers this year. Even though he had to exit the Oct. 13 game at West Virginia in the second half with a concussion, he was able to return for the Oct. 22 matchup against Kansas.
The other walk-ons besides Anthony are Landy Kinne and Brayson McHenry.
Who is coming
Baylor had to hold off a serious charge from Texas A&M over the summer. But on Sept. 1, Dripping Springs QB Austin Novosad, Rivals No. 61 2023 prospect, announced on social media he was sticking with his pledge to Baylor.
Novosad and the rest of the Baylor class are expected to sign their letters of intent on Dec. 21. There has been no indication that Novosad has wavered since that announcement. He is also a January arrival.
Should Baylor go into the portal?
My answer is it depends on what the staff really wants in a third quarterback on scholarship. Baylor managed to get by with two this season.
Keep in mind that quarterbacks enter the transfer portal with the idea that they can compete and win the job wherever they go.
That’s what happened with Bohanon when he went to South Florida. Same thing with Jacob Zeno when he ended up at UAB.
The best-case scenario for Baylor is to find a graduate transfer QB, a rental if you will, for one season. Perhaps he has some experience and is comfortable to run a college offense. Maybe he’s not a threat to compete for the starting job, but he’s a good insurance policy. There are QBs like that out there.
Looking into the offseason
If you want to say that Baylor’s offseason begins with the practices for the bowl game, fine. I don’t think Baylor should look at it that way. It should approach the game like it would any other game. The idea is to win.
But when the offseason starts when the players return in January along Novosad and other enrollees, I believe there needs to be a true competition for the starting quarterback job in 2023.
I will give Shapen some benefit of the doubt. He was a first-year starter who went through the ups and downs and maybe now has an understanding of what it takes to play the position. You have to grow into playing QB. Go look at Max Duggan at TCU. He drifted into the abyss for years before he broke out this fall.
To this day, I don’t have a problem with Shapen winning the job over Bohanon out of spring ball because he’s a better fit for this offense than Bohanon is. Shapen has play-making ability with his arm. That’s why you play QB not because you can run it. Bohanon is a game manager who can run.
I don’t need my QB to run a lot. What I need him to do is sidestep pass rushers, keep looking downfield for second and third reads and keep drives going. Pick your spots to run.
I don’t have anything against dual-threat QBs. But running QBs will get hurt more than pocket QBs because they are more susceptible to injury in the open field. Bohanon popped his hamstring at Kansas State last year.
Having said all this there needs to be a competition. Shapen didn’t earn the right to be guaranteed the starting job following a season where he turned it over 13 times, 12 in the last eight games.
Plus, this offense wasn’t very good in the red zone. The Bears were ninth in the Big 12 at nearly 81 percent (42-52 with 37 touchdowns). That’s not gonna work for the RVO offense that grinds out the yards and consumes the clock.
He must work for this. And if you’re Novosad looking at the QB room the way it’s currently constructed, you walk on to the Baylor campus next month thinking you have a chance to compete and win this job.
This is about production when it matters, taking care of the football and making good decisions. Plus, a competition should cause those in that space to rise to the challenge and play at their best.
Should be an interesting offseason at the Baylor QB position.
Publisher
Baylor’s quarterback roster shrunk on Wednesday when backup Kyron Drones announced his intentions to enter the NCAA transfer portal. Drones can officially enter on Monday.
Drones is the third Bears’ QB to leave. Gerry Bohanon (South Florida) left in late April. Walk-on CJ Rogers (Texas State) left in June.
When Baylor plays its bowl game later this month it will be down to one scholarship QB in starter Blake Shapen. The presumed backup for the game is walk-on Luke Anthony.
So where does Baylor go from here? Let’s take a look:
On campus
Shapen played every game this year and had 93 percent of the passing attempts by all of the Baylor signal callers this year. Even though he had to exit the Oct. 13 game at West Virginia in the second half with a concussion, he was able to return for the Oct. 22 matchup against Kansas.
The other walk-ons besides Anthony are Landy Kinne and Brayson McHenry.
Who is coming
Baylor had to hold off a serious charge from Texas A&M over the summer. But on Sept. 1, Dripping Springs QB Austin Novosad, Rivals No. 61 2023 prospect, announced on social media he was sticking with his pledge to Baylor.
Novosad and the rest of the Baylor class are expected to sign their letters of intent on Dec. 21. There has been no indication that Novosad has wavered since that announcement. He is also a January arrival.
Should Baylor go into the portal?
My answer is it depends on what the staff really wants in a third quarterback on scholarship. Baylor managed to get by with two this season.
Keep in mind that quarterbacks enter the transfer portal with the idea that they can compete and win the job wherever they go.
That’s what happened with Bohanon when he went to South Florida. Same thing with Jacob Zeno when he ended up at UAB.
The best-case scenario for Baylor is to find a graduate transfer QB, a rental if you will, for one season. Perhaps he has some experience and is comfortable to run a college offense. Maybe he’s not a threat to compete for the starting job, but he’s a good insurance policy. There are QBs like that out there.
Looking into the offseason
If you want to say that Baylor’s offseason begins with the practices for the bowl game, fine. I don’t think Baylor should look at it that way. It should approach the game like it would any other game. The idea is to win.
But when the offseason starts when the players return in January along Novosad and other enrollees, I believe there needs to be a true competition for the starting quarterback job in 2023.
I will give Shapen some benefit of the doubt. He was a first-year starter who went through the ups and downs and maybe now has an understanding of what it takes to play the position. You have to grow into playing QB. Go look at Max Duggan at TCU. He drifted into the abyss for years before he broke out this fall.
To this day, I don’t have a problem with Shapen winning the job over Bohanon out of spring ball because he’s a better fit for this offense than Bohanon is. Shapen has play-making ability with his arm. That’s why you play QB not because you can run it. Bohanon is a game manager who can run.
I don’t need my QB to run a lot. What I need him to do is sidestep pass rushers, keep looking downfield for second and third reads and keep drives going. Pick your spots to run.
I don’t have anything against dual-threat QBs. But running QBs will get hurt more than pocket QBs because they are more susceptible to injury in the open field. Bohanon popped his hamstring at Kansas State last year.
Having said all this there needs to be a competition. Shapen didn’t earn the right to be guaranteed the starting job following a season where he turned it over 13 times, 12 in the last eight games.
Plus, this offense wasn’t very good in the red zone. The Bears were ninth in the Big 12 at nearly 81 percent (42-52 with 37 touchdowns). That’s not gonna work for the RVO offense that grinds out the yards and consumes the clock.
He must work for this. And if you’re Novosad looking at the QB room the way it’s currently constructed, you walk on to the Baylor campus next month thinking you have a chance to compete and win this job.
This is about production when it matters, taking care of the football and making good decisions. Plus, a competition should cause those in that space to rise to the challenge and play at their best.
Should be an interesting offseason at the Baylor QB position.
