Baylor HC Dave Aranda said at his Monday presser that both QB Blake Shapen and RB Sqwirl Williams (each with concussions) are still going through the evaluation process. Despite having two extra days, their status for Homecoming against Kansas is questionable.
Kyron Drones, who finished Saturday, will start. We probably won't know until later in the week where this is going. And it may take until gametime to really know.
Again, my personal opinion is that Shapen won't play. Could be wrong.
Transcript will come later.
Also, our Kansas Rivals colleagues are told that QB Jalon Daniels is likely to miss this game as well. He was hurt against TCU and missed Oklahoma.
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Opening Statement
Having the opportunity to go through the film and just review the good and the bad, and to really get down to the reasons why has been our focus, and to come up with really strong processes that we can move forward with. I feel good about that. The film doesn’t lie, so I think the good, the bad, and the ugly to get to where you’re going, you have to start where you’re at. The hardest thing when a bye is correlated with all of it, you sit with it, and not looking away, really working to see your part in it and to see where as a coach for me where I’ve fallen short and where I can improve, and where I need to do better, those have all been big parts of the last couple of days. It’s exciting to get back to it today and I’m excited for this week. We have a really strong opponent coming in with a coach I very much admire and respect, and a team that is believing and playing hard. It’s going to be a challenge here at our place.
(Shapen and Sqwirl status) They were looked at this morning. I think it’s still ongoing for them. I wish I could give you guys a definitive yes or no. I think the truth of it is they had some preliminary looks over the weekend, but they were really looked at strongly this morning. I think it’s still too early to tell.
(Tackling issues) I think you have to meet them where they’re at in terms of how they see it. I think it’s important we all see it the same way. I know when you look at it on film and you look at it on TV, it should hit you in the face, just atrocious and bad and all these other things. I’ve learned not to be shocked in coming around and asking how did you see it and why did this happen. I think that’s important because it can help you with your way through it and make the best connection with them. The No. 1 thing that comes to mind is we have to practice better and I have to hold them to higher standards at the end of a play. I think we generally have a quick whistle in practice and I think the finish of a defensive play can be better. I think when we’re not finishing a play in a football position, either tagging at the hip or thudding up on a ballcarrier, if we’re not doing that consistently enough, I think ends up what’s happening is you’re training guys to not finish in games. I look at my part in what showed up the other night, so for sure we’re going to be better with our approach to that.
(Are guys trusting each other) Defensively, whenever you have a game like that or the majority of the time you have a game like that, a lot of times they don’t say this particular game three days out I’m just going to do my thing. That doesn’t initially happen that way. But when you get into moments within the game, what happens is they find themselves straying from technique or straying from assignment, and somewhere in them they feel I have to make a play because no one else will, and there was a fair amount of that on Thursday. So the trust part, I’m much more fond of do your 1/11th than do you job. I just feel that 1/11th ties you to 10 other people and they’re counting on you to do your part as opposed to the other when it’s just focusing on you. The tie to a team is very strong. You can be the strongest piece or also the most detrimental if you don’t think they can hold up and do what they’re asking them to do. So getting into the middle of that and we’re going to come out the other side in a positive way is where we’re at.
(How do you deal with strength of Big 12) Focus on ourselves. I think part of the issue with us is trusting the process, and what we’re doing and how we approach things and how we rep things and how we prepare for things. We don’t need to make up anything or go outside of it. I think if we get that right throughout a given week, when we get to game day and say there’s pressure moments and there’s an opportunity to kind of stray from the things I’ve been doing all week or doing for multiple weeks, you trend yourself to stay in that technique or stay in that scheme, and we need that. The process is fearless, it has no emotion. It’s an anchor when things are kind of going crazy around you. So we need to anchor down.
(What did you see out of Kyron) I thought Kyron had some really strong poise and some confidence. He took a lot of that stuff in stride. There wasn’t any big eyes by him or trying to make things happen when things weren’t necessarily there. I thought he was seeing things clear, and when maybe a big hit (throw to receiver) was taken away, he put the ball down. In all the phases of it, really up till that last drive, he put the ball where it needed to be. That took a real quiet confidence from him. And we’ll continue to see that from Kyron. He’s shown that throughout. So, I have a lot of faith in him.
(How does Jason Bean look different from what you saw last year, and how do you prepare for the unknown at QB) Confidence would be the thing, and I think it probably starts in the run game. Receivers are blocking, running backs are running hard, O-linemen are finishing things. And then it opens up things, just the numbers you’ve got to get in there to stop all of it. And then, it opens up big plays behind that. So, there’s confidence on the team and confidence in him. You look at this past game, for sure. He comes out, just starting fast, and you could see that he’s feeling it. I would anticipate that again. The run aspect is there with him and his ability, off of those play-action passes – there’s limited RPOs – but the shot plays to make plays is a way weapon. And we’re going to have to be at our best to defend all of it. They use all 11, so we’re going to have to as well.
(On Dillon Doyle) It means a lot to Dillon. I believe he can see a big picture. I think he can not get caught up in moments, but kind of see how this moment was brought on by maybe these other moments. And I think his perspective to some of the younger guys can be helpful. I think there’s a toughness with Dillon that’s understated. It’s kind of cool to have that, to where there doesn’t have to be a bunch of boastfulness, but there can just be toughness kind of standing still. I think that is new for some of younger guys, too. But yeah, I’m a big fan of his. It means a lot to him, he always puts in time. I know this game is one he wants, he did not have his best performance this last one. So, I know we’re going to get the best Dillon for this next one.
(Giving up 18 non-offensive points in the last two games) Coach, I would say, right off the bat. And I take responsibility for that. But then, I think along with that – and this still falls under the umbrella of coaching – is I think we’re getting guys that are panicking trying to make plays. The coaching part of it is, I need to do a better job of making that connection from team meetings to unit meetings to one-on-one meetings to side meetings, where guys really understand, ‘Hey, we just gave to trust this process that we’ve got. We’ve got to be able to do our 1/11th instead of chasing these plays. Let’s be where we’re supposed to be, and these plays will come to us.’ That’s the message. When the losses are finding you, it’s funny how you start helping those losses find you. And I think we’re in that space right now. So, the trust part is a big part to get us out.
(Is the D-line where you thought it would be) I think overall, we’re probably behind where we’d like to be. This particular game, I thought there was improvement with our offensive line in just finishing and playing with edge. Pass protection, I thought there were some bright spots. I thought defensively in this past one, really the whole defense was kind of colored by trying to make this play, that play and every play, as opposed to just playing your responsibility and making your play. We’ve been really working on that these last couple of days, and that needs to show up on film for our D-line to kind of get back to where they were. Just a couple weeks ago, they were really trending well, and we have to get back to what we were doing.
(How important is it to not extend losing streak to three)
No, I appreciate that. I think anytime that whatever you put out has – it's funny how it kind of comes back to you. And so, just whether it's football or in life, really. And so, just the opportunity we have this week to have a ton of energy on the practice field, to practice with some really strong edge and some physicality in the days that we're going with pads. And then to really hone in on the execution piece, I think is really the most important thing. And I think if we do that, then that will give us the best chance at getting the outcome we want. I worry about being so outcome focused at the start of all of it. Because that is probably something I didn't have a handle on in the beginning and got us to where we're at in this place anyways. And so, to get back on what we have to do today, what we have to do this afternoon. What we have to do with this meeting, with this walkthrough, with this practice, is really where the focus needs to be.
(Do you still have confidence to close close games?)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. That was one of the things that was talked about in the locker room afterwards – after this one, was that everybody felt that. And so, yeah, it is. I think, so much of it is a team that's close, that’s tight, that right now is together, that is fumbling and bumbling over themselves trying to win it themselves, as opposed to just relax and do your job and let it come to you. That's the best way I can describe it. And I think it's difficult, because I think coaches get caught up in all of that too. Grown ups get caught up in all of it just as well as our players. And so, to just focus on what the focus needs to be is really a challenge.
(On KU RB Devin Neal)
I know, I know, yeah. I mean, [he] is physical, is a violent runner. Falls forward. He will churn and grind out the last two, three yards. That's the thing that sticks out to me the most is that people kind of will have him hemmed up. And it’s a three-yard gain, no, it's a five-yard gain. And I think, what a difference that makes, right? In a drive and just the way they play, to get it to where it's third-and-one, or fourth-and-one as opposed to a third-and-six. So, we have our work cut out for us just coming from the tackling performance that we put on, to what needs to happen for this one.
(Six weeks into the season, does it get any simpler to manage for you and the team itself?)
I appreciate the question. That's a good one. I think whether you have success, or you have failure, there's always something to manage. Now, I think when you have success, there's generally like a lapse with that. Especially if you haven't had success. You just feel like, ‘I'm gonna listen to whatever is being said because it works’ or ‘I'm going to do whatever they tell me because it's working.’ The evils of success usually take a while to kind of settle and then manifest with complacency. I think when you lose, losing hits, is more of an issue in the immediate, and then it gets to be, why do you listen because it's not working and just a lot of the opposite things. And so, either way – you love college football because of the echo chamber is of all of it. But the echo chamber with negativity or with losses or wins become a thing to manage as well. And so, I think you can for sure grow as a person in going through all of it because I think in all of that you find out a lot about yourself.
(Did you reach out to Tyquan following his big day?)
Very cool. Yeah, no, I did. Yeah, it was very, very good. And we're gonna watch some of that today. And so, we're really excited that he's back and for him to be back in that type of way. Pretty, pretty cool to see.
