By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor is coming of a 31-24 victory at Iowa State this past Friday. The Bears won in Ames, IA for the first time since 2016.
So what was trending from a buying and selling mode? SicEmSports introduces a new segment that begins with conference play and runs through the rest of the season.
Buying: Gavin Holmes
Maybe nobody wants to admit it or is hesitant to go there because of his injury history. But if you’re looking for someone who is evolving into the alpha of this receiving corps, it’s him. Go back to the Texas State game when he told Blake Shapen to hold his throw just for a bit on the 28-yard TD pass. Then he runs a perfect rout to sell the flea flicker early in the fourth at Iowa State. Holmes leads this team with 157 receiving yards and a whopping 22.4 yards per catch. You don’t have to be the most gifted receiver. But you can make the big catch when this teams needs it. And this group needs him.
Selling: Offensive line
If this group wants to get off this list and move to the buying side, it needs to do much better. Without sacks, it’s been a lackluster performance run blocking in its two tests against BYU and Iowa State at 3.6 and 3.7 yards respectively. Now, three-tenths of a yard may not seem much. But add that up over say 30 rushing plays per game and then you see what happens. Grant Miller reportedly returning this week against Oklahoma State helps. But Baylor won the Big 12 when it was grinding out drives. The 93-yarder at Iowa State was a start. There needs to be more.
Buying: Safety play
Say what you want about the corners, but this safety group between the Devin Duo – Neal and Lemear – along with veteran Christian Morgan are really making an impact. Neal and Morgan have both interceptions. What you hope for Morgan is that he is getting to the other side of his hamstring injury and that it doesn’t nag him for the rest of the season. Ronnie Wheat seems to be making his mark.
Selling: Place-kicker
Dave Aranda may feel good about it and that’s fine. The concern about this position is that it puts a lot of pressure on your offense when you need a late field goal from 40+ to win or tie and you don’t know if you can actually settle around the opposing team’s 30-yard line to do that. John Mayers is not good from that distance. Isaiah Hankins was at this point last year until he got the yips and lost his job this year.
Report Card: Offensive Line
Thanks to Rivals’ relationship with Pro Football Focus, each week we’ll share with you how Baylor’s offensive line graded from the previous week. This one comes following Iowa State. We’ll break it down from run blocking, pass blocking and overall in that order.
Jacob Gall: 59.6 run, 83.8 pass = 64.6 overall
Mose Jeffery: 68.3 run, 72.0 pass = 69.1 overall
Connor Galvin: 72.2 run, 60.1 pass = 71.8 overall
Micah Mazzccua: 55.1 run, 59.9 pass = 56.9 overall
Gavin Byers: 76.2 run, 56.0 pass = 73.9
Publisher
Baylor is coming of a 31-24 victory at Iowa State this past Friday. The Bears won in Ames, IA for the first time since 2016.
So what was trending from a buying and selling mode? SicEmSports introduces a new segment that begins with conference play and runs through the rest of the season.
Buying: Gavin Holmes
Maybe nobody wants to admit it or is hesitant to go there because of his injury history. But if you’re looking for someone who is evolving into the alpha of this receiving corps, it’s him. Go back to the Texas State game when he told Blake Shapen to hold his throw just for a bit on the 28-yard TD pass. Then he runs a perfect rout to sell the flea flicker early in the fourth at Iowa State. Holmes leads this team with 157 receiving yards and a whopping 22.4 yards per catch. You don’t have to be the most gifted receiver. But you can make the big catch when this teams needs it. And this group needs him.
Selling: Offensive line
If this group wants to get off this list and move to the buying side, it needs to do much better. Without sacks, it’s been a lackluster performance run blocking in its two tests against BYU and Iowa State at 3.6 and 3.7 yards respectively. Now, three-tenths of a yard may not seem much. But add that up over say 30 rushing plays per game and then you see what happens. Grant Miller reportedly returning this week against Oklahoma State helps. But Baylor won the Big 12 when it was grinding out drives. The 93-yarder at Iowa State was a start. There needs to be more.
Buying: Safety play
Say what you want about the corners, but this safety group between the Devin Duo – Neal and Lemear – along with veteran Christian Morgan are really making an impact. Neal and Morgan have both interceptions. What you hope for Morgan is that he is getting to the other side of his hamstring injury and that it doesn’t nag him for the rest of the season. Ronnie Wheat seems to be making his mark.
Selling: Place-kicker
Dave Aranda may feel good about it and that’s fine. The concern about this position is that it puts a lot of pressure on your offense when you need a late field goal from 40+ to win or tie and you don’t know if you can actually settle around the opposing team’s 30-yard line to do that. John Mayers is not good from that distance. Isaiah Hankins was at this point last year until he got the yips and lost his job this year.
Report Card: Offensive Line
Thanks to Rivals’ relationship with Pro Football Focus, each week we’ll share with you how Baylor’s offensive line graded from the previous week. This one comes following Iowa State. We’ll break it down from run blocking, pass blocking and overall in that order.
Jacob Gall: 59.6 run, 83.8 pass = 64.6 overall
Mose Jeffery: 68.3 run, 72.0 pass = 69.1 overall
Connor Galvin: 72.2 run, 60.1 pass = 71.8 overall
Micah Mazzccua: 55.1 run, 59.9 pass = 56.9 overall
Gavin Byers: 76.2 run, 56.0 pass = 73.9
