I think I used this joke last year, but…
Guy walks into a bar.
“Give me a drink before the trouble starts.”
Bartender gives him a drink.
“Give me another drink before the trouble starts.”
Bartender gives him a drink.
“Give me one more before the trouble starts.”
“Hey buddy, we need to settle up on the drinks you’ve already had.”
“Here’s where the trouble starts.”
How bad was the offensive line last year? The offense gave up over three sacks per game and averaged 2.7 yards per rushing attempt. They averaged 23.2 points per game, but 65 of those points were off turnovers. The offensive line has to improve.
Gone: Davis Divall, Colby Johnston, Jason Moore, Paul Matavao-Poialii
JohnCarlo Valentin
#57, 5th year Senior, 6’4”, 345 lbs
Valentin is using the extra COVID year. Including JUCO, it’s his sixth year playing college football.
In 2018 Valentin was considered a big get out of the JUCO ranks. He was ranked a 4 star coming out of high school. There were some concerns with nagging injuries, but he did play in eleven games in 2018. In a somewhat unusual move, he redshirted in 2019, which would have been his last year of eligibility if he’d played. Although he has a lot of raw talent, he was undeveloped coming into Baylor, and used 2019 to get fully healthy and develop. He was in seven of the nine games in 2020, but didn’t start any.
He’s listed as 25 pounds heavier than last year, but take measurements with a grain of salt.
#55, Xavier Newman-Johnson
5th year Senior, 6’,2”, 315 lbs
Newman-Johnson was a national top 300 recruit out of DeSoto. He started eight games as a freshman, and has not used a redshirt. Rhule tried to redshirt him in 2019, but he was forced into service because of injuries. He played in five games in 2020 and started four, mostly at left guard, but he had one start at center.
Grant Miller
#63, Senior, 6’4”, 309 lbs
Miller has an interesting path to Baylor. His father, Fred Miller, played for the Bears from 1992-1995, then spent ten years in the NFL. Grant played high school ball in Florida, winning a state title, before going to Vanderbilt. Between a 2017 red shirt and the COVID freebee, he’s got two years left. He’s expected to make an immediate impact.
Henry Klinge III
#78, Senior, 6’5”, 325 lbs
Klinge was a three star out of Southlake Carroll. He redshirted in 2017. His only appearances in 2019 were in blowouts (SFA, UTSA, and Kansas.) He didn’t do anything in 2020. He won’t be a factor.
Khalil Keith
#61, Junior, 6’5”, 329 lbs
Keith was a two time all state selection from Winterboro High School in Alabama. Redshirting in 2017, he appeared in six games in 2018, and all fourteen in 2019, starting five at left guard. He played in all nine games in 2020, starting four at left guard.
Jacob Gall
Senior, 6’2”, 305 lbs
Grad transfer from Buffalo. He was a solid starter there, and is the newest Bear as of this writing.
Connor Galvin
#76, Senior, 6’7”, 302 lbs
Galvin is from Katy High School. He was forced into duty as a freshman, and the only games he has missed were four in 2019 due to a knee injury. Started at left tackle for all of 2020.
Mose Jeffrey
#72, Senior, 6’4”, 320 lbs
Jeffrey was a 2018 graduate of Pine Tree High School in Longview. He went to Kilgore JC. He hasn’t used a redshirt yet. Played in four games in 2020, starting two, one at left guard, the other at right guard.
Casey Phillips
#79, Junior, 6’5”, 303 lbs
Out of Franklin, TX, Phillips redshirted his freshman year and played in all games in 2019, starting six. In 2020, he played in eight games, starting two, one at right tackle, the other at left tackle.
Jackson Kimble
#52, Junior, 6’3”, 303 lbs
Out of Southlake Carroll, Kimble redshirted his freshman year, and missed 2019 with an injury. Has appeared in one game during his Baylor career.
Jacob Frater
#68 Sophomore, 6’3”, 280
Not rated, transferred from College of Wooster in Ohio.
Elijah Ellis
#75, Sophomore, 6’6”, 329 lbs
Ellis is out of Paris High School, and redshirted his freshman year. He hasn’t played yet.
Micah Mazzccua
#54, Redshirt Freshman, 6’4”, 326 lbs
Three star 5.7 out of Baltimore. He had eleven offers, including Michigan, West Virginia, Arizona, and Virginia Tech. He redshirted in 2019 and has no stats for 2020. He got a lot of playing time during the spring game. Watch this guy.
Gavin Byers
#58, Sophomore, 6’5”, 270 lbs
A 5.5 three star out of Colleyville, TX, Byers had seven offers, including Arkansas and Texas Tech. Byers did not use a redshirt in 2020, and played in all nine games, mostly on special teams.
Connor Heffernan
#50, Freshman, 6’4”, 283
Early arrival out of Georgetown High School, three star.
Tate Williams
Freshman, 6’4”, 260 lbs
Williams is a three star 5.6 out of Wall, TX. Picked Baylor over TCU.
Ryan Lengyel
Freshman, 6’5”, 280 lbs
Lengyel is a 5.6 three star out of Dallas Jesuit. He also had an offer from Texas, and a bunch of G5s, independents, and lower level schools.
Summary
There’s a reason Joe Wickline isn’t around anymore. There’s a reason several underclassmen are no longer with the team. There’s a reason Baylor has picked up two offensive linemen off the portal, and may be in the market for more.
Wickline got a raw deal, in that he didn’t get a spring camp or warmup games with the line, but there never seemed to be a clear vision. People shuffled in and out so quickly that no one got a chance to get comfortable. They were getting shoved around during games.
Jeff Grimes brought in Eric Mateos, his line coach at BYU. The line emphasized strength and conditioning in the spring.
Aranda wasn’t happy with the coaching, the talent, or the blocking schemes. The coaching and scheme were immediate changes, and they've added two players that had starting experience at other programs.
So, who starts? Yeesh. It’s going to change. Line coach Eric Mateos said he started 28 different rotations the last two years at BYU, and he won’t name a starting line up until two weeks before the first game, so they’re giving everyone a shot.
I’ll throw the dice with Newman-Johnson, Grant Miller, Khalil Keith, Jacob Gall and Connor Galvin. Mazzccua will get a serious look this year. Casey Phillips will see playing time. Valentin will get spot duty. None of the freshmen will be ready.
Don't expect a miracle, but do expect significant improvement.
Guy walks into a bar.
“Give me a drink before the trouble starts.”
Bartender gives him a drink.
“Give me another drink before the trouble starts.”
Bartender gives him a drink.
“Give me one more before the trouble starts.”
“Hey buddy, we need to settle up on the drinks you’ve already had.”
“Here’s where the trouble starts.”
How bad was the offensive line last year? The offense gave up over three sacks per game and averaged 2.7 yards per rushing attempt. They averaged 23.2 points per game, but 65 of those points were off turnovers. The offensive line has to improve.
Gone: Davis Divall, Colby Johnston, Jason Moore, Paul Matavao-Poialii
JohnCarlo Valentin
#57, 5th year Senior, 6’4”, 345 lbs
Valentin is using the extra COVID year. Including JUCO, it’s his sixth year playing college football.
In 2018 Valentin was considered a big get out of the JUCO ranks. He was ranked a 4 star coming out of high school. There were some concerns with nagging injuries, but he did play in eleven games in 2018. In a somewhat unusual move, he redshirted in 2019, which would have been his last year of eligibility if he’d played. Although he has a lot of raw talent, he was undeveloped coming into Baylor, and used 2019 to get fully healthy and develop. He was in seven of the nine games in 2020, but didn’t start any.
He’s listed as 25 pounds heavier than last year, but take measurements with a grain of salt.
#55, Xavier Newman-Johnson
5th year Senior, 6’,2”, 315 lbs
Newman-Johnson was a national top 300 recruit out of DeSoto. He started eight games as a freshman, and has not used a redshirt. Rhule tried to redshirt him in 2019, but he was forced into service because of injuries. He played in five games in 2020 and started four, mostly at left guard, but he had one start at center.
Grant Miller
#63, Senior, 6’4”, 309 lbs
Miller has an interesting path to Baylor. His father, Fred Miller, played for the Bears from 1992-1995, then spent ten years in the NFL. Grant played high school ball in Florida, winning a state title, before going to Vanderbilt. Between a 2017 red shirt and the COVID freebee, he’s got two years left. He’s expected to make an immediate impact.
Henry Klinge III
#78, Senior, 6’5”, 325 lbs
Klinge was a three star out of Southlake Carroll. He redshirted in 2017. His only appearances in 2019 were in blowouts (SFA, UTSA, and Kansas.) He didn’t do anything in 2020. He won’t be a factor.
Khalil Keith
#61, Junior, 6’5”, 329 lbs
Keith was a two time all state selection from Winterboro High School in Alabama. Redshirting in 2017, he appeared in six games in 2018, and all fourteen in 2019, starting five at left guard. He played in all nine games in 2020, starting four at left guard.
Jacob Gall
Senior, 6’2”, 305 lbs
Grad transfer from Buffalo. He was a solid starter there, and is the newest Bear as of this writing.
Connor Galvin
#76, Senior, 6’7”, 302 lbs
Galvin is from Katy High School. He was forced into duty as a freshman, and the only games he has missed were four in 2019 due to a knee injury. Started at left tackle for all of 2020.
Mose Jeffrey
#72, Senior, 6’4”, 320 lbs
Jeffrey was a 2018 graduate of Pine Tree High School in Longview. He went to Kilgore JC. He hasn’t used a redshirt yet. Played in four games in 2020, starting two, one at left guard, the other at right guard.
Casey Phillips
#79, Junior, 6’5”, 303 lbs
Out of Franklin, TX, Phillips redshirted his freshman year and played in all games in 2019, starting six. In 2020, he played in eight games, starting two, one at right tackle, the other at left tackle.
Jackson Kimble
#52, Junior, 6’3”, 303 lbs
Out of Southlake Carroll, Kimble redshirted his freshman year, and missed 2019 with an injury. Has appeared in one game during his Baylor career.
Jacob Frater
#68 Sophomore, 6’3”, 280
Not rated, transferred from College of Wooster in Ohio.
Elijah Ellis
#75, Sophomore, 6’6”, 329 lbs
Ellis is out of Paris High School, and redshirted his freshman year. He hasn’t played yet.
Micah Mazzccua
#54, Redshirt Freshman, 6’4”, 326 lbs
Three star 5.7 out of Baltimore. He had eleven offers, including Michigan, West Virginia, Arizona, and Virginia Tech. He redshirted in 2019 and has no stats for 2020. He got a lot of playing time during the spring game. Watch this guy.
Gavin Byers
#58, Sophomore, 6’5”, 270 lbs
A 5.5 three star out of Colleyville, TX, Byers had seven offers, including Arkansas and Texas Tech. Byers did not use a redshirt in 2020, and played in all nine games, mostly on special teams.
Connor Heffernan
#50, Freshman, 6’4”, 283
Early arrival out of Georgetown High School, three star.
Tate Williams
Freshman, 6’4”, 260 lbs
Williams is a three star 5.6 out of Wall, TX. Picked Baylor over TCU.
Ryan Lengyel
Freshman, 6’5”, 280 lbs
Lengyel is a 5.6 three star out of Dallas Jesuit. He also had an offer from Texas, and a bunch of G5s, independents, and lower level schools.
Summary
There’s a reason Joe Wickline isn’t around anymore. There’s a reason several underclassmen are no longer with the team. There’s a reason Baylor has picked up two offensive linemen off the portal, and may be in the market for more.
Wickline got a raw deal, in that he didn’t get a spring camp or warmup games with the line, but there never seemed to be a clear vision. People shuffled in and out so quickly that no one got a chance to get comfortable. They were getting shoved around during games.
Jeff Grimes brought in Eric Mateos, his line coach at BYU. The line emphasized strength and conditioning in the spring.
Aranda wasn’t happy with the coaching, the talent, or the blocking schemes. The coaching and scheme were immediate changes, and they've added two players that had starting experience at other programs.
So, who starts? Yeesh. It’s going to change. Line coach Eric Mateos said he started 28 different rotations the last two years at BYU, and he won’t name a starting line up until two weeks before the first game, so they’re giving everyone a shot.
I’ll throw the dice with Newman-Johnson, Grant Miller, Khalil Keith, Jacob Gall and Connor Galvin. Mazzccua will get a serious look this year. Casey Phillips will see playing time. Valentin will get spot duty. None of the freshmen will be ready.
Don't expect a miracle, but do expect significant improvement.
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