By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Baylor MLB Dillon Doyle met with the media earlier this week to talk about the Bears season opener Saturday at Texas State (Big12 NOW/ESPN+) at 6:00 p.m. The following is a Q&A with the junior from Iowa City, IA.
Dillon Doyle
(Are you ready to play?) Yeah, it’s been a long time coming. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time certainly. It’s been a long offseason, but we’ve tried to take advantage of every second of the process. Live every week to the best of our ability, and so camp has been part of the process. We’ve been taking our pound the rock philosophy to each part of that process. Week 1 is just another step.
(How different has this preseason been from last year?) As much as we tried to keep our heads on straight and take each day for what it was, there was a lot of unknown last year. It is nice to have a little bit of certainty. Everybody is looking forward to that. I’m definitely looking forward to the full stadiums again. That’s just one of the pieces I’m looking forward to. The 12 opportunities, you can’t ask for much more, and we’re excited for the first one coming up Saturday.
(Being on such an experienced defense) The guys around me know how to communicate. They know the defense really well. I’ve said it the whole offseason: Terrel, Pitre, those guys have taken unbelievable ownership. Apu’s been a nice addition. You guys have done quite a bit of reporting about that. We’ve become more cohesive as a unit. We love playing with each other, and we love each other even more than last year. It’s just so fun.
(What do you know about Texas State) We know a lot about them. They got a lot of good skill players. I mean their quarterback can do a lot of good things with the ball. We’re really impressed with him. He’s very athletic. They have some gap schemes and inside zone. A lot of transfers coming in, so we’re expecting to see a lot of those guys. We’re excited to see what they have to compete with us. We take this first game very seriously. We’re excited for the opportunity.
(With so many Texas State O-line transfers, will y’all want to blitz early) To a certain extent. But every first game there’s a certain amount of uncertainty. You go into any week, and there are guys you don’t know who will play or not, and you don’t know the personnel teams are coming in with. That first week it’s kind of like playing the lottery. Like last year, we prepared for a completely different quarterback than the one that came out and played against us for Kansas. It doesn’t really matter who plays for them, there’s going to be 11 guys on the field, and we’re going to come in and smash them in the mouth first play. We expect them to do the same to us. That’s the nature of football, and we’re really excited for that opportunity.
(What has impressed you about Gerry Bohanon) Just his poise. He’s taken a really good leadership position throughout the offseason. I think you probably saw that a little bit in the spring game and to the extent that you guys have watched fall practices. He’s done an unbelievable job of commanding the offense and communicating and bringing that group along. So I’m really excited for him to get the opportunity. This will be his first start, and he’s asking everybody if they have extra tickets for his family. I mean it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch him go out and do his thing. I’m excited for him to get the reward of the work he’s been putting in and the whole team especially.
(What do you want to see out of the defense specifically) Kind of just adhere to our principles, play hard and run to the football. We’d like to see real good assignment football, you know sound fundamentals. Football is a very simple game, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. So we’re looking to do the simple better. Turnovers would be nice, that’s definitely harped on. But basically just going out there and doing our job and playing assignment football, and playing really hard.
(Getting single digit) My family is the most important thing in the world to me, and there’s five people in my family. Having Doyle 5 on my back means a lot. (He’s the youngest of 3 brothers in family).
(Finding identity as team) We have to realize we’re 0-0. We haven’t shown any of the work we’ve done yet, so more than anything we’re excited to show everybody what we can do on Saturday and the identity that we’ve been building. So yes to a certain extent that we are building an identity too in the first few weeks, but it’s really just the compounding effect of what we’ve already done.
(Is pound the rock part of the identity) Pound the rock just means no matter what happens, do the next right thing. There’s a stonecutter’s creed, and it says when nothing seems to help, I just go and look at the stonecutter who takes a hundred swings at the rock and shows no cracks. At the 101st blow, it will split in two and he’ll know that it wasn’t that blow that did it but the 100 that went before it. We’re at swing 97, and Saturday will be swing 101. We’ll keep swinging, we’ll keep swinging, and bigger rocks will come along and we’ll just keep swinging. That’s really the motto is pound the rock. Even if we lose, just keep working, keep getting better.
(What areas of your game did you improve from last year to now) I think everybody would like to improve all parts of their game. But I think especially footwork, working blocks, getting my hands inside on blocks, playing with good pad level. Those are just fundamentals of playing linebacker. Transitioning to the Big 12 and getting better in man defense. Just learning our coverages better. There are ways to tailor fundamentals to coverages, and watching the tape and seeing how I can do that better has been a huge part of my process this offseason. So just learning how to play cover 3 better, and how to tailor cover 3 to different route schemes that we will face, and kind of working through that process. Not just individually but as a group. So talking to Terrel and seeing how he can play things differently and how we can play off each other. Just doing those things together has been a blast. We just love processing that together, and we’re excited to show that Saturday.
Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports releases its power rankings on the 10 members in the league. This is subject to change weekly
1. Oklahoma – QB Spencer Rattler in the Heisman Trophy race
2. Iowa State – More than 49,000 season tickets sold for the 2021 season
3. Texas – Does the media annual summer bromance finally have teeth?
4. Oklahoma State – Could be the dark horse in the league title race
5. TCU – Time to see if the offense can bounce back in 2021
6. West Virginia – A telling opener at Maryland
7. Baylor – QB Gerry Bohanon’s opportunity begins
8. Kansas State – Must show marked improvement
9. Texas Tech – Season of decision for Matt Wells
10. Kansas – Lance Leipold makes his debut Friday vs. South Dakota
Big 12 Weekend
A look at the Big 12 games for the upcoming weekend. All times are central. All games except South Dakota-Kansas are on Saturday. Rankings are from the AP and Coaches poll. Games are in the order of when kick off. TV is listed.
South Dakota at Kansas, 7:00 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: Kansas leads, 2-0
Notable: Lance Leipold’s rebuild with Kansas officially begins. He was still trying to decide on a starting QB. The Jayhawks are looking for something to feel good about with the fiery departure of Les Miles. Leipold didn’t arrive until April so this year may have its challenges.
Stanford vs. Kansas State, 11:00 a.m., AT&T Stadium, Arlington (FS1)
Series: Stanford leads, 1-0
Notable: The Wildcats are hoping that there will be some stability at QB with Will Howard. But Skylar Thompson is still there and both QBs could see significant snaps. Stanford is looking for a better season because it has struggled in recent years under David Shaw.
Tulane at No. 2/3 Oklahoma, 11:00 a.m., Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK (ABC)
Series: Oklahoma leads, 1-0
Notable: This game was supposed to played in New Orleans. However, the massive cleanup from Hurricane Ida caused this game to be moved. The Sooners are loaded offensively and many believe they are a legit National Championship candidate.
West Virginia at Maryland, 2:30 p.m., Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium, College Park, MD (ESPN)
Series: West Virginia leads, 28-22-2
Notable: The Mountaineers have won nine of the last 10 meetings. Maryland is led by Alabama QB transfer Taulia Tagovailoa. He was hit and miss last year. The Mountaineers are looking to keep some momentum with QB Jarret Doege.
Northern Iowa at No. 7/8 Iowa State, 3:30 p.m., Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA (Big 12 now on ESPN+)
Series: Iowa State leads, 23-6-2
Notable: Maybe the best team in the history of Iowa State makes its return this fall with 19 returning starters. The Cyclones are considered the major threat to Oklahoma to win the Big 12 championship. Brock Purdy has lived up to the billing as being one of the Top QBs in the country.
No. 23/23 Louisiana at No. 19/21 Texas, 3:30 p.m., Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin (FOX)
Series: Texas leads, 2-0
Notable: Hudson Card gets the start at QB for the Longhorns, although Casey Thompson is expected to play. Bijon Robinson is considered one of the top running backs in the league along with OU’s Kennedy Brooks and Iowa State’s Breece Hall. The Rajin Cajuns are led by fifth-year dual threat QB in Levi Lewis. He’s been called Kyle Murray light.
Baylor at Texas State, 6:00 p.m., Bobcat Stadium, San Marcos (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: Baylor leads, 7-0
Notable: Gerry Bohanon makes his first collegiate start. However, some of the intrigue is on new NT Apu Ika. Texas State needs to improve on a defense that surrendered well over 38 points and 500 yards per game in 2020.
Missouri State at NR/No. 22 Oklahoma State, Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: Oklahoma State leads, 8-0
Notable: The guarantee game for the Cowboys against a FCS opponent. Oklahoma State’s defense returns seven defensive linemen including Trace Ford, who is emerging as one of the best in the conference.
Texas Tech at Houston, 6:00 p.m., NRG Stadium, Houston (ESPN)
Series: Houston leads, 18-13-1
Notable: A SWC reunion. Oregon transfer Tyler Shough is the starting QB for the Red Raiders in a year where embattled head coach Matt Wells has to at least get his program to a bowl game. Houston Clayton Tune is a very good passer but under rated runner. This could be one of the more intriguing games of the weekend.
Duquesne at TCU, 7:00 p.m., Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: First meeting
Notable: It’s all going to be about this Horned Frog offense and if it can find some rhythm under dual threat QB Max Duggan. The defense will be led by DE Ochaun Mathis who could have a huge season. The Dukes are a pretty efficient offensive FCS team. But they are in Fort Worth to collect a check.
Publisher
Baylor MLB Dillon Doyle met with the media earlier this week to talk about the Bears season opener Saturday at Texas State (Big12 NOW/ESPN+) at 6:00 p.m. The following is a Q&A with the junior from Iowa City, IA.
Dillon Doyle
(Are you ready to play?) Yeah, it’s been a long time coming. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time certainly. It’s been a long offseason, but we’ve tried to take advantage of every second of the process. Live every week to the best of our ability, and so camp has been part of the process. We’ve been taking our pound the rock philosophy to each part of that process. Week 1 is just another step.
(How different has this preseason been from last year?) As much as we tried to keep our heads on straight and take each day for what it was, there was a lot of unknown last year. It is nice to have a little bit of certainty. Everybody is looking forward to that. I’m definitely looking forward to the full stadiums again. That’s just one of the pieces I’m looking forward to. The 12 opportunities, you can’t ask for much more, and we’re excited for the first one coming up Saturday.
(Being on such an experienced defense) The guys around me know how to communicate. They know the defense really well. I’ve said it the whole offseason: Terrel, Pitre, those guys have taken unbelievable ownership. Apu’s been a nice addition. You guys have done quite a bit of reporting about that. We’ve become more cohesive as a unit. We love playing with each other, and we love each other even more than last year. It’s just so fun.
(What do you know about Texas State) We know a lot about them. They got a lot of good skill players. I mean their quarterback can do a lot of good things with the ball. We’re really impressed with him. He’s very athletic. They have some gap schemes and inside zone. A lot of transfers coming in, so we’re expecting to see a lot of those guys. We’re excited to see what they have to compete with us. We take this first game very seriously. We’re excited for the opportunity.
(With so many Texas State O-line transfers, will y’all want to blitz early) To a certain extent. But every first game there’s a certain amount of uncertainty. You go into any week, and there are guys you don’t know who will play or not, and you don’t know the personnel teams are coming in with. That first week it’s kind of like playing the lottery. Like last year, we prepared for a completely different quarterback than the one that came out and played against us for Kansas. It doesn’t really matter who plays for them, there’s going to be 11 guys on the field, and we’re going to come in and smash them in the mouth first play. We expect them to do the same to us. That’s the nature of football, and we’re really excited for that opportunity.
(What has impressed you about Gerry Bohanon) Just his poise. He’s taken a really good leadership position throughout the offseason. I think you probably saw that a little bit in the spring game and to the extent that you guys have watched fall practices. He’s done an unbelievable job of commanding the offense and communicating and bringing that group along. So I’m really excited for him to get the opportunity. This will be his first start, and he’s asking everybody if they have extra tickets for his family. I mean it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch him go out and do his thing. I’m excited for him to get the reward of the work he’s been putting in and the whole team especially.
(What do you want to see out of the defense specifically) Kind of just adhere to our principles, play hard and run to the football. We’d like to see real good assignment football, you know sound fundamentals. Football is a very simple game, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. So we’re looking to do the simple better. Turnovers would be nice, that’s definitely harped on. But basically just going out there and doing our job and playing assignment football, and playing really hard.
(Getting single digit) My family is the most important thing in the world to me, and there’s five people in my family. Having Doyle 5 on my back means a lot. (He’s the youngest of 3 brothers in family).
(Finding identity as team) We have to realize we’re 0-0. We haven’t shown any of the work we’ve done yet, so more than anything we’re excited to show everybody what we can do on Saturday and the identity that we’ve been building. So yes to a certain extent that we are building an identity too in the first few weeks, but it’s really just the compounding effect of what we’ve already done.
(Is pound the rock part of the identity) Pound the rock just means no matter what happens, do the next right thing. There’s a stonecutter’s creed, and it says when nothing seems to help, I just go and look at the stonecutter who takes a hundred swings at the rock and shows no cracks. At the 101st blow, it will split in two and he’ll know that it wasn’t that blow that did it but the 100 that went before it. We’re at swing 97, and Saturday will be swing 101. We’ll keep swinging, we’ll keep swinging, and bigger rocks will come along and we’ll just keep swinging. That’s really the motto is pound the rock. Even if we lose, just keep working, keep getting better.
(What areas of your game did you improve from last year to now) I think everybody would like to improve all parts of their game. But I think especially footwork, working blocks, getting my hands inside on blocks, playing with good pad level. Those are just fundamentals of playing linebacker. Transitioning to the Big 12 and getting better in man defense. Just learning our coverages better. There are ways to tailor fundamentals to coverages, and watching the tape and seeing how I can do that better has been a huge part of my process this offseason. So just learning how to play cover 3 better, and how to tailor cover 3 to different route schemes that we will face, and kind of working through that process. Not just individually but as a group. So talking to Terrel and seeing how he can play things differently and how we can play off each other. Just doing those things together has been a blast. We just love processing that together, and we’re excited to show that Saturday.
Big 12 Power Rankings
Each week, SicEmSports releases its power rankings on the 10 members in the league. This is subject to change weekly
1. Oklahoma – QB Spencer Rattler in the Heisman Trophy race
2. Iowa State – More than 49,000 season tickets sold for the 2021 season
3. Texas – Does the media annual summer bromance finally have teeth?
4. Oklahoma State – Could be the dark horse in the league title race
5. TCU – Time to see if the offense can bounce back in 2021
6. West Virginia – A telling opener at Maryland
7. Baylor – QB Gerry Bohanon’s opportunity begins
8. Kansas State – Must show marked improvement
9. Texas Tech – Season of decision for Matt Wells
10. Kansas – Lance Leipold makes his debut Friday vs. South Dakota
Big 12 Weekend
A look at the Big 12 games for the upcoming weekend. All times are central. All games except South Dakota-Kansas are on Saturday. Rankings are from the AP and Coaches poll. Games are in the order of when kick off. TV is listed.
South Dakota at Kansas, 7:00 p.m. Friday, Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: Kansas leads, 2-0
Notable: Lance Leipold’s rebuild with Kansas officially begins. He was still trying to decide on a starting QB. The Jayhawks are looking for something to feel good about with the fiery departure of Les Miles. Leipold didn’t arrive until April so this year may have its challenges.
Stanford vs. Kansas State, 11:00 a.m., AT&T Stadium, Arlington (FS1)
Series: Stanford leads, 1-0
Notable: The Wildcats are hoping that there will be some stability at QB with Will Howard. But Skylar Thompson is still there and both QBs could see significant snaps. Stanford is looking for a better season because it has struggled in recent years under David Shaw.
Tulane at No. 2/3 Oklahoma, 11:00 a.m., Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK (ABC)
Series: Oklahoma leads, 1-0
Notable: This game was supposed to played in New Orleans. However, the massive cleanup from Hurricane Ida caused this game to be moved. The Sooners are loaded offensively and many believe they are a legit National Championship candidate.
West Virginia at Maryland, 2:30 p.m., Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium, College Park, MD (ESPN)
Series: West Virginia leads, 28-22-2
Notable: The Mountaineers have won nine of the last 10 meetings. Maryland is led by Alabama QB transfer Taulia Tagovailoa. He was hit and miss last year. The Mountaineers are looking to keep some momentum with QB Jarret Doege.
Northern Iowa at No. 7/8 Iowa State, 3:30 p.m., Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, IA (Big 12 now on ESPN+)
Series: Iowa State leads, 23-6-2
Notable: Maybe the best team in the history of Iowa State makes its return this fall with 19 returning starters. The Cyclones are considered the major threat to Oklahoma to win the Big 12 championship. Brock Purdy has lived up to the billing as being one of the Top QBs in the country.
No. 23/23 Louisiana at No. 19/21 Texas, 3:30 p.m., Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin (FOX)
Series: Texas leads, 2-0
Notable: Hudson Card gets the start at QB for the Longhorns, although Casey Thompson is expected to play. Bijon Robinson is considered one of the top running backs in the league along with OU’s Kennedy Brooks and Iowa State’s Breece Hall. The Rajin Cajuns are led by fifth-year dual threat QB in Levi Lewis. He’s been called Kyle Murray light.
Baylor at Texas State, 6:00 p.m., Bobcat Stadium, San Marcos (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: Baylor leads, 7-0
Notable: Gerry Bohanon makes his first collegiate start. However, some of the intrigue is on new NT Apu Ika. Texas State needs to improve on a defense that surrendered well over 38 points and 500 yards per game in 2020.
Missouri State at NR/No. 22 Oklahoma State, Boone Pickens Stadium, Stillwater, OK (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: Oklahoma State leads, 8-0
Notable: The guarantee game for the Cowboys against a FCS opponent. Oklahoma State’s defense returns seven defensive linemen including Trace Ford, who is emerging as one of the best in the conference.
Texas Tech at Houston, 6:00 p.m., NRG Stadium, Houston (ESPN)
Series: Houston leads, 18-13-1
Notable: A SWC reunion. Oregon transfer Tyler Shough is the starting QB for the Red Raiders in a year where embattled head coach Matt Wells has to at least get his program to a bowl game. Houston Clayton Tune is a very good passer but under rated runner. This could be one of the more intriguing games of the weekend.
Duquesne at TCU, 7:00 p.m., Amon Carter Stadium, Fort Worth (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Series: First meeting
Notable: It’s all going to be about this Horned Frog offense and if it can find some rhythm under dual threat QB Max Duggan. The defense will be led by DE Ochaun Mathis who could have a huge season. The Dukes are a pretty efficient offensive FCS team. But they are in Fort Worth to collect a check.
