The scrimmage had finished when I got there for the interviews. The fences blocked the view of the field, but I could hear the sounds of the final team gathering. There were shouts coming out. There are two kinds of cheers that teams give during those sessions. The first is perfunctory, done because coaches expect to hear cheers. This was more like Braveheart. There were real cheers of enthusiasm. The energy seems genuinely high.
Interviews were with the kickers, long snapper and Aranda. No clue on what will come out on the kicking game. I'm never sure what to ask a kicker, cause after you ask, "How you kicking?" there's not a lot left to say. That's why Jack Stone's interview was only two minutes. I was trying to come up with a pity question when they ended it. We won't know much about the kicking until the first game. Guys that can kick a sixty yard field goal in practice can shank a twenty yarder with money on the line. Long snapper Garrison Grimes was a good interview. He seemed pretty relaxed and not quite as scripted as a lot of players.
When Aranda came in he was more animated than usual. Genuinely happy, bouncing and full of energy.
When he started talking about playing green and getting the false stuff out of the way, I was...
It's embarrassing to do that, cause then I'm like, "Can I ask this question, or did someone else ask it while I was phased out?" By nature, he's an analytical guy, and spends a lot of time trying to figure out what's going on inside the players' heads. I won't pretend I understand what he's talking about when he goes there.
Fortunately, I only phased on his opening statement this time. I also knew the question about injuries was safe, cause nobody else ever asks about injuries. Last year, I missed a Monday presser, and the next week, when I came in, one of the reporters said, "Oh, good. It's the injury guy." It's not like I copyrighted asking injury questions.* Aranda doesn't seem to mind them, but he's not going to give out any info unless asked. Rhule would answer, generally somewhat honestly, but that was only after looking at you like you'd just spit on the carpet.
A couple of things Aranda said were curious. In his opening interview for the year, he said that last year, he was trying to be understanding about things players were going through, and that he thought some of them took advantage of it. Dovetailing that with his comments on Saturday about transfers assuming leadership roles, he may be sending a signal. Some coaches talk to their players by talking to the press. Yeah, they talk to their players face to face, but talking about them to the press either praises or embarrasses them publicly. Because the players aren't there when he does the interviews, it gives them the impression of "this is what coach says to other people about me." Whether he's trying to send them a message through the press or not, these statements make it clear he wasn't pleased with the efforts or results last year, and that he's willing to bring someone in that may be able to do better.
The football team is your family until the second time you fumble.
When asked about the quarterbacks, he confirmed and expanded on what I was thinking after the QB interviews.
On Sawyer Robertson, he mentioned his leadership capabilities. Every time his name comes up, the term "leadership" gets mentioned.
His comments on Shapen were good. When we covered the practices last week, they were just practicing throws. Robertson was one step and throw. Shapen was one count, two count, throw. He was bouncing on his feet a little and shifting his shoulders slightly. Robertson was reaction. Shapen was thinking. Aranda said that Shapen had his best week last week, and that he was standing up straighter and looking you in the eye. Check my comments from last week about what Shapen needed to do to keep the job. He may not win the starting job, but last week I was worried he was walking into the competition defeated in his own mind.
On the DLine, he mentioned Franklin and Hall, but we already knew about them. The D-line rotation will be something to watch.
When Rhoades brought in Aranda after Matt Rhule left, he said he thought Baylor could be one of the top teams in the country. In December of 2021, it looked like he was making it happen. Last year, especially the losing streak to end the season, changed a lot of things. Combined with the women's basketball and (so far) the baseball hires, Rhoades isn't getting the accolades he once got. Remember from November of 2021 to the summer of 2022, Aranda was floated for every head coaching job that came up. A year makes a lot of difference, and a coach goes from being a hero to a bum in the space of four straight losses.
On the concept of Baylor being a top program, winning consistently is the thing they're missing. Going back to Briles, they started bad, improved, Briles left. Then there was the year about nothing (interim coach.) Rhule came in. First season, one win. Up to the Sugar Bowl in year three. Then Rhule leaves. Aranda comes in. First year, two wins. Then wins the Sugar Bowl in his second year. Best year ever. Then, six wins and end the season with the losing streak. To be a top program, you need T-shirt fans. You don't get those in one season. A year like 2021 got people who normally wouldn't watch Baylor to start paying attention. Last year blunted that success. Casuals who started watching in 2021, going, "Hey, these guys are pretty good," tuned in in 2022 and said, "Oh. Never mind."
This is a critical year for Aranda. He knows it. Every coach gets a mulligan on their first year. Nobody gets a mulligan on their fourth year. The Bears have to produce on the field.
*Note: I ask injury questions cause the first thing Kevin asks me every week is "what about the injuries?"
Interviews were with the kickers, long snapper and Aranda. No clue on what will come out on the kicking game. I'm never sure what to ask a kicker, cause after you ask, "How you kicking?" there's not a lot left to say. That's why Jack Stone's interview was only two minutes. I was trying to come up with a pity question when they ended it. We won't know much about the kicking until the first game. Guys that can kick a sixty yard field goal in practice can shank a twenty yarder with money on the line. Long snapper Garrison Grimes was a good interview. He seemed pretty relaxed and not quite as scripted as a lot of players.
When Aranda came in he was more animated than usual. Genuinely happy, bouncing and full of energy.
When he started talking about playing green and getting the false stuff out of the way, I was...
It's embarrassing to do that, cause then I'm like, "Can I ask this question, or did someone else ask it while I was phased out?" By nature, he's an analytical guy, and spends a lot of time trying to figure out what's going on inside the players' heads. I won't pretend I understand what he's talking about when he goes there.
Fortunately, I only phased on his opening statement this time. I also knew the question about injuries was safe, cause nobody else ever asks about injuries. Last year, I missed a Monday presser, and the next week, when I came in, one of the reporters said, "Oh, good. It's the injury guy." It's not like I copyrighted asking injury questions.* Aranda doesn't seem to mind them, but he's not going to give out any info unless asked. Rhule would answer, generally somewhat honestly, but that was only after looking at you like you'd just spit on the carpet.
A couple of things Aranda said were curious. In his opening interview for the year, he said that last year, he was trying to be understanding about things players were going through, and that he thought some of them took advantage of it. Dovetailing that with his comments on Saturday about transfers assuming leadership roles, he may be sending a signal. Some coaches talk to their players by talking to the press. Yeah, they talk to their players face to face, but talking about them to the press either praises or embarrasses them publicly. Because the players aren't there when he does the interviews, it gives them the impression of "this is what coach says to other people about me." Whether he's trying to send them a message through the press or not, these statements make it clear he wasn't pleased with the efforts or results last year, and that he's willing to bring someone in that may be able to do better.
The football team is your family until the second time you fumble.
When asked about the quarterbacks, he confirmed and expanded on what I was thinking after the QB interviews.
On Sawyer Robertson, he mentioned his leadership capabilities. Every time his name comes up, the term "leadership" gets mentioned.
His comments on Shapen were good. When we covered the practices last week, they were just practicing throws. Robertson was one step and throw. Shapen was one count, two count, throw. He was bouncing on his feet a little and shifting his shoulders slightly. Robertson was reaction. Shapen was thinking. Aranda said that Shapen had his best week last week, and that he was standing up straighter and looking you in the eye. Check my comments from last week about what Shapen needed to do to keep the job. He may not win the starting job, but last week I was worried he was walking into the competition defeated in his own mind.
On the DLine, he mentioned Franklin and Hall, but we already knew about them. The D-line rotation will be something to watch.
When Rhoades brought in Aranda after Matt Rhule left, he said he thought Baylor could be one of the top teams in the country. In December of 2021, it looked like he was making it happen. Last year, especially the losing streak to end the season, changed a lot of things. Combined with the women's basketball and (so far) the baseball hires, Rhoades isn't getting the accolades he once got. Remember from November of 2021 to the summer of 2022, Aranda was floated for every head coaching job that came up. A year makes a lot of difference, and a coach goes from being a hero to a bum in the space of four straight losses.
On the concept of Baylor being a top program, winning consistently is the thing they're missing. Going back to Briles, they started bad, improved, Briles left. Then there was the year about nothing (interim coach.) Rhule came in. First season, one win. Up to the Sugar Bowl in year three. Then Rhule leaves. Aranda comes in. First year, two wins. Then wins the Sugar Bowl in his second year. Best year ever. Then, six wins and end the season with the losing streak. To be a top program, you need T-shirt fans. You don't get those in one season. A year like 2021 got people who normally wouldn't watch Baylor to start paying attention. Last year blunted that success. Casuals who started watching in 2021, going, "Hey, these guys are pretty good," tuned in in 2022 and said, "Oh. Never mind."
This is a critical year for Aranda. He knows it. Every coach gets a mulligan on their first year. Nobody gets a mulligan on their fourth year. The Bears have to produce on the field.
*Note: I ask injury questions cause the first thing Kevin asks me every week is "what about the injuries?"
