By Kevin Lonnquist
Publisher
Welcome to another edition of Single Digit Flashback. Playing off Baylor’s new and popular tradition of awarding numbers 0-9 to those deserving players who have become leaders on the team, we have our 10 thoughts about anything that is related to Baylor and may not be related to Baylor.
The Power Bands of the 1970s are pretty vast to name. Led Zepplin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Bee Gees, Bachman Turner Overdrive and Boston are the ones that come to mind.
Lest we forget, you must include Earth, Wind and Fire. Really it’s a no-brainer. Founded in 1969 by the late Maurice White, the group had the depth to touch so many genres from funk, pop, R&B, soul, disco and Jazz.
They hit their height of success in the 1970s and for all of their 90 million records sold, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and were inducted into the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019.
One of their most distinctive voices is the great Philip Bailey and his brilliant falsetto. He was one of the signature voices on this 1978 hit. It took three months to complete. But the inspiration of it came from the movie that came out the same year, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Fantasy only reached No. 32 in the Billboard 100 chart. But its legacy remains. So does EWF.
>0. I have some more reflections about what we saw from Baylor’s spring practice on Saturday at McLane Stadium. As we keep moving forward with these in-person pressers with head coach Dave Aranda, I think you’re going to see him become more relaxed and at ease with how he talks about the team and what he sees moving forward. Now, as for the technical answer he laid out, he answered it just like it was asked. However, it was a question that didn’t need to be asked in that forum. I get that there are sites where they embrace all of the technical elements of what it takes to run an offensive and defensive scheme. What I will tell you is that about five percent of the audience – that’s my percentage – really gets into that kind of thing and just wants to break down a film on a play to every move. Then I realized that if I’m going to play the game or go in to coaching, this kind of stuff is very beneficial. However, I’m not. You want to know enough to make sure you have an appreciation for what you’re watching and what you’re reporting. That question really bogged down the presser and made it three minutes longer than it needed to be.
>1. When I was watching the QBs go through warm-ups before practice on the field at McLane Stadium Kyron Drones and Jacob Zeno passed the eye test just because of their size. There’s only a couple of inches that separates Drones and Zeno from Blake Shapen. But Baylor has some serious size at QB. I’ve racked my brain over this QB race and remain convinced we’re not going to have a decision until fall camp. Yet I tend to believe we’re going to see at least two play a lot of snaps this fall. That won’t be because of injury. It’s just going to be because of how a lot of seasons play out in college football with offenses responding to one guy and then suddenly stop. In the years I’ve posted Big 12 Coaches Corner, I can’t tell you the number of times some of these schools switched signal callers during the middle of the season for one reason or another. And I think that’s going to happen here.
>2. Put me in the category of Taye McWilliams should be this team’s starting running back. I think he looks the part. His vision is really solid, especially in the way he bounced runs to the outside and how he showed a willingness to go between the tackles on a designed run. Your alpha running back must have the ability to do both. I think McWilliams offers that above anyone else on this roster. He's the package above the others. Obviously, we have to wait for Sqwirl Williams to return and see what he’s able to contribute. Qualan Jones is a between-the-tackles type of back. But he’s not a perimeter runner.
>3. One player that caught my attention was Victor Obi. At 6-5, it’s hard to miss this uncommon outside linebacker. He played some last year. However, I really came away intrigued about how he will work his way into the mix. He’s got a little William Bradley-King in him. I wouldn’t be surprised in games where Obi is going to play standing up and with a hand on the ground at the line of scrimmage. His lateral movement is so impressive.
>4. I’d also keep an eye on linebacker Tony Anyanwu. Like Obi, he saw some time last year. But he was pretty active in the scrimmage portion of the practice. He can run. Remember, this was a guy that virtually had no attention paid to him until Baylor offered him and then he committed. I could see Anyanwu take a big step in terms of his progress. I want to see more of him at the spring game Saturday.
>5. I think your top four receivers in this group are R.J. Sneed, Tyquan Thornton, Gavin Holmes (not practicing right now) and Josh Fleeks. And they’re probably in that order. Sneed has earned the right to be called the alpha of the group. He earned that in a season where a lot of things went wrong for this position group, he stepped up. Thornton’s progress from Saturday is encouraging. We need to see more. Fleeks is the mystery. There is all of that athleticism and all that speed. He’s a senior. He needs to play this year with a sense of urgency.
>6. One defensive line lineup that struck me as most intriguing was when Josh Landry was lined up to the left of Siaki Ika. Who is to say that that’s what Aranda and defensive coordinator Ron Roberts will do with this look. Maybe it was just that. But you have cat-quick 350-pound nose guard and a 285-pound defensive tackle who can play “defensive end” in this three-man set up. Landry probably had his best year last year.
>7. Good thing it was practice because punter Issac Power was all over the place with his efforts. A boomer was followed by a shank. John Mayers was OK on his efforts. Made the ones he should have made. There were a couple of misses from 40+ yards. We saw that last year. Maybe the spring game will reveal a little more about if Baylor feels confident about its field goal game of 40 yards or more.
>8. As for the presentation of the practice from opening stretches to the conclusion, I thought everything was pretty well organized. Players knew where they needed to be. I don’t recall a moment where an offensive player or defensive player looked over at the sideline waving and asking, “I go here?” Those little details make a difference. This coming Saturday should give a better indication.
>9. Some of the players who were not available Saturday were outside linebacker Tyrone Brown, offensive lineman Henry Klinge, nose tackle Ryan Miller, running back Jonah White and wide receiver Gavin Holmes. I don't think we'll see any of them Saturday either.
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
>No. 2 Baylor men's tennis collected hardware Sunday afternoon as the Bears clinched a share of the Big 12 regular season title with a 5-2 triumph over No. 6 TCU at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Ft. Worth.
The Bears (27-4, 4-1) clinched a share of the Big 12 regular season title for the first time since 2015 and 14th time in program history. A win tied the Horned Frogs (15-6, 4-1) and No. 7 Texas (19-4, 4-1) atop the conference standings. Baylor will host the Big 12 Championship from April 24-26 at Hurd Tennis Center in Waco.
>Baylor men's golf moved up three spots on the leaderboard and finished in 12th place at 6-over-par 858 at the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate. The Bears entered the final round in 15th place and jumped three spots by shooting 4-over-par 288 in Sunday's third round at Papago Golf Club.
No. 32-ranked Baylor (+6) finished ahead of Ohio State (+7), Iowa State (+8), Colorado State (+10), Long Beach State (+10) and UCLA (+23). The Bears placed behind TCU (-34), No. 12 Arizona State (-30), No. 3 Oklahoma State (-29), No. 26 Texas Tech (-28), Oregon State (-23), No. 16 North Carolina (-22), Utah (-22), No. 31 New Mexico (-17), No. 20 Arizona (-16), UNLV (E) and No. 29 South Florida (+1). Baylor has wrapped up the regular season and begins postseason play with the Big 12 Championship, which runs April 26-28 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, KS.
>Aaliyah Miller set the Baylor school record in a historic 800 meters to highlight the second and final day of the Michael Johnson Invitational Saturday at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.
In what will go down as one of the greatest 800-meter races in collegiate history, Miller finished as the runner-up in a school record time of 2:00.87 behind only Athing Mu of Texas A&M, who set the collegiate record with a time of 1:57.73. Miller now holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the 800 meters.
Next up for Baylor track & field is the LSU Alumni Gold April 23-24 in Baton Rouge, La.
>No. 11-ranked and 12th-seeded Baylor volleyball saw its season come to an end Sunday following a 3-0 loss to No. 4-ranked and fifth-seeded Nebraska, 21-25, 17-25, 19-25, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE. The Bears' (20-7) postseason run finished in its second-consecutive Regional Semifinals appearance. It was just the third time in program history that BU had reached the Sweet 16. BU couldn't overcome eight serving errors, as well as eight service aces by the Cornhuskers, who improved to 16-2 on the year and advanced to the Regional Finals.
>Baylor women's golf is in second place after shooting 5-under-par 283 in Sunday's first round of the 2021 Big 12 Championship at Carlton Woods, while Gurleen Kaur holds the individual lead by three strokes after a first-round 6-under 66.
No. 15 Baylor (-5) trails No. 6 Oklahoma State (-9) by four strokes. The Bears have an early lead on No. 18 Texas (-3), No. 32 Oklahoma (-1), Kansas State (-1), No. 45 TCU (+1), No. 29 Texas Tech (+2), Kansas (+8) and No. 37 Iowa State (+8). Baylor is again paired with Oklahoma State and Texas for Monday's second round, which begins at 8 a.m.
>The No. 10-ranked Baylor tennis team locked in a second-place finish in the Big 12 regular season standings Sunday by beating Texas Tech on the road, 4-0, at the McLeod Tennis Center in the regular-season finale.
Baylor improved to 21-3 overall and 8-1 in Big 12 competition while the Red Raiders fell to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in league play. The Bears finished just one match behind Texas in the standings with the Longhorns running the table with a 9-0 finish.
Baylor will compete and host in the 2021 Big 12 Championships in Waco with the first match expected to be played Friday.
>Baylor (21-12, 3-3) softball fell to No. 11 Oklahoma State, 11-3 (6), in Sunday's series finale. The Lady Bears were swept in the 3-game series. aylor returns to Waco to host Sam Houston in a midweek contest on Wednesday.
>Coming off a historic upset over No. 1 Auburn, No. 8 Baylor equestrian fell just short in an 8-6 meet to No. 4 SMU in the semifinals of the 2021 NCEA National Championship.
Publisher
Welcome to another edition of Single Digit Flashback. Playing off Baylor’s new and popular tradition of awarding numbers 0-9 to those deserving players who have become leaders on the team, we have our 10 thoughts about anything that is related to Baylor and may not be related to Baylor.
The Power Bands of the 1970s are pretty vast to name. Led Zepplin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Bee Gees, Bachman Turner Overdrive and Boston are the ones that come to mind.
Lest we forget, you must include Earth, Wind and Fire. Really it’s a no-brainer. Founded in 1969 by the late Maurice White, the group had the depth to touch so many genres from funk, pop, R&B, soul, disco and Jazz.
They hit their height of success in the 1970s and for all of their 90 million records sold, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and were inducted into the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019.
One of their most distinctive voices is the great Philip Bailey and his brilliant falsetto. He was one of the signature voices on this 1978 hit. It took three months to complete. But the inspiration of it came from the movie that came out the same year, Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Fantasy only reached No. 32 in the Billboard 100 chart. But its legacy remains. So does EWF.
>0. I have some more reflections about what we saw from Baylor’s spring practice on Saturday at McLane Stadium. As we keep moving forward with these in-person pressers with head coach Dave Aranda, I think you’re going to see him become more relaxed and at ease with how he talks about the team and what he sees moving forward. Now, as for the technical answer he laid out, he answered it just like it was asked. However, it was a question that didn’t need to be asked in that forum. I get that there are sites where they embrace all of the technical elements of what it takes to run an offensive and defensive scheme. What I will tell you is that about five percent of the audience – that’s my percentage – really gets into that kind of thing and just wants to break down a film on a play to every move. Then I realized that if I’m going to play the game or go in to coaching, this kind of stuff is very beneficial. However, I’m not. You want to know enough to make sure you have an appreciation for what you’re watching and what you’re reporting. That question really bogged down the presser and made it three minutes longer than it needed to be.
>1. When I was watching the QBs go through warm-ups before practice on the field at McLane Stadium Kyron Drones and Jacob Zeno passed the eye test just because of their size. There’s only a couple of inches that separates Drones and Zeno from Blake Shapen. But Baylor has some serious size at QB. I’ve racked my brain over this QB race and remain convinced we’re not going to have a decision until fall camp. Yet I tend to believe we’re going to see at least two play a lot of snaps this fall. That won’t be because of injury. It’s just going to be because of how a lot of seasons play out in college football with offenses responding to one guy and then suddenly stop. In the years I’ve posted Big 12 Coaches Corner, I can’t tell you the number of times some of these schools switched signal callers during the middle of the season for one reason or another. And I think that’s going to happen here.
>2. Put me in the category of Taye McWilliams should be this team’s starting running back. I think he looks the part. His vision is really solid, especially in the way he bounced runs to the outside and how he showed a willingness to go between the tackles on a designed run. Your alpha running back must have the ability to do both. I think McWilliams offers that above anyone else on this roster. He's the package above the others. Obviously, we have to wait for Sqwirl Williams to return and see what he’s able to contribute. Qualan Jones is a between-the-tackles type of back. But he’s not a perimeter runner.
>3. One player that caught my attention was Victor Obi. At 6-5, it’s hard to miss this uncommon outside linebacker. He played some last year. However, I really came away intrigued about how he will work his way into the mix. He’s got a little William Bradley-King in him. I wouldn’t be surprised in games where Obi is going to play standing up and with a hand on the ground at the line of scrimmage. His lateral movement is so impressive.
>4. I’d also keep an eye on linebacker Tony Anyanwu. Like Obi, he saw some time last year. But he was pretty active in the scrimmage portion of the practice. He can run. Remember, this was a guy that virtually had no attention paid to him until Baylor offered him and then he committed. I could see Anyanwu take a big step in terms of his progress. I want to see more of him at the spring game Saturday.
>5. I think your top four receivers in this group are R.J. Sneed, Tyquan Thornton, Gavin Holmes (not practicing right now) and Josh Fleeks. And they’re probably in that order. Sneed has earned the right to be called the alpha of the group. He earned that in a season where a lot of things went wrong for this position group, he stepped up. Thornton’s progress from Saturday is encouraging. We need to see more. Fleeks is the mystery. There is all of that athleticism and all that speed. He’s a senior. He needs to play this year with a sense of urgency.
>6. One defensive line lineup that struck me as most intriguing was when Josh Landry was lined up to the left of Siaki Ika. Who is to say that that’s what Aranda and defensive coordinator Ron Roberts will do with this look. Maybe it was just that. But you have cat-quick 350-pound nose guard and a 285-pound defensive tackle who can play “defensive end” in this three-man set up. Landry probably had his best year last year.
>7. Good thing it was practice because punter Issac Power was all over the place with his efforts. A boomer was followed by a shank. John Mayers was OK on his efforts. Made the ones he should have made. There were a couple of misses from 40+ yards. We saw that last year. Maybe the spring game will reveal a little more about if Baylor feels confident about its field goal game of 40 yards or more.
>8. As for the presentation of the practice from opening stretches to the conclusion, I thought everything was pretty well organized. Players knew where they needed to be. I don’t recall a moment where an offensive player or defensive player looked over at the sideline waving and asking, “I go here?” Those little details make a difference. This coming Saturday should give a better indication.
>9. Some of the players who were not available Saturday were outside linebacker Tyrone Brown, offensive lineman Henry Klinge, nose tackle Ryan Miller, running back Jonah White and wide receiver Gavin Holmes. I don't think we'll see any of them Saturday either.
Now, a look at other Baylor sports…
>No. 2 Baylor men's tennis collected hardware Sunday afternoon as the Bears clinched a share of the Big 12 regular season title with a 5-2 triumph over No. 6 TCU at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center in Ft. Worth.
The Bears (27-4, 4-1) clinched a share of the Big 12 regular season title for the first time since 2015 and 14th time in program history. A win tied the Horned Frogs (15-6, 4-1) and No. 7 Texas (19-4, 4-1) atop the conference standings. Baylor will host the Big 12 Championship from April 24-26 at Hurd Tennis Center in Waco.
>Baylor men's golf moved up three spots on the leaderboard and finished in 12th place at 6-over-par 858 at the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate. The Bears entered the final round in 15th place and jumped three spots by shooting 4-over-par 288 in Sunday's third round at Papago Golf Club.
No. 32-ranked Baylor (+6) finished ahead of Ohio State (+7), Iowa State (+8), Colorado State (+10), Long Beach State (+10) and UCLA (+23). The Bears placed behind TCU (-34), No. 12 Arizona State (-30), No. 3 Oklahoma State (-29), No. 26 Texas Tech (-28), Oregon State (-23), No. 16 North Carolina (-22), Utah (-22), No. 31 New Mexico (-17), No. 20 Arizona (-16), UNLV (E) and No. 29 South Florida (+1). Baylor has wrapped up the regular season and begins postseason play with the Big 12 Championship, which runs April 26-28 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, KS.
>Aaliyah Miller set the Baylor school record in a historic 800 meters to highlight the second and final day of the Michael Johnson Invitational Saturday at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.
In what will go down as one of the greatest 800-meter races in collegiate history, Miller finished as the runner-up in a school record time of 2:00.87 behind only Athing Mu of Texas A&M, who set the collegiate record with a time of 1:57.73. Miller now holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the 800 meters.
Next up for Baylor track & field is the LSU Alumni Gold April 23-24 in Baton Rouge, La.
>No. 11-ranked and 12th-seeded Baylor volleyball saw its season come to an end Sunday following a 3-0 loss to No. 4-ranked and fifth-seeded Nebraska, 21-25, 17-25, 19-25, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE. The Bears' (20-7) postseason run finished in its second-consecutive Regional Semifinals appearance. It was just the third time in program history that BU had reached the Sweet 16. BU couldn't overcome eight serving errors, as well as eight service aces by the Cornhuskers, who improved to 16-2 on the year and advanced to the Regional Finals.
>Baylor women's golf is in second place after shooting 5-under-par 283 in Sunday's first round of the 2021 Big 12 Championship at Carlton Woods, while Gurleen Kaur holds the individual lead by three strokes after a first-round 6-under 66.
No. 15 Baylor (-5) trails No. 6 Oklahoma State (-9) by four strokes. The Bears have an early lead on No. 18 Texas (-3), No. 32 Oklahoma (-1), Kansas State (-1), No. 45 TCU (+1), No. 29 Texas Tech (+2), Kansas (+8) and No. 37 Iowa State (+8). Baylor is again paired with Oklahoma State and Texas for Monday's second round, which begins at 8 a.m.
>The No. 10-ranked Baylor tennis team locked in a second-place finish in the Big 12 regular season standings Sunday by beating Texas Tech on the road, 4-0, at the McLeod Tennis Center in the regular-season finale.
Baylor improved to 21-3 overall and 8-1 in Big 12 competition while the Red Raiders fell to 15-7 overall and 6-3 in league play. The Bears finished just one match behind Texas in the standings with the Longhorns running the table with a 9-0 finish.
Baylor will compete and host in the 2021 Big 12 Championships in Waco with the first match expected to be played Friday.
>Baylor (21-12, 3-3) softball fell to No. 11 Oklahoma State, 11-3 (6), in Sunday's series finale. The Lady Bears were swept in the 3-game series. aylor returns to Waco to host Sam Houston in a midweek contest on Wednesday.
>Coming off a historic upset over No. 1 Auburn, No. 8 Baylor equestrian fell just short in an 8-6 meet to No. 4 SMU in the semifinals of the 2021 NCEA National Championship.
