2007 Big 12 football previews

Baylor | Colorado | Iowa St | Kansas | Kansas St | Missouri

Nebraska | Oklahoma | Oklahoma St | Texas A&M | Texas | Texas Tech

2007 Baylor Bears Football Preview

Baylor Bears

2006 Record: (4-8, 3-5)
Coach: Guy Morris (15-31 at Baylor, 24-45 overall)

Starters Returning: 11 (4 offense, 7 defense, 0 specialists)

Offensive Starters Lost: QB Shawn Bell, RB Paul Mosley, WR Trey Payne, WR Trent Shelton, WR Dominique Zeigler, OL Will Blaylock, OL Travis Farst

Offensive Starters Returning: WR Thomas White, OL Dan Gay, OL Chad Smith, OL Jason Smith

Defensive Starters Lost: DT M.T. Robinson, CB Anthony Arline, CB C.J. Wilson, S Maurice Linguist

Defensive Starters Returning: DT Vincent Rhodes, DE Jason Lamb, DE Geoff Nelson, LB Nick Moore, LB Joe Pawelek, S Dwain Crawford, S Brandon Stiggers

Starting Specialists Lost: K Ryan Havens, P Daniel Sepulveda

Starting Specialists Returning: none

Beating Northwestern State, Kansas State, Colorado and Kansas may not sound very good, and it is not, but Baylor is still improving under Coach Guy Morris. A bowl game is still a long, long ways away, but the folks in Waco at least can look for a little more improvement.

2007 Baylor Offense:

Senior Michael Machen appears to be the likely replacement for quarterback Shawn Bell. Machen, a former minor league baseball player, is 25 and has the leadership abilities necessary to take over the offense. Blake Szymanski threw 121 passes last season and will be an experienced player ready to step in if he needs to, but he failed to provide much of a spark as a freshman. Junior college transfer John David Weed has the ability to be a big time passer, but how quickly he adjusts to the level of play will determine whether or not he gets a real chance. Only one starter returns to the Bear’s four wide receiver set. Replacing Trent Shelton and Dominique Zeigler will be nearly impossible.

The running game ranked last in the nation with a horrifying 40.2 yards per game. Generating some balance between the running and passing game will be critical and Brandon Whitaker will need to impress the coaching staff enough for them to call his number more often. Whitaker only rushed for 158 yards while backing up the departed Paul Mosley. With three starters returning to the offensive line and the addition of Arizona State transfer J.D. Walton, the line should be able to create some more holes for the running backs.

2007 Baylor Defense:

The defense dominated in the spring, but that may say more about the Baylor offense. Surely the Texas and Oklahoma offenses will give them more of a challenge…to say the least. Yet, there is plenty of experience in the front six. Vincent Rhodes, Jason Lamb and Geoff Nelson return to the line and linebackers Joe Pawelek and Nick Moore are back to man the linebacker positions. The pass rush was non-existent last season, but with the experience and a slightly more aggressive scheme brought in by new defensive coordinator Larry Hoefer, that should not be as big of a problem. Pawelek, the other JoPa, earned Freshman All-American accolades in 2006 and will have his fair share of big hits on the quarterback.

The graduation of corners Anthony Arline and C.J. Wilson is a concern, but seniors Alton Widemon, Braelon Davis and Josh Bell should be serviceable replacements. Safeties Brandon Stiggers and Dwain Crawford are back, although playing new positions in the Bears five man secondary. Sophomores Jeremy Williams and Jordan Lake saw limited action as freshmen, but will compete for starting jobs at the safety spots.

The Bottom Line for the 2007 Bears:

In the end, unfortunately for Baylor, this is still Baylor. Being in the Big 12 South is not their fault, but it pretty much guarantees at least five losses, although Texas Tech is at home this year so maybe it is four and a half losses for now. That would still be a pretty big upset. The quarterback situation needs to be settled, the wide receivers need to be replaced quickly, the running game cannot be any worse and both lines have a lot to improve on. If all those happen, Baylor might be one win away from bowl eligibility by the evening of October 27 th, but still end up with five wins.

by Joel Welser