If this happens to be Matt Rhule’s last season at Baylor, he might as well make it one to remember. He was in the running for the New York Jets job last January, but he removed his name when the organization reportedly wanted to choose his coaching staff for him. The Jets’ loss is Baylor’s gain, as Rhule tries to follow the blueprint that led him to consecutive 10-win seasons at Temple.
The Bears open the 2019 campaign by hosting Stephen F. Austin on Saturday. This is the type of non-conference schedule Art Briles and former AD Ian McCaw would covet, although a neutral site game against Ole Miss awaits the Bears in 2020. For now, Baylor has a chance for a hot start with SFA, UTSA and Rice to start the season.
I made the trip to Waco on Tuesday to check the pulse of the program. After a spirited conversation with defensive coordinator Phil Snow and a visit with all my favorite Baylor insiders, including the Voice of the Bears himself, John Morris, I don’t think eight or nine wins is far-fetched. The Bears are loaded with talent at the skill positions, but what separates this team from Rhule’s first two seasons is the depth along the offensive line. A redshirt freshman named Prince Pines has forced his way into the starting lineup at right guard. And one of the team’s two captains, Sam Tecklenburg, has settled in at left guard. Quarterback Charlie Brewer is a courageous player, but it’s Tecklenburg who the team voted as captain. He leads a talented O-line that could produce several NFL players in the coming years, according to legendary offensive line coach George DeLeone, now a senior offensive consultant.
Baylor’s offensive line was borderline embarrassing in Rhule’s first season because of an utter lack of depth. There were tight ends trying to fill in at center and guard. Now, the team truly has 10 players who could step in and play reasonably well. For the Bears to have a breakthrough season, they need to establish a consistent running game. JaMychal Hasty, Trestan Ebner and John Lovett are extremely talented players in the backfield, but they were held in check too often in 2018. Baylor was fourth in the Big 12 with 169.1 rushing yards per game, but they were last in red-zone offense. The Bears had the best time-of-possession in the Big 12, but they bogged down in the red zone and missed too many field goals.
For this team to have a special season, they have to cause more turnovers. The Bears tied with Oklahoma State for last with a minus-9 turnover margin. Snow told me he asked fellow assistant coach Joey McGuire, who built Cedar Hill into a state powerhouse, to be in charge of takeaways six months ago. He then watched the defense amass 47 interceptions in fall camp.
“I’ve never seen anyone come close to anything like that,” Snow told “The Matt Mosley Show” on ESPN Central Texas. “Joey has such a passion for this stuff. He brainwashed these kids into constantly thinking about turnovers.”
Of course, that begs the question how the quarterbacks could be that careless with the football. But that’s not Snow’s problem. He says the Bears have “a lot of two-point stance players” and that’s why you’ll see more 3-4 alignments this season. Defensive end James Lynch and linebacker Clay Johnston are preseason All-Big 12 players, but Blake Lynch could become one of the team’s top NFL prospects. He started his career as a talented receiver before eventually moving to cornerback. He’s now playing linebacker at 225 pounds. And the speed is still apparent. With the NFL using so many nickel linebackers, Snow believes Lynch can help a team immediately.
Rhule believes cornerback Grayland Arnold has helped set the tone for the entire team in fall camp. He battled through injuries his first two seasons, but he’s healthy now and has a huge sense of urgency in practice. And one of the backups at safety, sophomore J.T. Woods, has reportedly been stacking up interceptions in practice. The Bears will be forced to play a couple of freshman on the D-line, but T.J. Franklin and Gabe Hall are enormous. Snow believes Baylor now looks like some of his defenses at Temple that produced so many NFL players over the past few seasons.
Trips to Stillwater and Fort Worth will be rough, but Baylor catches both OU and Texas at home. I think an eight- or nine-win season would be great for Rhule, but there’s also an outside chance this team could challenge for the Big 12 crown. That seemed unfathomable at this time last season.
Baylor can expect Rhule’s name to keep being attached to NFL openings. And honestly, that’s a really good sign for the program.
(Follow me on Twitter for live-tweeting from McLane Stadium on Saturday, unless the “capacity” crowd impacts the WiFi).
