From CFFI: 2010 Spring Wrap – Baylor Bears
Now that spring football has come and gone in the Big 12, it’s time to put a wrap on what happened, team by team. We’ll start in reverse order of the final 2009 season standings, leaving Baylor the dubious distinction to go first by being last.
The Skinny
The skinny is still in the unknown – the health of quarterback Robert Griffin III’s recovering knee. This Baylor team showed promise and exuded optimism prior to the start of last season and all they had to show for it was a lousy spot in the cellar and their star quarterback looking on. This year, some of that optimism has returned as it appears Griffin’s knee is ahead of schedule, though you wouldn’t know that by the non-contact drills only that he was relegated to in spring practices. Of course, after suffering such a blow to the team with his loss last year, Art Briles’ cautious handling of the situation is most certainly wise.
Should something bad happen under center, something positive to note is the leadership and growth that sophomore Nick Florence has continued foster in the spring. Florence was under center for the Bears during the spring game, where he looked comfortable and confident throwing for 242 yards and two long touchdown strikes on 20-of-31 passing.
Broken and Battered
Griffin isn’t the only one that was noticeably missing from the spring, as the running back options were down by a pair. Senior starter Jay Finley was sidelined and recovering from ankle surgery, redshirt freshman option Glasco Martin was healing from a torn ACL suffered last year. Leading wide receiver from 2009, David Gettis, is preparing to suit up on Sundays after matriculating from college leaving another gap in an offense that struggled to score a year ago.
Even the defensive side of the ball was lacking depth and talent due to injury, particularly in a secondary that was reeling with surgeries, broken bones and other sidelining injuries.
Bright Spots
It’s hard to point to anyone who emerged that will make a solid scoring impact on the field in the fall, as many that played well will be relinquishing their spring roles back to starters after they are healthy. Perhaps something that should make an overall brighter impact will be the running game as a whole.
Briles is committing to having a more effective run game and that was seen with the integration of junior college transfer Isaac Williams. Williams was the leading rusher in the spring game with 71 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries in the contest. Though Williams and others showed solid skills in the spring, it is expected that Jay Finley once again have the starting role with Terrance Ganaway getting second billing on the post-spring depth chart.
Up next we’ll take a look at the Big 12 North’s cellar dweller of 2009 - Kansas - who has seen player and personnel changes galore, with a new disciplined style of coaching and playing being seen in Lawrence.
Can also be seen on College Fantasy Football Insider’s Big 12 blogs.
