Back to the Future: Examining 2005 and 2006 Recruiting Classes

It's hard to win in college football without upper-classmen leadership. Unlike the NFL, you don't just plug in a few guys and the team is instantly better. In college, players must be developed. Very few 18 year olds just walk on campus and contribute (Robert Griffin a notable exception).

Today let's look back at Baylor's 2005/2006 classes to see what might have been and also to trace some potential struggles back to this time.

2005
The Bears were coming off a 3 win season, the most notable was the overtime upset of the aggies in Waco. That win was the game Coach Morris was going to see to recruits as a sign Baylor was on the rise.

The Hits:
Joe Pawelek, Antonio Jones, Jordan Lake, Jason Lamb, Jordan Hearvy, Trey Bryant

These were the guys who came in and are now contributing heavily. These guys have all started significant amounts of games. Pawelek and Lake have both garnered All-Conference honors of some kind.

The Misses:
Carl Sims, Shon Brown, Lequantum McDonald, Queito Teasley

The first three on this list absolutely destroyed what could have been a decent class. Sims got playing time as a true freshman but left the program early. Shon Brown never made it to campus due to grades and McDonald played one series before a questionable chop block ended his season and left the program. All three of these guys were Waco High products and was a sign that Morriss was finally tapping the local talent pool (a huge criticism of Steele was that he couldn't do this). In the long run, the loss of Sims and Brown were partially offset by depth at the WR and LB positions but McDonald leaving left Baylor with depth issues at an already weak position.

Also Noted:
Blake Szymanski, Mikail Baker, Jeremy Williams, Justin Akers

Blake obviously started almost every game in 2007 and holds several Baylor passing records (throwing up in my mouth). He was considered a "steal" in this class. He's turned out to be a failed starter but in Briles' system has looked better and can be a decent back-up. The other three played heavily this year and should be contributing a ton next season.

There were other players in the class that either didn't make it to campus or didn't contribute or last long if they did. Now let's take a look at the 2006 class..

2006
This was Morriss' most successful season. Baylor had just won 5 games and more than one conference games since the inception of the Big 12. During the season the Bears had lost two heart breakers in overtime to aggie and Oklahoma both on the road. This was the kind of tangible success Morriss was selling going into the recruiting season.

As it turned out, this class turned out to be his worst due to kids not making it to campus or showing up and then leaving due to injury or disciplinary reasons.

The Hits
Jay Finley, Antareis Bryan, Ernest Smith
Yup, that's the list. Finley showed this year that he's going to be a force the next two seasons and Bryan started some games as a true freshman and played well this year before getting hampered with injuries. Smith emerged as a really good receiver and better than more heralded David Gettis.

The Misses
Greg Carlson, Dylan Hagans, Adrian Johnson, Jeremy Michel, Reid Prince, Ben Randle
Notice that this list includes 3 OL that are not on campus right now. Hagans and Prince left due to career ending injuries and Michel transferred before this season. Adrian Johnson went the junior college rout and will be suiting up in College Station next season. He is a DT, so his never being here really hurt this past season and will hurt on the D-Line next season. Carlson made it to campus and found a way to get kicked off the team before August practice begun. Randle stayed two season before leaving Waco.

Also noted:
Tim Atchison, Justin Fenty, Brad Taylor, Jeremy Sanders, David Gettis
I'm putting Gettis in this group because of his clearinghouse issues. He's on track to be one of the most disappointing recruits in Baylor history. He's got all the physical tools you could want but just hasn't been the monster down the field we hoped he'd be. Fenty and Taylor both have contributed and provide depth at the receiver position. Sanders signed and then went to junior college. He returned this season and saw limited action as a running back. Atchison got stuck behind Lake and before him, Dwain Crawford. He showed some things this year as a CB when depth was an issue.

The real problem was guys not getting to campus or then leaving before they could make an impact. Names like Roman James, James "Garfield" Hicks, and Tyler Beatty come to mind. These to classes led ultimately to the demise of Morriss. He couldn't keep players around long enough to help. He had particularly bad luck with offensive linemen, having two quit due to injury.

At the end of the day, Briles is having to build depth due to the 2005/2006 classes being decimated. Let's all hope he does a better job of keeping and developing his guys.

Texas Tech Analysis

First off, I thought that the game would be ugly. Tech's passing game against our anemic pass rush and patchwork secondary was not going to be pretty. Instead we were all treated to watching a Baylor team that has improved every week and left us wanting more (while counting the days to next year's kick off).

I feel like the story of the game was the defense holding the Raiders to below their season norms. Norwood did this by taking away everything deep and forcing Harrell to check down. This caused Tech problems because the ego of both the coach and quarterback would not allow the offense to just take what was given.

On offense, we did what we do well, which was run the ball. Who would have guessed after last year that the real strength of our team would be running it 25 times a game? I think what ultimately killed us was our inability to pass consistently. Tech's defense wasn't going to allow us to just sling it to a receiver at the snap and get an easy 4 yards like Mizzou did. Griffin, with all that he brings to the table in physical skills is obviously not comfortable going through more than 2 reads before looking to run. I was really proud of our gameplan. We did exactly what you have to do against Tech to give yourself a chance in the game. We limited posessions and kept Harrell and company on the sideline.

In the next week, I'll put a bow on the season and look to what we need as far as recruiting to get over the hump. Then, we'll wade into hoops a bit. I might take on a guest blogger who follows college basketball a little more.

Until then kids

So How Do You Beat Tech?

That's an excellent question.

There are those that believe that Oklahoma provided a blueprint on how to beat the Red Raiders last Saturday. Those people are out of their minds. If Tech comes out ready to play and is focused, we lose. We need to play our best game and Tech needs to be down for us to have a chance on Saturday.

As far as Tech not being ready to play, the stars seem to be aligning for that to happen. The loss to Tech virtually locks them into the Cotton Bowl win or lose, a weird week with Thanksgiving, and they are playing Baylor who has won 4 games this year. Tech also generally has a "WTF" game every year where they lay an egg to a vastly inferior opponent.

There are two ways in my opinion to beat Leach's offense. The first is what Oklahoma did on Saturday and what Missouri has done the past two time the Tigers have beaten Tech. That is to bring pressure with the front four and rush the decision making of the quarterback. Much easier said than done obviously. Baylor doesn't have the personnel to do that kind of thing and even if they had a good pass rush, the secondary is being held together with fishing line and scotch tape. The second possible way to slow that offense down is to confuse it. The best job I've ever seen a Baylor team do this was in 2005 in what I think was Bill Bradley's best scheme ever. You'll remember that game as the one that Baylor lost to the Red Raiders 22-0 but was 6-0 at halftime (Side note about this game: it would have been totally different if the Bears had not had a touchdown taken off the board for being out of bounds when the replay showed otherwise). Bradley basically had the front 7 or 8 guys standing up at the line of scrimmage before the snap. Between 3 and 5 would rush and the rest drop into coverage. Cody Hodges had a tough time making his pre-snap reads. He completed only 50% of his passes and threw two picks.

Given the Baylor personnel, the confusion method is our only chance. I'm guessing we'll see more of Lamb moving in to the tackle spot and Antonio Johnson coming down to end for more pass rush. We shouldn't care if we are basically asking for Tech to run for 8 yards a pop. I think Leach has too much of an ego to run the ball 12 times in a row even if we give it to him. Hopefully, Norwood and company have come up with something to slow this offense down. For us to have a chance, we need to keep them in the 30s. I think Griffin and the offense will be able to score. If by some miracle we get a two score lead at some point I believe the Tech offense becomes more predictable and their defense has shown that it has a tough time stopping teams with strong running games. We'll see how this plays out.

But like I said, if Tech is ready to play......

Trap Game?

I think the biggest unknown going into the game on Saturday is how Tech responds to the beating that Oklahoma put on them last weekend. If they come out fired up, it could get ugly real fast for Baylor fans. In my mind, it has to be a huge let down to be in the National Championship conversation and then be relegated to 3rd in your own division while still having the same record as the top two teams (and beating one of them).

From the look at the Red Raider fan sites, the folks from Lubbock are much more concerned about where the BCS ratings have them than Saturday's game. Even coach Leach is talking about it.

Let's be real here. Baylor is 22 point dogs. Tech is going to have to play another really bad game and we're going to have to play above our heads to win (especially on defense). Later, I'll outline the formula to win on Saturday.

Am I Late to the Party?

I know I'm jumping into this with one game left in the season but my life motto is "better late than never." I'll try to bring a perspective that you don't get when it comes to Baylor sports and any other topic of my chooing.

This week we'll look at the game to end the season versus Tech and analyze the season. After that, we'll start following recruiting and get into some basketball stuff.

Until then, just ignore the fact that the Pirates of the Plains are 22 point favorites for Saturday and start believing we can pull the upset. This week, I'll tell you how it's possible.....or how it's impossible.