Let's go camping: Four things to watch as Baylor football workouts begin

Baylor football is officially back.
The Bears begin fall camp on Thursday with less than a month until the 2023 season kicks off against Texas State on Sept. 2 at McLane Stadium.
“I’m excited about the team, it’s been way positive,” Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said. “Guys have been crushing it in school, and the locker room is good. I’m excited for our opportunity.”
Here are four things to look out for as the football season ramps up:
Defense, defense, defense
Dynamic offense has been one of the cornerstones of the Big 12 for years, and 2023 should be no different.
Baylor has had plenty of changes on the defensive side of the ball in the offseason, including bringing in new defensive coordinator Matt Powledge and adding a few new transfers at key positions.
“Coach Powledge has been able to bring a lot of energy to the defense and allow the players to be who they are,” fifth-year defensive lineman T.J. Franklin said. “He allows all the players to play free and play as they will. That allows us to be better for each other.”
Ron Roberts was fired after Baylor finished last season 58th in the nation in total defense and 69th in scoring defense, allowing 26.8 points per game. The Bears allowed an average of 32 points per game in their final five games of the season.
Powledge spent two seasons as the safeties/special teams coach at Baylor from 2020-21 before spending last season as the co-defensive coordinator at Oregon.
“He’s a coach that can be real in the in-between moments,” Aranda said. “To get somebody that can really see the whole field, see it from back to front and relate to all of our people were strong requirements. He hits it out of the park on all those.”
According to an analysis by ESPN, Baylor is 97th of 133 FBS teams with 51% of production returning on defense.
The returning players on the defensive line include Franklin, Gabe Hall — who was named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list earlier this week — and 6-foot-3, 315-pound Louisiana Tech transfer Jerrell Boykins.
Defensive back Devin Lemear had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries last year and got some buzz in the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year poll. He should take a step in his second full year.
Linebacker might be the most experienced group on the team with fifth-year seniors Matt Jones and Garmon Randolph being joined by Mike Smith, who’s played the last four years at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Liberty.
“I feel like we have good chemistry and good players,” Smith said. “It’s been a learning process, everybody learning a new defense. We had a good spring playing fast and playing with confidence. We’ve all gelled.”
It’s all about confidence, and the changes and influx of new players have rejuvenated the unit that’ll be key to the Bears making a push for the Big 12 title.
“Right now, we’ve got a full head of steam,” Franklin said.
Will the real Blake Shapen please stand up?
At this point in his tenure at Baylor, the 2021 Big 12 championship win against Oklahoma State is a legendary moment for quarterback Blake Shapen.
He completed 23 of 28 passes — including his first 17 — to help the Bears win their third Big 12 title.
Clearly, he has the skills. Now, it’s just about being consistent.
“I think it’s good to have a season under my belt, to be able to learn and grow from that and be able to carry it into this season,” Shapen said. “I always want to go out there and perform. I’m excited to get this season going.”
Shapen started last season strong, throwing for seven touchdowns and rushing for another two with just one interception. After that, he was far less consistent, throwing 11 touchdowns with nine interceptions in the final nine games.
“You’re going to have a lot of peaks and valleys that come with playing this position,” Shapen said. “I’ve been through a lot of those. It’s just how you bounce back from a valley and respond to the next thing.”
Aranda said that in high school and during his early years at Baylor, Shapen didn’t have to face much adversity. That all changed last year when there were plenty of haters doling out criticism.
Not every moment was perfect for Shapen in the spring. A year ago, those moments might have called an end to the practice for the day, but Aranda saw growth in his ability to rebound quickly.
“To me, I think he sees adversity now like, ‘There you are my old friend. Why don’t you take a seat on my shoulder and we’ll have a chat,’” Aranda said. “That’s just way different and comes with maturity.”
Two high-powered quarterbacks have made that growth go even quicker.
Sawyer Robertson spent the last two seasons at Mississippi State after a decorated career at Lubbock Coronado in which he finished in the top 15 all-time in completions, touchdown passes and passing yards.
R.J. Martinez put up big numbers in two years at FCS school Northern Arizona. As a senior at Round Rock Westwood, he contributed nearly 800 yards of offense and 10 total touchdowns in a single game.
“To have guys come in and push me to be better was a big thing for me,” Shapen said. “We’ve got a great quarterback room with some great guys. Being able to be through some battles, a couple of them now, has helped me grow as a player.”
Running (backs) wild!
Richard Reese might just be the best running back in the Big 12.
The sophomore is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and the only Baylor player on the preseason All-Big 12 team.
But he’s not alone, and Baylor will take advantage of that.
The deep running back room got even deeper in the offseason with the addition of Dominic Richardson, the leading rusher at Oklahoma State last season and a dangerous weapon catching the ball out of the backfield.
He joins Reese, redshirt senior Qualan Jones, redshirt sophomore Jordan Jenkins and versatile freshman Bryson Washington of Franklin, Texas.
“Jordan has improved,” Aranda said of Jenkins. “His self-confidence has grown, and I think there’s a maturity with him that we’ve all been working for and hoping for. We’re excited about what he can contribute.”
Baylor ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 182.4 rushing yards per game last year.
Reese contributed most of that, setting a new freshman rushing record with 972 yards and 14 touchdowns. Jones was the third-leading rusher, contributing 462 and seven touchdowns.
The offensive line lost a lot, but the running backs will have plenty of size to run behind with the addition of BYU transfers and brother Clark (6-foot-6, 308 pounds) and Campbell (6-foot-6, 297 pounds) Barrington.
“It’s been fun to watch them, they’re very smart,” Shapen said of the Barrington brothers. “They bring a different leadership to that room. To add guys with experience that have played in big-time football games is huge for us.”
In a league full of elite offensive units, the Bears’ running backs and offensive line set them up to keep pace.
A springboard for the future
The world of college football is changing on a seemingly week-to-week basis, and Baylor can use this season to set itself up for sustained success moving forward.
Texas and Oklahoma going to the SEC leaves a massive void in the Big 12 conference.
The addition of UCF, Cincinnati, Houston and BYU this year, Colorado next year, and potentially more in the future will help to fill that void, but it still gives the entrenched and stable programs an opportunity.
“I think the league is pushed by culture, it’s kind of a secret weapon,” Aranda said. “You saw it with Kansas State last year and with us two years ago. If we continue down those paths and continue the great connection, we’ll see what happens.”
The scheduling gods did Baylor a favor, giving the Bears eight games at McLane Stadium this year, a place where they’re 12-5 since Aranda took over in 2020.
The Sept. 23 home game against the Longhorns is probably the last meeting between the two longtime rivals for the foreseeable future.
“I don’t think it changes anything,” Shapen said of one last game against Texas. “Every game, we go in to compete. It doesn’t matter who it is, it just matters if we come in and compete or not.”
Of their six regular-season losses, the Bears were within one possession in the fourth quarter in five of them.
It makes this season’s focus even more clear.
“A big thing for us is to just finish,” Shapen said. “There were a lot of games last year that we were up early and weren’t able to finish towards the end. We play in a really good conference with a bunch of good teams and it can come down to one or two points a game.”