The defending Big 12 champions from Baylor concluded the spring practice schedule with a scrimmage that was not quite up t par with the offensive flair that had been seen earlier in the spring, but head coach Art Briles will take it. Quarterback and Heisman hopeful Bryce Petty finished strong by completing 10 of 15 pass attempts for 135 yards and two touchdowns, including 40-yard pass to Jay Lee on the first play of the day.
One of the big developments this spring was the emergence of wide receiver Corey Coleman, who Briles says will be a big part of Baylor’s high-flying offense in the fall. Coleman capped his spring by leading all players with 47 receiving yards on five catches.
“Yeah, he’s going to be a target,” Briles said of Coleman, “but so is Robbie [Rhodes], so is Jay Lee and some of these other guys, because we’ve got to do a good job of making sure we open up Antwan (Goodley). That was our goal this spring was to develop guys around Antwan. We know what he can do, so we’ve got to make sure people can’t just key on him.”
The offensive stats may not be overwhelming, but the Bears were without Shock Linwood and Devin Chafin was limited, the offense was running with a pair of freshman running backs. Once the team takes the field in the fall, Baylor’s offense should be one of the most lethal in the Big 12 once again if they can plug the pieces in to place to make up for some roster turnover.
The Baylor defense managed five sacks in the scrimmage but was unable to force any turnovers. Defensive end Shawn Oakman left an impression on Briles by recording two of the defense’s five sacks.
“We can’t block him, and I don’t think anyone else will, either.”