March 16, 2001

WACO, Texas - Autumn-like temperatures greeted the Baylor football team on the practice field here Friday as the Bears conducted a two-hour, non-contact practice in the next-to-last week of spring drills.

"Football without tackling, I know it has its points in terms of keeping everybody healthy, but it sure is hard to get a good feel for things that way," Baylor head coach Kevin Steele said after the practice.

Steele said the defense showed a lot of momentum in practice Friday, displaying "a lot of pride. You've got guys out there that have made plays in the past, but not as consistently," he said. "Plus, you've got some that haven't been making plays now making them. They're growing. We still have our mistakes, but they're playing hard."

Ethan Kelley and Luke Groth continued to impress the coaching staff after moving to defense at the beginning of the week. Steele said both are showing tremendous progress. He said they are tough enough and athletic enough to handle the adjustment.

On the offensive side of the ball, Steele said getting people in sync is the key right now. Cedric Fields is seeing time at both center and guard, while Jon Erickson is playing guard and tackle.

"We've got some good battles going on right now in the offensive line to see how it's all going to sift out," Steele said. "It was a good practice ... but you just don't see the true picture (without tackling). You can see the individual improvement and the technical things, but in terms of the real gelling of 'Are you productive offensively and defensively?' you can't do it without tackling. And a good no-tackle practice better be followed by a really good scrimmage."

The Bears will get that chance Saturday with a full-contact scrimmage on the Baylor practice field at 10 a.m.

"Tomorrow will be a good picture for us in terms of with one week left just how much progress we've made," Steele said.