March 18, 2001
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Dave Campbell appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
You know him as Melvin Barnett, a three-year-letterman who almost always can be found doing the dirty work in the backfield when the Baylor Bears are in possession of the football. In other words, he is a heavy-duty fullback, a blocker, not a runner and seldom a pass catcher.
As a freshman in 1998 he carried the ball five times for a net gain of 13 yards while playing in 8 games. The next season, in 10 games, he carried the ball 25 times for 68 yards. Last fall, in 11 games, he carried the ball 29 times for 79 yards.
A ball carrier Melvin Barnett was not.
Pass receiver? Naw. As a sophomore he caught one pass for 8 yards. In his junior season last year he caught another pass for a mere 2 yards.
A pass receiver Melvin Barnett also was not.
No, when Baylor has had the football, Barnett's primary assignment has been to help make running room for the guy who did have the football. He was supposed to knock a defender out of the way or put him on the ground. Do the unglamorous thing and do it well. By his blocking shall ye know him.
So if you saw the Bears' final scrimmage before the players left on their spring break in early March, probably you rubbed your eyes and doubted you were seeing straight. Who was that ball carrier in the one-back set, the guy rushing for so much yardage? Melvin Barnett? C'mon, get serious.
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER is that Kevin Steele is serious, and that was Melvin Barnett. With half of the spring work done, "the biggest positive we've had by far," he said, is the work of "Chedrick Ricks, Jonathan Golden and Melvin Barnett."
Ricks you've met before -- not as often as perhaps you would like, but he still will go into the 2001 season as the most experienced tailback on the Baylor roster. He carried the ball 18 times for 60 yards as a well-liked but largely unheralded freshman from Vernon in 1999, and 38 times for 122 yards as a sophomore last season.
He's a 5-8, 200-pounder, a hard-worker, not flashy but dependable. And likely to improve as his opportunities expand.
Golden, from Sugar Land Clements, arrived at Baylor last fall with considerable hype, but as a true freshman he was unable to measure up to that hype. Lacking maturity, he played less and less as the season progressed, winding up with 35 carries for 90 yards.
No question, he has the size (6-0, 208) and probably the best speed of all the running backs. And this spring he also has shown more signs of becoming what the coaches had thought he would be.
"Golden is beginning to mature, to hit his stride," said Steele.
But after that last scrimmage the Baylor coach reserved his best adjectives for Barnett, one of the spring's most pleasant surprises. Steele had just seen the big senior-to-be from Cuero lead all Baylor rushers, picking up 69 yards on 12 carries. (Ricks gained 33 on 8 tries.) Barnett gained almost all of that yardage not as a fullback but rather as the tailback in a one-back set.
"We were using Melvin in the one-back set, and he just looked like a different guy out there," said Steele. "He's lighter (6-0 and 243, down 11 pounds from last fall) and faster, and way stronger than he's ever been. He's just playing with a lot more passion than he did before."
BALL-CARRYING CHORES are hardly new to Melvin Eugene Barnett. He rushed for 3,738 yards and 92 touchdowns (averaging 6.4 yards per carry) in his high school career (three-year starter) at Cuero and won second-team all-state honors as a senior. A Baylor communications major, he's the strong, willing, durable, workhorse type, capable of giving Steele what he once had hoped to get from Derek Lagway -- a foot-in-the-face running back capable of producing yardage inside where the livin' ain't easy.
(Lagway, of course, was ticketed for considerable work in the one-back set at the end of spring drills last year, but then ruined a kneecap in a motorcycle accident in late spring and had to miss all of the 2000 season. He is expected back in time for two-a-days next August, but who knows how long that knee will hold up and how effective he will be after his injury? Thus the running of Barnett in the one-back set this spring takes on added significance.)
It also is significant that the coaches at this point in the spring work appear to be pleased with the work of redshirt freshman Jonathan Evans at fullback. A 6-1, 250-pounder, Evans moved to the position from tight end and currently is listed as the No. 1 backup behind Barnett at fullback. Like Barnett, blocking is not an onerous chore for him.
WITH THE EXIT of seniors Darrell Bush and Elijah Burkins, and with none of the underclassmen having shown to good advantage, tailback was considered a major question mark when the Bears began spring drills. The emergence of Ricks, the maturing of Golden and the blossoming of Barnett in the one-back set would appear to ease that problem.
Also, Steele noted late last week that based on the latest developments he now is confident Eron Haynes (6-1, 185) of Borger and Anthony Krieg (6-1, 210) of Pflugerville will be available when Baylor begins two-a-days next August. Both come highly recommended. At signing time in early February some observers were predicting Haynes would not qualify academically. Steele has later information that negates those fears.
Haynes averaged 10.5 yards per carry as a junior and 6 yards per carry as a senior even after losing almost all of his offensive line. Veteran talent scouts listed him as second only to Midland Lee's heralded Cedric Benson among West Texas running backs. Krieg, a star not only on the field but also in the classroom, had 2,800 career yards rushing and 940 receiving. "Johnny Tusa (Waco High's big-winning coach) just raved about Krieg to us, about how well he played against Johnny's team," said Steele.
WHILE THE PROOF is not yet in the pudding, it would appear that things truly are looking up for the Bears in the ball-carrying department.
And that certainly is true where quarterback is concerned.
It is no surprise that Greg Cicero has looked like the smooth, sharp quarterback he is after recovering from that broken collarbone he suffered early in Baylor's second game of the 2000 season (against Minnesota). In the Bears' final scrimmage before spring break he completed 11 of 21 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns (a 12-yarder to Larry O'Steen and a 23-yarder to Reggie Newhouse). "I'm very impressed with the play of Greg Cicero," said Steele.
What has surprised him has been the play of Josh Zachry. "Very, very encouraging," Steele termed the spring work of the 6-3, 183-pound sophomore from Midway, a walk-on who clearly has put distance between himself and his rivals in the competition to win the backup job at quarterback.
"Zachry has really made a lot of progress," said Steele. "He's throwing with accuracy and he shows a lot of composure out there. He's really been a pleasant surprise."
STEELE WORRIES that he might not have enough receivers -- "John Martin and O'Steen have missed some times with injuries and Robert Quiroga is competing in track" -- but Newhouse and Marques Roberts have looked good and two more highly-promising recruits (juco transfer Ray Harrington and Amarillo Caprock's J Fields) will join the receiver corps in the fall. If he can get all of them out there and get them all healthy, wide receiver should not be such a concern.
The wide receiver numbers may be a worry but that area is hardly the offense's primary question mark. The primary question concerns the offensive line. Will it be good enough? It hasn't been for lo these past five or six seasons. If it is not good enough next fall, it really won't matter all that much how good those running backs are. And remember, it was because of faulty protection that Greg Cicero went down.
The spring work has only served to emphasize how much progress is still needed there. Joe Jackson, 6-3, 277, is having a solid spring at center and Jon Erickson, 6-5, 299, at tackle. And Cedric Fields, 6-2, 295, No. 1 at a guard position and the chief backup at center, has "really blossomed, really grown up," said Steele.
You can probably count on those three playing major roles next fall in the offensive front. Otherwise, it is all cross your fingers and wait and see. Steele's cupboard is still crowded with offensive linemen who have yet to prove they can play well at the Big 12 level.
Steele was counting (and is counting) on big juco transfer Matt Bickel (6-5, 340) being a prominent player at a guard position, but a pulled hamstring sidelined the Grossmont (Calif.) Community College product for the first two weeks of the spring work. He was expected back when drills resumed Monday (March 12), and certainly a lot of eyes will be focused on him at that time, just as special attention will be centered on the play of juco transfers Charles Bungert (6-8, 350) and Antoine Murphy (6-4, 325) when two-a-days begin in August.
Bungert and Murphy will not be eligible to enroll until the fall semester begins but no one will be surprised if they spend at least part of the summer in Waco, getting to know their way around the weight training facilities.
And no one will be surprised if the Bears begin the 2001 season with an offensive line comprised of Jackson at center, Bickel and Erickson at the guards, and Bungert and Murphy at the tackles, with Fields being the first Bear off the bench.
But more than six offensive linemen are sure to be needed. Steele feels he must have at least 8 ready to play and compete at the Big 12 level. That means the opportunity is there for the likes of Ethan Kelley (big enough at 6-2 and 321 and experienced enough as a starter, but tailed off badly toward the end of last season), Greg Jerman (senior, 6-5, 292, with a lot still left to prove), Derek Long (sophomore, 6-6, 296), Ryan McDaniel (redshirt freshman, 6-5, 288), Derrick Pearcy (junior, 6-3, 320) and Chris Sipes (redshirt freshman, 6-4, 306) if they will recognize the moment and seize it.
"Kelley has had his knee scoped and will be back after the spring break, and then maybe we'll see something," said Steele of the offensive line's foremost enigma.
But at this time it appears most unlikely that the offensive line will really begin to take shape until after two-a-days have moved along and the coaches have had time to assess the impact those juco imports can make up front.
And that means the essentially the jury is going to continue to be out on the entire offense until after two-a-days have been wrapped up.
DEFENSIVELY, JUCO TRANSFERS also could have a major impact up front where only junior Kevin Stevenson (6-2, 274) has impressed coaches this spring as already being of true Big 12 caliber. That means opportunity also beckons where Jason Geter (6-3, 306), A.C. Collier (6-3, 235) and Shaun Jackson (6-3, 238) are concerned.
Geter, a standout on Georgia Military's best-in-the-nation defense, is viewed as the real thing at nose tackle (remember, on signing day Steele suggested Geter "will be the best tackle we've had here in a while"), and Collier and Jackson bring strong credentials as defensive ends of the first order. But again, Geter, Collier and Jackson won't don Baylor pads for the first time until two-a-days begin.
But no one should be surprised to see the Bears lining up with Stevenson and Geter at the tackles and Collier and Jackson at the ends when they go on defense next fall.
Of course, that could be giving some of the holdovers a quick count. Ends Charles Mann (6-4, 252), Aaron Lard (6-2, 266), Ryan Gillenwater (currently injured) and Demetrio Phillips have experience and still enough time to make significant improvement. And then there are the young ones -- Khari Long, Billy Crawford, Joe Simmons, David Wren and Eric Sims -- who are not without talent and promise. Steele just does not want to count on them before they are ready.
"That's been one of our problems," he said. "We've had to play guys about a year or so before they were ready to play."
If those juco transfers measure up, he won't have to.
Meanwhile, he counts his blessings where Kevin Stevenson is concerned. "Kevin is playing now like a Big 12 player," the coach said. "And we've still got time where some of those others are concerned, plus we've got help coming in (next August). I think we're going to see real improvement in our defensive line."
LINEBACKERS ARE HARDLY in plentiful supply. Middle backer John Garrett (6-1, 235, sophomore) has looked as good as money from home. I don't think it is going out too far on a limb to suggest he could become the best middle linebacker Baylor has put on the football field since the days of Mike Singletary (1977-80). In every scrimmage Baylor has had this spring, Garrett has been a standout.
And so has weakside backer Anthony Simmons (5-11, 201), a sophomore with speed and a great nose for the ball. If defenders were permitted to sack quarterbacks this spring, Simmons would have had several sacks in the final scrimmage before spring break.
The question is, who will provide the plays the Bears need at that third linebacker position? And who will provide the depth at all three positions? Best possibilities: redshirt freshmen Michael Tolbert and Jack Wallace, sophomore Stephen Sepulveda and juco signee Greg Wade. Wade, 6-3 and 230, is another import from that outstanding Georgia Military defense.
Still, that's a relatively small collection of linebackers.
"We're really going to need to stay injury free at linebacker and in the offensive line," Steele said last week.
MEANWHILE, HE COUNTS the early returns as especially promising where the defensive backs under the tutelage of new secondary coach Paul Jette are concerned. Jette, he said, has really taken charge in a positive way. "Paul just has so much KNOWLEDGE. He's really helping us," said Steele.
Asked to name the top four defensive backs after two weeks of work, Steele mentioned the names of Bobby Hart and Eric Giddens at the corners, Samir Al-Amin at free safety and Derrick Cash at strong safety.
Hart played as a true freshman last season and was a starter and big-playmaker toward the end of the season. It's no surprise to find him already establishing starting rights at one cornerback position. Giddens last fall had an in-and-out performance chart as a redshirt freshman playing in a backup role, "but he's showing some real maturity -- he's had a good 7 days," said Steele.
Also, "Right now, this is the best Samir has looked since he got here, and Cash is just a natural at safety."
Cash, Hart and Giddens will be sophomores next fall and Samir a senior.
There are a number of candidates for important backup roles -- cornerback and former wide receiver Randy Davis, cornerback Matt Johnson, cornerback Marcus Stenix and safeties Kyle Staudt, Danielle McLean and Matt Amendola. And several of those young Bears are still highly regarded.
APART FROM THOSE positions where the late-arriving juco transfers could have a major impact, the 2001 Bears appear to be falling into place. As Steele keeps emphasizing, it helps immeasurably to have an experienced and accomplished quarterback in the lineup. It helps to have someone stepping forward rapidly as the backup quarterback. It helps to start establishing some producers at running back. It helps to see what could be a first-rate secondary starting to develop. And it helps to have the likes of Garrett and Simmons at linebacker.
"We're making progress in the area of being able to make plays. That's been the single biggest difference this spring, seeing guys making plays," said Steele.
"And the speed and ability of our young players is showing up, and their enthusiasm."
The Bears will work Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of this week, and Monday and Wednesday (March 19 and 21) of next week before winding up the spring work with the Green and Gold game scheduled to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 24.
Editor's Note: Articles such as this one by Dave Campbell appear in each edition of the Baylor Bear Insider Report, available upon membership in the Baylor Bear Foundation. For information on joining the Bear Foundation, click here.
