June 25, 2001
With a successful spring training in the books and the spring semester now history, the Baylor football team is turning its focus to the off-season program leading up to the 2001 season.
Before they head into a long, hot summer of preparations for the Sept. 8 season-opener against Arkansas State, Baylor Bear Insider contributor Maxey Parrish sat down with several key Bears to ask them a set of questions and garner their thoughts about the 2001 campaign.
Watch for interviews with various Bears all summer leading up to the 2001 football season.
GREG CICERO, QB, 6-4, 213, Jr-RS, Anaheim, Calif. -- Baylor faithful had pinned high hopes on the Bears' transfer quarterback last year, but a broken collarbone in the first quarter of the season's second game knocked Cicero out for the year. He healed during the off-season and came back from the injury to re-establish himself as the Bears' starting quarterback this spring.
1. Will the team be better or significantly better next year and why?
"I think we'll be a better team on the field. We have better overall talent and we'll be significantly better in our mental approach. We have a better understanding of how to work harder. I believe we'll be tougher and stronger and we will be better on the field."
2. Who will be the team to beat in the Big 12 South this year and where do you see Baylor fitting into the conference race?
"Year-in and year-out, you always have to look at Texas as the team to beat in the Big 12 South.
"They have great talent every year. Texas is definitely the team to beat. We can fit in wherever we want to. If we want to play, we can finish in the upper echelon of the Big 12 South."
3. What do you believe will be the greatest areas of improvement in the Baylor team next year and what do you believe will be the greatest areas of concern?
"We've improved in our talent and attitude. I believe that will relate to the way we play on the field. Quarterback is the biggest area of concern. When I got injured, we went through so many different players we were never able to get the offense going the way we're capable of going.
"I need to establish leadership and stay healthy. The quarterback position is where it's started and finished. The defensive backfield also lost two starting corners.
"The young guys have a lot to prove."
4. What player or players at Baylor will be the most pleasant surprises next year?
"I'd have to say Reggie Newhouse and Marques Roberts at wide receiver, all three running backs -- Chedrick Ricks, Jonathan Golden and Melvin Barnett -- all looked good in the spring. The defensive front as a whole will surprise a lot people.
"They're older and we've got some junior college linemen coming in. They'll be a surprise."
5. What Baylor players are on the verge of becoming Big 12 standouts?
"I'd have to say Reggie Newhouse (WR), John Garrett (LB), Samir Al-Amin (DB) and Kevin Stevenson (DL). Also Joe Jackson (C). They've all been around long enough to know how to play the game. They're tremendously talented and they've been around. I think if they play to their potential, they can get any of the All-Big 12 honors they want."
6. What will you do this summer?
"I'll be here both sessions of summer school. I want to keep up a good rapport with the team, work out, get stronger. I hope to become more consistent and keep up a good rapport with the receivers."
7. What are your goals for next season?
"I tell this to a lot of people: I play the game to win. I want to win more than we lose. If we do that, we'll go to a bowl game. If not, then I'll be dissatisfied. So the goal is to win at least six games and go to a bowl game."
8. Which early-season game do you view as a key next year?
"I'd have to say Iowa State because it's the first Big 12 game. They went to a bowl game last year, so beating them would help establish us as a Big 12 team. It starts with the first Big 12 game. The first three are important, but we need a Big 12 win. We've had a drought, we need to establish ourselves in the Big 12."
