Offense Shines In Scrimmage
4/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 9, 2005
It was an impressive Saturday morning for the offense as the Baylor football team completed its second week of spring practice with a 100-play scrimmage in Floyd Casey Stadium. The Bears' offense produced six scores on the day, four through the air and two on the ground, while playing without a turnover.
"I thought we executed pretty good," said third-year coach Guy Morriss. "We threw the ball pretty well, the protection was good, we threw and caught the ball well and ran the ball pretty good. I thought the tempo and competition on both sides of the ball was very good.
"But, I'm really concerned that defensively we gave up too many big plays," he added. "That hurt us, I think. We just have to keep grinding though it and eliminate the mistakes. We rock along pretty good defensively, then kind of hit that lull and they (the offense hit us. We have to find a way to push through that and not allow that to happen.
Sophomore quarterback Terrance Parks completed 15-of-23 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns, while junior Shawn Bell was 11-of-21in the air for 151 yards and one score. Parks' three TD passes were for 25, 95 and 95 yards, while Bell's lone scoring strike was a 62-yarder. All-told, Baylor signal callers completed passes to 17 different receivers.
"I felt Terrance was especially good (today) because he's missed so much practice time because of his academics," Morriss said. "It was good to see have him a good day."
Senior wide receiver Shaun Rochon caught a scrimmage-high nine passes for 149 yards and one score, while junior Trent Shelton had four receptions for 125 yards and one TD and junior Dominique Zeigler hauled in two passes for 100 yards and a TD. Rochon snagged a 62-yard pass from Bell for the scrimmage's second score, while Shelton and Zeigler both recorded 95-yard receptions from Parks. The fourth TD reception was made by redshirt freshman Trey Payne, who caught a 25-yard pass from Parks for the offense's first score.
Sophomore running back Brandon Whitaker, who missed the 2004 season as a redshirt while recovering from injury, rushed nine times for 111 yards and one touchdown. Junior Paul Mosley had nine totes for 79 yards, while redshirt freshman Jacoby Jones had 76 yards on 10 carries with one score.
"There's some good competition at the spot (running back)," Morriss said. "Paul (Mosley) is not entrenched yet. He's got to keep looking over his shoulder because as soon as he relaxes, I know coach (Gerald) Carr is on him to pick it up. That's what depth will do for you. I believe we feel good about putting any one of the three in there. That's a good situation to have."
Baylor will return to the practice field April 12 and has workouts scheduled next week on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, all of which are open to the public. The Bears' annual Green-Gold Spring Game is set for April 23 at 1 p.m. in Floyd Casey Stadium.
Notes: Sophomore cornerback Braelon Davis sustained a knee injury early in the workout, while sophomore cornerback Alton Widemon pulled his hamstring in return drills prior to the scrimmage ... Two projected starters along the Baylor offensive line, senior offensive guard Evan Stone (hamstring) and junior center Will Blaylock (ankle), missed the scrimmage ... Morriss announced following the scrimmage that sophomore quarterback Kris Heavner, a transfer from Arizona, has left the Baylor program for personal reasons, and that sophomore linebacker James Francis, who lettered as a true freshman in 2004, will also transfer from the program and is not participating in spring drills.
