March 23, 2013
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Dominated by the defense in the first spring scrimmage, the Baylor offense had a much more productive scrimmage on Saturday, rolling up 688 yards and scoring six touchdowns in series by the first- and second-team units.
Junior quarterback Bryce Petty was 22-of-32 for 326 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, while redshirt freshman Seth Russell was 20-of-29 for 220 yards. Jay Lee hauled in seven catches for 111 yards, including a 50-yard TD strike from Petty, and redshirt freshman Devin Chafin was the leading rusher with 52 yards on eight carries.
"We just made some plays, which the offense did not really do the first scrimmage," said sixth-year Baylor head coach Art Briles. "That gives you the feeling that maybe we're getting on track a little bit, which we need to do. The defense is making it hard on the offense, because the defense is good, now. They're doing a good job. So, it's making the offense have to be a little more precise, execute a little better and make more plays. That's a good thing."
Petty, in particular, is becoming more comfortable and confident in running the offense. After three years as a backup behind Robert Griffin III and Nick Florence, this is the first time he's actually run with the first-team offense.
"Every time I get out here, my confidence is growing," said Petty, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound fourth-year junior from Midlothian, Texas. "Every day is something new, something to get better at, something to grow on. I'm starting from the bottom and trying to work my way up."
The second half of the scrimmage started with a short pass from Petty that Clay Fuller turned into a 60-yard sprint to the end zone. Fuller added four catches for 81 yards, while freshman walk-on Brandon Brown led all receivers with eight catches for 116 yards.
Glasco Martin and Russell had TD runs of 3 and four yards and Aaron Jones nailed a 47-yard field goal. The second-team offense also scored on a four-yard TD burst by redshirt freshman Shock Linwood on a fourth-and-one play, while the first-team unit added a nifty 28-yard TD run by Lache Seastrunk and the 50-yard TD catch by Lee.
"It kind of translates from the way he's been working out," Briles said of Lee, a 6-3, 205-pound sophomore from Allen, Texas. "He's been exceptional in workout, exceptional all winter in the weight room in strength and conditioning, and he was exceptional today. It just shows that if you do things right for a long time, pretty soon it pays off for you."
Defensive end Shawn Oakman, a 6-8, 250-pound sophomore transfer from Penn State, looks like he's trying to make up for lost time after having to sit out in the fall. He had four tackles, a team-high two sacks and also batted down a pass.
"That's an easy guy to single out," Briles said of Oakman. "I talked about one guy at the end of practice, and it was him, just because of the way he played with passion and energy and the way he used his ability. A lot of guys have the ability, but they don't bring it every time. He brings it every snap, and that's why he's got a chance to be dominant."
Linebackers Bryce Hager and Eddie Lackey led the first-team defense with 10 and nine tackles, respectively, while Sam Holl had four tackles and the only interception of the day.
"I counted that one on us because of the defense they were in, the coverage, they were in and the play that we had called," Briles said. "We set up an inexperienced guy that takes an experienced situation. So, I don't put that on him."
Baylor passed the halfway mark of spring drills with its eighth practice and will be back on the field for practices on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of next week. The Bears will wrap up the 15-practice spring training with a scrimmage on Saturday, April 6.
Coming off back-to-back bowl victories, Baylor will open the 2013 season and final season at Floyd Casey Stadium on Aug. 31 with a home game against Wofford.
For updates on the Baylor football team, follow @BUFootball on Twitter.
FINAL STATS
PASSING:
Bryce Petty - 22-32, 326 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; Seth Russell - 20-29, 220 yards. Chris Johnson & Andrew Frerking only took snaps in 7-on-7 drills.
RUSHING:
Devin Chafin - 8-52; Glasco Martin - 11-50, TD; Rashodrick Linwood - 8-26, TD; Lache Seastrunk - 6-24, TD; Seth Russell - 12-(-2), TD; Bryce Petty - 4(-8).
RECEIVING:
Brandon Brown - 8-116; Jay Lee - 7-111, TD; Clay Fuller - 4-81, TD; Tevin Reese - 5-64; Levi Norwood - 5-54; Kaleb Moore - 3-51; Tuswani Copeland - 3-21; Antwan Goodley - 2-16; Rashodrick Linwood - 1-16; Jordan Najvar - 1-8; Gus Penning - 1-4; Rhett Butler - 1-4; Devin Chafin 1-0.
TACKLES:
Bryce Hager-10; Kendall Ehrlich-9; Eddie Lackey-9; Ahmad Dixon-8; Darius Jones:-8; Terrell Burt-7; Aiavion Edwards-6; Orion Stewart-6; Patrick Levels-5; Ryan Reid-5; Demetri Goodson-4; Kiante Griffin-4; Sam Holl-4; Xavien Howard-4; Shawn Oakman-4; Brody Trahan-4; Joe Williams-4; Prince Kent-3; Suleiman Maskumbuko-3; Jamal Palmer-3; Beau Blackshear-2; Zorrell Ezell-2; Javonte Magee-2; Anthony Webb-2; Trevor Clemons-Valdez-1; Terrance Lloyd-1; Chris McAllister-1; Brian Nance-1; Tyler Stephenson-1.
SACKS:
Shawn Oakman-2.0; Jamal Palmer-1.5; Kiante Griffin-1.0; Prince Kent-1.0; Suleiman Masumbuko-1.0; Trevor Clemons-Valdez-0.5; Kendall Ehrlich-0.5; Chris McAllister-0.5.
INTERCEPTIONS:
Sam Holl-1.
SCORING:
Martin 3 run (Jones kick)
Russell 4 run (Jones kick)
Jones 47 FG (Jones kick)
Fuller 60 pass from Petty (Jones kick)
Linwood 4 run (run failed)
Seastrunk 28 run (Jones kick)
Lee 50 pass from Petty (Jones kick)
