REVOLVING DOOR
12/27/2021 4:50:00 PM | Football
Bohanon Back in as Starter, Shapen Doubtful for Sugar Bowl
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Baylor's revolving door at quarterback is back where it started, with fourth-year junior Gerry Bohanon expected to be back in the saddle for the seventh-ranked Bears' matchup against No. 8 Ole Miss in the New Year's Day Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
In Monday's Zoom press conferences with the two head coaches, Dave Aranda said Big 12 Championship game MVP Blake Shapen is likely out with a shoulder injury, but Bohanon seems to be fully recovered from a hamstring injury and "was at his best" before the Christmas break.
"Gerry's been good. He's been throwing the ball better and better," Aranda said. "I think towards the end of the week, he was at his best. Anticipating him to just take off from there. I think confidence-wise, very strong, able to run, open up, and do all the things that we've been accustomed to seeing him do. Excited for him and his opportunity."
The starter for the first 11 games of the season, Bohanon threw for 2,160 yards and 17 touchdowns and added 303 yards and nine TDs on the ground, helping the Bears (11-2) get off to a 9-2 start. He suffered a strained right hamstring at the end of a run late in the first half of Baylor's 20-10 win at Kansas State on Nov. 20.
With Shapen at the helm, the Bears defeated Texas Tech, 27-24, in the regular-season finale, then knocked off Oklahoma State, 21-16, in the Big 12 Championship game when he threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
"You look at just the ups and downs that you go through with this sport," Aranda said. "You look at a guy like Gerry, who put in all this work and no one really recognizes it, or maybe opportunities are hard to come by. He gets his opportunity, makes the most of it, and then really kind of takes control of the team and gets his team right up to a point and then gets injured.
"And then you look at Blake coming in, doing all his work, not being looked at, maybe an argument could be made not having a bunch of opportunities. Then, he has an opportunity, makes the most of it and has a huge game there at the end. . . . You look at all of it, and then flip it again. It's just crazy."
With Aranda saying he's "not anticipating having Blake" for the Sugar Bowl, true freshman Kyron Drones has been getting all the practice reps as the No. 2 quarterback behind Bohanon in the last two weeks of practice.
"He has really taken to the added responsibility and reps, has attacked it, has not shied away from it one bit," Aranda said of Drones, who has yet to throw a pass this season. "I think we've got a really good game plan for him. It includes a lot of the things we're doing with Gerry, but then there are a few specific things just for him if he were to find himself with a bunch of time on his hands."
Due to increased concerns about the Omicron variant of COVID, three bowl games have already been canceled and three others have been affected by teams pulling out. Both Baylor and Ole Miss also opted to delay their scheduled arrivals and will come in on Wednesday.
"The less time we're there, the less time there is to either have to manage if it's a lockdown-type situation," Aranda said, "or the less time to have to try to maneuver through a daily schedule and not get sick. So, it allowed the best opportunity to play the game healthy."
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said a "week of walking around Bourbon Street (is not) really up there high on COVID protocol."
"We stayed as long as they would let us, actually, because of that," he said. "It's easier to monitor kids, have them here where they are used to. There's not a lot of stuff around here with school being out, also, so there's not a lot of places for them to go and things."
Like Baylor, Ole Miss has not had any players opt out of the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
"We didn't have a conversation. It's not like someone came in wavering, and we had to talk them out of it, or go over the pros and cons," Kiffin said. "I think it says a lot about this team."
Aranda said the Sugar Bowl "gives us an opportunity to show who we are."
"I think there is a stage there," he said. "There is a platform that we can, whether it's people we interact with at the hotel, people that are on our plane, the fans that are coming to see us, all the people that are going to be watching on TV, it's going to be an introduction to Baylor University. It's going to be an introduction to Baylor football. And then, to all of our last names in terms of not so much what we do, but how we do it and in terms of what drives us. I think that comes out. So, we want to put our best foot forward in regards to that."
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff at Caesars Superdome and a national broadcast on ESPN, with Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Katie George calling the action.
Baylor Bear Insider
Baylor's revolving door at quarterback is back where it started, with fourth-year junior Gerry Bohanon expected to be back in the saddle for the seventh-ranked Bears' matchup against No. 8 Ole Miss in the New Year's Day Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
In Monday's Zoom press conferences with the two head coaches, Dave Aranda said Big 12 Championship game MVP Blake Shapen is likely out with a shoulder injury, but Bohanon seems to be fully recovered from a hamstring injury and "was at his best" before the Christmas break.
"Gerry's been good. He's been throwing the ball better and better," Aranda said. "I think towards the end of the week, he was at his best. Anticipating him to just take off from there. I think confidence-wise, very strong, able to run, open up, and do all the things that we've been accustomed to seeing him do. Excited for him and his opportunity."
The starter for the first 11 games of the season, Bohanon threw for 2,160 yards and 17 touchdowns and added 303 yards and nine TDs on the ground, helping the Bears (11-2) get off to a 9-2 start. He suffered a strained right hamstring at the end of a run late in the first half of Baylor's 20-10 win at Kansas State on Nov. 20.
With Shapen at the helm, the Bears defeated Texas Tech, 27-24, in the regular-season finale, then knocked off Oklahoma State, 21-16, in the Big 12 Championship game when he threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns.
"You look at just the ups and downs that you go through with this sport," Aranda said. "You look at a guy like Gerry, who put in all this work and no one really recognizes it, or maybe opportunities are hard to come by. He gets his opportunity, makes the most of it, and then really kind of takes control of the team and gets his team right up to a point and then gets injured.
"And then you look at Blake coming in, doing all his work, not being looked at, maybe an argument could be made not having a bunch of opportunities. Then, he has an opportunity, makes the most of it and has a huge game there at the end. . . . You look at all of it, and then flip it again. It's just crazy."
With Aranda saying he's "not anticipating having Blake" for the Sugar Bowl, true freshman Kyron Drones has been getting all the practice reps as the No. 2 quarterback behind Bohanon in the last two weeks of practice.
"He has really taken to the added responsibility and reps, has attacked it, has not shied away from it one bit," Aranda said of Drones, who has yet to throw a pass this season. "I think we've got a really good game plan for him. It includes a lot of the things we're doing with Gerry, but then there are a few specific things just for him if he were to find himself with a bunch of time on his hands."
Due to increased concerns about the Omicron variant of COVID, three bowl games have already been canceled and three others have been affected by teams pulling out. Both Baylor and Ole Miss also opted to delay their scheduled arrivals and will come in on Wednesday.
"The less time we're there, the less time there is to either have to manage if it's a lockdown-type situation," Aranda said, "or the less time to have to try to maneuver through a daily schedule and not get sick. So, it allowed the best opportunity to play the game healthy."
Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said a "week of walking around Bourbon Street (is not) really up there high on COVID protocol."
"We stayed as long as they would let us, actually, because of that," he said. "It's easier to monitor kids, have them here where they are used to. There's not a lot of stuff around here with school being out, also, so there's not a lot of places for them to go and things."
Like Baylor, Ole Miss has not had any players opt out of the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft.
"We didn't have a conversation. It's not like someone came in wavering, and we had to talk them out of it, or go over the pros and cons," Kiffin said. "I think it says a lot about this team."
Aranda said the Sugar Bowl "gives us an opportunity to show who we are."
"I think there is a stage there," he said. "There is a platform that we can, whether it's people we interact with at the hotel, people that are on our plane, the fans that are coming to see us, all the people that are going to be watching on TV, it's going to be an introduction to Baylor University. It's going to be an introduction to Baylor football. And then, to all of our last names in terms of not so much what we do, but how we do it and in terms of what drives us. I think that comes out. So, we want to put our best foot forward in regards to that."
Saturday's game is scheduled for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff at Caesars Superdome and a national broadcast on ESPN, with Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Katie George calling the action.
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