THREE FOR ONE

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Gerry Bohanon admits that he hasn't thought about Baylor football's Sept. 4 season opener at Texas State. The junior quarterback has a few other things on his mind.
            "I'm coming in every day just focusing on learning more and more and taking as much as I can from the coaches," said Bohanon, battling sophomore Jacob Zeno and freshman Blake Shapen for the starting job that Charlie Brewer held for most of the last four seasons.
            Bohanon has the most experience of the three, completing 18-of-38 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns and adding 296 yards and three TDs on the ground. But, with a new offensive coordinator (Jeff Grimes) and quarterbacks coach (Shawn Bell) and a whole new offense, they were all starting from a similar place going into the spring.
            "It's competitive, just like it was in the spring," said Shapen, a redshirt freshman from Shreveport Evangel Christian who didn't see any game action last year. "Only thing now is we're closer to the season, so (the competition) amps up a little bit more. But, we just love to get out here and compete, and it's fun to do it with a really good group of guys."
            After showing flashes two years ago with his performances in the Big 12 Championship game and Sugar Bowl, Zeno stayed on the sidelines until the last game of the 2020 season. He has completed 14-of-26 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown with one interception, including an 81-yard TD pass to Trestan Ebner in the Big 12 Championship game.
            "I just took it one play at a time, one day at a time," said Zeno, a sophomore from San Antonio. "I couldn't really control that, so I was just doing everything I could control."
            While all three made strides in the spring, each of them worked on specific parts of their game over the summer to get ready for the upcoming season.
            Shapen said he has focused on his footwork and getting into the playbook, "more the mental side of the game, learning about reads and where I'm supposed to go with the football," he said, "because at the end of that day, that's what really matters."
            Particularly for a younger quarterback, the challenge of the new offense is "you've got to know what everyone else is doing," Shapen said.
            Zeno's worked on his footwork as well, along with "understanding the offense more . . . and my deep balls. I worked on that a little bit."
            "We like (this offense), because the playbook is very small," Zeno said, "but it's still difficult for the defense. For us, we're not having to learn a lot of different stuff."
            Like Shapen, Bohanon's focus has been more on the mental side, "reading coverages, understanding the offense in and out and seeing how certain concepts work against certain defenses."
            While backing up Brewer, particularly the last two seasons, Bohanon said he's "been able to sit back and learn the different offenses and build my confidence as a player and a person. It's been fun."
            To a man, the quarterbacks' focus is on getting better every day in practice and getting themselves ready to lead the team . . . whoever is named the starter.
            "I've just got to do my job," Shapen said. "I'm not worried about when they're going to name a starter. That's not my job to care about that. My job is to come out here and be better every single day."
            Bohanon said if you have the "right mindset, you're going to do your job."
            "Those guys are doing their job, too," he said. "We're rooting for each other. We're all working hard."
            The Bears will go through their third-straight afternoon practice on Sunday, preparing for the Sept. 4 season opener on the road at Texas State. Baylor returns home the following week to host Texas Southern in the home opener Sept. 11 at McLane Stadium.
            For season, mini-plan and single-game ticket information, go to the 2021 Baylor Football Tickets link.

Players Mentioned

Gerry Bohanon

Charlie Brewer

Trestan Ebner

Blake Shapen

Jacob Zeno

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