By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Nothing against redshirt freshman linebacker Tyrone Brown, but Matt Jones is going to miss playing next to Dillon Doyle.
            Making 25-consecutive starts since transferring from Iowa to Baylor, Doyle will have to sit out the first half of Saturday's 11 a.m. game against Texas State after being flagged with a targeting penalty with 8:35 left in regulation in Saturday's 26-20 double-OT loss at BYU.
            "I don't like it. I like playing next to Dillon," said Jones, who has a team-high 13 tackles through the first two games at the other inside linebacker position. "He's a great guy on and off the field. But, I have a lot of confidence in Tyrone. He has really good instincts and he flies to the ball. I have great confidence that he's going to do his job."
            While Brown made three of his four tackles after replacing Doyle in the lineup, third-year head coach Dave Aranda said the Bears' run defense suffered without its leader.
            "I thought the run game when Dillon was in there was one thing," Aranda said. "When he wasn't in there, I think it was another thing. I think we lost a notch or two. . . This is an opportunity for some of our younger players to step up."
            More than his steady play at linebacker, where he made 91 tackles and 8 ½ stops behind the line last season, the Baylor defense will miss Doyle's voice.
            "I know when Dillon's out there, even when I'm trying to be vocal, he's right on it," Jones said. "Before the formation is even set, he already knows what's happening, and he's calling it right away. So, I just listen."
            Some of that vocal leadership will fall on Jones and junior safety Devin Neal, who had eight tackles and his first-career sack against BYU.
            "We've all got to know our situation and do our part," Neal said. "We all have to step up and communicate and reassure each other, and not let anybody go blind."
            Jones knows he has to be more vocal without Doyle on the field next to him.
            "I have to do a lot more," he said. "I have to step up, communicate and just be a better leader on the defense."
            BUSY DAY FOR 'SQWIRL': Five years have passed since Craig Williams' senior season at Crosby High School, where he finished his prep career with 3,800 yards rushing and 53 touchdowns.
            Battling through injuries, "Sqwirl" had played in only eight games his first four seasons at Baylor, totaling 247 yards and three touchdowns on 32 carries. He had his busiest day as a Bear yet against BYU, rushing for 68 yards on a career-high 17 attempts.
            "I'm never going to turn down any carries," the 5-9, 168-pound running back said. "We prepare every day just as (if) you're the starter, so when they call your number, you're ready to go out there and work. And that's what I was able to do. . . . Being able to stay healthy and stay on the field, it means a lot to me to be able to go out there and help my team."
            After rehabbing through most of last season, Williams said he was finally comfortable running and making cuts on his repaired left knee by the spring game.
            "It really showed me and gave me my confidence back to get to the point where I felt like I was ready to go and able to go out there and do those things that I was able to do before I had that injury," he said.
            Part of the reason for the load increase against BYU was starting running back Taye McWilliams going out with an injury on the first series of the second quarter. Williams and Qualan Jones combined to rush for 135 yards and two TDs on 33 carries.
            "Losing Taye, it hurts," Williams said. "But everybody in the (running back) room, they prepare like the starter. If their number is called, they're ready to go out there and go play."
            BOUNCE BACK, PLAY GREEN: Last year, the Bears bounced back from a humbling 24-14 road loss at Oklahoma State to win eight of their next nine games, including beating the Cowboys, 21-16, in the Big 12 Championship game.
            Jones said the key was "learning from our mistakes."
            "That first Oklahoma State game, I feel like nobody was on the same page – players and coaches," Jones said. "And I feel like that's what it was in this BYU game. We had a great week of preparation, but we didn't come out and execute. We tip-toed into it, and I feel like the environment got the best of a lot of the young guys. I feel like it was just something new to them. The next big environment, they'll be able to handle it better."
            That was actually similar to last year's season opener when Baylor came out "playing yellow, tip-toeing really the whole first half," Jones said, in a 29-20 road win over the Bobcats.
            "After a loss, there are two things a team can do: wilt away or rebound stronger," Neal said. "I feel like in those situations, everybody comes together and locks in and we humble ourselves and know what the focus is. And we get back to work."
            LEGEND IN THE BOOTH: Baylor has its own legend in the radio booth in "Voice of the Bears" John Morris. But, this week's Baylor Football Legend will actually be in the visitor's radio booth.
            Former Baylor linebacker Geff Gandy (1979-82) will be recognized as the Baylor Legend, but he will have to come down to the field from Texas State's radio booth, where he serves as the Bobcats' analyst.
            Still ranked eighth all-time at Baylor in career assisted tackles (137), Gandy is also fifth on the single-season total tackles list with 137 as a senior in 1982. His contributions on defense and special teams helped the Bears win the 1980 Southwest Conference title at 10-2 overall and 8-0 in league play, earning them a trip to the Cotton Bowl.
            In addition to his role as a football analyst for Texas State, Gandy is an executive sales specialist with Janssen Pharmaceutical.