By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            In some ways, little has changed since Blake Shapen beat out Gerry Bohanon a year ago to win the starting quarterback job coming out of the spring.
            Coming off a season that saw him pass for 2,709 yards and 18 touchdowns with 10 interceptions, Shapen is right back where he started. The other names have changed, though, with Sawyer Robertson and RJ Martinez replacing Bohanon and Kyron Drones, who transferred to South Florida and Virginia Tech, respectively.
            "I think I've been in a quarterback battle almost every year I've been here," Shapen said after Thursday's second spring practice, "so I don't think anything's really new with that. I don't look at it differently. I look at it as an opportunity to grow and get better and have that mindset to keep growing and have someone just pushing me and making me better every single day."
            A redshirt sophomore, Robertson is a Texas native who transferred from Mississippi State after seeing limited action in two years with the Bulldogs.
            "I think it all starts with fit," Baylor quarterbacks coach Shawn Bell said. "As you're looking to bring somebody in, it isn't all about how many yards they threw for, how many wins they had, it's really a fit for the program. And I think Sawyer matched that."
            Bell remembers Baylor being interested in Robertson, a four-star prospect who threw for 11,302 yards and 135 touchdowns in his career at Lubbock Coronado High School.
            "We contacted him maybe a couple days before he committed to Coach (Mike) Leach at Mississippi State," said Bell, who was the tight ends coach at the time. "It was the COVID year, so we couldn't get out and go see him. I think we asked him if he'd be interested in Baylor, and he was super-excited. Unfortunately, he had kind of made up his mind that he was going to go play for Coach Leach at Mississippi State."
            Being a long way from home in Starkville, Miss., Robertson said Baylor "seemed like the perfect fit" when he was looking to transfer after the 2022 season.
            "It's really good to come back closer to home," he said. "Obviously, I grew up in Lubbock, so I've been watching the Big 12 my entire life."
            Both Shapen and Robertson seem open to the competition.
            "I wasn't really looking for a place that you can walk in and be the guy (from) day one," Robertson said. "Obviously, I chose to come here because I felt like I would develop as a quarterback and I'd be leaving here the best quarterback possible, no matter the timeline on when I actually get to play or not."
            Shapen said it's a good thing "to have two guys in the room that are good quarterbacks, and that care about the game mentally and physically."
            "For (Robertson) to be in the room only adds a lot of depth to our room and only pushes me to be better," Shapen said.
            In a 6-7 season that ended with four-straight losses, Shapen said he "failed at being a better leader."
            "I should have been a little bit more vocal than I probably was," he said. "Now, I'm trying to take that step forward to be a more vocal leader and just inspire everyone around me, too. Come out every single day with my head up, going as hard as I can, and hopefully get some people to fall in line with that."
            Bell said "nobody is going to be harder on Blake than Blake," so he shouldered every loss and every bad play, "no matter if it was his fault or not."
            "He's always looking inward," Bell said. "But as a leader, he's learned that it's really outward. Everything he does is about others and developing that. Not just as a player, but you see what he's doing in the community, the type of person he's trying to be, that he's trying to develop the entire person first. And he knows that's going to translate to being the best quarterback."
            Bell's own journey at Baylor will help both Shapen and Robertson. While he made 23 starts and threw for 5,666 yards and 38 touchdowns in four seasons (2003-06), he was constantly battling for the starting job.
            "I think that's made me who I am," Bell said. "I wouldn't sit here and say that I'm the best X's and O's quarterback coach or the best this. But I would say that I pride myself on the mental side of the position. I went through a lot of valleys, as well as highs, and I'm more thankful now in my life for the tough times, because they made me the person, the dad, the husband that I am.
            "Through those experiences, Blake and I have had those conversations. And I think it's made, hopefully, a huge difference in him. And that's what I take a lot of pride in."
            Martinez, another midyear addition, made 18 starts at Northern Arizona and threw for 4,590 yards and 30 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Also aTexas native, he threw for 7,608 yards and 67 touchdowns and rushed for 1,612 yards and 28 TDs as a three-year starter at Austin Westwood High School.
            Bell said there's been a unity and connectedness developed in the quarterback room during the offseason program and first week of spring football.
            "It's unique," Bell said. "Today, Sawyer made a great throw, and the first person to give him a high-five was Blake Shapen. And vice versa. Blake makes a great throw, Sawyer's in the back yelling, 'Great job, Blake!' We talked about the unity in that room. It was something we had in '21 with the two guys we had, so I think that will carry over into the fall."
            The Bears are hosting a school-record eight home games in the 2023 season, starting with the Sept. 2 opener against Texas State at McLane Stadium. Season tickets are available at 2023 Baylor Football.