INSIDER SPRING NOTEBOOK

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Making his fourth coaching move in the last six years, AJ Steward had a lot of reasons for leaving Oregon State and joining Dave Aranda's staff at Baylor.

            Unquestionably, it was a good fit in philosophy, culture and personality. He worked with offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes for two seasons at BYU. "It was a no-brainer for me in this next step," said Steward, the Bears' running backs coach and assistant head coach.

            But at the top of the list: the wide zone offense.

            "I wake up, the first things I think about (are) my wife, God and (the) wide zone," Steward said after Thursday's spring football workout. "I've probably done 700 coaches' clinics on it. I've watched ungodly hours of film on the wide zone. So, I'm all in with it. Just going into a system that I truly believe in and have a lot of experience with and have had success with."

            Asked about the order of those three things, Steward said, "God, for sure, No. 1. The wife's above wide zone, but some days it's close."

            The wide zone also helped the Bears land one of the top prospects out of the portal in Oklahoma State running back Dominic Richardson. The Cowboys' leading rusher last season, he rushed for 1,139 yards and 15 touchdowns on 272 carries (4.2-yard average) in his three-year career at OSU.

            "I love (the) wide zone," Richardson said. "I think that it fits my play style, especially with Coach Steward being the running backs coach. He teaches every detail of the game, like going downhill with one cut, getting vertical, rubbing off your defenders. I just love everything about the O-line and how they race up to their defenders. . . . It gives the running back more room to read."

            LOADED ROOM: Steward inherited arguably the most loaded, talented and experienced position group on the roster with Richardson joining Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Richard Reese and redshirt senior Qualan Jones.

            In a three-man rotation with Craig "Sqwirl" Williams, who transferred to Louisiana Tech, Reese ranked among the top five freshmen nationally with 972 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns; and Jones tallied a career-high 462 yards and seven TDs.

            "I learned that no matter what happens, I've just got to keep pushing," said Reese, who finished fifth in the Big 12 in rushing attempts (198). "I didn't know that I was going to come in as a freshman and start like that. But in my head, I was like, 'I'm here, I'm just going to do it and stick with it,' because it's something that I've loved since I was little."

            The depth at the position also includes redshirt senior Jacoby Clarke, redshirt sophomore Jordan Jenkins and true freshman Bryson Washington from Franklin (Texas) High School.

            "If you look at previous years of the groups that I've had . . . we've had guys who have been all-conference running backs, but then other guys combine for 1,000 yards and multiple touchdowns and game-winning plays. So, to me, the star in the running back room is the running back room."

            Although he's never used as many as six running backs in a season, Steward's message to the players is that he's "going to play the most talented, reliable players."

            "If there's two guys or three guys or four guys, we'll make it work," he said. "Everybody's got to be prepared for their moment. And that's how I coach. We're not really big on depth charts and things like that. Our sixth guy out of six guys in our room right now needs to be strong enough for us to rely on him if we need be in a real game."

            'SOMETHING TO PROVE': While he was not one of the 25 players honored on Senior Day last fall, Jones could have called it a day after his fourth year at Baylor. But the former Cedar Hill Trinity Christian standout said he had "something else to prove."

            "Being an older guy, I feel like I do have to be a leader," he said. "Whatever I do, I feel like they're looking up to me. So, I've got to stet an example. And when I go on the field, I need to grind. Don't take any plays off and just be that leader for them."

            Although Richardson is in his first year at Baylor, the fourth-year senior said he expects to be a leader in the running back room as well.

            "I know a lot coming from OSU and I'm pretty laid-back," said Richardson, who had a breakout game against Baylor as a freshman in 2020, rushing for 169 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries. "I'm the shy guy pretty much, but I feel like I can step up and talk football if needed. And I feel like if I grow a relationship now with my teammates and also my coach, it makes it easier for me to be a leader."

            NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: At one of the first spring practices, Steward noticed that Washington (6-0, 205) lined up at the tailback position in a three-point stance and asked the freshman, "Why are you standing like that?"

            "He was like, 'Coach, I've only been in a three-point stance my entire career,''' Steward said. "It was kind of funny, but it made me go back to build it, literally, from the ground up with him. So, it's been really good to weed out some of those habits and teach him some of the baseline principles now, so that when we get to fall camp, he's on an even playing field."

            Rushing for almost 5,000 yards in his prep career, Washington led Franklin to 32-consecutive wins and back-to-back state championships. As a senior, he rushed for 2,131 yards and 30 touchdowns and was named the Offensive Player of the Year on the Texas Sportswriters Association's Class 3A all-state team.

            "It's a marathon approach with a guy like that coming from the situation," Steward said, "but the intangibles he brings are incredible. Just his work ethic, his toughness, his coachability. It's definitely a positive having him here early. But just how he was raised and where he's coming from, you can tell that he's been around good people that have held him to a high standard."

INSIDER SPRING NOTEBOOK

Players Mentioned

Jacoby Clarke

Jordan Jenkins

Richard Reese

Dominic Richardson

Bryson Washington

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