2023 College Football Catalog: Previewing the Baylor Bears
Just like the NFL season is right around the corner, college campuses are preparing to welcome back their football squads for the fall season.
As the summer progresses we will be taking a look into how many of the FBS college football programs fared in 2022, what they did during the offseason, and how they can find success during the 2023 season. Today, we move onto the Baylor Bears to discuss their chances in the Big 12 conference this upcoming season.
Other Big 12 previews:
Big 10 previews:
- Michigan
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Maryland
- Michigan State
- Indiana
- Rutgers
- Purdue
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Wisconsin
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
Overview
2022 Results
- W vs. Albany, 69-10
- L @ (21) BYU, 20-26
- W vs. Texas State, 42-7
- W @ Iowa State, 31-24
- L vs. (9) Oklahoma State, 25-36
- L @ West Virginia, 40-43
- W vs. Kansas, 35-23
- W @ Texas Tech, 45-17
- W @ Oklahoma, 38-35
- L vs. Kansas State, 3-31
- L vs. (4) TCU, 28-29
- L @ (24) Texas, 27-38
- L vs. Air Force, 15-30 (Armed Forces Bowl)
Overall Record: 6-7 (4-5)
2022 All-Big 12 Members
- FB Dillon Doyle (Second-Team)
- OL Jacob Gall (Second-Team)
- OL Connor Galvin (Second-Team)
- DL Siaki Ika (First-Team)
- LB Dillon Doyle (Second-Team)
Recent Vikings Draft Picks
- DL James Lynch (2020 Draft; R4, P130)
Every Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Draft Pick
2023 Draft Selections
- R3, P98: DL Siaki Ika (Cleveland Browns)
2023 Schedule
- 9/2 vs. Texas State
- 9/9 vs. Utah
- 9/16 vs. LIU
- 9/23 vs. Texas
- 9/30 @ UCF
- 10/7 vs. Texas Tech
- 10/21 @ Cincinnati
- 10/28 vs. Iowa State
- 11/4 vs. Houston
- 11/11 @ Kansas State
- 11/18 @ TCU
- 11/25 vs. West Virginia
Notable Additions
- QB Sawyer Robinson (transfer portal, Mississippi State)
- RB Dominic Richardson (transfer portal, Oklahoma State)
- WR Ketron Jackson (transfer portal, Arkansas)
- TE Matthew Klopfenstein (four-star recruit)
- TE Jack Roberts (transfer portal, North Texas)
- OT Campbell Barrington (transfer portal, BYU)
- OT Isaiah Robinson (four-star recruit)
- IOL Clark Barrington (transfer portal, BYU)
- EDGE Treven Ma’ae (transfer portal, Oregon)
- LB Mike Smith (transfer portal, Liberty)
- LB Byron Vaughns (transfer portal, Utah State)
- CB Ajani Carter (transfer portal, Utah State)
- CB Isaiah Dunson (transfer portal, Miami)
- CB LeVar Thompson (four-star recruit)
Recruit/transfer information can be found at 24/7 Sports
Notable Losses
- QB Kyron Drones (transfer portal, Virginia Tech)
- RB Craig Williams (transfer portal, Louisiana Tech)
- WR Elijah Bean (transfer portal, undecided)
- WR Jaylen Ellis (transfer portal, Colorado)
- WR Seth Jones (transfer portal, USF
- IOL Micah Mazzccua (transfer portal, Florida)
- DL Siaki Ika (NFL Draft, Cleveland Browns)
- LB Dillon Doyle (eligibility)
- CB Lorando Johnson (transfer portal, Arkansas)
- S Devin Neal (transfer portal, Louisville)
- S Alfahiym Walcott (transfer portal, Arkansas)
Transfer information can be found at 24/7 Sports
Keys to 2023
The Barrington Brothers
Simply put, Baylor needs to be better in pass protection this season. The offensive line struggled against some of the tougher matchups last year, and if they had held up better, the Bears may have had a much better 2022 season than they did.
That’s where the Barrington brothers, Campbell and Clark, come in. Over the past few years, BYU has been a powerhouse for pumping out quality offensive linemen, and the Barringtons have been part of the latest batch of successful o-line players. Clark, in particular, has been spectacular in pass protection at guard, earning PFF grades in the 80s over each of the past two seasons. Now, they come to Baylor and hope to bring that same success to the Bears program.
Who Takes on the QB1 Job?
Blake Shapen was decent at QB last season for Baylor, totaling 2790 passing yards and 18 TDs, but he was a bit erratic with his passes. He completed 63.3% of his passes and also had 10 interceptions to his name. Perhaps he maintains the starting job during 2023, but we also have to keep an eye on new Mississippi State transfer Sawyer Robertson.
Robinson, entering his third season of college football, has attempted just 11 passes to this point in his career. However, he was a four-star recruit coming out of high school. At 6’3, the QB has a terrific arm and certainly should be in the mix to take over Baylor’s QB1 role this season.
More Productive Pass Rush
Baylor got off to a roaring start in 2022, recording 10 sacks in their first four games. They also had 11 in their two games against Texas and Texas Tech. However, between the other seven games on their schedule, they put together just three.
Siaki Ika is no longer in the middle of their defensive line after heading to the NFL level and joining the Cleveland Browns. However, they have plenty of pieces that can pick up the slack heading into 2023. One of the more notable of these players is Gabe Hall, a 6’6 behemoth who is entering his fifth year in the program.
Prediction
- W vs. Texas State
- L vs. Utah
- W vs. LIU
- L vs. Texas
- L @ UCF
- L vs. Texas Tech
- W @ Cincinnati
- W vs. Iowa State
- W vs. Houston
- L @ Kansas State
- L @ TCU
- W vs. West Virginia
Overall Record: 6-6 (4-5)
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.