supercentex
04-05-2006, 11:14 AM
New BU offense answers the bell
Saturday, April 01, 2006
By Jerry Hill
Tribune-Herald assistant sports editor
Brandon Whitaker and Terrance Parks are like Mutt and Jeff.
But in Baylor’s new offense, they both can be effective weapons.
While the 5-foot-11, 192-pound Whitaker picked up 48 yards on just five carries, including a 19-yard run when he reversed fields, the 6-4, 243-pound Parks threw for a 47-yard touchdown and also had a 12-yard reception in the Bears’ scrimmage Saturday morning.
“He’s a quarterback’s dream,” quarterback Shawn Bell said of Whitaker. “You can give him the ball five yards (down field), and he can take it 80. I haven’t seen very many people who can tackle him one-on-one. He’s just a tremendous threat for our offense.”
The defense has dominated most of the spring, but the offense answered the bell for Saturday’s scrimmage, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal in three red-zone opportunities and putting together a pair of 80-yard touchdown drives.
“And I’m not putting them in the best plays, either,” said first-year offensive coordinator Lee Hays. “They’re just doing a good job executing. That’s the thing that’s got to happen. When we can execute the base offense, then we can game-plan. But right now, we’ve just got to learn the offense.”
Overcoming an early interception, Bell was 18-of-27 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. On back-to-back plays in the red zone, Bell hit Trey Payne for a 15-yard touchdown and then Dominique Zeigler turned a short inside screen into a 20-yarder.
“It’s give and take with our defense,” Bell said. “We’re going to win some battles, and we’re going to lose some. But all in all, we’re pretty confident right now on offense.”
Bell engineered an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, picking up one first down with a five-yard pass to sophomore Thomas White and then blocking for Whitaker when he reversed fields for a break-your-ankle 19-yard run.
“He’s got a lot of wiggle,” head coach Guy Morriss said of Whitaker. “Sometimes, you’d like for him to just hit the hole and go. And he’s learning that. But those kinds of moves are just natural for him. We just keep saying, ‘Let’s don’t screw him up.’ ’’
On the payoff play, Bell threw a lateral pass to Parks, who hit White wide open for a 47-yard touchdown pass.
“He’s just such a good athlete,” Bell said of Parks, who converted from quarterback to receiver this spring. “Everybody knows that. He can do it all. He can run with it. He can shake. He can run you over. He can throw. So he can be a big weapon for us out there.”
The defense also had its moments, including an interception by linebacker Nick Moore and fumble recoveries by linebackers Ben Hixson and Joe Pawelek.
“Better today than next year,” Hays said. “What we’re telling them right now is we want them to find out what they can and can’t throw. Sometimes, we’ll tell them to take this throw. And it’s not the best throw. But you learn to fit it in when you can make it.”
The day ended with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive led by redshirt freshman quarterback Blake Szymanski. He was 6-of-7 for 48 yards in the series, capped by a 14-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Joe Bennett on a corner route.
“And it’s not like (defensive coordinator Bill Bradley) and them are holding anything back,” Morriss said. “They’re throwing everything at us. Which is good, because we know we’re going to see all that junk in the fall. So we better find out if we can or can’t do it right now.”
Hays said the offense has come easy for the skill position players, but it’s been a “big adjustment” for the line.
“The skill kids have got an advantage,” Hays said, “because it’s just base plays over and over and over. But the look can be so different for the offensive line.”
Morriss, who took over coaching duties for the line this spring, said the sets and splits for the linemen are “foreign to them.”
“As you start out in pee-wee ball and come up through the system, nobody’s teaching it the way we’re teaching it,” he said. “But you just keep repping it and seeing it. And now they’re starting to see it and make adjustments. They know when to widen, and they know when to tight down.”
While Whitaker was the leading rusher, 13 different players caught passes, led by tailback Paul Mosley with 13 yards on four catches and White with 68 yards on three receptions.
“We’re going to spread it around,” Bell said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can make plays.”
“The great thing about that is those 13 are excited instead of three or four kids,” Hays said. “It makes for an easy bus ride.”
jhill@wacotrib.com
757-5715
Saturday, April 01, 2006
By Jerry Hill
Tribune-Herald assistant sports editor
Brandon Whitaker and Terrance Parks are like Mutt and Jeff.
But in Baylor’s new offense, they both can be effective weapons.
While the 5-foot-11, 192-pound Whitaker picked up 48 yards on just five carries, including a 19-yard run when he reversed fields, the 6-4, 243-pound Parks threw for a 47-yard touchdown and also had a 12-yard reception in the Bears’ scrimmage Saturday morning.
“He’s a quarterback’s dream,” quarterback Shawn Bell said of Whitaker. “You can give him the ball five yards (down field), and he can take it 80. I haven’t seen very many people who can tackle him one-on-one. He’s just a tremendous threat for our offense.”
The defense has dominated most of the spring, but the offense answered the bell for Saturday’s scrimmage, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal in three red-zone opportunities and putting together a pair of 80-yard touchdown drives.
“And I’m not putting them in the best plays, either,” said first-year offensive coordinator Lee Hays. “They’re just doing a good job executing. That’s the thing that’s got to happen. When we can execute the base offense, then we can game-plan. But right now, we’ve just got to learn the offense.”
Overcoming an early interception, Bell was 18-of-27 for 144 yards and two touchdowns. On back-to-back plays in the red zone, Bell hit Trey Payne for a 15-yard touchdown and then Dominique Zeigler turned a short inside screen into a 20-yarder.
“It’s give and take with our defense,” Bell said. “We’re going to win some battles, and we’re going to lose some. But all in all, we’re pretty confident right now on offense.”
Bell engineered an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive, picking up one first down with a five-yard pass to sophomore Thomas White and then blocking for Whitaker when he reversed fields for a break-your-ankle 19-yard run.
“He’s got a lot of wiggle,” head coach Guy Morriss said of Whitaker. “Sometimes, you’d like for him to just hit the hole and go. And he’s learning that. But those kinds of moves are just natural for him. We just keep saying, ‘Let’s don’t screw him up.’ ’’
On the payoff play, Bell threw a lateral pass to Parks, who hit White wide open for a 47-yard touchdown pass.
“He’s just such a good athlete,” Bell said of Parks, who converted from quarterback to receiver this spring. “Everybody knows that. He can do it all. He can run with it. He can shake. He can run you over. He can throw. So he can be a big weapon for us out there.”
The defense also had its moments, including an interception by linebacker Nick Moore and fumble recoveries by linebackers Ben Hixson and Joe Pawelek.
“Better today than next year,” Hays said. “What we’re telling them right now is we want them to find out what they can and can’t throw. Sometimes, we’ll tell them to take this throw. And it’s not the best throw. But you learn to fit it in when you can make it.”
The day ended with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive led by redshirt freshman quarterback Blake Szymanski. He was 6-of-7 for 48 yards in the series, capped by a 14-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Joe Bennett on a corner route.
“And it’s not like (defensive coordinator Bill Bradley) and them are holding anything back,” Morriss said. “They’re throwing everything at us. Which is good, because we know we’re going to see all that junk in the fall. So we better find out if we can or can’t do it right now.”
Hays said the offense has come easy for the skill position players, but it’s been a “big adjustment” for the line.
“The skill kids have got an advantage,” Hays said, “because it’s just base plays over and over and over. But the look can be so different for the offensive line.”
Morriss, who took over coaching duties for the line this spring, said the sets and splits for the linemen are “foreign to them.”
“As you start out in pee-wee ball and come up through the system, nobody’s teaching it the way we’re teaching it,” he said. “But you just keep repping it and seeing it. And now they’re starting to see it and make adjustments. They know when to widen, and they know when to tight down.”
While Whitaker was the leading rusher, 13 different players caught passes, led by tailback Paul Mosley with 13 yards on four catches and White with 68 yards on three receptions.
“We’re going to spread it around,” Bell said. “We’ve got a lot of guys who can make plays.”
“The great thing about that is those 13 are excited instead of three or four kids,” Hays said. “It makes for an easy bus ride.”
jhill@wacotrib.com
757-5715