Baylor looks forward to season opener
When Baylor’s acting head coach Jim Grobe took to the stage during Big 12 Media Days in July, he said he told his players he wanted them in headlines for what they do on the football field.
Grobe will get his wish Sept. 2 when the Bears host Northwestern State, a member of the Southland Conference.
The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Net.
The Demons, who won four of their final six games, will roll into Waco with 11 transfers that include junior college and four-year universities, Grobe said.
“You’ve got a little bit of an idea from watching last year’s film on where their talent is, but with the influx of transfers that kind of makes it different so it will be interesting when we take the field Friday night to find out what we’re up against,” he said.
Senior quarterback Brooks Haack, a graduate of Katy High School and a transfer from Louisiana-Lafayette, was named the starter for the Demons.
Haack’s three years in the program propelled him to the starting job, head coach Jay Thomas said.
Though they have a new starting quarterback, the running back is not new. De’Mard Llorens returns after rushing for 820 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Receivers Tuff McClain (16 catches for 268 yards and a touchdown) and Shakeir Ryan (27-327-3) also return.
The offensive line is anchored by Terrance Boyd and Korliss Johnson.
Seven returning starters and 10 others with starting experience will lead the Demons defense. Defensive end JeMarcus Marshall, linebackers Shawn Stephens and Peyton Guidry, and defensive backs Ike Warren and Adam Jones will be counted on to lead this group.
“The thing I’ve learned in 40 years of coaching is you better take everyone seriously and respect every opponent,” Grobe said, “and we’ll find out pretty early how much they’ve improved with this influx of new talent.”
Grobe will coach in his first game since he retired three years ago. He said there’s been a lot of talking because of all that’s happened away from the football field. So the Bears are looking forward to playing a game, he said.
“I said I’ve learned a lot from our players, I’ve learned a lot from our coaches, but I’m expecting to learn more Friday night,” he said, “and so for me it’s just exciting to get back into a football season and watch these guys perform.”
Grobe’s preference would be not to play on a Friday night, which are typically the nights of high school football games. He said he spoke to legendary coach Grant Teaff about it.
“… originally our stance was not to do that, but everybody is fighting for exposure, all the conferences are fighting for exposure,” he said, “so now it’s almost become any night of the week could be a college or an NFL night so it’s not really something that you get too concerned about.”
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