By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
Baylor football’s secondary is looking to keep it simple in 2023.
Under new defensive coordinator Matt Powledge, the cornerbacks will play more press coverage on opposing wide receivers, and the team has started implementing that strategy in spring ball.
This was something the defense did in 2021 when the Bears won a program-record 12 games, but the defensive backs played off the line of scrimmage more in 2022, a season in which the squad went 6-7.
Redshirt sophomore cornerback Tevin Williams II said press coverage is “way more fun” and it actually alleviates pressure on the secondary in games.
“It’s less to think about because last year, we had a lot of reads to make,” Williams II said. “Now, you just have one man, and you have to cover him.”
Cornerbacks coach Kevin Curtis said he remembers how tight the coverage was in 2021 and that “everything would start from there.” Granted, in that year, Curtis had athletes like Kalon Barnes, Raleigh Texada and Jairon McVea, but he said the rest of the defense has a better chance to make plays if the corners are lined up at the line of scrimmage like those players were.
“We want to get back to that,” Curtis said. “If you can press, you’re going to do other things, but you want to be able to play press man-to-man and take away easy throws, access throws.”
Baylor’s cornerback room will look even more different, as it has lost the services of Mark Milton, who recently took part in Pro Day. The Bears also saw Lorando “Snaxx” Johnson, another 2022 starter, transfer to the University of Arkansas in between semesters. Another rotational defensive back, redshirt junior AJ McCarty, made the switch to the safety room for 2023.
Williams II, sophomore cornerback Isaiah Dunson, redshirt junior cornerback Chateau Reed and redshirt freshman cornerback Reggie Bush are all expected to lead the new-look position group. Curtis also said he’s seen good things from two freshman defensive backs, Caden Jenkins and Carl Williams IV.
Curtis said his players as a whole have been very receptive to playing press coverage in order to help out the rest of the defense.
“As a corner, you always want to get hands on guys and destroy the timing of [what they want to do],” Curtis said. “The more you do it — it’s just like shooting threes — [the] Golden State [Warriors] were really good at shooting threes because they shot threes all the time. If you keep pressing over and over again, you get better, you understand what you can do [and] what you can’t do.”
With the loss of Milton, the oldest players left at the cornerback position are Williams II and Reed. Williams II said he has to step into a bigger leadership role and that the two of them need to be “more talkative.”
Williams II said he learned a lot from Milton last year, which will help him moving forward.
“Mainly just how to carry yourself, how to do meetings, how to take notes, how to conduct yourself on the field, just the little things like that; [which is] what he’s doing now and in the future with the pros that will carry on,” Williams II said.
Outside linebackers coach Caleb Collins started a “robbers and jackers” mantra before the 2022 season began, and that mentality is still in place for spring ball and going into 2023. The idea behind the mindset is it should help give the guys on defense an identity of forcing turnovers. Just like how robbers and jackers take things, the Bears should be trying to take the football away from the offense.
Williams II said forcing turnovers is “still a big emphasis” on the team and the defense is having a competition in spring ball to incentivize coming up with the ball.
“Right now, it’s my team [that’s winning],” Williams II said. “We have one team [called] jackers [and] one team [called] robbers. I forgot the score, but I think we’re up about 60 points. So, we’re doing pretty good right now.”
“Robbers and jackers” isn’t going away, and Curtis said he couldn’t be more thrilled about that. At the end of the day, he said the motto is simple: Just “force turnovers.”
“Coach Collins has done a great job of taking ownership of [robbers and jackers],” Curtis said. “And the guys have taken a liking to it. We had a draft with guys on defense, and so, just making it even more of a competition and trying to create turnovers. And not just fumbles that they just dropped on the ground. No — take the ball away from them; force turnovers.”
