By Zach Babajanof-Rustrian | Sports Writer
As spring camp continues, Baylor football’s annual Green & Gold spring game approaches on April 20. Mason Miller, the Bears’ new offensive lineman coach, said the O-line is trending in the right direction so far.
Baylor has integrated lots of new faces on the offensive side of the ball. With Miller and new offensive coordinator Jake Spavital coming to Waco, Miller said he didn’t look at an inch of film before his arrival.
“The reason [of not looking at film] is everybody does things differently, and what our offensive system is going to incorporate is a different scheme,” Miller said. “So I did not want to have any pre-judgments on how this kid played and that kid did this and that kid did this; that has nothing to do with it.
“So what we’re going to do is be the best that we can be every single day and really focus on one play at a time, one rep at a time.”
New #Baylor OL Coach Mason Miller Quick Hitters
-OC at Tarleton State averaged 33.8 points in 2023
-Top 15 nationally in OL efficiency at Miss State
-Fewest sacks in PAC 12 twice at Washington State
-Guided top 5 offenses at four different stops
It’s Miller Time. #SicEm pic.twitter.com/Ueb9hECZf7
— Grayson Grundhoefer (@GrayGrundhoefer) February 26, 2024
Coming to Baylor, Miller said he kept his coaching style the same and didn’t want to overcomplicate things.
“As things have gone on, we’ve mixed and matched guys. We still have some really good competitions going on,” Miller said. “I think that that’s important. I think that we will reevaluate after this and how we’re going to go forward from here.”
The players on the O-line are excited with Spavital’s new spread scheme, as redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Coleton Price said the new offense is wonderful and that he has enjoyed every single day of spring ball.
“It’s just been a grinder in general from adapting from a new scheme and stuff like that,” Price said. “I mean, I feel like we’re going to go very far places with this kind of scheme. From what I’ve seen so far, there’s nothing [but] positive outcomes.”
In terms of Miller’s O-line unit, he said he expects the center position to have a lot of leadership ability, and with Price taking that role in most of the practices so far, he said it’s been challenging.
“Center does come with some adversity you have to face,” Price said. “I mean, at center, you have to communicate with the whole line. Everybody has to communicate with each other.
“If your center doesn’t know what to call or what you’re doing, then the whole offensive scheme isn’t going to be [on the same page for] a positive outcome. So I mean, center and the rest of the whole line — I mean, there’s really nothing different other than just communication.”
Even with those challenges, Miller said he thinks Price is doing an outstanding job at center.
“I’m really excited about his presence, his leadership,” Miller said. “I think it’s going to be a fun challenge for him just because of some of the things that I allow the center to do.
“I’ve always believed that the center is the quarterback of the offensive line. And so he has to put us in the correct scheme, the correct count, the correct front call — all that stuff. And that at first can be overwhelming, and he has not been overwhelmed by that.”
With the 2024 season still a long way away, Miller said he has the offensive line moving into different positions. Junior offensive lineman Omar Aigbedion said he sees a bright future for the group.
“We definitely have some guys who play in multiple positions, but yeah, we have multiple guys snapping,” Aigbedion said. “We have some guards going left to right, and we don’t have a position. Versatility is definitely a big skill if you’re [on the] offensive line. So I think we’re doing some of that, and that’s a good thing for us.”
