Baylor’s ‘X-Factor’: TE Ben Sims
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Tight ends have continued to become more versatile and integral to offenses over the past decade or so.
Just look at NFL superstars like Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Darren Waller, who are built like defensive ends but run like receivers. From that perspective, it’s easy to see how a tight end can be an 'x-factor' for a college football program, especially one with a young quarterback.
Equally important to being an explosive offensive weapon, though, is being a security blanket for the quarterback. A tight end often provides the largest target on the field by way of being very sure handed, which allows the signal caller a little extra security knowing he can find his extra-large pass catcher.
It’s this reliability that earned Baylor’s tight end, Ben Sims, All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors last year as a junior and has him poised to take another big step forward in 2022.
The 6’4”, 254-pound Sims already has nine receiving touchdowns in his collegiate career, the most of any Bears’ tight end in school history. Even more impressive is the fact that he’s scored those nine touchdowns on only 47 catches while averaging over 11 yards per reception in each of the last two seasons (11.6).
His limited targets resulted largely from Baylor’s outside zone run scheme, in which quarterback Gerry Bohanon was used as much as a runner as he was as a thrower.
This allowed Sims to improve and display some impressive run blocking as a junior in 2021, helping Baylor to one of the best rushing performances in the FBS last year (10th in YPG).
However, this year, the Bears will have a more prolific passer leading the huddle in sophomore Blake Shapen. Shapen burst onto the scene last year after an injury sidelined Bohanon and the young gunslinger famously went on to complete 17 consecutive passes to open up the Big 12 Championship Game against Oklahoma State in helping lead Baylor to a victory.
He then beat out Bohanon for the starting job in spring practice leading up to this coming 2022 season, resulting in Bohanon’s transfer to South Florida.
Shapen will likely be keyed on by opposing defenses after his performance in the two and a half games he played last season.
That, coupled with the fact that the Bears lose over 2,400 yards of rushing offense from last year, as running backs Abram Smith and Trestan Ebner both make their way to the NFL this fall, could make Shapen’s first season as the full-time starter more difficult.
The Bears quarterback will need a reliable receiving threat for when the pressure turns up. Shapen has already shown a connection with Sims. Therefore, the task is continuing to grow the connection between Shapen and Sims while defenses likely know where the Bears’ quarterback would like to throw when it’s a critical situation.
Sims caught touchdown passes in each of Shapen’s starts in 2021 and had nine total catches while Shapen was under center. It’s also worth mentioning that Shapen is a bit shorter than Bohanon was and moves laterally quite a bit in the pocket, a situation that usually produces a lot of targets to the tight end on bootlegs and safety valve routes.
Sims has proven to be a solid route runner with excellent hands. He won’t burn many second-level defenders in the open field, but he’s not going down without a fight and is usually good for some yards after initial contact.
Athlon Sports has named Sims to their 2022 preseason All-Big 12 First Team and with Baylor returning maybe the best offensive line in the country, Shapen should have plenty of time to find the senior tight end, especially in the red zone.
If Baylor’s new field general, Shapen, can produce consistently at the level he’s shown to date, Sims should be the x-factor that helps the Bears move the chains and win football games.
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