How Bears' Defensive Depth Will Help Against Iowa State
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When senior linebacker Dillon Doyle was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter against BYU two weeks ago, the Baylor Bears lost quality, leadership, and a certain edge in the middle of their defense and eventually lost the game. When Doyle was reinstated for the second half against the Texas State Bobcats, the defense got their punch back but got it from unlikely sources.
Instead of the usual suspects, it was sophomore safety-turned-linebacker Brooks Miller who led the charge towards a second-half shutout. The defensive depth is something coach Dave Aranda knew his team would need after that BYU loss if they were going to be successful.
“I think it creates an opportunity for our younger guys to be able to step up,” Aranda said last September 12 on the Doyle suspension. “The ability for our guys to take this week and get better as a team with the increased depth we can create with all this is a good thing.”
From Aranda’s lips right to the Matrix Field Turf at McLane Stadium, Miller tallied 5 tackles (three solo) and a sack in what was the best performance of his young collegiate career.
Miller says he was always ready for this kind of chance.
“All of us [linebackers] work really hard and we are getting the full reps,” Miller said. “We’re always ready.”
As Miller alluded to, he wasn’t the only one who stepped up in Doyle’s absence. Linebackers Will Williams and Tyrone Brown added 5 tackles to the mix. In the secondary, first-year starter A.J. McCarty smashed his career total for tackles with 9 in the game.
“I think we have a lot of steps to take and we are still early in the season,” Miller said. “We are going to take a big step this weekend.”
Up next, the Bears travel to Ames to take on an Iowa State Cyclones team that is not only innately physical but also has an offense playing with a ton of confidence even after losing Breece Hall and Brock Purdy. New quarterback Hunter Dekkers has his team believing they can still compete with the best the Big 12 has to offer.
“People always talk about how BYU is a physical team. Well since I’ve been here, they have said the same thing about Iowa State,” Miller said. “We’ve just got to be more physical than they can.”
With so much physicality and more inexperienced defensive players getting game action last week, it is not crazy to think the Bears could rotate some fresh bodies in there this week more frequently than they did against BYU.
The Bears and Cyclones are set to kick off at 11 a.m. Saturday.
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