Baylor Backup QB Luke Anthony Embracing 'Great Opportunity'
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Baylor Bears third-string quarterback Luke Anthony has been around the college game long enough to know when a good opportunity comes his way.
So it comes as no surprise that the 24-year-old, seventh-year player who began his collegiate career at Abilene Christian and Louisiana Tech jumped at the chance to play for the Baylor Bears, despite taking a backup role.
"I had committed to another school, a Mountain West school, to compete for the starting job," Anthony said. "I talked to coach [Shawn] Bell, and it was just the opportunity was too good. Just seeing what they did last season -- it was just an opportunity I couldn't pass up as a seventh-year kid who's already played a lot of football, so it was just a great opportunity."
Anthony, a 6-1, 208-pound quarterback out of Dallas, Texas, is embracing his role as the third-string option on a loaded Baylor football roster.
"Guys like Blake [Shapen], and even Kyron [Drones], they've been here longer than me, so they have a better grasp of the offense," Anthony said. "I think helping Blake come along, helping Kyron come along and Brayson [McHenry] and some of the other guys and trying to just get in where I fit in with these guys in general. They've established a great culture and these guys have been awesome.
'Person over player' is something the Baylor football team thrives to embrace year-in and year-out, and players like Anthony take notice of when searching for a new football home.
"I think it's pretty easy to see through in genuine people, and all these coaches across the board, you can't even think of one guy who is selling you a bag of dreams," Anthony said. "Everyone is honest and authentic and upfront, which I think the players can really buy into that from there you can really have conversations that lead to a lot of transformation. And I feel like that's why this program's made a huge leap in the last year."
Baylor's 'positive culture' is another one of the main reasons Anthony chose to become a Bear to conclude his collegiate career.
"Some programs say that and they don't get the kids on campus who really are able to buy into all that," Anthony said. "It's a little more like, 'what can you guys do for me.' Whereas here, despite being one of the biggest programs in the country, you know they've just really brought in the right kids for the program and they all just kind of buy into the mission of the program and the university."
Before his recent transfer to the Waco, Texas campus, Anthony was the starting quarterback at Louisiana Tech (2020-21) and Abilene Christian (2017-2019), where he played against Baylor in 2018.
"The funny thing is I'm so old that most of the guys are gone," Anthony said. "I remember it was the second drive of the game, it was the first game of the season, my first full year as a starter, second drive of the game I threw a pick.
"I thought we played well; but kind of getting to see McLane [Stadium], giving us an opening game -- there was a big crowd. I had heard such good things about the program and atmosphere at the new stadium. It's cool, but not many of these guys were around."
So what does Anthony see in starting quarterback Shapen as the season looms?
"Right off the bat when I saw Blake throw two years ago for the first time, I was like, 'wow, this kid's just got exceptional twitch;' you see guys like Aaron Rogers and Zach Wilson who throw from any angle -- different arm angles, lightening-quick release, a lot of velocity," Anthony said. "But I think, intangibly, he kind of has everything you want in a starting quarterback, and I think he's gonna tear it up, so it'll be fun to help him out."
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