Revealing the biggest factor for success for Baylor, Blake Shapen in 2023

On3’s J.D. PicKell is still hard at work this offseason breaking down the biggest stories of college football. There is still some time between now and the start of the season for him to tackle some of college football’s ‘BIG unknowns’ in 2023. And thanks to a fan question on a recent episode of The Hard Count, the college football expert gave his thoughts on his former team, Baylor, and what the Bears need to do to succeed in 2023.

“A lot of it hinges on Blake Shapen,” said PicKell. “I’ll say I think Baylor will make a bowl game. So go ahead and pencil them in somewhere in that six-to-eight-win range.

“Blake Shapen is going to be starting quarterback. Dave Aranda is in bounce-back mode. They won the Big 12 in 21;’ 22’ was a down year. If they’re able to surround him with some better talent, have some guys step up like a Monaray Baldwin if Richard Reese is able to take another step even from his freshman campaign, which was really solid.”

In a sophomore season, Shapen was given the keys to Baylor’s offense, beating out 2021 starter Gary Bohannon. The Shreveport, LA, native had a modest season in his first year as a starter completing 63.3 percent of his passes for 2790 yards, 18 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.

A year removed from winning the Big 12 title and watching a number of their key contributors from that team leave via the NFL draft revealed Baylor’s need to restock in the talent department. The Bears finished the season 6-7, losing four straight games to end the year. But, tracking Baylor’s trajectory is a difficult one for PicKell. As the college football expert sees them being bowl eligible, he just doesn’t have an idea of how many games they will win.

“I like Baylor. I’m still sort of waiting and seeing what they’re going to do from a skill position standpoint across the board there. Because that was kind of the difference maker for them in 21. They had Tyquan Thornton, who was the fast guy at the NFL Combine. They had some other solid receivers, had the tight end Ben Sims. Like there was a lot of guys around Blake Shapen in that title game that made him better.

“Without going down a rabbit hole there, I think I think Baylor will be a bowl team. I don’t know how many wins past six they’ll be able to get.”

Baylor fans will get their first idea of what their team can and will be in the 2023 season in week one when they take on Texas State. But the true test for the Bears will come the following week when they take on the back-to-back Pac-12 champions, the Utah Utes, at home. That game will be on Saturday, Sept 9, and it’s scheduled for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff time.