Baylor’s Devin Neal: ‘Film Study’ Will Win Bears More Games
When asked about how the defense can best prepare for multiple quarterbacks this weekend at Texas Tech, Baylor Bears junior safety Devin Neal had a short but simple answer.
And it’s an answer the Baylor football team aims to achieve on Saturday night in Lubbock.
“Really, the best thing I can say for that is film study,” Neal said. “You don’t know who’s going to be out there, what they’re doing until the last second; you see a formation or what guys are out there. You’re not going to know what you’re getting into unless you watch film and get some sort of experience. And we’ve just got to make sure we’re all together, watching film, know whose strengths and weaknesses are.”
Neal was also asked about the energy the Bears need to bring on the road as they face a Big 12 foe in a hostile environment.
“We talked about the atmosphere first thing, just everybody getting their heads right, make sure we all came and brought our energy because we’re all we’ve got,” Neal said. “Everybody’s coming from Waco, there’s nobody else. It’s going to be nothing but people from Texas Tech at the game and us. So we’ve got to bring our own energy and just get fired up and stay focused, keep our heads down.”
So how about having tortillas thrown at opposing players at Texas Tech?
“I was watching film and I was wondering what that was flying on the field,” Neal said. “I thought that was like paper plates or something. They [Texas Tech fans] actually throw those [tortillas] on the field? I didn’t know that was a thing. That’s interesting. No, I’ve never had a tortilla thrown at me.”
That may change on Saturday, as the Bears not only hit the road to face Texas Tech but they also hit the road to face a Red Raiders team that will be honoring NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
“Not really the time of day,” Neal said when asked if Baylor plays better during the day than at night. “More so the atmosphere and what the game is to them is going to be a blackout, Patrick Mahomes is going to be there, everybody’s going to be rowdy, hyped up, and we’ve just got to stay locked in, stay focused.”
So what will it take to do that?
“Everybody has to execute,” Neal said. “I know it’s going to be tough for the offense because of the noise. You’re trying to hear the cadence and it’s just people like on your necks, yelling. For defense, we’ve just got to make sure we don’t let them get any momentum. We’ve got to keep it down, don’t let their tempo go. We just have to keep things under control.”
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Denton Ramsey has been a journalist for over 20 years with a decade of experience as a sports writer and editor for a plethora of newspapers throughout Texas and Alabama. Growing up in Houston and attending Baylor University, Ramsey is a die-hard sports fan with a true passion for writing. He may be reached via email at denton.itb@gmail.com