All Sooners

Big 12 Media Days: How Baylor’s One-Two Backfield Punch Can Get the Bears Back on Track

Dave Aranda is looking to help the Bears bounce back in a big way after coming down to earth in 2023.

Ross Lovelace

John E. Hoover / AllSooners
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Oklahoma avoids a regular season matchup with Baylor, but with the way Dave Aranda has rebuilt the Bears, the two teams could potentially meet in a conference championship game if Brent Venables can turn things around in a hurry.

All-time, Oklahoma holds a 28-5 record against Baylor — but two of those five losses have come in back-to-back seasons. Since the Bears have started to rise, Aranda has had Oklahoma’s number. Last season, Baylor knocked off OU 38-35 in Norman — one of the Sooners’ four three-point losses across the disappointing 6-7 season.

On the same path as Oklahoma, Baylor finished up an inconsistent 2022 campaign with a 6-7 record just a season removed from winning the Big 12 Championship. Expectations are vastly different coming into 2023 than they were after Baylor’s conference championship win, but the Bears could be a team that surprises people if things start to click.

“I think last year, I learned two really hard lessons,” Aranda said. “You can’t really change people, save people if it’s all up to you. I thought I could do that. I think having stronger accountability and better alignment — and the transfer portal, last year we did not use it.”

The Bears added experience and leadership through the transfer portal and bring back high-level starters at two of the most important positions — quarterback and running back. The passing game left much to be desired in 2023, but by relying on an elite rushing attack, the game will be simplified for Blake Shapen and the offense as a whole.

Aranda described Shapen’s 2022 season as “up-and-down” but his head coach thinks he’s posed for a bounce back year.

“Very proud of Blake,” Aranda said. “You step into an opportunity, it’s clicking and you’re rolling.”

“To go upon hard times, and to see maybe there’s blind spots the whole time, to see there’s things you didn’t even know. And then to address those things and come out stronger because of it — it’s such a cool story.”

After taking the Big 12 by storm, winning a conference championship after stepping in his freshman season, Shapen came down to earth a bit in 2022. He threw for 2790 yards and 18 touchdowns, but registered 10 interceptions and completed just 63.3 percent of his passes — down from 72.1 percent the season before.

“Not like ‘I’m gonna prove to you’ or ‘I’m gonna show you,’ to not chase approval but really work towards improvement,” Aranda said. “Big fan of his, the team sees that, the guys see that, and they want to work hard for him.”

“His growth off the field as a leader and in terms of doing all the things has been really good to see. I’m expecting big things and I know he is too, there’s been a lot of work into it.”

Shapen won’t be alone in the backfield, though. Baylor’s strength as a team could very well be found in its running back’s, a potentially powerful one-two punch.

The Bears will feature a high flying rushing attack spotlighting the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in Richard Reese. Baylor has had strong quarterback play over the last decade, but Reese gives the team an opportunity to pound the rock and set the line of scrimmage in every conference game. A season ago, he rushed for 972 yards and 14 touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry.

“You see Richard come out of his shell, he’s up in the office all the time wearing bright colored clothes and is being way expressive,” Aranda said when talking about his freshman running back breaking out of his shell. “When someone knows who they are, they can express who they are. To see that on the field, that was kind of his way of expressing himself.”

In addition Reese, the Bears added Oklahoma State transfer Dominic Richardson to the mix bringing talent and experience to a young backfield. The former Cowboy added added 543 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground a season ago and figured to be a nice complimentary piece to Reese.

The Bears return talent all over the field and have all the pieces to bounce back from a disappointing 6-7 campaign a season ago. Behind a talented young back in Reese and improvement from Shapen on the field, Aranda could generate success of years past in Waco.

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Ross Lovelace
ROSS LOVELACE

Experience Ross is a young, up-and-coming sports reporter who has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Oklahoma Sooners over the past six years. He's made guest appearances on various radio stations and has helped out with the All Sooners podcast whenever he gets the chance. Ross enjoys public speaking and has done so at multiple churches and high schools across the OKC metro area. In addition to writing, Ross has been the Play-by-Play announcer for Crossings’ basketball and football programs since 2020. In high school, Ross worked for self-starter blogs and latched onto Thunder Digest, where he discovered his passion for writing. From there, he worked for the OU Daily as a women's basketball reporter and was hired by All Sooners. Ross landed an internship with Sports Illustrated's Inside the Thunder and has since become a full-time contributor. One day, Ross hopes to work in the NBA. Work History Education Ross holds a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and a minor in Communication from the University of Oklahoma. Personal Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Ross played basketball and wrote for his own Thunder blog at Crossings High School in OKC, OK. He enjoys reading, New York Jets football and a week at the beach. Ross is engaged to be married at the end of the year. His Twitter handle is @Rosslovelace.

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