Baylor Wraps Up Spring Football With Green & Gold Game
April 12, 2003 Waco, Texas - Baylor wrapped up its first spring practice under Guy Morriss Saturday with its annual Green & Gold Game presented by Dodge, and the Bears' first-year head coach felt progress had been made following four weeks of workouts, especially on defense. "Today we made a few too many mistakes," Morriss said. "But we were able to give our fans a glimpse of who we are and we avoided any injuries. You're always worried about injuries in these situations. "I think overall we've made some progress, but our offensive line is a concern. I don't know if the defense looked that good today or if the offensive line was that bad."
With the offensive and defensive first-team units working against backups, the Bear defense allowed just one touchdown, an 8-yard pass from Aaron Karas to John Martin early in the game. Otherwise, the game showcased defensive ends Khari Long (four sacks) and Montez Murphy (one sack), who combined for five sacks of the defense's nine sacks.
"Montez and Khari bring a lot of emotion to our defense," Morriss said. "They are both big and tall and give us a lot of athleticism from that spot." Karas finished 6-of-11 for 74 yards and touchdown, while backup Davon Vinson was 3-of-6 for 48 yards. "Karas has a pretty good handle on the offense," Morriss said. "It'll probably take two or three springs before they are where I want them to be as a unit. In the meantime, we'll just work at improving day-by-day." With spring practice over, Baylor begins an intensive off-season conditioning program Monday that will continue until the team reports for two-a-days in August. The 2003 season begins at home Aug. 30 against UAB. |
