New-look Baylor offensive line continuing to build chemistry

Isaiah Robinson is into theater and has a pretty good singing voice. Alvin Ebosele can play the bass guitar, and Tate Williams can play a little acoustic guitar. Gavin Byers is the most prolific eater of the group.

The Baylor offensive line has a wide array of talents away from the football field, but when it comes to on-field production, the biggest thing they can have with one another is chemistry. “It's the only sport in the world where five people are working together towards a goal that doesn't involve the ball,” Williams said. “We have to know what's happening before it happens, and that requires a level of chemistry you won't find anywhere else than in our room.

” Quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers get a lot of the glory when things are going right. Pass rushers, linebackers and safeties make big stops that can flip momentum in an instant. The best offensive linemen don’t stand out.

“You don't get a lot of spotlight or attention, and your stats aren't broadcast everywhere,” Williams said. “We understand that and we bond over that. Everybody just enjoys each other’s company and enjoys working for each other.

” After losing three six-year players and a four-year starter, the Baylor offensive line has been almost completely rebuilt this season. Byers is the only one on the roster who has any starting experience with the Bears, as he started eight games at right tackle last season. He was the fourth-best offensive lineman in the Big 12, according to Pro Football Focus.

“When you come in as a freshman, you don’t know what confidence looks like or feels like,” Byers said. “You’re out there just playing, and there’s this innocence to it. Once you get to a point where you’ve got the offense pretty well figured out, you can start to pinpoint different techniques that you need to work on.

“I think that’s the point I’m at now is knowing what I need to get fixed and fixing it. ” The Bears got two huge additions when Clark and Campbell Barrington transferred in from BYU in the offseason. At 6-foot-6 and 297 pounds, Campbell was a freshman All-American in 2021, making six starts.

He played in nine games for the Cougars last season. Clark, a 6-foot-6, 308-pound fifth-year senior, was an All-American at lineman BYU, making 40 starts — including 37 consecutive starts — and playing in 46 total games in four years with the Cougars. “In the spring, it was a whole new bunch of guys trying to just go out there, figure it out, and see what we can make happen,” Clark said.

“Right now, we've come together through time (and) through practice. And I think you can see that out on the field. ” Clark is both one of the newest players on the team and one of the most experienced.

He said it was an easy transition over to Baylor, and it was made easier with second-year offensive line coach Eric Mateos and third-year offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, who coached him at BYU. The rest of the offensive line is excited to have the Barrington brothers in Waco, too. “From the first day they came in, you could already tell that they were going to fit perfectly within our offensive line,” Byers said.

“They’re two older kids as well, adding that on, giving more experience to the offensive line. Just the mental factor to it, I think adding them on has helped us mature a little bit as a group. ” As it stands right now, the Baylor offensive line depth chart looks something like this.

“It started off a little rough, but just with patience and going to work every day, I've been able to — not master it — because it's still really early and there’s still things I'm learning, but I've been able to figure it out a little bit better,” he said. Williams, who played in all 13 games last season as a reserve offensive lineman, said he’s comfortable with the quicker, more physical nature of being an interior offensive lineman. “It's a lot more hand in the dirt and nose-down stuff, which is what I'm used to,” Williams said.

“I think it's a lot more physical than tackle, the physicality happens so much faster and I enjoy that so much more than slowing down at tackle and having to be more precise. ” .