With several key players sitting out with injuries, the Baylor football team wasn’t nearly at full strength for Saturday’s final spring scrimmage.

But Baylor coach Art Briles liked what he saw from his squad, especially from some young players who are trying to make a statement this spring.

Led by quarterback Nick Florence’s 242 yards passing and two touchdowns, the Baylor White team beat the Green team, 20-14, at the Highers Athletics Complex. But the score wasn’t as important as the development Briles believes he’s seen from his players this spring.

Baylor’s Antonio Johnson and Chris Francis (top) pull down running back Terrance Ganaway.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

“The energy was about where I expected it to be,” Briles said. “We ran 45 plays max with our first team, and we tried to spread the ball around as much as we could. It wasn’t the type of game where we tried to grind it out for first downs. We just wanted to get the ball to a lot of people.”

Noticeably missing from the scrimmage was quarterback Robert Griffin, who has only participated in noncontact drills after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last fall. Griffin watched from the sideline and said his rehabilitation has gone well, and he plans to be ready to go full speed in the fall.

“I could have played today, but I just didn’t want anything to go wrong,” Griffin said. “I can run and cut and change directions on the knee. It’s about 90 percent right now, but I expect it to be 100 percent by the start of the season.”

Florence, who replaced Griffin after he went down in the third game of last season, completed 20 of 31 passes while hitting Terrance Williams with a 66-yard touchdown pass and Josh Gordon with a 40-yard touchdown pass.

“Last year, I learned everything on the run, so this spring has been real good for me,” Florence said. “Some things were a little off for our offense today, but we still made some good plays. I like the way our young guys are stepping up.”

Williams and Gordon will play much bigger roles as sophomores in the fall after combining for four catches for 68 yards as freshmen last season. Both bring superb speed to the table at wide receiver, and Gordon has tremendous strength to go with his 6-3, 220-pound frame.

“I’m the biggest wide receiver out here, and I’m a north-south runner who isn’t going to do a lot of juking,” Gordon said. “If I have the opportunity, I’m going to run over people.”

Trahan’s opening act

Playing for the Green team, redshirt freshman quarterback Brody Trahan hit 11 of 20 passes for 91 yards and a 40-yard touchdown pass to freshman Tevin Reese. Freshman Bryce Petty, who enrolled at Baylor for the spring semester along with Reese, hit 10 of 14 passes for 54 yards.

With running backs Jay Finley and Glasco Martin sitting out with injuries, junior college transfer Isaac Williams got the bulk of the work as he finished with 15 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Baylor receiver Josh Gordon catches a 40-yard touchdown pass from Nick Florence during the annual spring scrimmage at the Highers Athletics Complex on Saturday.
Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Leading the defense was lineman Nicolas Jean-Baptiste, who collected a pair of sacks.

“With Trey Bryant gone, that left a big hole in our defensive line, and I know I’ve got to step up and be a leader,” Jean-Baptiste said. “Basically, I read what the offensive line was doing, and I worked hard to get in the backfield quickly.”

Linebacker Elliot Coffey and defensive back Tyler Pratt were the leading tacklers with seven apiece. Though key players like defensive backs Antareis Bryan, Byron Landor and Mikail Baker were out with injuries, Briles believes Baylor showed its improved defensive speed during the scrimmage.

“I hope our speed was evident today because we’re going to have to be fast and tough to play in the Big 12 South,” Briles said.

Another bright spot was redshirt freshman kicker Aaron Jones, who nailed field goals of 53 and 43 yards.

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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