By Jerry Hill

Tribune-Herald assistant sports editor

If nothing else, redshirt freshman quarterback Blake Szymanski proved in his closing three-game tryout that he can take a hit.

Szymanski was sacked five times and was hit so hard once that he “really didn’t remember playing in the first half,” senior receiver Trent Shelton said.

“And he still stood in there and took it,” Shelton said. “That tells you what kind of a quarterback he is.”

Head coach Guy Morriss said Szymanski will go into spring as the starter, “but there’s two or three talented guys behind him that we’re certainly going to take a hard look at and see what they can do as well.”

Also expected to compete for the job are true freshmen Tyler Beatty and Brad Taylor and Gilmer High School senior G.J. Kinne, the son of Baylor linebackers coach Gary Joe Kinne. Expected to enroll in January after making his commitment this summer, Kinne threw for 265 yards and four touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ 39-36 upset loss to Liberty-Eylau Friday night.

“Everybody talks about the new guy coming in, and rightfully so,” Shelton said. “He’s had a great high school career. But it’s on a different level. I say the best man wins. Whoever shows his stuff, let him play.”

Another Sooner sub emerges

Last year, it was Jacob Gutierrez. This time it was Chris Brown’s turn.

Gutierrez filled in nicely for injured OU running back Adrian Peterson last year, rushing for a career-high 173 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in a 37-30 overtime win over Baylor.

Showing the Sooners’ depth, Brown made his first start and rushed for 169 yards and one TD on 24 carries in Saturday’s win.

Sepulveda finishes with a bang

Senior punter Daniel Sepulveda made one last push for the Ray Guy Award, averaging 46.7 yards on six kicks, nailing three inside the 20 and extending his NCAA record of 50-yard punts to 94.

Sepulveda’s career average of 45.24 also breaks former Texas A&M punter Shane Lechler’s NCAA record for players with a minimum of 250 kicks. Lechler had a 44.7-yard average on 268 kicks.

Baylor sets attendance record

Saturday’s crowd of 31,221 was only slightly larger than the 31,125 that showed up for the Sept. 9 game against I-AA Northwestern State, but Baylor set a school record for the season with 259,559.

The previous mark of 240,367 was set in 1991.

Averaging 37,080 for the seven home games, Baylor also averaged more than 37,000 in consecutive seasons for the first time.