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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Calling it the "most competitive spring we've had in a long time," Baylor football coach Art Briles opened spring workouts Thursday with both of his returning quarterbacks on the field and lots of holes to fill.

"This is an exciting spring for us, because I think it's probably the most competitive spring we've had in a long time, with all the positions we have available and the caliber of athletes that have the opportunity to take those positions," Briles said in a media session before Thursday's two-hour practice.

"That's what's exciting to me is I think we've got really good people that have been waiting for an opportunity to play because there's really good people in front of them. But now, it's their time, so we're ready to put them on the field and let them go."

After ending the 2015 season with both Seth Russell and Jarrett Stidham sidelined with injuries, Briles was excited to get his top two quarterbacks back on the field. Russell suffered a broken C6 vertebrae in his neck during the Bears' Oct. 24 Homecoming victory over Iowa State and won't go through any contact during the spring, while Stidham missed the last 3 ½ games with a broken bone in his right ankle in the Nov. 21 game at Oklahoma State.

"Seth did a great job until the injuries, and I thought Stidham was unbelievable," Briles said. "As bad as it was last year, it's going to be just as good this year. We've got two guys that are really good that are really experienced. . . . If (Russell) would have played out last year, we probably wouldn't have him. But the way it turned out, we got him back. The other thing is Stidham was the best freshman in America last year and he'll be the best sophomore in America this year. So, we've got two really good guys that can make it happen for us."

Russell, who had neck surgery in October and was still wearing a brace at the Russell Athletic Bowl, said he felt "blessed to be able to keep walking."

"That's one thing they said was I was about two millimeters away from not walking," he said. "You look back at it and think that this could have been taken away just as easily it's been given to me." Senior wide receiver Lynx Hawthorne said Russell, who's been throwing for about three weeks, has always had "really, really good arm strength."

"I don't know where he'll be at when it comes to putting the pads on, putting the helmet on, throwing on the run, the things he did great," Hawthorne said. "Those will all come in time. But just standing there, playing catch, he looks really good."

Stidham got out of a protective boot the day after the bowl game and has been working out with the team for the last 3-4 weeks.

"I was just glad to get out of the dang thing," he said. "I'd been on crutches for a while, then the boot. I was glad to get going and doing some rehab."

Among the critical areas to watch this spring are the development of the offensive and defensive lines, which lost eight of the nine starters.

Kyle Fuller, a rising senior, is the lone returning starter on the offensive line. But the Bears have a stockpiled talent on the line with sophomore tackles Blake Blackmar and Patrick Lawrence, former DI transfers Rami Hammad and Ishmael Wilson, redshirt juniors Mo Porter and Dom Desouza and JC All-American B.J. Autry.

"The thing that helps is our guy have done a really good job recruiting over the last three or four years, and we were able to redshirt some guys that we really think can help contribute as starters," Briles said. "They're not wet behind the ears. They've got a little growth and maturity to them. And they're good players. We're excited to get them out there and turn them loose."

With no starters returning on the defensive front, the Bears have to count on veterans like senior defensive tackle Byron Bonds and junior defensive ends K.J. Smith and Brian Nance. But there's a long list of prospects, including JC All-American tackle Jeremy Faulk, sophomore tackles Andrew Morris and Ira Lewis and younger ends like Jamie Jacobs, Greg Roberts and Tyrone Hunt.

Losing the four starters in All-American tackle Andrew Billings, three-year starting tackle Beau Blackshear and ends Shawn Oakman and Jamal Palmer "sounds like a big deal," junior linebacker Taylor Young said.

"If I tell you that we can better, you'd think I'm crazy," Young said. "But it's a very big possibility. These guys are ready and willing to take on that challenge. It's a big deal, and I have so much confidence in those guys and us as a core growing."

The Bears will have 14 more days of workouts, including the March 18 "Friday Night Lights" showcase event at McLane Stadium, before wrapping up April 5.