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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

After 15 workout days and "50 straight days" of coaches yelling at them, first-year Baylor head coach Matt Rhule wanted his players to "walk out of here today holding their heads high."

Using a unique scoring system, Baylor football wrapped up spring drills with the offense outscoring the defense, 65-39, Saturday afternoon in the Green & Gold Spring Game at McLane Stadium.

"As I told them, I'm very proud of them," Rhule said after Saturday's scrimmage. "We've been really physical, we haven't relented. You're allowed 12 days in full pads, and we took 12 days in full pads, even when injuries happened. . . . So, I wanted them to walk off the field today feeling good about what they've done and also understanding that everything in life is about what's next. It's about doing the right things, finishing up school and then we have a long, long way to becoming a good football team."

With as many as nine projected starters out with injuries, Rhule went with an offense versus defense format instead of dividing the squad into two separate teams. And utilized a scoring system that rewarded the offense for touchdowns, field goals, first downs and explosive plays (20 yards or longer), while giving the defense points for turnovers, forcing punts, sacks, tackles for loss and defensive stops.

All three quarterbacks were productive, with sophomore Zach Smith completing 17-of-30 for 162 yards, capping his day with a 17-yard TD pass to Tony Nicholson out of the two-minute offense.

"The first few weeks was really hard coming in and trying to learn all this offense, it's completely new," Smith said. "Now, it's getting where it's almost second nature. I think we're all coming in and doing a pretty good job adapting to the offense."

Splitting time with the Nos. 1 and 2 offenses, Arizona transfer Anu Solomon was 7-of-14 for 86 yards, while freshmen Charlie Brewer was 8-of-12 for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Brewer had the first touchdown of the day on a 37-yarder to Marques Jones late in the second quarter. But, the one that got the most attention was a 23-yard strike to tight end Ishmail Wainright, who just joined the football team this week after four seasons with Baylor basketball.

"I didn't want him to play in the game, but he came to me and said, `I can play in the game. I know what I'm doing,''' Rhule said of Wainright, who hasn't played football since his freshman year at Raytown (Mo.) South High School. "I didn't realize how much he knew, and I think it's because he's coming in on his own and learning the plays. . . . Obviously, he has great hands, he was able to go up and catch that ball. I don't know how many plays he played, but he was certainly productive."

Wearing the same No. 24 jersey he used in basketball, the 6-foot-5, 235-pound Wainright also nearly corralled a one-handed catch in the end zone. He's taking a similar route as former basketball teammate Rico Gathers, who was drafted in the sixth round last year and spent the season on the Dallas Cowboys' practice squad.

"Rico made me football-tough," Wainright said. "Going against him every day, getting black eyes and chipped teeth. We used to go out there and just fight in rebounding drills."

With No. 1 running back Terence Williams already sidelined by an injury and sophomore backup JaMycal Hasty tweaking his on the first play of the scrimmage, walk-ons Wyatt Schrepfer and Obim Okeke had to go the rest of the way.

Starting center Tanner Thrift got injured in pregame, leaving senior walk-on Daniel Russell to handle those duties with both teams.

"He was looking at me a couple times like, `Coach, let's go 7-on-7 or get out of this thing," Rhule said. "(Sophomore walk-on) Dalton Justice hasn't played center all spring and stepped in and did it for us. I was just really proud of those guys."

Rhule also singled out sophomore tight end Sam Tecklenburg, who stepped in and played left tackle with the No. 2 offense after Thrift went down.

"That's unbelievably unselfish, and that's also football-smart, that he's able to go from playing tight end to left tackle for a whole spring," Rhule said. "And he didn't look like he busted."

One other tweak in the scoring system was having linemen fielding punts, with a catch adding five points to their respective team's total. After misses by offensive linemen Mo Porter and Patrick Lawrence, 6-2, 320-pound sophomore defensive tackle Bravvion Roy caught one after it bounced off his chest.

"I debated me going back to catch one," Rhule said. "If it was a little warmer, I might have done it. I didn't tell them I was going to do that. Just a little levity, a little something different, especially when you go offense versus defense, because that can be a little boring after a while. . . . I asked (Blake) Blackmar to go back there, and he said, `Coach, that's my worst nightmare.'''

Along that same line, senior safety Taion Sells missed badly on an extra-point attempt, flubbing the kick. "I really thought I was going to make it, and I didn't even get it in the end zone," Sells said.

"That was a disgrace to the sport," Rhule said, jokingly. "As I told the kids, when you've worked hard, you've earned the right to have fun."

Other than maybe Wainright making his football debut, the highlight of the spring game came on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Smith rolled to his right and threw back to sophomore receiver Denzel Mims, who handed off to 41-year-old Clint Lewis. Following a whole team of blockers, Lewis ran it in for a 29-yard touchdown, setting off a huge end zone celebration with players from both sides.

Born with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that causes lifelong intellectual disability and developmental delays, Lewis is a former student manager who has continued to volunteer with the football program through now seven head coaches.

While programs across the country have found ways to honor veterans and people with special needs, "the thing that was really cool about this one is Clint's been here for 22 years," Rhule said.

"I was just really, really excited to see how much it meant to our players," Rhule said. "I think they were trying to get out of the scrimmage, because they kept dancing and dancing and dancing and chanting. But, it's special when you know how much that person has given to you."

Nicholson finished as the game's leading receiver with 69 yards and one TD on eight catches, while Mims had 51 yards on five grabs. Senior end K.J. Smith led the defense with two sacks and three QB hurries, with junior d-tackle Andrew Morris coming up with the only turnover, recovering a fumble forced by linebacker Jordan Williams.

Kickers Connor Martin and Peter Webster also had a good day, combining to go 3-for-3 on extra points and 3-for-4 on field goals with longs of 42 by Webster and 43 by Martin.

The Rhule Era kicks off when the Bears open the 2017 season with a Sept. 2 home game against Liberty.