Garland High School graduate Seth Russell made his final debut with the Baylor Bears last Friday night against the Northwestern State Demons. Russell, who bounced back from a severe neck injury that sidelined him for half of last season, went for an efficient 14 for 20 with 163 yards and four touchdowns.
Many people, from ESPN analysts to the committed folks from Waco doubted that Seth could ever come back to the game as the same player. Seeing him gingerly saunter on campus with a neck brace certainly left room for speculation and concern. However, Russell looked nearly flawless, as almost half of his six incompletions were because of dropped balls.
He threw two beautiful deep balls to Lynx Hawthorne and Chris Platt, and there was no sign of hesitation or timidity in his delivery. His throws were on time and his footwork was crisp. He did only run the ball once, and there were no designed Quarterback runs. One has to wonder if this will be Kendal Briles’ season long strategy – to limit the number of hits Seth takes in order avoid another injury to his neck.
Why make Seth, even though he runs a 4.49 forty, run the ball when you have two very more than capable backs in Shock Linwood and Terence Williams? And furthermore, why expose your offensive arsenal to the nation on the glorious first weekend of college football when your opponent is the next door neighbor of the Mud Dogs of SCLSU? Maybe it would have been a different story if Bobby Boucher were literally lined up over Seth and Briles had to use everything in his playbook.
With all speculation and talk about a cupcake opponent aside, Seth appeared to be 100 percent healthy, and only time will tell how much he will be used in the running game. The Bears play SMU this Saturday at 2:30 at McLane Stadium, and Russell and that high-powered offense look to capitalize on their momentum.
