It might seem strange that a small Baptist private school in Texas, and a revitalizing Midwest City have a connection. The Baylor Bears have a pipeline that goes to Cleveland, OH and the Cleveland Browns.
Currently, there are four Baylor Bears on the Cleveland Browns roster all on the offensive side of the football, rookie WR Corey Coleman, OL Spencer Drango, QB Robert Griffin III and WR Josh Gordon who is on the suspended and inactive list. The four Bears on the roster are the most Bears on any NFL roster. Second on the list is no surprise, as a quick trip north on I-35 will give you that answer as the Cowboys have two players from Baylor.
It started in 2011 under GM Tom Heckert when the Browns drafted DL Phil Taylor in the first round with the 21st overall pick. It continued in 2012 when the Browns spent a second round pick in the supplemental draft.
With the influx of talent on the Baylor roster under Art Briles, it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen and it just so happened to be in Cleveland.
Even with the continuous turnover with the front office and head coach in Cleveland, the Baylor connection remained strong this year with the drafting of two Bears. WR Corey Coleman was the 15th overall pick in the first round which raised eyebrows as Coleman and Griffin were signed as a free agent by the Browns in March. The two never played together at Baylor but would now be able to play together in front of the Dawg Pound.
In an interview with ClevelandBrowns.com, head coach Hue Jackson was asked if their was any correlation with the Coleman pick and Griffin playing QB and if any concepts from Baylor would be integrated from the Baylor offense.
“I knew this was coming and it really isn’t about that to be honest with you. We are going to create the Browns offense and what we think is best for 11 men to play,” Jackson said. “It won’t just be about Corey or Robert. Obviously, Robert (Griffin III) still has to earn the right to be our quarterback. At the same time, I think it gives us another element. It gives us another dynamic player to add to our roster to give us the opportunity to be who we want to be on offense.”
For Coleman he is excited about the opportunity to play with the Heisman trophy winner. “It’s crazy, I’m so happy. It’s a blessing. I’m ready to roll. I know he’s a great quarterback,” Coleman said via WKYC-TV in Cleveland and was later asked if he had any conversations with Griffin leading up to the draft, “No, not at all, I don’t think he had any idea. You now I wasn’t there with RGIII. I was just coming in. I was just coming to games because I was getting recruited by Baylor.
I watched him play and he was spectacular. He’s a great player and a great person. I respect him a lot.”
In addition to having Saturday’s reserved for Bears football, Baylor fans will also need to reserve Sunday to watch the Browns. Maybe the same Bears that turned around the football program on the Brazos River can turn around the professional football team that plays on the shores of Lake Erie.
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Photo by factoryofsadness.com
