From coaches to custodians, almost everyone at Baylor knew what the Red Raiders were going to get Friday night.
One pregame speech in the locker room mentioned the actions of a cornered rattlesnake – that he’s going to strike out. No one in the Baylor stands or along the home-team sideline was really surprised that rival McCallie came to play with the earnest intent of sending the Red Raiders out of the playoffs.
“I knew it was going to be a dogfight, and at halftime that’s what we were in,” Baylor coach Phil Massey said.
The score was tied at 14 only because of Jacob Huesman’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Deosha McColley with 42 seconds left in the second quarter. There were 20 minutes to scheme and then 24 minutes to play, and Massey and his staff along with Huesman and his teammates made the most of the time.
“Our coaches made some great adjustments at halftime,” said Huesman, who has committed to play for his father at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
“At halftime we usually get with our linemen and linebackers and get an idea of what the defense is doing with regard to slants and things,” Massey said. “You put it on a grease board and Jacob helps us a lot because he understands the game so well. Sometimes I think he sees plays develop and it’s like most people watching it in slow motion.”
The Red Raiders staff decided to go more to the weak side – and to call Huesman’s number a little more often.
He wasted no time in putting the adjustments to work.
On the Red Raiders’ first play from scrimmage in the third quarter, he started left, broke immediately back to his right as his tackle sealed off the inside just before a wide receiver got a piece of the cornerback. Huesman was gone on an 80-yard sprint.
“At halftime I think that killer instinct kicked in,” he said. “I was thinking to myself, ‘I need to take over this game. The offense needs to take over this game. I believe in myself and I’m glad the coaches called my number.'”
McCallie signaled that there would be no white flag and actually had a game-tying 47-yard TD called back for holding.
Two minutes later – after his defensive counterparts held the Blue Tornado – Huesman was off again, this time going 74 yards.
“The line blocked great,” he said. “It was a great job of sealing by the tackles and great downfield blocking by the receivers that got me into the open field, and hopefully nobody’s going to catch me in the open field.”
Maybe it’s part of that killer instinct he mentioned, but Huesman has shown a knack for reaching down and grabbing an extra gear once he line springs him.
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve noticed it on film but I don’t think about it. I guess it’s just me saying I’m not going to get caught,” he said.
It wasn’t just the two long scoring runs, although each was big. More than once Huesman squirted through to pick up big first downs and once on a needed third-down conversion he looked and scrambled and pump-faked before finding his third receiver for the first down.
For the night he accounted for three of Baylor’s four scores, 265 rushing yards (19 carries) and 136 passing yards (10-13-0) for 401 yards of offense.
McCallie coach Rick Whitt was disappointed that Huesman was able to get outside twice on long runs, something the Blue Tornado avoided in the teams’ first game this season, but felt no different about Huesman that he did before either game.
“He’s a good player. My opinion hasn’t changed. Look at it,” he said, jerking a thumb toward the scoreboard that read 28-14. “He’s a difference-maker. He took two to the house. Nobody else did that. He’s a competitor and a guy that makes their team go.”
Massey stopped short of saying Huesman was a once-in-a-career type player. He has coached, among others, current UT fullback Kevin Cooper and Tyler Massey, his son and a former Baylor quarterback who is now climbing the pro baseball ladder in the Colorado Rockies organization.
“As an offensive coach you like to have the ball in his hands,” the coach said. “He’s a winner and it’s contagious. His attitude and work ethic have spread to other kids on the team.”