Bryce Petty talks hurdles, Texas 'trash' talk, schedule critics
Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty narrowly missed an invitation to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation a year ago, but in 2014, he's the Big 12's best hope to win the award, which would give the Bears a second Heisman in four years.
A back injury and quiet early schedule have kept him off the Heisman radar thus far, but a big day against Texas on Saturday might get the Heisman train rolling. It'll also be the Bears' toughest test to this point in 2014 by far. Petty took some time this week to sit down with FOX Sports Southwest and chat about a variety of subjects, like that schedule, Texas' penchant for trash talk and the Bears' impressive personnel around him.
First things first: Take me through the hurdle the other night.
Bryce Petty: (Laughs). It's kind of funny. A couple games ago, I was like, 'Man, I really want to hurdle somebody. I want to know what it's like.' But I was thinking in my head, 'Knowing me, I'd probably clip his helmet and go over him and it'd just look awful.'
But anyways, I just kind of ran up to him and when it happened, it happened. When you're out there, you just play. You kind of do what you were born to do. I was out there, we were just playing and it kind of just happened.
Did you hear from any coaches after it?
Petty: They were all kind of laughing about it. A couple of them were saying I've got to pull my trail leg through. Which, I was never a hurdler, so I don't even know what that means. If I had landed it, it would have been a lot better, but it was still fun.
You guys got Corey Coleman back last week. Obviously, Antwan Goodley was back. How would you describe this group of receivers when it's at full strength?
Petty: They're outstanding. When everybody's back, man, we're jellin' and I've got a lot of athletes out on the field. My job is a lot easier when they're all out there. I thought it was great for our young guys to step up, Davion Hall and KD (Cannon) and those guys stepped up. Now, they've all got game experience so it's about just being able to work them in because they're all dynamic. They can all do things that are special. When you've got all those guys clicking, one guy gets tired, the other comes up and the other's just as good, so it's kind of, take your pick.
Back when you chose to come to Baylor, Coach Art Briles sold you on his vision. Why did you believe it?
Petty: It was just the way he said it. There's certain people that, when they talk and the way they say it and look at you, there's such conviction in what they're saying. And he has that conviction. He has a charisma about him that was just like, man, this guy's serious. He's for real. And he's got such an attitude about him to prove everybody wrong. He's always got a chip on his shoulder and that kind of thing is contagious.
When you've got somebody who wants to work hard all the time and is always pressing to be the best and wants to be the best, that kind of thing is contagious. So as a competitor and a person, I feel like my attitude and the way I think is kind of the same thing, so it just kind of clicked for both of us.
When you think back to him talking about winning the Big 12 and being a force in the league, what's it like to be living it at this point?
Petty: You know, honestly David, last year is last year. It's great to sit on it and know we've got the belt, but at the same time, that belt is up for grabs this year. So we're going to go attack it and go get it just like everybody else is.
It's great to know we can do it, because that's a big thing, too. Just that confidence level of knowing, 'Hey, we can play with anybody in this league.'
So be honest with me: In the last five months, how much talk has there been amongst the team about a certain linebacker from Texas and any of his comments.
Petty: (Laughs). David, you're trying to catch me here and I can't let you do that. Our job as players is not to talk about it or tweet about it or to do anything else but just play. That's what we're here to do. I can guarantee none of us are English majors, so we're not here to write. Our job is to play football and that's what we're here to do. We're not going to concern ourselves with that sort of thing. We don't have any added motivation because he said that, we already had motivation to begin with. So nothin' there.
What do you think when you hear criticisms of your nonconference schedule?
Petty: That stuff to me is funny, because it's out of our control. None of us made the schedule. It's not like we had a team poll and picked who we want to play. Our job is to dominate anybody who's on the schedule. If they're on the schedule, it's our job to win and dominate.
It's the same thing every year; everyone always talks about our schedule like another 100 schools in the nation don't do the same exact thing. It's just because we're Baylor that people get all upset about it.
Sure, there's four or five schools in the nation who are playing each other out of conference, tough nonconference games and that's great. That's them. We're still Baylor. Our money is putting points up on the board and keeping their points off the board. That's what our defense has done a great job of this year. That's what our offense has done a great job of this year. So, it doesn't matter who we play. Our job is to win and to dominate, so that's what we're going to try to do.
You mentioned you don't pick the schedule by a team poll, but if somebody came to you and said "Here's team X from a Power 5 Conference" and the team did vote, would you vote to play them out of conference or not?
Petty: I think I speak for everybody when I say we want to play the best. We feel we're the best and we want to play the best. We're not scared of anybody. We're not worried about playing good people. That's not it at all. I have no doubt in my mind, given an opportunity to play big-name people, that's who we'd pick, to play those people.
But again, we don't have that choice, so all we've got to do is dominate the teams we do play.
What have you made of what Shock Linwood and Devin Chafin and Johnny Jefferson have done? How would you assess the backs this year?
Petty: I thought we saw the Shock Linwood from last year on Saturday night. That's the guy that makes people miss, that has yards after contact. That's not to say he wasn't Shock before, but it was a different kind of Shock and that's going to really help us down the road.
I'm going to say it right now: He's one of the best running backs in the nation. He really is. He's outstanding. His balance is unbelievable and the cool part about Shock is he's got great people that complement him. Johnny Jefferson is a guy that is a big play away every time he touches the ball and is still learning. So, he's there. We're getting Devin back, so he'll be juiced up, ready to go. I guess that's not the right word to say ... amped up. He's not juicing. But he's extremely dynamic, a big guy, 220, 220-plus that (can) run a 4.4 (40-yard dash). So any time you've got breakaway speed in a guy that big, it's a game changer, and to be honest, all three of them are.
Have you heard from Robert Griffin III much since he went down earlier this year?
Petty: I haven't much. I texted him after the injury and just said, "Praying for you" and that's about it. That kind of thing is hard to see, because you've grown up with that guy. I love him to death and I want the best for him. I hate that, because he's about as strong a competitor as you could possibly have, so I know he wants to be out there. It's tough being hurt and it's unfortunate how it happened, but he'll bounce back. He always does and he'll be ready go.
