Preston Heard’s value to the Baylor football team can’t be determined by numbers alone.
“He’s the veteran in the room,” Baylor co-offensive coordinator Glenn Thomas recently raved to BaylorBears.com of the man who has attempted just four passes over his first three seasons as a reserve quarterback. “On a lot of levels, he’s just been a blessing. As far as being on the field, he understands what’s going on, he’s very smart. He’s been phenomenal in the classroom, not only from knowing the X’s and O’s, but he’s great socially in the room as far as he’s asking questions, he wants to know, he’s helping everybody else learn.”
Whatever the Bears need, the redshirt sophomore, who’s also been known to take reps at the receiver position, looks to provide it.
The Bellaire Episcopal grad, who led the school to the SPC state title game in 2015, also serves as a mentor to younger players like freshmen dual-threat quarterback Gerry Bohanon.
Heard sees it all as staying prepared and doing what’s in the best interest of the team.
“I get with Gerry a lot, and we just go over plays and coverages, one-on-one,” he said after one recent workout. “We were kind of visualizing what the defense might look like and going through progressions and what-not. It’s fun. I like learning with them.”
At 3-2, 1-1 in the Big 12, the Bears are looking to notch at least three more wins over their last six games to reach the requisite six wins needed to qualify for a bowl game.