Drew ready to clean up mess at Baylor as new head coach

WACO, Texas -- Scott Drew knows he's taking over a messy situation at Baylor. To him, that just makes the challenge even better.

"I can't wait for the new image for Baylor to come," said the 32-year-old Drew, who leaves behind the head coaching job at Valparaiso, where he was 20-11 in his only season leading the Crusaders and won the Mid-Continent Conference regular season title.

With a summer of scandal leaving the program facing internal penalties as well as possible strong punishment from the NCAA, the school took a big step toward moving forward by hiring Drew on Friday.

His first move was to try ensuring that he'll have enough players to compete this fall. Three-fourths of the roster had begun looking into transferring and several players already have decided they will.

Drew talked with eight players Friday and said several have decided to stay. He said he'll continue to talk to others who have announced their intention to transfer but may not have completed their paperwork.

And he'll appeal to the football, baseball and track coaches for athletes to fill his roster if he has to.

"He has a lot of good things to say," said sophomore Tommy Swanson, who hasn't decided whether to return. "He's very impressive. I'm going to talk it over with my family."

Drew also said Baylor could be surprisingly competitive next season.