Baylor defenders James Lynch and Clay Johnston can't say enough good things about playing for Matt Rhule and Phil Snow

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Added Johnston, who had been with the program for two years when Rhule took over: "We started seeing progress in Year 2 and after that year we had a group of seniors that really bought in and the chemistry started flowing. We became selfless and meshed. We loved each other in the locker room and started having success."


Lynch and Johnson were impact players on a defense that got better and better under defensive coordinator Phil Snow, the veteran coach who is getting his first shot to be an NFL coordinator with the Panthers.


Both of them were effusive in their praise for defensive mastermind.


"He is the smartest man I've ever met," Lynch said. "We learned offense before we even learned defense. People thought it was weird at first and were wondering why we were doing this. But we call him the Yoda of football. His knowledge is unmatched. It's just unreal. He would sleep in his office and made sure he was ready for us. He was the best coach I had. I love him so much."


As the MIKE linebacker, Johnston worked closely with Snow to communicate the calls and make sure everyone was properly positioned. Snow taught him the ways of the force, so to speak. And now Johnston is impressing NFL staffs by showing off his knowledge of defensive schemes and principles on the whiteboard.


"Snow is amazing. We call him the Yoda, that's his nickname. He's just this old man that's a super genius," Johnson said. "We all love him. He's a stud. I know everyone there in Carolina is going to love him.


"He's going to bring the total package. He's so willing to adapt. If a new formation came out, he'd have something for it right away. All these different personnel groups. It's a complicated defense, but once you get it down, you can thrive."


Johnston and Lynch both feel they owe a lot to Rhule, Snow and that Baylor coaching staff for developing them and pushing them.


And they believe the Panthers players will soon have similar things to say.


"They've done it for the last two teams they've been with and I don't see anything being different in Carolina," Lynch said of his former coaches. "I know what they can do."