Baylor Football avoided disaster and a possible change at head coach by closing out the 2024 regular season with six straight wins. The 8-5 record was the best for the Bears since winning the Big 12 championship in 2021. But a 2-4 start tested the team’s heart and determination.
Some teams would’ve folded.
Baylor did not.
“We showed a lot of grit, a lot of maturity in the second half of last season, and that made me really proud,” head coach Dave Aranda told Dave Campbell’s Texas Football in the offseason.
He enters year 6 in Waco with a 31-30 overall record.
“As coaches, we try to act like the outside noise and negativity doesn’t bleed into the locker room – but it does,” he said. “That’s human nature. Our guys could’ve bought into that negativity and believed it. Instead, we believed in our truth: that we’re good enough, that we can win games, and that we can execute in big moments.”
Aranda entered 2024 on the hot seat. He enters 2025 with a team poised for a Big 12 championship run. The roster is loaded with talent, especially on the offensive side of the ball where its leading passer, rusher, and receiver return alongside four of five starters along the offensive line. Early non-conference tests against Auburn in Week 1 and at SMU in Week 2 will reveal the potential of the 2025 team. Big 12 home contests against Arizona State and Kansas State are early tests in conference play.
Quarterback Sawyer Robertson enters his redshirt senior season as the unquestioned leader on offense and one of the top signal callers in college football. The former Mississippi State transfer was plugged into the starting lineup last season in the third game of the year and never looked back, passing for 3,071 yards and 28 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. He also added 230 yards and four scores on the ground. His primary backup will be Auburn transfer Walker White. The staff is high on the future of young quarterbacks Nate Bennett and Edward Griffin.
Robertson returns his top two receivers from last year in Josh Cameron and Ashtyn Hawkins. The duo combined for 97 catches for 1,321 yards and 15 scores. Cameron is also an ace returner on special teams. Hawkins was granted an extra year of eligibility because of a new JUCO rule but the decision came late and there were questions on if he’d play as early as August. Transfer additions at wide receiver like Kobe Prentice (Alabama) and Kole Wilson (Texas State) should bolster the passing attack. The Bears also bring back star tight end Michael Trigg, who caught 30 passes for 395 yards and three touchdowns in 2024.
“We’re excited about our passing game,” offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said in the offseason.
His unit was 19th in the FBS last year in scoring offense with 34.4 points per game. He believes they can be even better this season because of the experience in the system and added talent.
“We have two proven wide receivers in Josh and Ashtyn and we did a good job in the transfer portal to give Sawyer some help,” Spavital said.
The running game should also be a strength. Sophomore Bryson Washington averaged 93.45 rushing yards per game and topped 1,000 yards on the season as a redshirt freshman in 2024. He ran for 12 touchdowns and enters 2025 as one of the top running backs in the Big 12.
The Bears did receive an injury blow in preseason camp when backup Dawson Pendergrass suffered a season-ending leg injury. True freshman Caden Knighten and redshirt freshman Joseph Dodds will have a bigger role this year because of the loss.
Baylor fans will find the offensive line familiar as right tackle Kaden Sieracki is the only new starter, though he played a lot for the Bears last season. He’ll replace the departing Campbell Barrington. Sidney Fugar is back at left tackle with Ryan Lengyel next to him at left guard. Coleton Price is one of the top centers in the Big 12 and right guard Omar Aigbedion is a potential All-American candidate and a future NFL draft pick.
Aranda took control of defensive play calling heading into 2024 and it helped the unit improve from 116th in scoring defense (33.3 points allowed per game) to 81st (26.7 points allowed per game). Another step forward coupled with an explosive offense could catapult the Bears to Arlington and the conference championship game for the first time since 2021. To do so, Baylor must break in some new faces added through the transfer portal.
The strength of the defense should be at linebacker with star Keaton Thomas back in the fold. He was 25th nationally with 114 tackles in his first season in Waco. The second level lost Matt Jones to graduation but replaced him with FIU transfer Travion Barnes, who missed the spring while recovering from injury. Barnes was fifth in the FBS with 129 tackles and was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year.
The interior of the defensive line received boosts from transfers Samu Taumanupepe and Adonis Friloux. That’ll allow returner Cooper Lanz to move to boundary defensive end where his frame is better suited. Defensive end Jackie Marshall is poised for a breakout season and could be an All-Big 12 performer. Devonte Tezino is another defensive lineman who will carve out a role.
The question marks defensively for the Bears are at edge rusher and in the secondary. Emar’rion Winston (Oregon) and Matthew Fobbs-White (Tulane) were added through the transfer portal to create more havoc in the backfield. Baylor was 84th nationally with 1.77 sacks per game last year and most of the players who created those are no longer on campus.
Baylor hopes to improve on a pass defense that allowed 234.2 yards per game through the air last year, which was 94th worst out of 133 teams. Transfer Devin Turner was expected to start alongside the returning Devyn Bobby at deep safety but he was lost for the season with an injury late in spring. Bobby will start at one safety spot. The other will be a competition between DJ Coleman and Tyler Turner.
Nickel back Carl Williams IV returns, as do cornerbacks Tevin Williams and Caden Jenkins, who suffered through a sophomore slump after a terrific freshman campaign in 2023. Fellow cornerbacks such as Calvin Simpson-Hunt, LeVar Thornton Jr., and Reggie Bush II will push the starters and provide depth throughout the season.
“I thought we improved as the season went on in a lot of areas defensively, but we need to get even better this year,” Aranda admitted. “The guys played hard, so effort wasn’t an issue. But we’re cleaning up the finer points on the defense and working on playing faster and more confidently.”
Baylor football kicks off this Friday at 7 p.m. against Auburn.
