Baylor entered the 2015 season with the highest preseason ranking in program history. But with such recognition also comes expectations, even pressure. In such situations, teams turn to their leaders for guidance -- coaches, certainly, but also fellow players, particularly the most experienced among them.

While this year's squad returns 51 lettermen and 18 starters from a year ago, fifth-year senior Spencer Drango leads the way when it comes to playing experience. The senior offensive tackle tops his teammates with 36 career starts, and he's made the most of that time.

Because of that, everyone from ESPN and CBS to The Sporting News and Athlon has named Drango a preseason first-team All-American. He's also on watch lists for three individual awards (the Outland Trophy, Rotary Lombardi Award and Wuerffel Trophy) and was rated the nation's top offensive tackle by Lindy's.

Naturally, Drango's teammates look to him as one of the leaders of this 2015 squad.

"You have to lead by example in how you handle things, and how you approach different situations -- what you say and what you do," he explains. "There's definitely high expectations on us. We've won back-to-back Big 12 championships, and that's the standard now.

"But as a team, we're just focused on this week. Everything else, we're not really paying attention to. The guys have done a great job blocking out distractions."

That sort of focus applies to everything off the field, from missing last year's College Football Playoff to perceived rivalries with other schools. But Drango admits to having a little special interest when it comes to one set of opponents.

"One of our goals is to win the state of Texas, because there's that sense of school pride, and you get bragging rights for however long," he says. "Any team in the state, our goal is to win. So yeah, there's some pride in there. But we also know we could get beat, too, so we have to stay focused."

After two years protecting Bryce Petty (who's now with the NFL's New York Jets), Drango and his teammates on the offensive line have a new quarterback to take care of this fall in junior Seth Russell.

"He's a lot like Bryce, and a lot different at the same time," Drango says. "As far as quarterback play, both have a great arm, and both are great decision makers. Bryce liked to stay in the pocket a little bit more; Seth isn't afraid to get out there and run."

That different style of play can be a bit of a challenge for an offensive line accustomed to a less mobile quarterback.

"With Bryce, we kinda knew where he was gonna be most of the time -- in the pocket. But with Seth, you have to be ready to extend blocks. You can't have that time clock in your head like with a guy who likes to sit back in the pocket, because with Seth, he could take a second and go, and then you have to run down field and try to keep making blocks. It keeps us more on our toes."

The Sporting News named Drango the Big 12's top NFL prospect, and Lindy's ranked him the No. 2 offensive tackle prospect for next year's draft. With his degree already in hand, it's realistic for the 2014 Baylor business graduate to have dreams of following not just Petty but fellow Baylor offensive linemen such as Jason Smith, Danny Watkins, JD Walton and Cyril Richardson on to the NFL.

"I hope to be part of it," Drango says of the Baylor-to-NFL pipeline. "If I get to be, yeah, that would be unbelievable. I think it's a testimony to our coaches here, their recruiting style and how they can get guys and how they can develop good players and make them great."

Drango points specifically to Richardson as someone who helped him grow as a player.

"My first year playing was when we went to the Holiday Bowl, so we had Cyril playing next to me. He was a big help; he showed me how to play and what it takes to be a drafted NFL guy. He played left tackle before me and then moved to guard, and he showed me how to play -- the intensity that you need to have when you play."

Now, it's Drango's turn to pass such lessons on to his younger teammates.

"Any time you can help a younger guy out, it's a big thing," he acknowledges. "Pass on some wisdom, some little tricks here and there, whether it's where you put your hands, how to block a certain type of rush, or something like that.

"It just makes the team better as a whole, because God forbid an injury happens and you fall out -- that's the guy you're leaning on now. So you have to be there to support them and help them on their way."

For now, it's up to Drango and his teammates to help themselves.

"Baylor has always had its doubters, all through the years. There's not much we can control except to go out and prove `em wrong by how we play."

Spoken like a true veteran.