Saturday, September 5
Atlanta, Ga.
2:30 p.m.
Baylor
vs
Auburn
Football Opens 125th Season vs. Auburn with Aflac Kickoff Game
8/31/2026 8:40:00 AM | Football
WACO, Texas -- Baylor football will open its 125th season on Saturday, traveling to the Aflac Kickoff Game to face off with Auburn, with kickoff in Atlanta, Ga., set for 2:30 p.m. at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game will be televised live on ABC and broadcast live on the Baylor Sports Radio Network.
The game will be televised live on ABC, with Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst) and Taylor McGregor (sideline) voicing the action. The game will also be broadcast live on Baylor Sports Radio Network, with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris (play-by-play), and former Baylor greats Geff Gandy (analyst) and Bryson Jackson (sideline) on the call.
The Bears faced off with Auburn last year in Waco in a two-year, home-and-home series, with the Tigers topping BU 38-24 behind a furious rushing attack. Auburn elected to move its game to Atlanta as part of the Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
BU enters the seventh year under Coach Dave Aranda, a former national champion defensive coordinator for LSU's 2019 15-0 season, and long considered one of the top defensive minds in college football. Aranda led the Bears to the best season in program history in his second year, 2021, a school-record 12-2 year that culminated in the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl, and he was named the national coach of the year.
The Bears are coming off a 5-7 season that saw BU narrowly miss its fourth bowl bid in the first six years under Aranda, Baylor was led by the Big 12's top passing offense under the curation of coordinator Jake Spavital.
Spavital returns for year three directing the offensive attack. After Aranda called the defensive plays and was the inside linebackers coach for the last two years he has turned the keys of the defense over to first-year coordinator Joe Klanderman, who built steady and elite defenses at Kansas State since 2019. Klanderman joined the BU staff after leading K-State to top-30 defensive efficiency ratings in each of his five seasons leading the unit, including top 20 in 2022-23. He previously helped North Dakota State to four straight national titles.
The Bears welcome a bevy of new talent for the 2026 season, including 39 portal additions, 15 high school newcomers and a total of 58 returners. Aranda revamped his approach in building the roster with a commitment to spending resources on the front seven of both sides of the football and investing in proven, football-loving student-athletes in the portal.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• Auburn comes into the matchup under the direction of first-year head coach Alex Golesh, who takes over after a successful run at South Florida, which followed a decorated career as an offensive coordinator at UCF and Tennessee. He made coaching stops at Toledo, Illinois and Iowa State before earning play-calling duties at UCF in 2020. USF went 23-15 under Golesh for three years, which concluded with a nine-win season in 2025.
• Golesh is assisted by associate head coach Kodi Burns, who is also the co-offensive coordinator without play-calling duties. DJ Durkin, who served as the interim head coach last season as the defensive coordinator, returns in the defensive play-calling role. Joel Gordan is the offensive coordinator and QB coach, after serving in a similar role for three years under Golesh at USF, which followed seven years at Iowa State.
• The Tigers are ranked by the metrics as having the 13th best talent on the roster nationally and are coming off a 1-7 mark in SEC play a year ago. QB Byrum Brown comes to Auburn after a decorated career at South Florida, that included 3,158 yards and 28 TD passes a year ago. RB Jeremiah Cobb leads the way for the offense, after rushing for 969 yards and five TDs a year ago. He is poised to lead a running-back room that sports a projected to be, in order, Cobb, Omar Mabson II, Tae Meadows, Nykahi Davenport and Baylor transfer Bryson Washington. Washington finished his three-year BU career ranked 14th in program history with 1,861 rushing yards, and set the freshman record for rushing yards in 2024.
• A total of 57 newcomers arrived in the offseason, with 68 departures. The Tigers ranked 10th nationally defensively in run defense and 14th in turnover margin last year.
• A bevy of USF standouts joined Auburn following the coaching change, including Keshaun Singleton, who had 50 catches for 877 yards last year, Jeremiah Koger, who had 38 grabs for 597 yards, Christian Neptune, who had 38 catches for 335 yards, and Chas Nimrod, who had 23 catches for 466 yards. TE Jonathan Echols had nine catches for 109 yards in 2025 for USF. The Tigers also added Troy standout Meadows, who rushed for 695 yards and six TDs last year, USF's Davenport, who had 612 rushing yards and seven TDs, and North Carolina TE Jake Johnson, who had 16 catches for 149 yards last year.
• On the offensive line, Auburn welcomed transfers in Cole Skinner (USF) and Jacob Strand (Oregon State), a pair of projected starting guards, with Jo Simmons and Stanton Ramil projected to start at tackle.
• Defensively, Auburn added Cody Sigler, an Arkansas State defensive lineman who had five sacks last year, Ole Miss edge Da'Shawn Womack, who had 27 tackles and two sacks a year ago, and App State defensive lineman Saint Farrior. Chris Murray had 15 tackles and 3.5 sacks a year ago on the defensive line. Xavier Atkins starred at linebacker last year, with 84 tackles and nine sacks, and is projected to be joined in the rotation at LB by Elijah Melendez and De'marcus Riddick, a pair of returners, who helped Auburn rank fifth in run-stuff rate nationally a year ago. In the secondary, Fred Gaskin II returns after a 53-tackle season at safety, along with Kaleb Harris, who had 50 tackles a year ago, and Eric Winters, who had 33 tackles.
• Alex McPherson is a proven field goal weapon, making 20 of 23 attempts, including a 49-yarder last year. Hudson Kaak returns as the punter, with Bryce Cain, Neptune, DeShawn Spender, Rayshawn Pleasant, Gaskin and Omar Mapsen potential returner options.
LAST MEETING
• Baylor suffered a loss in the season opener a year ago in Waco, as Auburn ran wild on the ground in a 38-24 win over the Bears on a Friday night at McLane Stadium.
• After a Connor Hawkins field goal opened the scoring for the Bears, Auburn scored 17 straight to take a 17-3 lead, before a Kobe Prentice TD pass from Sawyer Robertson narrowed the lead to 17-10 at halftime. The lead for AU grew after a third-quarter Jeremiah Cobb TD run, which was answered by Caden Knighten's first career TD, a four-yard grab from Robertson. Rayshawn Pleasant took a 98 yard kickoff return to the house for an immediate answer. A 79-yard drive, ending in a Michael Trigg TD catch in the fourth quarter cut the lead to seven with 11:48 left but a seven-minute, 75-yard drive saw QB Jackson Arnold put the game out of reach with a 27-yard TD scamper with 4:32 left in the game.
• Auburn rolled to 307 yards rushing and 108 yards passing, while Robertson threw for 419 yards but the Bears were limited to just 64 yards rushing. Arnold was 11-for-17 but rushed for 137 yards and two scores. Bryson Washington battled early injuries in the game and toted it 14 times for 54 yards. WR Kole Wilson had a career game with eight grabs for 134 yards, while Trigg had seven catches for 99 yards. Keaton Thomas led the Bears with 16 tackles.
PEACH BOWL HISTORY
• Baylor has a brief history in the Peach Bowl, having won a 1979 matchup vs. No. 18 Clemson, 24-18 at Fulton County Stadium. The 19th-ranked Bears built a 14-7 lead at halftime and used 10 points in the third quarter to build a 24-10 lead, with the Tigers getting a TD in the final seconds of the game. BU rushed for 62 yards and threw for 171, led by Walter Abercrombie's 12 totes for 32 yards, and Mike Brannan and Mickey Elam leading the offensive attack at QB.
SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor and Auburn will be meeting for the sixth time, with the series even at 2-2-1, including a 1-0 lead for the Tigers in neutral site meetings.
NEXT UP
• Baylor will return to Waco for its season home lid-lifter, hosting defending SWAC Champion Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Baylor Sports Radio Network. It kicks off a three-game homestand for the Bears.
RECAP THE YEAR
• Baylor is coming off a 5-7 season that included a 3-6 mark in Big 12 Conference play, narrowly missing a bowl game and electing not to participate in a bowl invitation in the offseason as a five-win team. The Bears opened the year with an electric crowd on a Friday night vs. Auburn, wearing chrome helmets and anthracite uniforms for the first time in nearly a decade but couldn't stop the running attack from the Tigers, who rolled to over 300 yards rushing in a 38-24 win. An immediate bounce-back game at No. 17/16 SMU saw the Bears rally to tie the game in the closing minutes and force overtime, outlasting the upstart Mustangs with a second-overtime field goal winner that saw Sawyer Robertson sling for over 400 yards passing.
• A win over Samford pushed the record to 2-1 but a crushing loss to Arizona State, 27-24, which featured rushing heroics from Sam Leavitt, who ran for 62 yards and threw for 221, pushed the Sun Devils past the Bears. An efficient 45-27 win at Oklahoma State, led by an interim head coach, and a thrilling 35-34 win over Kansas State, that featured a late-game call to go for two during the comeback win that ultimately pushed the Bears to the win, and saw Jacob Redding return an interception 66 yards for a TD, made the Bears 3-2.
• A whirlwind game that featured multiple hours of weather delays at TCU pushed the Bears in a hole and a late-game rally wasn't enough as a trio of interceptions clinched a 42-36 win for the Frogs. Cincinnati, ranked No. 21, used a furious ground attack to beat Baylor 41-20 in the Queen City, but Baylor responded with a dominating 30-3 win over UCF at McLane Stadium, to pull a win away from bowl eligibility.
• The season ended on a three-game losing streak, including losses to No. 13 Utah, at Arizona and a heartbreaker against Houston in the season finale that saw the Bears throwing into the endzone from inside the 10-yard line in the closing seconds to seek a tie game.
• Baylor's season was led by the Big 12's leading passing attack, sported by Robertson throwing for 3,681 yards and 31 TDs. A hampered Bryson Washington battled through to rush for 788 yards and six TDs, while freshmen Caden Knighten and Michael Turner emerged as running back weapons in lieu of a fall camp season-ending injury to Dawson Pendergrass. TE Michael Trigg had an All-America season, catching a single-season TE record 50 balls for 694 yards and six TDs. WR Josh Cameron had 69 catches for 872 yards and nine TDs. Keaton Thomas led the defense for a second straight season, totaling 105 tackles and seven TFLs. Redding had three interceptions to lead the club.
BAYLOR LINE HONORED BY USA TODAY
• The Baylor Line was named the winner of USA TODAY's 2026 Readers' Choice Award for Best Walk-Out Tradition. Baylor won the award in a battle with Auburn (Tiger Walk/War Eagle Flight), Clemson (Howard's Rock), Colorado (Running Ralphie), East Carolina (Purple Haze), Florida State (Planting the Spear), Georgia Tech (Ramblin' Wreck), Iowa (Swarm), Miami (The Smoak), Michigan (Touch the Banner), Nebraska (Sirius Tunnel Walk), Notre Dame (Play Like a Champion Today), Oregon (Duck on a bike), Penn State (The Whiteout Walkout), South Carolina (2001: A Space Odyssey), Tennessee (Running Through the T), Texas A&M (Power), UCF (Knight Walk), USC (Sword Plunge) and Virginia Tech (Enter Sandman).
LEGACY LAGWAY TAKES OVER AS QB1
• Baylor's new signal caller is a Baylor legacy, as junior DJ Lagway follows in the footsteps of his father, Derek Lagway Sr., a bruising running back for the Bears from 1997-2001.
• Derek played in 40 games over his BU career, rushing 185 times for 711 yards with six TDs, while also catching 57 balls for 479 yards. During the 1999 season, Derek had 215 rushing yards and 102 receiving, a year after going for 335 rushing yards and 266 receiving.
• A 6-foot-3, 237-pound QB, DJ was the No. 1-ranked recruit coming out of Willis High School. He chose Florida and started 19 games over his last two years for the Gators, despite battling injuries each season. DJ threw for 4,179 yards with 28 TDs over two years in Gainesville, Fla., and rushed for 237 yards with a TD. While leading UF to a 6-1 record as a starter as a true freshman, DJ threw for 1,915 yards in 12 games, with 12 TDs, and rushing for 101 yards. He started all 12 games in 2025, tossing 16 TDs with 2,264 yards and 136 rushing yards with a TD.
• Lagway, who grew up loving Baylor football, admiring Robert Griffin III, and dreaming of playing for the Bears in the footsteps of his father, has embraced the role of returning to his roots.
ARANDA LEADS BEARS INTO SEASON SEVEN
• Baylor is led for the seventh year by Coach Dave Aranda, a former national coach of the year when he led the Bears to a school-record 12-2 season in 2021 – his second year – and a Big 12 and Sugar Bowl trophy.
• After calling the defensive plays and serving as the inside linebackers coach the last two years, Aranda has stepped back from leading the defense and hired Joe Klanderman to run the unit from Kansas State. Aranda has benefited from the transition, allowing him to spend more time leading the overall program, coach the coaches and connect better with the players in an effort to build a dynamic culture.
• Aranda is widely considered one of the top defensive minds in college football over the last decade, with incredibly successful runs as a defensive coordinator at LSU, Wisconsin, Utah State, Hawaii and Delta State. He grew up in coaching in the Air Raid tree, with tenures at Texas Tech and Houston.
• Aranda led the LSU defense in 2019 as the Tigers posted a perfect 15-0 record and won the National Title with a 42-25 victory over Clemson in CFP National Championship Game.
• In six seasons as defensive coordinator at Power 4 schools from 2014-19, his defenses were ranked top-12 nationally in total yards five times. The units also ranked top-10 in scoring four times in seven years from 2013-19.
• A Redlands, Calif., native, Aranda and his wife Dione have two daughters, Jaelyn and Jordyn and a son Ronin. He has been intentional about increasing the visibility of the program via social media since December, allowing fans inside the program via that platform.
KLANDERMAN TO LEAD DEFENSE
• The major coaching change in the Baylor program came with a shift in defensive coordinator following the 2025 season. Coach Dave Aranda pulled back after serving as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach and made the decision to hire Joe Klanderman from Kansas State, a proven DC in the unique offensively geared Big 12 and a coach that Aranda could completely turn the keys of the defense over too.
• Klanderman, regarded as one of the best defensive minds in the game, spent seven years at Kansas State, moving from safeties coach in 2019 to running the defensive from 2020-25. He previously helped lead North Dakota State to four national titles in five years and spent 12 years at his alma mater, Minnesota State.
• Klanderman's defense has ranked in the nation's top 30 in defensive efficiency rating in each of his last five seasons leading the unit, including 27th in 2025, 24th in 2024, 16th in 2023, 14th in 2022 and 21st in 2021. Under Klanderman, KSU finished top four in scoring defense on four different occasions including 2022, when they also led the league in defensive efficiency (123.4) en route to a Big 12 Championship. Forcing a league-leading 88 turnovers across the last four seasons, Kansas State's 23.1 points per game allowed trail only Iowa State, in that span.
• During his tenure, NDSU ranked top-five nationally in scoring defense all five years and compiled 100 interceptions, including a nation-leading 23 in 2018. His 2016 defense ranked fourth in the FCS in scoring defense and 14th in total defense. In 2017, his defense led the nation in yards allowed and ranked second in scoring defense. The 2018 unit ranked second in scoring defense and interceptions and fifth in yards allowed.
• Klanderman brought with him three members of the Kansas State defense, including a pair of safeties in the room he leads, Daniel Cobbs and Colby McCalister, and edge rusher Ryan Davis. He also welcomed three staff members from K-State, including assistant nickels coach David Orloff, and quality control minds in Cade Koster and Parker Schrater.
EARLY ENROLLEES
• Baylor had 39 total spring enrollees participate in spring practice among its 54 total newcomers. Early enrollees included QBs DJ Lagway and Quinn Murphy, RBs HD Davis and Ryelan Morris, WRs Gavin Freeman, DeBraun Hampton, Dre'lon Miller and London Smith, OLs Asher Hale, Nate Kibble, Logan Moore, Lawson Petty and Cole Rhett, DLs Jae'Lin Battle, Kameren Washington, Hosea Wheeler, Jamaal Whyce Jr., Des Zavion Hardy, Jordan Mack and Daemian Wimberly, JACKs Ryan Davis and Garrick Ponder, LBs Kaleb Arterberry, Anthony Crenshaw Jr., Jamarion Phillips, JJ Shelton and Kedrick Walker, CBs Devon Jordan, Stilton McKelvey and Jayden Rowe, safeties Austin Ausberry, Daniel Cobbs, Jordan Davis, Colby McCalister and Cole Redding, and long snapper Brady Hibbard.
PORTAL ADDITIONS
• Baylor added a program-high 39 players from the transfer portal for the 2026 season. It marked a change in philosophy for Coach Dave Aranda, who broke from spending revenue share and NIL allotment on freshmen developmental players and more on key, veteran acquisitions in the portal. Aranda has also prioritized spending more of the resources on the front 7 on each side of the ball. A year ago, the Bears had a significant resource investment in skill positions on the offensive side of the football.
• The Bears added 16 offensive players from the portal and 21 defensive players from the portal, with two special teams pieces.
• The biggest adds were on the defensive side of the ball, specifically the defensive line and edge positions and at safety. Headlining the DL/DE group included Indiana national champion Hosea Wheeler, who joined Texas State's Kameren Washington, Marshall's Jamaal Whyce Jr. and South Florida's Traevon Mitchell in the interior, and South Carolina's Zavion Hardy, Coastal Carolina's Jordan Mack and UTSA's Damien Wimberly. At JACK, Ryan Davis (Kansas State) and Garrick Ponder (Southern Miss) are proven pass rushers.
• Offensive portal adds are highlighted by Florida QB DJ Lagway, who brought teammates in TE Tony Livingston and slot WR DeBraun Hampton, his Willis High School teammate. With four offensive line starters needed, the Bears went deep on the portal adds, including potential starters at LT (Logan Moore – UAB), left guard (Nate Kibble – Texas) and right guard Asher Hale (South Alabama). In addition, Cole Rhett (Toledo) has emerged as another instant-impact portal add on the OL.
BAYLOR AMONG NATION LEADERS IN BIG THREE WINS
• Baylor athletics is in the midst of a historic run of success, including recent national titles in men's and women's basketball, and football coming off a Big 12 Conference Championship in 2021 and the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
• Since 2011, and as of the end of the 2025-26 athletics season, no other school can compete with Baylor's run, as the Bears rank second in the nation in wins combined among football, and men's and women's basketball. UConn owns the nation-leading total and the Bears sit just two wins shy entering the 2026-27 season.
SIERACKIS LEAD THE O-LINE
• While Baylor has to replace four starters on the offensive line, one position is secure in right tackle with fifth-year Kaden Sieracki. Kaden will be joined by his brother, junior Koltin, who will likely start at either center or guard. Koltin started three games last year in place of injured center Coleton Price or guard Omar Aigbedion. Kaden has played in 37 games in his career with 22 starts, mostly at tackle but also seeing time at guard. The 6-foot-9, 310 pounder, Kaden started all 12 games at right tackle, logging 948 snaps, while not allowing a sack. He started next to Koltin when the 6-4, 317 junior was in the lineup at right guard, a total of 278 snaps. The Sierackis hail from The Woodlands, Texas.
NEW-LOOK TIGHT ENDS
• A year ago, Baylor boasted the nation's best tight end in Michael Trigg, who was a consensus All-America selection. A dynamic receiving threat, Trigg often split out in the slot and was a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. With the graduation of Trigg to the Dallas Cowboys, the Bears must mount a tall task at replacing him in the offense. The task will be led by senior Matthew Klopfenstein, who has played in 34 games over his career with one start entering the season. A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Klopfenstein has 17 career catches and 150 yards with two TDs, both coming vs. Oklahoma State. Behind the 6-foot-4, 248-pound Klopfenstein is blocking dynamos in Hawkins Polley and Tony Livingston, a Florida transfer. The 6-4, 246-pound Polley has the ability to impact the run game, along with Livingston, a 6-6 255 senior who had 22 career catches for 232 yards and four TDs during his first three years at Florida.
• Other options at tight end include true freshmen in Parker Almanza and Kai Wesley. Almanza, the brother of safety Leo Almanza, played QB during his time at Byron Nelson High School, as a tactic to get the ball in his hands more often as a bruising runner. Wesley joined the Bears from Orem, Utah, and is a 6-7, 252 pound monster. In addition, Brody Wilhelm, a 6-5, 236 pound product of Austin Westlake High School, has had a strong camp.
CORNERS CAN COVER
• A potential strength of this Baylor defense under new coordinator Joe Klanderman is the production from its cornerback room. Returning starters include fixture LeVar Thornton, a lengthy 6-foot-3, 182 pound senior who started all 11 games last year with 30 tackles, seven PBUs and one interception. Reggie Bush II started the last five games of the year at corner and has played in 30 games in his career as a fifth year. One of the biggest additions to the room came in the form of Oklahoma's Devon Jordan (pronounced DAY-von). Jordan played in 25 games over two years at OU and served as the primary reserve corner for the Sooners last year, totaling 16 tackles and one sack. He has emerged as a team leader and as a major weapon at cornerback, opposite Thornton in the rotation.
EDGE PRESENCE
• Baylor finished the year in 2025 with just 12 sacks and 48 TFLs, creating a major need for revamping the pass-rush side of the game in the offseason. After Baylor missed on some defensive line and edge rushing portal additions last year, the Bears went hard after proven players who have a known passion for the game in the portal. Baylor added potential JACK starters in Ryan Davis (Kansas State) and Garrick Ponder (Southern Miss), while turning the defensive line into one that projects as one of the best units in the nation.
• Davis, a native of Phoenix who played for Coach Joe Klanderman at Kansas State, and Ponder have emerged as two of the top newcomers at the position, along with defensive end options in Zavion Hardy, Kyler Jordan, Jordan Mack, Trent Thomas and Daemian Wimberly. Davis totaled eight TFLs and 6.5 sacks over two years at K-State, including 5.5 TFLs and four sacks in just nine games last year. Ponder had a productive year for the Eagles, playing in 13 games with six starts, totaling 37 tackles, 11.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks.
• Other JACK additions include Jaylin Jones, who redshirted last year after an All-C-USA year at UTEP, and true freshman Tyrone Morgan.
• The addition of a defensive end room – led by Coach Carson Hall, who led outside linebackers last year – includes the shift of Jordan to a more natural position with his hand in the dirt. A team captain, Jordan was one of Baylor's highest graded players in the spring with the positional change. He has played in 40 games with 10 starts in his career. Trent Thomas, a 6-foot-6 259 pound senior, has positioned himself to contribute in the room, along with newcomers in Hardy, Mack and Wimberly. Hardy was the nation's No. 1 JUCO recruit, before choosing South Carolina, in the 2025 class.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS
• A key piece of Dave Aranda's philosophy in his Baylor career has been creating one of the nation's best special teams units. Three times in his six years, Baylor has had a top-10 special teams unit according to BCF Toys Special Teams FEI Ratings, including the No. 2 unit in 2023. According to ESPN's SP+ special teams rankings, Baylor has ranked in the top 25 in four years, including as high as No. 4 in 2024.
• Under the direction of special teams coordinator Mark Scott for the fourth year, and assisted by Ryan Pollard, the Baylor special teams is elite. Boasted by the nation's top punter, Palmer Williams the last four years, the Bears have had special teams as a weapon. Last year, Baylor led the nation in net punting a year after Williams led the nation in punting average in 2024 among those who punted 2.5 times per game.
• The Bears will have to replace consistent field goal kicker in Connor Hawkins who hit the portal late to Ohio State. That marks the first year in the Aranda era when the kicker was unsettled going into the season as the Bears will turn to sophomore Rhett Armstrong for his first career field goal attempts in 2026.
• Long snapper is a position of strength with three-year starter Dylan Schaub at the position, and Williams will serve as the holder.
NATION'S BEST PUNTER
• For the fourth straight year, Baylor feels like it has the nation's best punter in senior Palmer Williams. A year after BU led the nation in net punting (45.0) and Williams was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the year, a Ray Guy Award Finalist, and an All-American, the native of Advance, N.C., is poised to be a major weapon for the Bears.
• Williams, a 6-foot-2, 221-pound athlete, had a conference-leading 46.92 yards per punt in 2025. Last season, he booted it 27 times with only 12 punts returned for just 32 yards. Eleven of Williams' punts landed inside the 20 and seven were fair caught, while 11 traveled at least 50 yards, giving Williams 39 career 50+-yard boots, tied for the seventh-most in Baylor history.
• Entering his senior year, Williams has punted 107 times for 4,981 yards, averaging 46.55 yards per punt which tops BU's program record book by over a yard. His 2024 season was the best punting season in school history, with a school-record average of 49.35 yards per punt on 43 attempts, which also ranked best in the nation among those who punted at least 2.5 times per game. Williams needs just 10 punts of more than 50 yards to move into second place all-time in Baylor history, though he trails the all-time record holder and two-time Ray Guy Award winner Daniel Sepulveda's 94 career such kicks.
• The only challenge for Williams is getting to punt, as Baylor routinely ranks among the top-five schools in power-4 football at going for it on fourth down. The NCAA's threshold for national ranks requires 4.0 punts per game, a mark Williams has not been able to get to the last two years, which would've resulted in contention for a nation-leading mark.
NEW KICKER
• Baylor was hit by a late portal entrant in star kicker Connor Hawkins, who signed a contract with the Bears to return in 2026 only to enter the portal to attend Ohio State. Hawkins had an elite freshman season for the Bears and was poised to be the kicker of the future. With his departure, the Bears now turn to former highly touted kicker Rhett Armstrong to be the guy, with Armstrong serving as the kickoff specialist as a true freshman in 2025. Armstrong was once rated by 247sports as the fifth-best kicking prospect in the class and was invited to the Army All-America Game in 2024.
STARING AT STAR
• Since the departure of Jalen Pitre to NFL stardom following the 2021 Big 12 Championship season, the Bears have been in search of a STAR, or nickelback, that could come close to the production of Pitre. Several candidates have emerged as potential weapons in that position group, including safeties Bo Onu, Colby McCalister and Daniel Cobbs. One could argue that safety is one of the deepest positions on the field for the Bears and the trio could each find ways to impact the game from either of the three safety spots, including free and strong safety.
• Onu emerged as a potential standout during a true freshman season where the Bears elected to play him in each game. A 6-foot, 210-pounder, Onu is such a physical presence at the position that Coach Dave Aranda moved him to inside linebacker for the final game of the year vs. Houston in 2025, in a search to get him on the field and manage injuries at the position. Onu has played exclusively at the nickel position since the spring and his physical nature and competitive demeanor has stood out. Cobbs and McCallister are both transfers from Kansas State with defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and bring a great knowledge of the scheme and the position. Cobbs has played in 26 games for Klanderman, with 46 tackles, four interceptions and four TFLs, while McCalister, coming off an injury in 2025 has played in 25 games with five starts over his 2023-24 seasons, where he accounted for 51 tackles.
FOOTBALL HISTORY - 125TH SEASON
• The Bears are entering their 125th season of football in 2026. The Bears have fielded a varsity team every year since 1899, save the 1906, 1943 and 1944 seasons.
• BU has won nine conference titles, including in 2021, with three Big 12 Championships and six Southwest Conference Championships.
• Baylor's first season came in 1899-1900, a 5-1 record under Coach R.H. Hamilton that included two wins over Toby's Business.
LINEBACKER CORPS
• The Bears face a tall task in replacing the production of inside linebacker Keaton Thomas, who immediately stepped into the lineup from a Mississippi junior college and was a leader of the defense. Thomas departed for Ole Miss following a second consecutive 100+ tackle season in 2025. The Bears enter the 2026 season led at the inside linebacker position by Travion Barnes and Kyland Reed, with a cast of youthful talent, including Kaleb Burns, and portal additions in Kedrick Walker (Georgia State), Kaleb Arterberry (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC), Anthony Crenshaw (Delaware) and JJ Shelton (Arkansas).
• Barnes entered the 2025 season poised to become a two-headed tackling monster, alongside Thomas, after he collected 129 tackles, including 10.5 for a loss, during the 2024 season at FIU where he ranked fifth nationally in total tackles and third in tackles per game. After making two straight starts, Barnes suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game, preserving his eligibility for the 2026 season. During the spring and fall, Barnes has been a leader of the defense and a fixture in the lineup. Alongside him is another fixture, team co-captain Kyland Reed. Reed started nine games and played in 12 last year, after a true freshman season that saw him not redshirt and play in nine games. He finished with 48 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, with a fumble forced and recovered. A player who earns constant praise from Coach Dave Aranda for his athleticism and leadership, Reed is poised to have a big season.
• Arterberry is coming off a 51-tackle season for MGCC and has earned praise during the preseason. Burns is a 6-foot-1, 224-pound stick of dynamite that had 18 tackles, 1.5 for a loss, and an interception as a true freshman who was a four-star recruit and the fifth-best linebacker in the nation coming out of Houston's Cy Falls High School. Crenshaw played in 26 games over his three-year career at Delaware, totaling 42 tackles, and Walker played in 12 games last year as a JUCO transfer to Georgia State, finishing with 57 tackles, 6.5 for a loss with 2.5 sacks. Shelton, a 6-1, 204-pounder, was a recruit out of Dallas South Oak Cliff that the Bears wanted before he chose Arkansas, where he had seven tackles, a sack and a PBU in nine games in 2025.
INJURY UPDATES
• Baylor has battled limited injuries in the preseason, with a spring practice season-ending injury to WR Ashton Jones the most notable for the 2026 season.
• Again in 2026, the Bears will participate in the Big 12's Player Availability reports, which will be public four times a week, including the morning of game day in league games.
BEARS IN SEASON OPENERS
• Baylor owns an 82-38-4 all-time record in season lid-lifters.
• Under Coach Dave Aranda, the Bears are 4-2 in season lid-lifters.
PENDERGRASS RETURNS
• One of the biggest injury blows to the Bears came in the preseason last year when Dawson Pendergrass, a bruising member of a two-headed RB rotation, suffered a season-ending setback. That pushed true freshman Caden Knighten and Michael Turner into the picture, and Bryson Washington, who a year prior had set the freshman rushing record, played through consistent injuries throughout the 2025 campaign.
• Pendergrass is back to full speed and enters the 2026 season as a 1,000 yard career rusher with 11 TDs. His freshman season saw him rush for 338 yards and five scores, and as a sophomore had 671 yards and six TDs. He is also a weapon out of the backfield, totaling 302 receiving yards in his first two seasons with three scores. He is a big, physical back who creates contact and owns surprising speed and quickness for a tailback of his stature.
SINGLE DIGITS
• Coach Dave Aranda has kept a tradition alive in recent years of awarding deserving players on the team single digit numbers, which are determined in a voting of their teammates. In 2026, the Bears have 10 single-digit numbers, including:
• 0: Hosea Wheeler (DL)
• 1: Dre'lon Miller (WR)
• 2: DJ Lagway (QB)
• 3: Jadon Porter (WR)
• 4: Louis Brown IV (WR)
• 5: Travion Barnes (LB)
• 6: Gavin Freeman (WR)
• 7: Devon Jordan (CB)
• 8: Jacob Redding (S)
• 9: Ryan Davis (JACK)
• Wheeler has credited fifth-year leader Michael Allen as awarding him the No. 0 jersey. Allen was voted as a single-digit number by his teammates and Allen wanted to award Wheeler a No. 0 jersey independently, doing so during a team meeting.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
• Baylor had its players vote for a leadership council on the 2026 team, getting a vote from each student-athlete on who is a leader amongst the team, their position group and their class.
• The Baylor 2026 leadership council includes: Michael Allen, Louis Brown IV, Ryan Davis, Gavin Freeman, Kyler Jordan, Matthew Klopfenstein, DJ Lagway, Jordan Mack, Quinn Murphy, Bo Onu, Dawson Pendergrass, Jadon Porter, Jacob Redding, Kyland Reed, Kaden Sieracki, LeVar Thornton, Devin Turner, Hosea Wheeler, Jamaal Whyce Jr. and Palmer Williams.
WHO WILL BACK-UP DJ?
• A story of the preseason is who will win the back-up QB job behind DJ Lagway. Last year, the Bears had three players listed as "or" in the back-up on the depth chart. A similar scenario is unfolding in the preseason as a three-way battle for back-up is in progress and will continue during the year.
• Nate Bennett was the most likely player in the room to step up and relieve Sawyer Robertson last year and enters the 2026 season as a junior who has been in the system for three years. A 6-foot-1, 192-pound California, Bennett is a special arm talent and a creative athlete. Joining him in the battle is sophomore Edward Griffin, who starred at Coppell High School and was named district MVP after throwing for over 6,000 yards with 81 TDs over his last two seasons. A workaholic, Griffin is dedicated to his craft. True freshman Quinn Murphy starred at Argyle's Liberty Christian High School, where he ranks third all-time in passing TDs in Texas High School history, behind only Grant Gunnell, Travis Quintanilla and ahead of Graham Harrell and Shedeur Sanders. He led Liberty to the 2024 state title. A 6-3, 209-pounder, Murphy is one of the fastest players on the team.
TEAM CAPTAINS
• Baylor previously did not name team captains for the season, electing to go strictly with game captains for each game. In 2026, the Bears have named permanent team captains, including:
• QB DJ Lagway
• LB Kyland Reed
• DE Kyler Jordan
• TE Matt Klopfenstein
• DL Jamaal Whyce Jr.
• S Michael Allen
WR OPTIONS
• Baylor must replace its five top pass catchers from the Big 12's leading passing offense in 2026. The departure of Josh Cameron and All-America TE Michael Trigg to the NFL, and the graduate/professional development of Ashtyn Hawkins, Kole Wilson and Kobe Prentice opens a massive void for pass catchers.
• Leading the way for the WR unit has been Louis Brown IV, who was a story of fall camp last year as a summer enrollee. Brown was a star of the preseason and found himself behind the quintet of receiving options early in the year. Baylor elected to redshirt Brown to preserve his eligibility for one more season. Brown has 103 career catches, over Colorado State and San Diego State, for 1,278 yards and nine TDs. He had six grabs for 79 yards and a TD in his four games for the Bears in 2025. He has again emerged as a major weapon for the offense in 2026.
• Junior Jadon Porter is also poised to have a major role in the passing attack after earning playing time despite playing in a deep position group his first two years. He has played in 18 games with one start, totaling 11 catches for 108 yards and a TD. His position coach, Dallas Baker, believes he has a great future in football ahead of him as a highly skilled route runner.
• The Bears also welcomed do-it-all Colorado threat, former star recruit out of Silsbee High School, Dre'lon Miller to the program. Miller, a 6-foot, 207-pound weapon, played in 18 games with 10 starts at CU, with 45 catches for 376 yards and three TDs, and rushed 50 times for 144 yards and a TD. Miller was pushed to running back as a sophomore with 46 carries, after a 25-catch season as a true freshman.
• Gavin Freeman has also been a major story of the preseason after playing for the offensive-short Oklahoma State Cowboys the last two years. Despite a revolving door at QB for two seasons, Freeman caught 53 balls for 581 yards and four TDs last year and has 81 career catches for 667 yards and five TDs, which included two seasons and 22 catches at Oklahoma. He also rushed 24 times for 141 yards in his career entering 2026, and has over 500 yards of return yardage with an 82 yard punt return for a TD for OU. A slot weapon, Freeman has the ability to find open space, make people miss and play bigger than his 5-foot-9 size.
• The Bears also welcomed Jayden McGowan as a summer enrollee. A 5-7, 187-pound ball of muscle, McGowan has 83 catches for 843 yards and three TDs over his career at Vanderbilt, Boston College and Charlotte. He was a major weapon for the Commodores his first two seasons, totaling 80 catches, toting it 32 times, and owning an All-SEC resume as a kickoff returner that included over 800 yards and a 97-yard kickoff return for a TD. He missed the majority of the 2025 season while at Charlotte due to injury.
• The Bears also have true freshmen London Smith, a local product out of University High School who has turned heads in the preseason with his 6-0, 211-pound frame. And also return Taz Williams Jr., a social media presence, who was a four-star recruit out of high school.
NEW FACES ON O-LINE
• Following the graduation and portaling of 3.5 offensive line starters, the Bears must replace the offensive line in 2026. Tackle Kaden Sieracki returns as a fixture at the tackle post, and his brother Koltin Sieracki will start after serving as a part-time starter last year at both guard and center.
• At tackle, UAB transfer Logan Moore, a 6-foot-8, 296-pound athlete, appears to be the starter. Moore started 11 games for the Blazers in 2025. He and Kaden Sieracki will be reinforced by Cole Rhett, who has the ability to play both outside and inside, and could be one of Baylor's top-six offensive linemen. Matthew Parker, a sophomore out of Brandon, Miss., is also a potential weapon at both tackle posts.
• The guard positions have remained a battle in preseason camp, as Koltin Sieracki and Harrison Cluff are both capable of playing guard and center. Koltin is likely the front runner at center, and Cluff could back him up, and earn a starting spot at guard. Texas transfer Nate Kibble and South Alabama transfer Asher Hale are both poised to make a mark at the guard spots. Hale started 11 games at right guard last year for USA as a sophomore.
• Other potential names on the offensive line include standout true freshman Donel Robinson Jr., who can play guard and tackle ,summer enrollee Muyont'a Maxwell, who sees time at guard, JUCO transfer David Roberts Jr., and UIW transfer Lawson Petty. In addition, 25-year old eighth-year senior Cooper Lovelace is working his way back into form and has been a starter at Northwestern on the offensive line, making 11 starts in 2024.
THREE-HEADED TAILBACK MONSTER
• The Bears will boast at least a three-headed tailback monster this year, including returners Dawson Pendergrass, Caden Knighten and Michael Turner. A trio of backs who can each exercise unique skill sets, this provides depth at a key position of need.
• Knighten and Turner played significant time as true freshmen after a season-ending injury to Pendergrass in 2025, and Turner missed the first few games due to injury of his own. The duo combined for 789 yards behind Bryson Washington, who was consistently nicked up with injuries. Knighten had 104 carries for 469 yards and a score, and Turner had 65 carries for 323 yards and a TD.
• Behind the trio, Ryelan Morris could see action. Morris is a Swiss-army knife who can impact the run and pass game and is more physical than his 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame suggests. In addition, Jacorey Watson, who came to Baylor as a WR, is in the running-back room.
DEEP SAFETY ROOM
• The Bears boast a deep and talented safety room in 2026, a key position in Coach Dave Aranda and Coach Joe Klanderman's system.
• Baylor returns major weapons at safety including breakout 2025 star Jacob Redding, who had three picks and totaled 53 tackles, physical force Micah Gifford, and 2025 portal additions in Devin Turner and Tyler Turner. Devin Turner suffered a season-ending injury on the last play of the spring "game" in 2025 and missed the season. Devin was an All-Big 10 safety at Northwestern in 2023 and was a key piece of the portal class for the Bears after he had a 79-tackle season in 2023, and a 53-tackle effort in 2024 that featured three picks. Tyler Turner was pressed into service in 2025 following a career at Oregon, where he had played in 17 games over two seasons. Tyler played in 12 games with three starts, with 32 tackles and two PBUs for the Bears in 2025. Bo Onu is slated to be a major weapon at the nickel position following logging significant time as a true freshman.
• The Bears also added from the portal, including Kansas State safeties Daniel Cobbs and Colby McCallister. The duo can play both nickel and safety. McCallister had 51 tackles over his last two seasons at K-State, before suffering an injury that forced him to miss 2025, and Cobbs had 39 tackles in 2025 for the Wildcats with three interceptions. Even deeper, freshman Jordan Davis has turned heads in camp despite a high school career as a home school product, and Colin Peacock has returned from an injury in the 2025 season to become a prospect.
DEFENSIVE-LINE DEPTH
• The deepest, most talented room in the Baylor position grouping in 2026 could very well be the defensive line room, which is considered by Coach Dave Aranda as a team strength. The defensive line group was completely re-invested in as Aranda revamped the way the Bears spent their resources in the portal. Baylor welcomed true defensive linemen from the portal in Traevon Mitchell (South Florida), Kamren Washington (Texas State), Hosea Wheeler (Indiana) and Jammal Whyce Jr. (Marshall). Wheeler and Whyce are poised to lead the unit on the interior and have been head turners throughout camp. Mitchell and Washington have produced throughout their collegiate careers.
• Returning starter Devonte Tezino, a 6-foot-5, 284-pound fifth-year will have a mark on the defensive line group. Returner Braylen Jackson has had a good camp and is a team leader. True freshman Jae'Lin Battle was a major recruit and will see time on the defensive line. Jackson Blackwell is also a physically strong player.
• Also counting as defensive ends, includes returners Kyler Jordan and Trent Thomas, and newcomers Zavion Hardy (South Carolina), Jordan Mack (Coastal Carolina) and Daemian Wimberly (UTSA). Those edge rushers are under position coach Carson Hall.
FUTURE COACH MICHAEL ALLEN
• A clear-cut team leader on the roster is 5-foot-7, 180-pound safety Michael Allen. A fixture on kickoff return, Allen is not necessarily who you would suggest is a team leader but that is not the case in Waco. Allen, the nephew of former New Orleans Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen, has coaching in his blood.
• He has been such a vital member of the team that Coach Dave Aranda has welcomed Allen into the program staff meetings and Allen served as a member of the operations staff as an intern during the summer. A team co-captain, one of six, Allen was credited as being a key piece of turning the 2024 season around, giving the Friday night speech to the team in Lubbock, Texas, before the Bears routed the Red Raiders on homecoming and sparked a six-game win streak to conclude the regular-season, the longest such streak in program history.
• Allen serves as a signaler of the defensive calls on the sideline but is the up-man on kickoff returns and also is on the punt team.
'UNC' LOVELACE
• Baylor added a summer enrollee to help on the offensive line in eighth-year senior Cooper Lovelace, a product of the class of 2019 out of high school. Lovelace has played at Butler CC, USC, Northwestern and Colorado before joining the Bears. He is the second-oldest non-punter in college football, having been born on Dec. 20, 2000. Only Utah tight end Noah Bennee (Aug. 20, 2000) is older in the non-punter group.
CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS
• Baylor will wear a special helmet for its Childhood Cancer Awareness game during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month vs. Louisiana Tech. The helmet decal was designed by a pediatric hematology/oncology patient and was inspired by artwork created during a recent visit to McLane Children's Medical Center in Temple, where Baylor football student-athletes and pediatric patients spent time personalizing versions of the Baylor Bear Head together. The selected artwork serves as a symbol of support for children and families facing pediatric cancer.
• "Our football program is honored to support the incredible children and families at McLane Children's," Dave Aranda said. "Our players are inspired by their courage and resilience, and it's a privilege to wear a helmet that represents them during our Childhood Cancer Awareness game this September."
• The artwork chosen for the helmet decal was created by 6-year-old ILaria Ramirez of Cameron, Texas. She titled her design "Helmet of Hope," a message she wrote directly on the artwork. The design also features the words faith, victory and strength, each chosen by ILaria herself. Inspired by ILaria's artwork and its message, the "Helmet of Hope" decal will be featured on every Baylor football helmet during the Sept. 19 Gold Rush game, serving as a tribute to children battling cancer and the resilience they demonstrate every day.
FUTURE SCHEDULE CHANGE
• Baylor adjusted its future scheduling in the non-conference, adding a home-and-home series with Maryland for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The Bears replaced their two-game series with Oregon in a mutually agreed upon cancellation, and will now face Maryland in College Park, Md., on Sept. 18, 2027, before returning the game to McLane Stadium on Sept. 16, 2028.
• Baylor's 2027 schedule is now complete, with dates for conference games still to be assigned by the Big 12 Conference. The Bears will host UIW on Sept. 4, 2027 in the season lid-lifter, then travel to face Air Force on Sept. 11 in Colorado Springs, Colo., before traveling to face the Terps on Sept. 18 in College Park, Md. Baylor will have league home games vs. Arizona, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, UCF and West Virginia, and will travel to face Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech and Utah.
• The 2028 schedule will include a season opener at home vs. North Texas on Sept. 2, 2028. BU will host the Terps on Sept. 18.
• The meeting in 2027 will mark the third game in the series with Maryland and the first since 1956. The series is tied 1-1, with BU winning the meeting in College Park in 1956, 14-0, and Maryland claiming a 20-6 win over Baylor in 1955 in Waco.
ROBERT GRIFFIN III ON HALL OF FAME BALLOT
• Baylor football legend Robert Griffin III has been featured on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame, it was announced by the National Football Foundation.
• Griffin is one of three former Heisman Trophy winners featured on the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot, joining Mark Ingram and Cameron Newton.
• The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, Griffin had a historic career for the Bears from 2008-11. He set or tied 54 school records, including 20 career marks, 26 single-season and eight single-game records, including career passing yards, total offense, completions and passing TDs. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 2011, helping lead the Bears to a No. 12 national ranking, which came after a 2010 season that saw BU advance to its first bowl game in 16 years.
• Griffin boasts a bevy of awards from his Baylor career, in addition to the Heisman, including Big 12 Male Athlete of the year, the Davey O'Brien and Manning Awards, and freshman All-America honors in 2008. He was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
• The native of Copperas Cove, Texas, Griffin was the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, playing seven years with three teams, including a 2012 Pro Bowl season that culminated in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
• A two-time academic All-American, a three-time dean's list selection and a 10-time academic honoree by the Big 12 Conference, Griffin graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2010. He and his wife Greta, and children Reese Ann, Gloria, Gameye and Gia, have been fixtures in their community, including via the RGIII Foundation, which is committed to helping underprivileged children, military families and victims of domestic abuse.
• Griffin has become a leading voice in sports media following his playing career, and is entering his first college football season as a lead color analyst for FOX Sports, after previously working with ESPN and Netflix.
• The Bears have nine former greats inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, most recently QB Don Trull in 2013. Safety Thomas Everett, head coach Grant Teaff, linebacker Mike Singletary, end Lawrence Elkins, tackle Jim Ray Smith, guard Bill Glass, guard Barton Koch and head coach Morley Jennings all represent BU in the CFB Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
ACADEMIC BEARS
• Baylor posted a 3.03 cumulative GPA in the spring semester, the top semester GPA – excluding COVID online classes – in program history.
CONNECTING THE TEAMS
• Baylor has limited connections to Auburn, most notably running back Bryson Washington, who joined the Tigers after ranking in the top 14 in Baylor program history in rushing yards. Washington joined the Tigers for the 2026 season.
• Among the connections for the programs is second-year Auburn Assistant AD Taylor Bryan, who served as the football SID and Associate AD at Baylor for four seasons.
• Baylor Director of Football Operations Landrie Walsh spent the 2022 season as the Director of Recruiting at Texas A&M, when Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was in the same role for the Aggies.
GRADUATES ON ROSTER
• Baylor has 16 players who have already graduated on its 2026 roster, including Michael Allen, Austin Ausberry, Reggie Bush, Daniel Cobbs, Braylen Jackson, Matthew Klopfenstien, Cooper Lovelace, Jayden McGowan, Garrick Ponder, Kaden Sieracki, Riley Sullivan, Devonte Tezino, Devin Turner, Kameren Washington, Hosea Wheeler and Jamaal Whyce Jr.
FOUR BEARS BAPTIZED IN MAY
• Baylor is a transformational experience for a young person and specifically for their walk in faith. This was proven true once again, as four newcomers were baptized in May, professing their lives to Christ in front of their teammates in a baptism in the Fudge Football Center.
• Kaleb Arterberry, Daniel Cobbs, DJ Lagway and Stilton McKelvey participated in the most-impactful moments of their spiritual lives, acknowledging Him as their Lord and Savior in front of teammates, coaches, staff and friends and family. Baylor Associate Athletics Director for Mission Impact & Enrichment and the Athletics Chaplain, Kevin Washington, and senior safety Michael Allen baptized the four young men in the athletics training spaces at the Fudge Center.
• "Moments like these are so special and speak to the mission of our University and program," Dave Aranda said. "These young men were drawn to it through each other, through the relationships they've built. That's what makes it so meaningful. When you watch these guys come in as complete strangers from differing backgrounds and previous institutions, and within a few months they're making the most important commitment of their lives in front of their teammates, that's a culture speaking. I'm proud to be around the young men who make up our program every day."
• For the last few years, Baylor's football program has had a player-led bible study at the Fudge Center. Safety Michael Allen, a fifth-year senior, has been a vital part of leading the bible studies. Each of the newcomers who were baptized on Wednesday have been active participants of the team bible studies and small groups.
• "The ongoing nature of having student-athletes care about things that are eternal has been so prevalent in this program," Washington said. "The baptisms spring from a player-led bible study. The student-athletes lead this completely. It's really rewarding to see our young men commit to something and be willing to publicly express that among their teammates. It's just encouraging to be a part of. God does the work. The people that we're pouring into are the ones that are talking to their teammates and trying to encourage them to understand and apply the gospel in everyday life."
BEARS IN THE NFL
• Baylor has 20 players currently on NFL rosters in the training camp, including 2025 draftees in DL Jackie Marshall and WR Josh Cameron, with the Titans and Jaguars respectively. Michael Trigg signed a large UDFA contract with the Dallas Cowboys, and WRs Kobe Prentice (Patriots) and Kole Wilson (Browns) are both fighting for rosters spots in camp.
• Jalen Pitre, the star safety for the Texans, and Terrel Bernard, a captain linebacker for the Bills, lead the Bears in the NFL, along with long snapping stalwarts Ross Matiscik (Jaguars) and Jon Weeks (49ers).
FIFTH-MOST WINS IN TEXAS IN LAST 15 YEARS
• Through the 2025 season, Baylor has won 110 games since 2011, fifth-most among the state of Texas' 12 FBS teams during that time.
• BU's 110 wins in the last 15 years are shy of Texas A&M (123), TCU (117) and Texas (117), Houston (115), and ahead of SMU (100), Texas Tech (97), UTSA (91), North Texas (87), Rice (69), Texas State (61) and UTEP (49).
CHANEY 40 UNDER 40
• Baylor third-year linebackers coach Jamar Chaney has been selected to the annual 40 Under 40 List of up-and-coming collegiate coaches in the state of Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.
• Chaney was one of 40 collegiate coaches honored on the list. A former All-Southeastern Conference linebacker at Mississippi State, Chaney worked with the inside linebackers from 2024-25 and now under the new scheme of defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, leads the linebackers.
• He previously spent the 2023 season as the outside linebackers coach at Western Kentucky, which followed the 2022 season as an analyst at Florida. In 2020-21 he was a senior defensive analyst at Mississippi State and was the assistant director of player personnel at Florida in 2019.
• A native of Fort Pierce, Fla., Chaney is coming off a season where his linebackers once again excelled, led by Keaton Thomas, who charted a 105-tackle season with seven tackles for a loss. Kyland Reed emerged as a future star in 2025, totaling 49 tackles as the Bears managed through a pair of season-ending losses at the inside linebacker post to projected starters, including Travion Barnes.
• Chaney's 2024 season featured eight wins and a trip to the Texas Bowl, highlighted by the dynamic duo of Thomas and Matt Jones. The pair combined for 227 tackles, with each going over 110 stops, marking the first linebacker duo with 100+ tackles in a season since 2010. The pair earned All-Big 12 Conference honors, led by Jones charting a career year with 113 tackles, 9.5 for a loss with four sacks.
• A former star at MSU, Chaney went for 89 tackles in 2007 while leading the Bulldogs to eight wins. He finished his career from 2005-09 with 285 career tackles and was rated by Rivals in 2009 as the most underrated player in the SEC. He played in the 2010 Senior Bowl and was picked in the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, spending time with the Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.
PRESEASON HONORS
• The Bears have had a bevy of honors in the preseason, including 15 different players.
• Punter Palmer Williams is the most honored, as a preseason All-America, including first-team from Walter Camp, second team from CBS Sports and third team from Phil Steele, including preseason All-Big 12 and All-Texas honors. He is also no the Ray Guy Award Watch List, after being a finalist last year.
• QB DJ Lagway is on the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien Award Watch Lists, S Michael Allen is on the AFCA Good Works Team Nomination list and the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.
• Williams headlines a total of eight Bears who have earned preseason All-Big 12 honors, including Hosea Wheeler, Kaden Sieracki, Dylan Schaub, Jacob Redding, Gavin Freeman, Ryan Davis and Travion Barnes.
STAFF ADDITIONS
• Baylor made several changes to its staff in 2026, including replacing defensive coordinator/safeties coach Matthew Powledge with Joe Klanderman from Kansas State. Powledge is now leading the defense for Neal Brown at North Texas and Klanderman takes over after seven years at Kansas State and four national titles working with the DBs at North Dakota State.
• Baylor also replaced Inoke Breckterfield on the defensive line with Coastal Carolina's Jacori Greer. Breckterfield moved to Utah to coach the defensive ends under first-year coach Morgan Scalley.
• Baylor also hired Jeremy Modkins to coach the cornerbacks, replacing Paul Gonzales who moved to USC. Modkins comes to the Bears after coaching the CBs at Rice and is a native of nearby Marlin, Texas.
• Offensive line coach Austin Woods is in his first full year leading that unit, after serving as the interim OL coach for the final five games of the year. He moved into the role, replacing Mason Miller, who is now on the staff at Mississippi State.
• David Orloff came with Klanderman from Kansas State and will serve as the assistant nickels coach, Craig Watts will be the assistant offensive line coach, and Ryan Pollard was promoted to assistant special teams coach, assisting Mark Scott lead one of the nation's most dynamic special teams units under Aranda.
• A change in the structure of the defensive coaching staff also saw Carson Hall move from coaching the outside linebackers to coaching the defensive ends, as the schematic verbiage used by Klanderman differs slightly.
K-STATE IMPACT
• The hire of Joe Klanderman as Baylor's defensive coordinator brought some proven commodities from Kansas State, a program that had been a stabilizing and consistent force in the Big 12 over his time in Manhattan, Kan.
• The Bears welcomed three Kansas State defenders, including JACK Ryan Davis, an elite pass rusher, and a pair of safeties in Klanderman's room, Daniel Cobbs and Colby McCallister. The three have been credited by returning and newcomers on the Baylor defense as helping lead the unit with a great understanding of Klanderman's verbiage and expectations.
• Baylor also welcomed three staff members, assistant nickels coach David Orloff and QCs Cade Koster and Parker Schrater, from Kansas State on the defensive staff.
WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
• Baylor has forced more turnovers than it has allowed in 73 games under head coach Dave Aranda.
• BU has 110 takeaways (73 INTs, 36 FR) and 92 giveaways (54 INTs, 39 FL) in 73 games under Aranda.
• Baylor has scored 18 non-offensive touchdowns in 70 games under Aranda – six kickoff returns (Bell, Reese x 2, Ebner x 3), seven interception returns (Pitre x 2, Thomas, McCarty, Walcott, Woods, Redding), one punt return (Holmes) and five fumble returns (Thomas, Vaughns, Jenkins, Hall, Woods).
McNAMEE TAKES THE HELM
• Baylor hired alum Doug McNamee to serve as the Vice President and Director of Athletics in December, replacing Mack Rhoades IV as the leader of the athletics program. He has immediately instituted a fan first era of Baylor athletics, prioritizing the fans in an era of collegiate athletics turmoil that seemingly prioritizes a variety of stakeholders over what he views as the protagonist of the story of Baylor athletics, the fan.
• McNamee is a Baylor product, a man who echoes the principals and pride of Baylor University and its mission. He comes to the Bears after successful stints as the President of Waco-based Magnolia, the nationally recognized lifestyle and media company founded by Baylor alums Chip and Joanna Gaines, and most recently as President of the re-imagined Field & Stream with country music superstars Eric Church and Morgan Wallen as investors.
• A two-time Baylor graduate, McNamee spent nearly a decade at his alma mater, rising to Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs before departing in 2018 for the corporate sector.
• At Field & Stream, McNamee led the revitalization of the iconic 154-year-old outdoor brand into a modern, multi-platform media and consumer lifestyle company where he led all product, media, retail and content strategy while positioning the company for long-term, omni-channel growth. McNamee oversaw the complete media and retail portfolio, including the return of the beloved print publication, creation of the 1871 Club membership program offering, and the pending launch of Field & Stream TV. He also spearheaded a transformational agreement with Tractor Supply Co. that accelerated growth across licensing and brand visibility.
• Before joining Field & Stream, McNamee served as President of Magnolia, where he led commercial strategy across media, retail, hospitality, e-commerce and partnerships. He provided critical leadership in the business formation, deal structure and strategic terms that enabled the creation and rollout of the highly successful Magnolia Network.
• In his previous stint at Baylor, McNamee was responsible for all major revenue-generating and brand-facing units — including fundraising, marketing, communications and premium ticketing. He also served on the search committee that brought former head football coach Matt Rhule to Baylor, and he played a key role in the fundraising, planning and opening of McLane Stadium over a decade ago.
• McNamee began his career at IMG College, rising quickly to General Manager for Baylor's multimedia portfolio, where he led sponsorship strategy, partnership development and revenue optimization.
FAN FIRST ERA
• Baylor VP/AD Doug McNamee has created a furious push at prioritizing the fan experience at Baylor athletics. He immediately went to work at pushing this mission and the examples are vast, in just a short amount of time.
• Among the Fan First initiatives in the early days of McNamee's tenure include:
• Baylor has completely revamped its concession prices, implementing Fan First Concession Pricing with the lowest concession prices in the Big 12 Conference and among the lowest in the state of Texas. The Bears will unveil a new menu that includes the 254 Classics Menu with $2 popcorn, $2 fountain drinks, $5 nachos, $4 hot dogs and $4 pretzels, along with the creation of the Bear Claw, an oversized pastry with cinnamon and green-and-gold glaze. In addition, new items include Sic 'Em Sliders, Indy & Belle's Touchdown Tacos, The Baylor Line Dog and the 1845 Bear Family Pack for only $18.45, which includes four hot dogs, four sodas and four Pringles.
• Baylor has revamped its tailgating experience, bringing back Baylor Backyard Tailgating and allowing fans to once again enjoy the previously popular gameday experience.
• Baylor Backyard Live will be a pregame concert series elevating the Baylor Backyard Tailgate area before each home game. Texas country icon Pat Green will headline the series for the Colorado game on Sept. 26.
• The Original Bear Walk returns to McLane Stadium for the first time since 2018, creating a longer, more fan-centered experience.
• New LED lighting has been installed at McLane Stadium, providing Baylor with another tool to enhance the atmosphere and create memorable moments throughout gameday.
• The Bear Bell returns to McLane Stadium as part of Baylor's renewed emphasis on traditions, with Bruiser ringing the bell following Baylor touchdowns.
• Baylor announced its Game Themes for 2026, including 254 Night, Gold Rush, Throwback Game, the return of the moniker "The Revivalry," the nation's longest-running Homecoming and Salute to Service Day against Texas Tech.
• As part of the 2026 Game Themes, Baylor will celebrate its history with a Throwback Game against Colorado on Sept. 26, featuring throwback uniforms inspired by the Grant Teaff era, including the iconic bear paw on the shoulders, along with recognition of the 1991 Baylor football team.
• Baylor will partner with McLane Children's to bring awareness to childhood cancer for the Gold Rush game against Louisiana Tech, wearing a special bear head helmet decal designed by ILaria Ramirez, a 6-year-old cancer patient from Cameron, Texas.
• Growl Towels will return to McLane Stadium for all six home games, with a new design featured each game and distributed to the first 5,000 students. Towels will also be available for $1 at Baylor Bookstore kiosks and the Sideline Shop, while the first 20,000 fans will receive one for the Gold Rush game against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 19.
• Baylor will institute Stroller Parking at McLane Stadium, allowing fans with young children to have a more efficient and convenient gameday experience.
• The Waco Rush Pass was launched to provide Waco residents increased access to Baylor athletics, including opportunities across football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and track & field.
• The 254 Endzone Experience will recognize a local principal making a difference in the 254, providing the selected principal with a 50-person experience in the Magnolia Suites for Baylor's home opener against Prairie View A&M.
• Baylor hosted Fan Fest as a spring showcase to conclude the spring practice season, providing fans an opportunity to interact with Baylor football and enjoy a family-friendly event at McLane Stadium.
McNAMEE PENS OP-ED FOR USA TODAY
• First-year Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics, Doug McNamee wasted no time in putting the fan first in his tenure leading the BU athletics program.
• From the first day on the job, McNamee has driven a focus on ensuring the fans are a priority in everything the Bears do, with a quickly formed mantra of his priorities being "Fans-Fundraising-Football". McNamee recently penned an op-ed for USA TODAY that emphasizes this focus:
"I have no interest in being another in a long line of industry voices opining about many of our current challenges being unsustainable and needing to be solved, though they are and they do. Instead, what I find particularly striking as I reorient myself to the college sports world is how it seems every constituency is considered a priority right now except one – the fans.
For most, fandom in college athletics truly means something. It is not just a consumer choosing a brand but rather a deeper and more hallowed relationship – a bond consecrated by childhood memories, friendships and shared experience, family tradition, affinity for a transformative college experience, community or state pride, or a host of other reasons. That profound connection fans have is directly tied to their commercial activity, without which the music in our industry would stop.
It is those fans who are being asked right now to invest more financially and emotionally at every turn. Learn a new roster every year. Pay higher prices to attend games. Travel multiple time zones to a conference road game. Subscribe to another streaming service. Directly or indirectly find a way to fund NIL or be shamed for fielding a non-competitive team
Many fans feel we are asking more of them, delivering less to them, and our attention is anywhere but on them. At some point, even strong foundations can crack. I worry we may soon reach the point as an industry of failing the stress test of what our fans are willing to incur.
Whatever the potential remedies to this may be, we must first correct a fundamental misunderstanding of who the true protagonist of college athletics is.
In my previous role leading Magnolia, the national brand empire fueled by Chip and Joanna Gaines, I learned a valuable lesson about this. Though Chip and Joanna may have celebrity status, they fundamentally understand they are not the heroes of the story. It is their consumers, – those who watch them, buy the product lines, or are one of the millions who visit the Magnolia Silos in Waco – who are, in fact, the stars.
College athletics would be wise to take note.
This industry is not short on figures with genuine star power. It is easy to be awed by the talent of a student-athlete or the success of a coach and orient all attention on them. One could examine the size of media contracts or the prospect of private equity involvement and assume star power resides in executive boardrooms. But in truth, it is the fans who are the real stars of college athletics. The potential lifelong consumers who show up year after year, irrespective of who is on their team's roster, who is their team's coach, what channel their team's game is on, or how their team's stadium renovation is financed.
Like most who do what we do, I distinctly remember my first college football game I attended as a kid and the transformational memories it created for me. One of the great joys in our work is the frequent opportunity we get to help produce those moments and memories for the next generation in our venues. These days, many student-athletes are only with us a year, and at most will be with us for five years. The average head coach tenure is in that same ballpark. However, at any given home game, there is a kid there for the first time with a spark waiting to be lit that can result in them becoming part of our family for the next 70 years. Then, their fandom can pass down to their kids like a precious family heirloom.
I am not naïve to the scale of change this industry has faced in recent years, and how difficult that change has been on everyone involved. There is a natural human tendency during times of disruption to get a bit lost just keeping up with the details and, in turn, neglect the bigger picture. And however we continue to collectively navigate change in the coming years, I have strong confidence in who must remain a key center of our efforts.
We must do a better job of ensuring our fans are seen, heard, and prioritized on this journey with us.
I strongly believe we can trust that our fans' capacity to adapt to change will always be much higher than their tolerance of being taken for granted."
FUDGE CENTER
• On Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, after a weekend move, the Baylor football program officially opened the Fudge Family Development Center, a sparkling new $89.6 million dollar facility that houses all things Baylor football.
• On the strength of a $15 million dollar gift from the Fudge Family, Baylor has built one of the best football development centers in the nation, housing state-of-the-art locker rooms, team meeting spaces, walk-thru rooms, coaching offices, athletic medicine and strength & conditioning spaces. In addition, the facility added 20 yards and revamped the Allison Indoor Facility.
RANKED IN 10 OF LAST 14 SEASONS
• Baylor has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 10 of 14 seasons since 2010, after going 17 years between national rankings (1993-2010). BU has been ranked in 23 of 25 spots since 2013 (exceptions No. 1 and No. 23).
• Baylor was ranked or receiving votes in 10 of 16 polls in 2022, was receiving votes in the 2023 preseason poll, earned a pair of votes in the Dec. 8, 2024 poll and were receiving votes in polls in September of 2025.
FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN PROGRAM
• Baylor is one of just four schools in the country with a lead female sport program administrator and a female director of operations, with Deputy AD Jovan Overshown leading the program and Landrie Walsh serving as Director of Football Operations.
• Only Kansas State, Oregon, Maryland and Baylor qualify in this category. Kansas State has Deputy AD Jill Sheilds as the SPA and Kacey Feldkamp as the DFO, Oregon has Lisa Peterson as the Deputy AD and SPA and Kodi Look as the Director of Operations, with Annie Peppard serving as DFO and Diana Sabau as the SPA for Maryland. There are only 15 female DFOs in college football.
MCCLANE STADIUM ENHANCEMENTS
• Baylor has enhanced the nation's best game stadium, McLane Stadium, in the offseason of 2024 and 2025, completing an eight-figure project, including installation of upgraded and additional videoboards, the construction of new production control rooms, and the addition of a premium hospitality structure.
• Before the 2026 season, the Bears added LED lights to the stadium, allowing a fan experience enhancement.
• The LED ribbon board displays and the main videoboard display, which were original to McLane Stadium since its construction in 2014, have been upgraded to enhance both functionality and the visual elements of the fan experience. A high-quality video display is being added to the back of the main videoboard structure to add revenue opportunities and enhance the South Plaza experience on game days.
• The south end zone of McLane will become even more of a focal point during games, as a premium hospitality clubhouse will be added beneath the video board, providing a one-of-a-kind experience along with a Berm-view of the action.
• The construction of new production control rooms on the east side of the stadium will allow Baylor to produce multiple broadcasts at one time and fully centralize operations.
PERSON > PLAYER
• A hallmark of Coach Dave Aranda's philosophy in building a program is placing an importance on understanding that the person is more important than the player. This mantra is executed in everything the program touches on a daily basis. Throughout the football building, signage adorns the walls that emphasize, "better people make better players" and that Baylor will "win with character".
• Aranda preaches that players focus on today and be authentically themselves in an effort to be comfortable and confident in their roles.
RADIO BOOTH
• Baylor football has finalized its 2026 radio broadcast crew, adding Geff Gandy and Bryson Jackson to the Baylor Sports Media Network, joining legendary Voice of the Bears, John Morris, on the call throughout the season, it was announced by Baylor and Playfly Sports.
• Gandy will serve as the in-booth color commentator, alongside Morris, while Jackson will roam the sidelines as the analyst. Gandy replaces former BU quarterback Nick Florence, who served in the role in 2025, and Jackson will take over the sideline commentating duties from Ricky Thompson, who spent 26 years fulfilling the duties.
• "I am excited to work with Geff and Bryson on our radio crew this year," Morris said. "These guys know the game inside and out and have a love and institutional knowledge about Baylor football that can not just be replicated easily. Their passion and feel for the game will come through in our broadcasts. Looking forward to bringing Baylor football to life for our fan base with a great group in the booth and on the sideline."
• The trio will complete the broadcast crew for the Bears, who are supplemented by behind-the-scenes veterans in Bob Baker, who will be in his 14th season as the engineer, and Jeff Walter, who provides statistical and spotting input. Derek Smith, the Voice of Baylor Baseball and Women's Basketball, and the esteemed public address announcer at McLane Stadium, will be in his 17th season of the Baylor Gameday Tailgate Show, presented by Baylor Alumni, and the Post-Game 5th Quarter Show.
• Gandy, a four-year letterman and linebacker for the Bears from 1979-82, was a two-year starter and former team captain. He helped lead Baylor to the 1979 Peach Bowl, which featured a win over No. 10 Clemson. In 1980, he helped lead the Bears to an 8-0 league record and a Southwest Conference Championship, advancing to the Cotton Bowl. Gandy still ranks third in program history in single-season tackles (137, 1982). He was drafted by the Washington Redskins, who ultimately advanced to Super Bowl XVIII.
• Jackson spent seven years with the Bears from 2017-23, serving as a key pass-rushing outside linebacker and nickelback during his career. He played in 60 games over his career with 71 tackles, 14 for a loss and 7.5 sacks. He helped spur the Bears to the 2021 Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl title with a 3.5-sack season. Jackson ranks second only to Trestan Ebner (2017-21) for career games played in Baylor history.
• The two former Baylor standouts join Morris on the call, who is in his 32nd season as the signature voice of Baylor Athletics and is a recent inductee into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame. This marks his 40th season overall, which included eight years working with the legendary Frank Fallon. He has also been behind the mic for Baylor Basketball, Women's Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Soccer, Track & Field, Equestrian, Men's & Women's Tennis and Acrobatics & Tumbling. Morris, who was honored with the Chris Schenkel Award in 2024 by the National Football Foundation and the Dave Campbell Award from the Waco Chamber of Commerce, has called 454 consecutive Baylor football games. He was named the Texas Sportscaster of the year in 2019 by the National Sports Media Association.
ABOUT BAYLOR
• Baylor is situated on a 1,000-acre campus located on the Brazos River in Waco, Texas, and was chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers. It is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Baylor is a R1 Institution according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
• BU sponsors 19 varsity sports as members of the Big 12 Conference and boasts the 2021 Men's Basketball National Champions, the 2005, 2012 and 2019 Women's Basketball National Champions and the 2004 Men's Tennis National Champions, in addition to 88 Big 12 Conference Championships in the league's 26-year history.
The game will be televised live on ABC, with Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst) and Taylor McGregor (sideline) voicing the action. The game will also be broadcast live on Baylor Sports Radio Network, with the Voice of the Bears, John Morris (play-by-play), and former Baylor greats Geff Gandy (analyst) and Bryson Jackson (sideline) on the call.
The Bears faced off with Auburn last year in Waco in a two-year, home-and-home series, with the Tigers topping BU 38-24 behind a furious rushing attack. Auburn elected to move its game to Atlanta as part of the Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
BU enters the seventh year under Coach Dave Aranda, a former national champion defensive coordinator for LSU's 2019 15-0 season, and long considered one of the top defensive minds in college football. Aranda led the Bears to the best season in program history in his second year, 2021, a school-record 12-2 year that culminated in the Big 12 Championship and the Sugar Bowl, and he was named the national coach of the year.
The Bears are coming off a 5-7 season that saw BU narrowly miss its fourth bowl bid in the first six years under Aranda, Baylor was led by the Big 12's top passing offense under the curation of coordinator Jake Spavital.
Spavital returns for year three directing the offensive attack. After Aranda called the defensive plays and was the inside linebackers coach for the last two years he has turned the keys of the defense over to first-year coordinator Joe Klanderman, who built steady and elite defenses at Kansas State since 2019. Klanderman joined the BU staff after leading K-State to top-30 defensive efficiency ratings in each of his five seasons leading the unit, including top 20 in 2022-23. He previously helped North Dakota State to four straight national titles.
The Bears welcome a bevy of new talent for the 2026 season, including 39 portal additions, 15 high school newcomers and a total of 58 returners. Aranda revamped his approach in building the roster with a commitment to spending resources on the front seven of both sides of the football and investing in proven, football-loving student-athletes in the portal.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• Auburn comes into the matchup under the direction of first-year head coach Alex Golesh, who takes over after a successful run at South Florida, which followed a decorated career as an offensive coordinator at UCF and Tennessee. He made coaching stops at Toledo, Illinois and Iowa State before earning play-calling duties at UCF in 2020. USF went 23-15 under Golesh for three years, which concluded with a nine-win season in 2025.
• Golesh is assisted by associate head coach Kodi Burns, who is also the co-offensive coordinator without play-calling duties. DJ Durkin, who served as the interim head coach last season as the defensive coordinator, returns in the defensive play-calling role. Joel Gordan is the offensive coordinator and QB coach, after serving in a similar role for three years under Golesh at USF, which followed seven years at Iowa State.
• The Tigers are ranked by the metrics as having the 13th best talent on the roster nationally and are coming off a 1-7 mark in SEC play a year ago. QB Byrum Brown comes to Auburn after a decorated career at South Florida, that included 3,158 yards and 28 TD passes a year ago. RB Jeremiah Cobb leads the way for the offense, after rushing for 969 yards and five TDs a year ago. He is poised to lead a running-back room that sports a projected to be, in order, Cobb, Omar Mabson II, Tae Meadows, Nykahi Davenport and Baylor transfer Bryson Washington. Washington finished his three-year BU career ranked 14th in program history with 1,861 rushing yards, and set the freshman record for rushing yards in 2024.
• A total of 57 newcomers arrived in the offseason, with 68 departures. The Tigers ranked 10th nationally defensively in run defense and 14th in turnover margin last year.
• A bevy of USF standouts joined Auburn following the coaching change, including Keshaun Singleton, who had 50 catches for 877 yards last year, Jeremiah Koger, who had 38 grabs for 597 yards, Christian Neptune, who had 38 catches for 335 yards, and Chas Nimrod, who had 23 catches for 466 yards. TE Jonathan Echols had nine catches for 109 yards in 2025 for USF. The Tigers also added Troy standout Meadows, who rushed for 695 yards and six TDs last year, USF's Davenport, who had 612 rushing yards and seven TDs, and North Carolina TE Jake Johnson, who had 16 catches for 149 yards last year.
• On the offensive line, Auburn welcomed transfers in Cole Skinner (USF) and Jacob Strand (Oregon State), a pair of projected starting guards, with Jo Simmons and Stanton Ramil projected to start at tackle.
• Defensively, Auburn added Cody Sigler, an Arkansas State defensive lineman who had five sacks last year, Ole Miss edge Da'Shawn Womack, who had 27 tackles and two sacks a year ago, and App State defensive lineman Saint Farrior. Chris Murray had 15 tackles and 3.5 sacks a year ago on the defensive line. Xavier Atkins starred at linebacker last year, with 84 tackles and nine sacks, and is projected to be joined in the rotation at LB by Elijah Melendez and De'marcus Riddick, a pair of returners, who helped Auburn rank fifth in run-stuff rate nationally a year ago. In the secondary, Fred Gaskin II returns after a 53-tackle season at safety, along with Kaleb Harris, who had 50 tackles a year ago, and Eric Winters, who had 33 tackles.
• Alex McPherson is a proven field goal weapon, making 20 of 23 attempts, including a 49-yarder last year. Hudson Kaak returns as the punter, with Bryce Cain, Neptune, DeShawn Spender, Rayshawn Pleasant, Gaskin and Omar Mapsen potential returner options.
LAST MEETING
• Baylor suffered a loss in the season opener a year ago in Waco, as Auburn ran wild on the ground in a 38-24 win over the Bears on a Friday night at McLane Stadium.
• After a Connor Hawkins field goal opened the scoring for the Bears, Auburn scored 17 straight to take a 17-3 lead, before a Kobe Prentice TD pass from Sawyer Robertson narrowed the lead to 17-10 at halftime. The lead for AU grew after a third-quarter Jeremiah Cobb TD run, which was answered by Caden Knighten's first career TD, a four-yard grab from Robertson. Rayshawn Pleasant took a 98 yard kickoff return to the house for an immediate answer. A 79-yard drive, ending in a Michael Trigg TD catch in the fourth quarter cut the lead to seven with 11:48 left but a seven-minute, 75-yard drive saw QB Jackson Arnold put the game out of reach with a 27-yard TD scamper with 4:32 left in the game.
• Auburn rolled to 307 yards rushing and 108 yards passing, while Robertson threw for 419 yards but the Bears were limited to just 64 yards rushing. Arnold was 11-for-17 but rushed for 137 yards and two scores. Bryson Washington battled early injuries in the game and toted it 14 times for 54 yards. WR Kole Wilson had a career game with eight grabs for 134 yards, while Trigg had seven catches for 99 yards. Keaton Thomas led the Bears with 16 tackles.
PEACH BOWL HISTORY
• Baylor has a brief history in the Peach Bowl, having won a 1979 matchup vs. No. 18 Clemson, 24-18 at Fulton County Stadium. The 19th-ranked Bears built a 14-7 lead at halftime and used 10 points in the third quarter to build a 24-10 lead, with the Tigers getting a TD in the final seconds of the game. BU rushed for 62 yards and threw for 171, led by Walter Abercrombie's 12 totes for 32 yards, and Mike Brannan and Mickey Elam leading the offensive attack at QB.
SERIES HISTORY
• Baylor and Auburn will be meeting for the sixth time, with the series even at 2-2-1, including a 1-0 lead for the Tigers in neutral site meetings.
NEXT UP
• Baylor will return to Waco for its season home lid-lifter, hosting defending SWAC Champion Prairie View A&M on Saturday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Baylor Sports Radio Network. It kicks off a three-game homestand for the Bears.
RECAP THE YEAR
• Baylor is coming off a 5-7 season that included a 3-6 mark in Big 12 Conference play, narrowly missing a bowl game and electing not to participate in a bowl invitation in the offseason as a five-win team. The Bears opened the year with an electric crowd on a Friday night vs. Auburn, wearing chrome helmets and anthracite uniforms for the first time in nearly a decade but couldn't stop the running attack from the Tigers, who rolled to over 300 yards rushing in a 38-24 win. An immediate bounce-back game at No. 17/16 SMU saw the Bears rally to tie the game in the closing minutes and force overtime, outlasting the upstart Mustangs with a second-overtime field goal winner that saw Sawyer Robertson sling for over 400 yards passing.
• A win over Samford pushed the record to 2-1 but a crushing loss to Arizona State, 27-24, which featured rushing heroics from Sam Leavitt, who ran for 62 yards and threw for 221, pushed the Sun Devils past the Bears. An efficient 45-27 win at Oklahoma State, led by an interim head coach, and a thrilling 35-34 win over Kansas State, that featured a late-game call to go for two during the comeback win that ultimately pushed the Bears to the win, and saw Jacob Redding return an interception 66 yards for a TD, made the Bears 3-2.
• A whirlwind game that featured multiple hours of weather delays at TCU pushed the Bears in a hole and a late-game rally wasn't enough as a trio of interceptions clinched a 42-36 win for the Frogs. Cincinnati, ranked No. 21, used a furious ground attack to beat Baylor 41-20 in the Queen City, but Baylor responded with a dominating 30-3 win over UCF at McLane Stadium, to pull a win away from bowl eligibility.
• The season ended on a three-game losing streak, including losses to No. 13 Utah, at Arizona and a heartbreaker against Houston in the season finale that saw the Bears throwing into the endzone from inside the 10-yard line in the closing seconds to seek a tie game.
• Baylor's season was led by the Big 12's leading passing attack, sported by Robertson throwing for 3,681 yards and 31 TDs. A hampered Bryson Washington battled through to rush for 788 yards and six TDs, while freshmen Caden Knighten and Michael Turner emerged as running back weapons in lieu of a fall camp season-ending injury to Dawson Pendergrass. TE Michael Trigg had an All-America season, catching a single-season TE record 50 balls for 694 yards and six TDs. WR Josh Cameron had 69 catches for 872 yards and nine TDs. Keaton Thomas led the defense for a second straight season, totaling 105 tackles and seven TFLs. Redding had three interceptions to lead the club.
BAYLOR LINE HONORED BY USA TODAY
• The Baylor Line was named the winner of USA TODAY's 2026 Readers' Choice Award for Best Walk-Out Tradition. Baylor won the award in a battle with Auburn (Tiger Walk/War Eagle Flight), Clemson (Howard's Rock), Colorado (Running Ralphie), East Carolina (Purple Haze), Florida State (Planting the Spear), Georgia Tech (Ramblin' Wreck), Iowa (Swarm), Miami (The Smoak), Michigan (Touch the Banner), Nebraska (Sirius Tunnel Walk), Notre Dame (Play Like a Champion Today), Oregon (Duck on a bike), Penn State (The Whiteout Walkout), South Carolina (2001: A Space Odyssey), Tennessee (Running Through the T), Texas A&M (Power), UCF (Knight Walk), USC (Sword Plunge) and Virginia Tech (Enter Sandman).
LEGACY LAGWAY TAKES OVER AS QB1
• Baylor's new signal caller is a Baylor legacy, as junior DJ Lagway follows in the footsteps of his father, Derek Lagway Sr., a bruising running back for the Bears from 1997-2001.
• Derek played in 40 games over his BU career, rushing 185 times for 711 yards with six TDs, while also catching 57 balls for 479 yards. During the 1999 season, Derek had 215 rushing yards and 102 receiving, a year after going for 335 rushing yards and 266 receiving.
• A 6-foot-3, 237-pound QB, DJ was the No. 1-ranked recruit coming out of Willis High School. He chose Florida and started 19 games over his last two years for the Gators, despite battling injuries each season. DJ threw for 4,179 yards with 28 TDs over two years in Gainesville, Fla., and rushed for 237 yards with a TD. While leading UF to a 6-1 record as a starter as a true freshman, DJ threw for 1,915 yards in 12 games, with 12 TDs, and rushing for 101 yards. He started all 12 games in 2025, tossing 16 TDs with 2,264 yards and 136 rushing yards with a TD.
• Lagway, who grew up loving Baylor football, admiring Robert Griffin III, and dreaming of playing for the Bears in the footsteps of his father, has embraced the role of returning to his roots.
ARANDA LEADS BEARS INTO SEASON SEVEN
• Baylor is led for the seventh year by Coach Dave Aranda, a former national coach of the year when he led the Bears to a school-record 12-2 season in 2021 – his second year – and a Big 12 and Sugar Bowl trophy.
• After calling the defensive plays and serving as the inside linebackers coach the last two years, Aranda has stepped back from leading the defense and hired Joe Klanderman to run the unit from Kansas State. Aranda has benefited from the transition, allowing him to spend more time leading the overall program, coach the coaches and connect better with the players in an effort to build a dynamic culture.
• Aranda is widely considered one of the top defensive minds in college football over the last decade, with incredibly successful runs as a defensive coordinator at LSU, Wisconsin, Utah State, Hawaii and Delta State. He grew up in coaching in the Air Raid tree, with tenures at Texas Tech and Houston.
• Aranda led the LSU defense in 2019 as the Tigers posted a perfect 15-0 record and won the National Title with a 42-25 victory over Clemson in CFP National Championship Game.
• In six seasons as defensive coordinator at Power 4 schools from 2014-19, his defenses were ranked top-12 nationally in total yards five times. The units also ranked top-10 in scoring four times in seven years from 2013-19.
• A Redlands, Calif., native, Aranda and his wife Dione have two daughters, Jaelyn and Jordyn and a son Ronin. He has been intentional about increasing the visibility of the program via social media since December, allowing fans inside the program via that platform.
KLANDERMAN TO LEAD DEFENSE
• The major coaching change in the Baylor program came with a shift in defensive coordinator following the 2025 season. Coach Dave Aranda pulled back after serving as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach and made the decision to hire Joe Klanderman from Kansas State, a proven DC in the unique offensively geared Big 12 and a coach that Aranda could completely turn the keys of the defense over too.
• Klanderman, regarded as one of the best defensive minds in the game, spent seven years at Kansas State, moving from safeties coach in 2019 to running the defensive from 2020-25. He previously helped lead North Dakota State to four national titles in five years and spent 12 years at his alma mater, Minnesota State.
• Klanderman's defense has ranked in the nation's top 30 in defensive efficiency rating in each of his last five seasons leading the unit, including 27th in 2025, 24th in 2024, 16th in 2023, 14th in 2022 and 21st in 2021. Under Klanderman, KSU finished top four in scoring defense on four different occasions including 2022, when they also led the league in defensive efficiency (123.4) en route to a Big 12 Championship. Forcing a league-leading 88 turnovers across the last four seasons, Kansas State's 23.1 points per game allowed trail only Iowa State, in that span.
• During his tenure, NDSU ranked top-five nationally in scoring defense all five years and compiled 100 interceptions, including a nation-leading 23 in 2018. His 2016 defense ranked fourth in the FCS in scoring defense and 14th in total defense. In 2017, his defense led the nation in yards allowed and ranked second in scoring defense. The 2018 unit ranked second in scoring defense and interceptions and fifth in yards allowed.
• Klanderman brought with him three members of the Kansas State defense, including a pair of safeties in the room he leads, Daniel Cobbs and Colby McCalister, and edge rusher Ryan Davis. He also welcomed three staff members from K-State, including assistant nickels coach David Orloff, and quality control minds in Cade Koster and Parker Schrater.
EARLY ENROLLEES
• Baylor had 39 total spring enrollees participate in spring practice among its 54 total newcomers. Early enrollees included QBs DJ Lagway and Quinn Murphy, RBs HD Davis and Ryelan Morris, WRs Gavin Freeman, DeBraun Hampton, Dre'lon Miller and London Smith, OLs Asher Hale, Nate Kibble, Logan Moore, Lawson Petty and Cole Rhett, DLs Jae'Lin Battle, Kameren Washington, Hosea Wheeler, Jamaal Whyce Jr., Des Zavion Hardy, Jordan Mack and Daemian Wimberly, JACKs Ryan Davis and Garrick Ponder, LBs Kaleb Arterberry, Anthony Crenshaw Jr., Jamarion Phillips, JJ Shelton and Kedrick Walker, CBs Devon Jordan, Stilton McKelvey and Jayden Rowe, safeties Austin Ausberry, Daniel Cobbs, Jordan Davis, Colby McCalister and Cole Redding, and long snapper Brady Hibbard.
PORTAL ADDITIONS
• Baylor added a program-high 39 players from the transfer portal for the 2026 season. It marked a change in philosophy for Coach Dave Aranda, who broke from spending revenue share and NIL allotment on freshmen developmental players and more on key, veteran acquisitions in the portal. Aranda has also prioritized spending more of the resources on the front 7 on each side of the ball. A year ago, the Bears had a significant resource investment in skill positions on the offensive side of the football.
• The Bears added 16 offensive players from the portal and 21 defensive players from the portal, with two special teams pieces.
• The biggest adds were on the defensive side of the ball, specifically the defensive line and edge positions and at safety. Headlining the DL/DE group included Indiana national champion Hosea Wheeler, who joined Texas State's Kameren Washington, Marshall's Jamaal Whyce Jr. and South Florida's Traevon Mitchell in the interior, and South Carolina's Zavion Hardy, Coastal Carolina's Jordan Mack and UTSA's Damien Wimberly. At JACK, Ryan Davis (Kansas State) and Garrick Ponder (Southern Miss) are proven pass rushers.
• Offensive portal adds are highlighted by Florida QB DJ Lagway, who brought teammates in TE Tony Livingston and slot WR DeBraun Hampton, his Willis High School teammate. With four offensive line starters needed, the Bears went deep on the portal adds, including potential starters at LT (Logan Moore – UAB), left guard (Nate Kibble – Texas) and right guard Asher Hale (South Alabama). In addition, Cole Rhett (Toledo) has emerged as another instant-impact portal add on the OL.
BAYLOR AMONG NATION LEADERS IN BIG THREE WINS
• Baylor athletics is in the midst of a historic run of success, including recent national titles in men's and women's basketball, and football coming off a Big 12 Conference Championship in 2021 and the 2022 Sugar Bowl.
• Since 2011, and as of the end of the 2025-26 athletics season, no other school can compete with Baylor's run, as the Bears rank second in the nation in wins combined among football, and men's and women's basketball. UConn owns the nation-leading total and the Bears sit just two wins shy entering the 2026-27 season.
SIERACKIS LEAD THE O-LINE
• While Baylor has to replace four starters on the offensive line, one position is secure in right tackle with fifth-year Kaden Sieracki. Kaden will be joined by his brother, junior Koltin, who will likely start at either center or guard. Koltin started three games last year in place of injured center Coleton Price or guard Omar Aigbedion. Kaden has played in 37 games in his career with 22 starts, mostly at tackle but also seeing time at guard. The 6-foot-9, 310 pounder, Kaden started all 12 games at right tackle, logging 948 snaps, while not allowing a sack. He started next to Koltin when the 6-4, 317 junior was in the lineup at right guard, a total of 278 snaps. The Sierackis hail from The Woodlands, Texas.
NEW-LOOK TIGHT ENDS
• A year ago, Baylor boasted the nation's best tight end in Michael Trigg, who was a consensus All-America selection. A dynamic receiving threat, Trigg often split out in the slot and was a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. With the graduation of Trigg to the Dallas Cowboys, the Bears must mount a tall task at replacing him in the offense. The task will be led by senior Matthew Klopfenstein, who has played in 34 games over his career with one start entering the season. A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Klopfenstein has 17 career catches and 150 yards with two TDs, both coming vs. Oklahoma State. Behind the 6-foot-4, 248-pound Klopfenstein is blocking dynamos in Hawkins Polley and Tony Livingston, a Florida transfer. The 6-4, 246-pound Polley has the ability to impact the run game, along with Livingston, a 6-6 255 senior who had 22 career catches for 232 yards and four TDs during his first three years at Florida.
• Other options at tight end include true freshmen in Parker Almanza and Kai Wesley. Almanza, the brother of safety Leo Almanza, played QB during his time at Byron Nelson High School, as a tactic to get the ball in his hands more often as a bruising runner. Wesley joined the Bears from Orem, Utah, and is a 6-7, 252 pound monster. In addition, Brody Wilhelm, a 6-5, 236 pound product of Austin Westlake High School, has had a strong camp.
CORNERS CAN COVER
• A potential strength of this Baylor defense under new coordinator Joe Klanderman is the production from its cornerback room. Returning starters include fixture LeVar Thornton, a lengthy 6-foot-3, 182 pound senior who started all 11 games last year with 30 tackles, seven PBUs and one interception. Reggie Bush II started the last five games of the year at corner and has played in 30 games in his career as a fifth year. One of the biggest additions to the room came in the form of Oklahoma's Devon Jordan (pronounced DAY-von). Jordan played in 25 games over two years at OU and served as the primary reserve corner for the Sooners last year, totaling 16 tackles and one sack. He has emerged as a team leader and as a major weapon at cornerback, opposite Thornton in the rotation.
EDGE PRESENCE
• Baylor finished the year in 2025 with just 12 sacks and 48 TFLs, creating a major need for revamping the pass-rush side of the game in the offseason. After Baylor missed on some defensive line and edge rushing portal additions last year, the Bears went hard after proven players who have a known passion for the game in the portal. Baylor added potential JACK starters in Ryan Davis (Kansas State) and Garrick Ponder (Southern Miss), while turning the defensive line into one that projects as one of the best units in the nation.
• Davis, a native of Phoenix who played for Coach Joe Klanderman at Kansas State, and Ponder have emerged as two of the top newcomers at the position, along with defensive end options in Zavion Hardy, Kyler Jordan, Jordan Mack, Trent Thomas and Daemian Wimberly. Davis totaled eight TFLs and 6.5 sacks over two years at K-State, including 5.5 TFLs and four sacks in just nine games last year. Ponder had a productive year for the Eagles, playing in 13 games with six starts, totaling 37 tackles, 11.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks.
• Other JACK additions include Jaylin Jones, who redshirted last year after an All-C-USA year at UTEP, and true freshman Tyrone Morgan.
• The addition of a defensive end room – led by Coach Carson Hall, who led outside linebackers last year – includes the shift of Jordan to a more natural position with his hand in the dirt. A team captain, Jordan was one of Baylor's highest graded players in the spring with the positional change. He has played in 40 games with 10 starts in his career. Trent Thomas, a 6-foot-6 259 pound senior, has positioned himself to contribute in the room, along with newcomers in Hardy, Mack and Wimberly. Hardy was the nation's No. 1 JUCO recruit, before choosing South Carolina, in the 2025 class.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS
• A key piece of Dave Aranda's philosophy in his Baylor career has been creating one of the nation's best special teams units. Three times in his six years, Baylor has had a top-10 special teams unit according to BCF Toys Special Teams FEI Ratings, including the No. 2 unit in 2023. According to ESPN's SP+ special teams rankings, Baylor has ranked in the top 25 in four years, including as high as No. 4 in 2024.
• Under the direction of special teams coordinator Mark Scott for the fourth year, and assisted by Ryan Pollard, the Baylor special teams is elite. Boasted by the nation's top punter, Palmer Williams the last four years, the Bears have had special teams as a weapon. Last year, Baylor led the nation in net punting a year after Williams led the nation in punting average in 2024 among those who punted 2.5 times per game.
• The Bears will have to replace consistent field goal kicker in Connor Hawkins who hit the portal late to Ohio State. That marks the first year in the Aranda era when the kicker was unsettled going into the season as the Bears will turn to sophomore Rhett Armstrong for his first career field goal attempts in 2026.
• Long snapper is a position of strength with three-year starter Dylan Schaub at the position, and Williams will serve as the holder.
NATION'S BEST PUNTER
• For the fourth straight year, Baylor feels like it has the nation's best punter in senior Palmer Williams. A year after BU led the nation in net punting (45.0) and Williams was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the year, a Ray Guy Award Finalist, and an All-American, the native of Advance, N.C., is poised to be a major weapon for the Bears.
• Williams, a 6-foot-2, 221-pound athlete, had a conference-leading 46.92 yards per punt in 2025. Last season, he booted it 27 times with only 12 punts returned for just 32 yards. Eleven of Williams' punts landed inside the 20 and seven were fair caught, while 11 traveled at least 50 yards, giving Williams 39 career 50+-yard boots, tied for the seventh-most in Baylor history.
• Entering his senior year, Williams has punted 107 times for 4,981 yards, averaging 46.55 yards per punt which tops BU's program record book by over a yard. His 2024 season was the best punting season in school history, with a school-record average of 49.35 yards per punt on 43 attempts, which also ranked best in the nation among those who punted at least 2.5 times per game. Williams needs just 10 punts of more than 50 yards to move into second place all-time in Baylor history, though he trails the all-time record holder and two-time Ray Guy Award winner Daniel Sepulveda's 94 career such kicks.
• The only challenge for Williams is getting to punt, as Baylor routinely ranks among the top-five schools in power-4 football at going for it on fourth down. The NCAA's threshold for national ranks requires 4.0 punts per game, a mark Williams has not been able to get to the last two years, which would've resulted in contention for a nation-leading mark.
NEW KICKER
• Baylor was hit by a late portal entrant in star kicker Connor Hawkins, who signed a contract with the Bears to return in 2026 only to enter the portal to attend Ohio State. Hawkins had an elite freshman season for the Bears and was poised to be the kicker of the future. With his departure, the Bears now turn to former highly touted kicker Rhett Armstrong to be the guy, with Armstrong serving as the kickoff specialist as a true freshman in 2025. Armstrong was once rated by 247sports as the fifth-best kicking prospect in the class and was invited to the Army All-America Game in 2024.
STARING AT STAR
• Since the departure of Jalen Pitre to NFL stardom following the 2021 Big 12 Championship season, the Bears have been in search of a STAR, or nickelback, that could come close to the production of Pitre. Several candidates have emerged as potential weapons in that position group, including safeties Bo Onu, Colby McCalister and Daniel Cobbs. One could argue that safety is one of the deepest positions on the field for the Bears and the trio could each find ways to impact the game from either of the three safety spots, including free and strong safety.
• Onu emerged as a potential standout during a true freshman season where the Bears elected to play him in each game. A 6-foot, 210-pounder, Onu is such a physical presence at the position that Coach Dave Aranda moved him to inside linebacker for the final game of the year vs. Houston in 2025, in a search to get him on the field and manage injuries at the position. Onu has played exclusively at the nickel position since the spring and his physical nature and competitive demeanor has stood out. Cobbs and McCallister are both transfers from Kansas State with defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman and bring a great knowledge of the scheme and the position. Cobbs has played in 26 games for Klanderman, with 46 tackles, four interceptions and four TFLs, while McCalister, coming off an injury in 2025 has played in 25 games with five starts over his 2023-24 seasons, where he accounted for 51 tackles.
FOOTBALL HISTORY - 125TH SEASON
• The Bears are entering their 125th season of football in 2026. The Bears have fielded a varsity team every year since 1899, save the 1906, 1943 and 1944 seasons.
• BU has won nine conference titles, including in 2021, with three Big 12 Championships and six Southwest Conference Championships.
• Baylor's first season came in 1899-1900, a 5-1 record under Coach R.H. Hamilton that included two wins over Toby's Business.
LINEBACKER CORPS
• The Bears face a tall task in replacing the production of inside linebacker Keaton Thomas, who immediately stepped into the lineup from a Mississippi junior college and was a leader of the defense. Thomas departed for Ole Miss following a second consecutive 100+ tackle season in 2025. The Bears enter the 2026 season led at the inside linebacker position by Travion Barnes and Kyland Reed, with a cast of youthful talent, including Kaleb Burns, and portal additions in Kedrick Walker (Georgia State), Kaleb Arterberry (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC), Anthony Crenshaw (Delaware) and JJ Shelton (Arkansas).
• Barnes entered the 2025 season poised to become a two-headed tackling monster, alongside Thomas, after he collected 129 tackles, including 10.5 for a loss, during the 2024 season at FIU where he ranked fifth nationally in total tackles and third in tackles per game. After making two straight starts, Barnes suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game, preserving his eligibility for the 2026 season. During the spring and fall, Barnes has been a leader of the defense and a fixture in the lineup. Alongside him is another fixture, team co-captain Kyland Reed. Reed started nine games and played in 12 last year, after a true freshman season that saw him not redshirt and play in nine games. He finished with 48 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, with a fumble forced and recovered. A player who earns constant praise from Coach Dave Aranda for his athleticism and leadership, Reed is poised to have a big season.
• Arterberry is coming off a 51-tackle season for MGCC and has earned praise during the preseason. Burns is a 6-foot-1, 224-pound stick of dynamite that had 18 tackles, 1.5 for a loss, and an interception as a true freshman who was a four-star recruit and the fifth-best linebacker in the nation coming out of Houston's Cy Falls High School. Crenshaw played in 26 games over his three-year career at Delaware, totaling 42 tackles, and Walker played in 12 games last year as a JUCO transfer to Georgia State, finishing with 57 tackles, 6.5 for a loss with 2.5 sacks. Shelton, a 6-1, 204-pounder, was a recruit out of Dallas South Oak Cliff that the Bears wanted before he chose Arkansas, where he had seven tackles, a sack and a PBU in nine games in 2025.
INJURY UPDATES
• Baylor has battled limited injuries in the preseason, with a spring practice season-ending injury to WR Ashton Jones the most notable for the 2026 season.
• Again in 2026, the Bears will participate in the Big 12's Player Availability reports, which will be public four times a week, including the morning of game day in league games.
BEARS IN SEASON OPENERS
• Baylor owns an 82-38-4 all-time record in season lid-lifters.
• Under Coach Dave Aranda, the Bears are 4-2 in season lid-lifters.
PENDERGRASS RETURNS
• One of the biggest injury blows to the Bears came in the preseason last year when Dawson Pendergrass, a bruising member of a two-headed RB rotation, suffered a season-ending setback. That pushed true freshman Caden Knighten and Michael Turner into the picture, and Bryson Washington, who a year prior had set the freshman rushing record, played through consistent injuries throughout the 2025 campaign.
• Pendergrass is back to full speed and enters the 2026 season as a 1,000 yard career rusher with 11 TDs. His freshman season saw him rush for 338 yards and five scores, and as a sophomore had 671 yards and six TDs. He is also a weapon out of the backfield, totaling 302 receiving yards in his first two seasons with three scores. He is a big, physical back who creates contact and owns surprising speed and quickness for a tailback of his stature.
SINGLE DIGITS
• Coach Dave Aranda has kept a tradition alive in recent years of awarding deserving players on the team single digit numbers, which are determined in a voting of their teammates. In 2026, the Bears have 10 single-digit numbers, including:
• 0: Hosea Wheeler (DL)
• 1: Dre'lon Miller (WR)
• 2: DJ Lagway (QB)
• 3: Jadon Porter (WR)
• 4: Louis Brown IV (WR)
• 5: Travion Barnes (LB)
• 6: Gavin Freeman (WR)
• 7: Devon Jordan (CB)
• 8: Jacob Redding (S)
• 9: Ryan Davis (JACK)
• Wheeler has credited fifth-year leader Michael Allen as awarding him the No. 0 jersey. Allen was voted as a single-digit number by his teammates and Allen wanted to award Wheeler a No. 0 jersey independently, doing so during a team meeting.
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
• Baylor had its players vote for a leadership council on the 2026 team, getting a vote from each student-athlete on who is a leader amongst the team, their position group and their class.
• The Baylor 2026 leadership council includes: Michael Allen, Louis Brown IV, Ryan Davis, Gavin Freeman, Kyler Jordan, Matthew Klopfenstein, DJ Lagway, Jordan Mack, Quinn Murphy, Bo Onu, Dawson Pendergrass, Jadon Porter, Jacob Redding, Kyland Reed, Kaden Sieracki, LeVar Thornton, Devin Turner, Hosea Wheeler, Jamaal Whyce Jr. and Palmer Williams.
WHO WILL BACK-UP DJ?
• A story of the preseason is who will win the back-up QB job behind DJ Lagway. Last year, the Bears had three players listed as "or" in the back-up on the depth chart. A similar scenario is unfolding in the preseason as a three-way battle for back-up is in progress and will continue during the year.
• Nate Bennett was the most likely player in the room to step up and relieve Sawyer Robertson last year and enters the 2026 season as a junior who has been in the system for three years. A 6-foot-1, 192-pound California, Bennett is a special arm talent and a creative athlete. Joining him in the battle is sophomore Edward Griffin, who starred at Coppell High School and was named district MVP after throwing for over 6,000 yards with 81 TDs over his last two seasons. A workaholic, Griffin is dedicated to his craft. True freshman Quinn Murphy starred at Argyle's Liberty Christian High School, where he ranks third all-time in passing TDs in Texas High School history, behind only Grant Gunnell, Travis Quintanilla and ahead of Graham Harrell and Shedeur Sanders. He led Liberty to the 2024 state title. A 6-3, 209-pounder, Murphy is one of the fastest players on the team.
TEAM CAPTAINS
• Baylor previously did not name team captains for the season, electing to go strictly with game captains for each game. In 2026, the Bears have named permanent team captains, including:
• QB DJ Lagway
• LB Kyland Reed
• DE Kyler Jordan
• TE Matt Klopfenstein
• DL Jamaal Whyce Jr.
• S Michael Allen
WR OPTIONS
• Baylor must replace its five top pass catchers from the Big 12's leading passing offense in 2026. The departure of Josh Cameron and All-America TE Michael Trigg to the NFL, and the graduate/professional development of Ashtyn Hawkins, Kole Wilson and Kobe Prentice opens a massive void for pass catchers.
• Leading the way for the WR unit has been Louis Brown IV, who was a story of fall camp last year as a summer enrollee. Brown was a star of the preseason and found himself behind the quintet of receiving options early in the year. Baylor elected to redshirt Brown to preserve his eligibility for one more season. Brown has 103 career catches, over Colorado State and San Diego State, for 1,278 yards and nine TDs. He had six grabs for 79 yards and a TD in his four games for the Bears in 2025. He has again emerged as a major weapon for the offense in 2026.
• Junior Jadon Porter is also poised to have a major role in the passing attack after earning playing time despite playing in a deep position group his first two years. He has played in 18 games with one start, totaling 11 catches for 108 yards and a TD. His position coach, Dallas Baker, believes he has a great future in football ahead of him as a highly skilled route runner.
• The Bears also welcomed do-it-all Colorado threat, former star recruit out of Silsbee High School, Dre'lon Miller to the program. Miller, a 6-foot, 207-pound weapon, played in 18 games with 10 starts at CU, with 45 catches for 376 yards and three TDs, and rushed 50 times for 144 yards and a TD. Miller was pushed to running back as a sophomore with 46 carries, after a 25-catch season as a true freshman.
• Gavin Freeman has also been a major story of the preseason after playing for the offensive-short Oklahoma State Cowboys the last two years. Despite a revolving door at QB for two seasons, Freeman caught 53 balls for 581 yards and four TDs last year and has 81 career catches for 667 yards and five TDs, which included two seasons and 22 catches at Oklahoma. He also rushed 24 times for 141 yards in his career entering 2026, and has over 500 yards of return yardage with an 82 yard punt return for a TD for OU. A slot weapon, Freeman has the ability to find open space, make people miss and play bigger than his 5-foot-9 size.
• The Bears also welcomed Jayden McGowan as a summer enrollee. A 5-7, 187-pound ball of muscle, McGowan has 83 catches for 843 yards and three TDs over his career at Vanderbilt, Boston College and Charlotte. He was a major weapon for the Commodores his first two seasons, totaling 80 catches, toting it 32 times, and owning an All-SEC resume as a kickoff returner that included over 800 yards and a 97-yard kickoff return for a TD. He missed the majority of the 2025 season while at Charlotte due to injury.
• The Bears also have true freshmen London Smith, a local product out of University High School who has turned heads in the preseason with his 6-0, 211-pound frame. And also return Taz Williams Jr., a social media presence, who was a four-star recruit out of high school.
NEW FACES ON O-LINE
• Following the graduation and portaling of 3.5 offensive line starters, the Bears must replace the offensive line in 2026. Tackle Kaden Sieracki returns as a fixture at the tackle post, and his brother Koltin Sieracki will start after serving as a part-time starter last year at both guard and center.
• At tackle, UAB transfer Logan Moore, a 6-foot-8, 296-pound athlete, appears to be the starter. Moore started 11 games for the Blazers in 2025. He and Kaden Sieracki will be reinforced by Cole Rhett, who has the ability to play both outside and inside, and could be one of Baylor's top-six offensive linemen. Matthew Parker, a sophomore out of Brandon, Miss., is also a potential weapon at both tackle posts.
• The guard positions have remained a battle in preseason camp, as Koltin Sieracki and Harrison Cluff are both capable of playing guard and center. Koltin is likely the front runner at center, and Cluff could back him up, and earn a starting spot at guard. Texas transfer Nate Kibble and South Alabama transfer Asher Hale are both poised to make a mark at the guard spots. Hale started 11 games at right guard last year for USA as a sophomore.
• Other potential names on the offensive line include standout true freshman Donel Robinson Jr., who can play guard and tackle ,summer enrollee Muyont'a Maxwell, who sees time at guard, JUCO transfer David Roberts Jr., and UIW transfer Lawson Petty. In addition, 25-year old eighth-year senior Cooper Lovelace is working his way back into form and has been a starter at Northwestern on the offensive line, making 11 starts in 2024.
THREE-HEADED TAILBACK MONSTER
• The Bears will boast at least a three-headed tailback monster this year, including returners Dawson Pendergrass, Caden Knighten and Michael Turner. A trio of backs who can each exercise unique skill sets, this provides depth at a key position of need.
• Knighten and Turner played significant time as true freshmen after a season-ending injury to Pendergrass in 2025, and Turner missed the first few games due to injury of his own. The duo combined for 789 yards behind Bryson Washington, who was consistently nicked up with injuries. Knighten had 104 carries for 469 yards and a score, and Turner had 65 carries for 323 yards and a TD.
• Behind the trio, Ryelan Morris could see action. Morris is a Swiss-army knife who can impact the run and pass game and is more physical than his 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame suggests. In addition, Jacorey Watson, who came to Baylor as a WR, is in the running-back room.
DEEP SAFETY ROOM
• The Bears boast a deep and talented safety room in 2026, a key position in Coach Dave Aranda and Coach Joe Klanderman's system.
• Baylor returns major weapons at safety including breakout 2025 star Jacob Redding, who had three picks and totaled 53 tackles, physical force Micah Gifford, and 2025 portal additions in Devin Turner and Tyler Turner. Devin Turner suffered a season-ending injury on the last play of the spring "game" in 2025 and missed the season. Devin was an All-Big 10 safety at Northwestern in 2023 and was a key piece of the portal class for the Bears after he had a 79-tackle season in 2023, and a 53-tackle effort in 2024 that featured three picks. Tyler Turner was pressed into service in 2025 following a career at Oregon, where he had played in 17 games over two seasons. Tyler played in 12 games with three starts, with 32 tackles and two PBUs for the Bears in 2025. Bo Onu is slated to be a major weapon at the nickel position following logging significant time as a true freshman.
• The Bears also added from the portal, including Kansas State safeties Daniel Cobbs and Colby McCallister. The duo can play both nickel and safety. McCallister had 51 tackles over his last two seasons at K-State, before suffering an injury that forced him to miss 2025, and Cobbs had 39 tackles in 2025 for the Wildcats with three interceptions. Even deeper, freshman Jordan Davis has turned heads in camp despite a high school career as a home school product, and Colin Peacock has returned from an injury in the 2025 season to become a prospect.
DEFENSIVE-LINE DEPTH
• The deepest, most talented room in the Baylor position grouping in 2026 could very well be the defensive line room, which is considered by Coach Dave Aranda as a team strength. The defensive line group was completely re-invested in as Aranda revamped the way the Bears spent their resources in the portal. Baylor welcomed true defensive linemen from the portal in Traevon Mitchell (South Florida), Kamren Washington (Texas State), Hosea Wheeler (Indiana) and Jammal Whyce Jr. (Marshall). Wheeler and Whyce are poised to lead the unit on the interior and have been head turners throughout camp. Mitchell and Washington have produced throughout their collegiate careers.
• Returning starter Devonte Tezino, a 6-foot-5, 284-pound fifth-year will have a mark on the defensive line group. Returner Braylen Jackson has had a good camp and is a team leader. True freshman Jae'Lin Battle was a major recruit and will see time on the defensive line. Jackson Blackwell is also a physically strong player.
• Also counting as defensive ends, includes returners Kyler Jordan and Trent Thomas, and newcomers Zavion Hardy (South Carolina), Jordan Mack (Coastal Carolina) and Daemian Wimberly (UTSA). Those edge rushers are under position coach Carson Hall.
FUTURE COACH MICHAEL ALLEN
• A clear-cut team leader on the roster is 5-foot-7, 180-pound safety Michael Allen. A fixture on kickoff return, Allen is not necessarily who you would suggest is a team leader but that is not the case in Waco. Allen, the nephew of former New Orleans Saints Head Coach Dennis Allen, has coaching in his blood.
• He has been such a vital member of the team that Coach Dave Aranda has welcomed Allen into the program staff meetings and Allen served as a member of the operations staff as an intern during the summer. A team co-captain, one of six, Allen was credited as being a key piece of turning the 2024 season around, giving the Friday night speech to the team in Lubbock, Texas, before the Bears routed the Red Raiders on homecoming and sparked a six-game win streak to conclude the regular-season, the longest such streak in program history.
• Allen serves as a signaler of the defensive calls on the sideline but is the up-man on kickoff returns and also is on the punt team.
'UNC' LOVELACE
• Baylor added a summer enrollee to help on the offensive line in eighth-year senior Cooper Lovelace, a product of the class of 2019 out of high school. Lovelace has played at Butler CC, USC, Northwestern and Colorado before joining the Bears. He is the second-oldest non-punter in college football, having been born on Dec. 20, 2000. Only Utah tight end Noah Bennee (Aug. 20, 2000) is older in the non-punter group.
CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS
• Baylor will wear a special helmet for its Childhood Cancer Awareness game during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month vs. Louisiana Tech. The helmet decal was designed by a pediatric hematology/oncology patient and was inspired by artwork created during a recent visit to McLane Children's Medical Center in Temple, where Baylor football student-athletes and pediatric patients spent time personalizing versions of the Baylor Bear Head together. The selected artwork serves as a symbol of support for children and families facing pediatric cancer.
• "Our football program is honored to support the incredible children and families at McLane Children's," Dave Aranda said. "Our players are inspired by their courage and resilience, and it's a privilege to wear a helmet that represents them during our Childhood Cancer Awareness game this September."
• The artwork chosen for the helmet decal was created by 6-year-old ILaria Ramirez of Cameron, Texas. She titled her design "Helmet of Hope," a message she wrote directly on the artwork. The design also features the words faith, victory and strength, each chosen by ILaria herself. Inspired by ILaria's artwork and its message, the "Helmet of Hope" decal will be featured on every Baylor football helmet during the Sept. 19 Gold Rush game, serving as a tribute to children battling cancer and the resilience they demonstrate every day.
FUTURE SCHEDULE CHANGE
• Baylor adjusted its future scheduling in the non-conference, adding a home-and-home series with Maryland for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. The Bears replaced their two-game series with Oregon in a mutually agreed upon cancellation, and will now face Maryland in College Park, Md., on Sept. 18, 2027, before returning the game to McLane Stadium on Sept. 16, 2028.
• Baylor's 2027 schedule is now complete, with dates for conference games still to be assigned by the Big 12 Conference. The Bears will host UIW on Sept. 4, 2027 in the season lid-lifter, then travel to face Air Force on Sept. 11 in Colorado Springs, Colo., before traveling to face the Terps on Sept. 18 in College Park, Md. Baylor will have league home games vs. Arizona, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State, UCF and West Virginia, and will travel to face Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech and Utah.
• The 2028 schedule will include a season opener at home vs. North Texas on Sept. 2, 2028. BU will host the Terps on Sept. 18.
• The meeting in 2027 will mark the third game in the series with Maryland and the first since 1956. The series is tied 1-1, with BU winning the meeting in College Park in 1956, 14-0, and Maryland claiming a 20-6 win over Baylor in 1955 in Waco.
ROBERT GRIFFIN III ON HALL OF FAME BALLOT
• Baylor football legend Robert Griffin III has been featured on the ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame, it was announced by the National Football Foundation.
• Griffin is one of three former Heisman Trophy winners featured on the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame Ballot, joining Mark Ingram and Cameron Newton.
• The 2011 Heisman Trophy winner, Griffin had a historic career for the Bears from 2008-11. He set or tied 54 school records, including 20 career marks, 26 single-season and eight single-game records, including career passing yards, total offense, completions and passing TDs. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 2011, helping lead the Bears to a No. 12 national ranking, which came after a 2010 season that saw BU advance to its first bowl game in 16 years.
• Griffin boasts a bevy of awards from his Baylor career, in addition to the Heisman, including Big 12 Male Athlete of the year, the Davey O'Brien and Manning Awards, and freshman All-America honors in 2008. He was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
• The native of Copperas Cove, Texas, Griffin was the No. 2 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, playing seven years with three teams, including a 2012 Pro Bowl season that culminated in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
• A two-time academic All-American, a three-time dean's list selection and a 10-time academic honoree by the Big 12 Conference, Griffin graduated with a bachelor's degree in political science in 2010. He and his wife Greta, and children Reese Ann, Gloria, Gameye and Gia, have been fixtures in their community, including via the RGIII Foundation, which is committed to helping underprivileged children, military families and victims of domestic abuse.
• Griffin has become a leading voice in sports media following his playing career, and is entering his first college football season as a lead color analyst for FOX Sports, after previously working with ESPN and Netflix.
• The Bears have nine former greats inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, most recently QB Don Trull in 2013. Safety Thomas Everett, head coach Grant Teaff, linebacker Mike Singletary, end Lawrence Elkins, tackle Jim Ray Smith, guard Bill Glass, guard Barton Koch and head coach Morley Jennings all represent BU in the CFB Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
ACADEMIC BEARS
• Baylor posted a 3.03 cumulative GPA in the spring semester, the top semester GPA – excluding COVID online classes – in program history.
CONNECTING THE TEAMS
• Baylor has limited connections to Auburn, most notably running back Bryson Washington, who joined the Tigers after ranking in the top 14 in Baylor program history in rushing yards. Washington joined the Tigers for the 2026 season.
• Among the connections for the programs is second-year Auburn Assistant AD Taylor Bryan, who served as the football SID and Associate AD at Baylor for four seasons.
• Baylor Director of Football Operations Landrie Walsh spent the 2022 season as the Director of Recruiting at Texas A&M, when Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was in the same role for the Aggies.
GRADUATES ON ROSTER
• Baylor has 16 players who have already graduated on its 2026 roster, including Michael Allen, Austin Ausberry, Reggie Bush, Daniel Cobbs, Braylen Jackson, Matthew Klopfenstien, Cooper Lovelace, Jayden McGowan, Garrick Ponder, Kaden Sieracki, Riley Sullivan, Devonte Tezino, Devin Turner, Kameren Washington, Hosea Wheeler and Jamaal Whyce Jr.
FOUR BEARS BAPTIZED IN MAY
• Baylor is a transformational experience for a young person and specifically for their walk in faith. This was proven true once again, as four newcomers were baptized in May, professing their lives to Christ in front of their teammates in a baptism in the Fudge Football Center.
• Kaleb Arterberry, Daniel Cobbs, DJ Lagway and Stilton McKelvey participated in the most-impactful moments of their spiritual lives, acknowledging Him as their Lord and Savior in front of teammates, coaches, staff and friends and family. Baylor Associate Athletics Director for Mission Impact & Enrichment and the Athletics Chaplain, Kevin Washington, and senior safety Michael Allen baptized the four young men in the athletics training spaces at the Fudge Center.
• "Moments like these are so special and speak to the mission of our University and program," Dave Aranda said. "These young men were drawn to it through each other, through the relationships they've built. That's what makes it so meaningful. When you watch these guys come in as complete strangers from differing backgrounds and previous institutions, and within a few months they're making the most important commitment of their lives in front of their teammates, that's a culture speaking. I'm proud to be around the young men who make up our program every day."
• For the last few years, Baylor's football program has had a player-led bible study at the Fudge Center. Safety Michael Allen, a fifth-year senior, has been a vital part of leading the bible studies. Each of the newcomers who were baptized on Wednesday have been active participants of the team bible studies and small groups.
• "The ongoing nature of having student-athletes care about things that are eternal has been so prevalent in this program," Washington said. "The baptisms spring from a player-led bible study. The student-athletes lead this completely. It's really rewarding to see our young men commit to something and be willing to publicly express that among their teammates. It's just encouraging to be a part of. God does the work. The people that we're pouring into are the ones that are talking to their teammates and trying to encourage them to understand and apply the gospel in everyday life."
BEARS IN THE NFL
• Baylor has 20 players currently on NFL rosters in the training camp, including 2025 draftees in DL Jackie Marshall and WR Josh Cameron, with the Titans and Jaguars respectively. Michael Trigg signed a large UDFA contract with the Dallas Cowboys, and WRs Kobe Prentice (Patriots) and Kole Wilson (Browns) are both fighting for rosters spots in camp.
• Jalen Pitre, the star safety for the Texans, and Terrel Bernard, a captain linebacker for the Bills, lead the Bears in the NFL, along with long snapping stalwarts Ross Matiscik (Jaguars) and Jon Weeks (49ers).
FIFTH-MOST WINS IN TEXAS IN LAST 15 YEARS
• Through the 2025 season, Baylor has won 110 games since 2011, fifth-most among the state of Texas' 12 FBS teams during that time.
• BU's 110 wins in the last 15 years are shy of Texas A&M (123), TCU (117) and Texas (117), Houston (115), and ahead of SMU (100), Texas Tech (97), UTSA (91), North Texas (87), Rice (69), Texas State (61) and UTEP (49).
CHANEY 40 UNDER 40
• Baylor third-year linebackers coach Jamar Chaney has been selected to the annual 40 Under 40 List of up-and-coming collegiate coaches in the state of Texas by Dave Campbell's Texas Football.
• Chaney was one of 40 collegiate coaches honored on the list. A former All-Southeastern Conference linebacker at Mississippi State, Chaney worked with the inside linebackers from 2024-25 and now under the new scheme of defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, leads the linebackers.
• He previously spent the 2023 season as the outside linebackers coach at Western Kentucky, which followed the 2022 season as an analyst at Florida. In 2020-21 he was a senior defensive analyst at Mississippi State and was the assistant director of player personnel at Florida in 2019.
• A native of Fort Pierce, Fla., Chaney is coming off a season where his linebackers once again excelled, led by Keaton Thomas, who charted a 105-tackle season with seven tackles for a loss. Kyland Reed emerged as a future star in 2025, totaling 49 tackles as the Bears managed through a pair of season-ending losses at the inside linebacker post to projected starters, including Travion Barnes.
• Chaney's 2024 season featured eight wins and a trip to the Texas Bowl, highlighted by the dynamic duo of Thomas and Matt Jones. The pair combined for 227 tackles, with each going over 110 stops, marking the first linebacker duo with 100+ tackles in a season since 2010. The pair earned All-Big 12 Conference honors, led by Jones charting a career year with 113 tackles, 9.5 for a loss with four sacks.
• A former star at MSU, Chaney went for 89 tackles in 2007 while leading the Bulldogs to eight wins. He finished his career from 2005-09 with 285 career tackles and was rated by Rivals in 2009 as the most underrated player in the SEC. He played in the 2010 Senior Bowl and was picked in the NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, spending time with the Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders.
PRESEASON HONORS
• The Bears have had a bevy of honors in the preseason, including 15 different players.
• Punter Palmer Williams is the most honored, as a preseason All-America, including first-team from Walter Camp, second team from CBS Sports and third team from Phil Steele, including preseason All-Big 12 and All-Texas honors. He is also no the Ray Guy Award Watch List, after being a finalist last year.
• QB DJ Lagway is on the Maxwell and Davey O'Brien Award Watch Lists, S Michael Allen is on the AFCA Good Works Team Nomination list and the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.
• Williams headlines a total of eight Bears who have earned preseason All-Big 12 honors, including Hosea Wheeler, Kaden Sieracki, Dylan Schaub, Jacob Redding, Gavin Freeman, Ryan Davis and Travion Barnes.
STAFF ADDITIONS
• Baylor made several changes to its staff in 2026, including replacing defensive coordinator/safeties coach Matthew Powledge with Joe Klanderman from Kansas State. Powledge is now leading the defense for Neal Brown at North Texas and Klanderman takes over after seven years at Kansas State and four national titles working with the DBs at North Dakota State.
• Baylor also replaced Inoke Breckterfield on the defensive line with Coastal Carolina's Jacori Greer. Breckterfield moved to Utah to coach the defensive ends under first-year coach Morgan Scalley.
• Baylor also hired Jeremy Modkins to coach the cornerbacks, replacing Paul Gonzales who moved to USC. Modkins comes to the Bears after coaching the CBs at Rice and is a native of nearby Marlin, Texas.
• Offensive line coach Austin Woods is in his first full year leading that unit, after serving as the interim OL coach for the final five games of the year. He moved into the role, replacing Mason Miller, who is now on the staff at Mississippi State.
• David Orloff came with Klanderman from Kansas State and will serve as the assistant nickels coach, Craig Watts will be the assistant offensive line coach, and Ryan Pollard was promoted to assistant special teams coach, assisting Mark Scott lead one of the nation's most dynamic special teams units under Aranda.
• A change in the structure of the defensive coaching staff also saw Carson Hall move from coaching the outside linebackers to coaching the defensive ends, as the schematic verbiage used by Klanderman differs slightly.
K-STATE IMPACT
• The hire of Joe Klanderman as Baylor's defensive coordinator brought some proven commodities from Kansas State, a program that had been a stabilizing and consistent force in the Big 12 over his time in Manhattan, Kan.
• The Bears welcomed three Kansas State defenders, including JACK Ryan Davis, an elite pass rusher, and a pair of safeties in Klanderman's room, Daniel Cobbs and Colby McCallister. The three have been credited by returning and newcomers on the Baylor defense as helping lead the unit with a great understanding of Klanderman's verbiage and expectations.
• Baylor also welcomed three staff members, assistant nickels coach David Orloff and QCs Cade Koster and Parker Schrater, from Kansas State on the defensive staff.
WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
• Baylor has forced more turnovers than it has allowed in 73 games under head coach Dave Aranda.
• BU has 110 takeaways (73 INTs, 36 FR) and 92 giveaways (54 INTs, 39 FL) in 73 games under Aranda.
• Baylor has scored 18 non-offensive touchdowns in 70 games under Aranda – six kickoff returns (Bell, Reese x 2, Ebner x 3), seven interception returns (Pitre x 2, Thomas, McCarty, Walcott, Woods, Redding), one punt return (Holmes) and five fumble returns (Thomas, Vaughns, Jenkins, Hall, Woods).
McNAMEE TAKES THE HELM
• Baylor hired alum Doug McNamee to serve as the Vice President and Director of Athletics in December, replacing Mack Rhoades IV as the leader of the athletics program. He has immediately instituted a fan first era of Baylor athletics, prioritizing the fans in an era of collegiate athletics turmoil that seemingly prioritizes a variety of stakeholders over what he views as the protagonist of the story of Baylor athletics, the fan.
• McNamee is a Baylor product, a man who echoes the principals and pride of Baylor University and its mission. He comes to the Bears after successful stints as the President of Waco-based Magnolia, the nationally recognized lifestyle and media company founded by Baylor alums Chip and Joanna Gaines, and most recently as President of the re-imagined Field & Stream with country music superstars Eric Church and Morgan Wallen as investors.
• A two-time Baylor graduate, McNamee spent nearly a decade at his alma mater, rising to Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs before departing in 2018 for the corporate sector.
• At Field & Stream, McNamee led the revitalization of the iconic 154-year-old outdoor brand into a modern, multi-platform media and consumer lifestyle company where he led all product, media, retail and content strategy while positioning the company for long-term, omni-channel growth. McNamee oversaw the complete media and retail portfolio, including the return of the beloved print publication, creation of the 1871 Club membership program offering, and the pending launch of Field & Stream TV. He also spearheaded a transformational agreement with Tractor Supply Co. that accelerated growth across licensing and brand visibility.
• Before joining Field & Stream, McNamee served as President of Magnolia, where he led commercial strategy across media, retail, hospitality, e-commerce and partnerships. He provided critical leadership in the business formation, deal structure and strategic terms that enabled the creation and rollout of the highly successful Magnolia Network.
• In his previous stint at Baylor, McNamee was responsible for all major revenue-generating and brand-facing units — including fundraising, marketing, communications and premium ticketing. He also served on the search committee that brought former head football coach Matt Rhule to Baylor, and he played a key role in the fundraising, planning and opening of McLane Stadium over a decade ago.
• McNamee began his career at IMG College, rising quickly to General Manager for Baylor's multimedia portfolio, where he led sponsorship strategy, partnership development and revenue optimization.
FAN FIRST ERA
• Baylor VP/AD Doug McNamee has created a furious push at prioritizing the fan experience at Baylor athletics. He immediately went to work at pushing this mission and the examples are vast, in just a short amount of time.
• Among the Fan First initiatives in the early days of McNamee's tenure include:
• Baylor has completely revamped its concession prices, implementing Fan First Concession Pricing with the lowest concession prices in the Big 12 Conference and among the lowest in the state of Texas. The Bears will unveil a new menu that includes the 254 Classics Menu with $2 popcorn, $2 fountain drinks, $5 nachos, $4 hot dogs and $4 pretzels, along with the creation of the Bear Claw, an oversized pastry with cinnamon and green-and-gold glaze. In addition, new items include Sic 'Em Sliders, Indy & Belle's Touchdown Tacos, The Baylor Line Dog and the 1845 Bear Family Pack for only $18.45, which includes four hot dogs, four sodas and four Pringles.
• Baylor has revamped its tailgating experience, bringing back Baylor Backyard Tailgating and allowing fans to once again enjoy the previously popular gameday experience.
• Baylor Backyard Live will be a pregame concert series elevating the Baylor Backyard Tailgate area before each home game. Texas country icon Pat Green will headline the series for the Colorado game on Sept. 26.
• The Original Bear Walk returns to McLane Stadium for the first time since 2018, creating a longer, more fan-centered experience.
• New LED lighting has been installed at McLane Stadium, providing Baylor with another tool to enhance the atmosphere and create memorable moments throughout gameday.
• The Bear Bell returns to McLane Stadium as part of Baylor's renewed emphasis on traditions, with Bruiser ringing the bell following Baylor touchdowns.
• Baylor announced its Game Themes for 2026, including 254 Night, Gold Rush, Throwback Game, the return of the moniker "The Revivalry," the nation's longest-running Homecoming and Salute to Service Day against Texas Tech.
• As part of the 2026 Game Themes, Baylor will celebrate its history with a Throwback Game against Colorado on Sept. 26, featuring throwback uniforms inspired by the Grant Teaff era, including the iconic bear paw on the shoulders, along with recognition of the 1991 Baylor football team.
• Baylor will partner with McLane Children's to bring awareness to childhood cancer for the Gold Rush game against Louisiana Tech, wearing a special bear head helmet decal designed by ILaria Ramirez, a 6-year-old cancer patient from Cameron, Texas.
• Growl Towels will return to McLane Stadium for all six home games, with a new design featured each game and distributed to the first 5,000 students. Towels will also be available for $1 at Baylor Bookstore kiosks and the Sideline Shop, while the first 20,000 fans will receive one for the Gold Rush game against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 19.
• Baylor will institute Stroller Parking at McLane Stadium, allowing fans with young children to have a more efficient and convenient gameday experience.
• The Waco Rush Pass was launched to provide Waco residents increased access to Baylor athletics, including opportunities across football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball and track & field.
• The 254 Endzone Experience will recognize a local principal making a difference in the 254, providing the selected principal with a 50-person experience in the Magnolia Suites for Baylor's home opener against Prairie View A&M.
• Baylor hosted Fan Fest as a spring showcase to conclude the spring practice season, providing fans an opportunity to interact with Baylor football and enjoy a family-friendly event at McLane Stadium.
McNAMEE PENS OP-ED FOR USA TODAY
• First-year Baylor Vice President and Director of Athletics, Doug McNamee wasted no time in putting the fan first in his tenure leading the BU athletics program.
• From the first day on the job, McNamee has driven a focus on ensuring the fans are a priority in everything the Bears do, with a quickly formed mantra of his priorities being "Fans-Fundraising-Football". McNamee recently penned an op-ed for USA TODAY that emphasizes this focus:
"I have no interest in being another in a long line of industry voices opining about many of our current challenges being unsustainable and needing to be solved, though they are and they do. Instead, what I find particularly striking as I reorient myself to the college sports world is how it seems every constituency is considered a priority right now except one – the fans.
For most, fandom in college athletics truly means something. It is not just a consumer choosing a brand but rather a deeper and more hallowed relationship – a bond consecrated by childhood memories, friendships and shared experience, family tradition, affinity for a transformative college experience, community or state pride, or a host of other reasons. That profound connection fans have is directly tied to their commercial activity, without which the music in our industry would stop.
It is those fans who are being asked right now to invest more financially and emotionally at every turn. Learn a new roster every year. Pay higher prices to attend games. Travel multiple time zones to a conference road game. Subscribe to another streaming service. Directly or indirectly find a way to fund NIL or be shamed for fielding a non-competitive team
Many fans feel we are asking more of them, delivering less to them, and our attention is anywhere but on them. At some point, even strong foundations can crack. I worry we may soon reach the point as an industry of failing the stress test of what our fans are willing to incur.
Whatever the potential remedies to this may be, we must first correct a fundamental misunderstanding of who the true protagonist of college athletics is.
In my previous role leading Magnolia, the national brand empire fueled by Chip and Joanna Gaines, I learned a valuable lesson about this. Though Chip and Joanna may have celebrity status, they fundamentally understand they are not the heroes of the story. It is their consumers, – those who watch them, buy the product lines, or are one of the millions who visit the Magnolia Silos in Waco – who are, in fact, the stars.
College athletics would be wise to take note.
This industry is not short on figures with genuine star power. It is easy to be awed by the talent of a student-athlete or the success of a coach and orient all attention on them. One could examine the size of media contracts or the prospect of private equity involvement and assume star power resides in executive boardrooms. But in truth, it is the fans who are the real stars of college athletics. The potential lifelong consumers who show up year after year, irrespective of who is on their team's roster, who is their team's coach, what channel their team's game is on, or how their team's stadium renovation is financed.
Like most who do what we do, I distinctly remember my first college football game I attended as a kid and the transformational memories it created for me. One of the great joys in our work is the frequent opportunity we get to help produce those moments and memories for the next generation in our venues. These days, many student-athletes are only with us a year, and at most will be with us for five years. The average head coach tenure is in that same ballpark. However, at any given home game, there is a kid there for the first time with a spark waiting to be lit that can result in them becoming part of our family for the next 70 years. Then, their fandom can pass down to their kids like a precious family heirloom.
I am not naïve to the scale of change this industry has faced in recent years, and how difficult that change has been on everyone involved. There is a natural human tendency during times of disruption to get a bit lost just keeping up with the details and, in turn, neglect the bigger picture. And however we continue to collectively navigate change in the coming years, I have strong confidence in who must remain a key center of our efforts.
We must do a better job of ensuring our fans are seen, heard, and prioritized on this journey with us.
I strongly believe we can trust that our fans' capacity to adapt to change will always be much higher than their tolerance of being taken for granted."
FUDGE CENTER
• On Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, after a weekend move, the Baylor football program officially opened the Fudge Family Development Center, a sparkling new $89.6 million dollar facility that houses all things Baylor football.
• On the strength of a $15 million dollar gift from the Fudge Family, Baylor has built one of the best football development centers in the nation, housing state-of-the-art locker rooms, team meeting spaces, walk-thru rooms, coaching offices, athletic medicine and strength & conditioning spaces. In addition, the facility added 20 yards and revamped the Allison Indoor Facility.
RANKED IN 10 OF LAST 14 SEASONS
• Baylor has been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 10 of 14 seasons since 2010, after going 17 years between national rankings (1993-2010). BU has been ranked in 23 of 25 spots since 2013 (exceptions No. 1 and No. 23).
• Baylor was ranked or receiving votes in 10 of 16 polls in 2022, was receiving votes in the 2023 preseason poll, earned a pair of votes in the Dec. 8, 2024 poll and were receiving votes in polls in September of 2025.
FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN PROGRAM
• Baylor is one of just four schools in the country with a lead female sport program administrator and a female director of operations, with Deputy AD Jovan Overshown leading the program and Landrie Walsh serving as Director of Football Operations.
• Only Kansas State, Oregon, Maryland and Baylor qualify in this category. Kansas State has Deputy AD Jill Sheilds as the SPA and Kacey Feldkamp as the DFO, Oregon has Lisa Peterson as the Deputy AD and SPA and Kodi Look as the Director of Operations, with Annie Peppard serving as DFO and Diana Sabau as the SPA for Maryland. There are only 15 female DFOs in college football.
MCCLANE STADIUM ENHANCEMENTS
• Baylor has enhanced the nation's best game stadium, McLane Stadium, in the offseason of 2024 and 2025, completing an eight-figure project, including installation of upgraded and additional videoboards, the construction of new production control rooms, and the addition of a premium hospitality structure.
• Before the 2026 season, the Bears added LED lights to the stadium, allowing a fan experience enhancement.
• The LED ribbon board displays and the main videoboard display, which were original to McLane Stadium since its construction in 2014, have been upgraded to enhance both functionality and the visual elements of the fan experience. A high-quality video display is being added to the back of the main videoboard structure to add revenue opportunities and enhance the South Plaza experience on game days.
• The south end zone of McLane will become even more of a focal point during games, as a premium hospitality clubhouse will be added beneath the video board, providing a one-of-a-kind experience along with a Berm-view of the action.
• The construction of new production control rooms on the east side of the stadium will allow Baylor to produce multiple broadcasts at one time and fully centralize operations.
PERSON > PLAYER
• A hallmark of Coach Dave Aranda's philosophy in building a program is placing an importance on understanding that the person is more important than the player. This mantra is executed in everything the program touches on a daily basis. Throughout the football building, signage adorns the walls that emphasize, "better people make better players" and that Baylor will "win with character".
• Aranda preaches that players focus on today and be authentically themselves in an effort to be comfortable and confident in their roles.
RADIO BOOTH
• Baylor football has finalized its 2026 radio broadcast crew, adding Geff Gandy and Bryson Jackson to the Baylor Sports Media Network, joining legendary Voice of the Bears, John Morris, on the call throughout the season, it was announced by Baylor and Playfly Sports.
• Gandy will serve as the in-booth color commentator, alongside Morris, while Jackson will roam the sidelines as the analyst. Gandy replaces former BU quarterback Nick Florence, who served in the role in 2025, and Jackson will take over the sideline commentating duties from Ricky Thompson, who spent 26 years fulfilling the duties.
• "I am excited to work with Geff and Bryson on our radio crew this year," Morris said. "These guys know the game inside and out and have a love and institutional knowledge about Baylor football that can not just be replicated easily. Their passion and feel for the game will come through in our broadcasts. Looking forward to bringing Baylor football to life for our fan base with a great group in the booth and on the sideline."
• The trio will complete the broadcast crew for the Bears, who are supplemented by behind-the-scenes veterans in Bob Baker, who will be in his 14th season as the engineer, and Jeff Walter, who provides statistical and spotting input. Derek Smith, the Voice of Baylor Baseball and Women's Basketball, and the esteemed public address announcer at McLane Stadium, will be in his 17th season of the Baylor Gameday Tailgate Show, presented by Baylor Alumni, and the Post-Game 5th Quarter Show.
• Gandy, a four-year letterman and linebacker for the Bears from 1979-82, was a two-year starter and former team captain. He helped lead Baylor to the 1979 Peach Bowl, which featured a win over No. 10 Clemson. In 1980, he helped lead the Bears to an 8-0 league record and a Southwest Conference Championship, advancing to the Cotton Bowl. Gandy still ranks third in program history in single-season tackles (137, 1982). He was drafted by the Washington Redskins, who ultimately advanced to Super Bowl XVIII.
• Jackson spent seven years with the Bears from 2017-23, serving as a key pass-rushing outside linebacker and nickelback during his career. He played in 60 games over his career with 71 tackles, 14 for a loss and 7.5 sacks. He helped spur the Bears to the 2021 Big 12 Championship and Sugar Bowl title with a 3.5-sack season. Jackson ranks second only to Trestan Ebner (2017-21) for career games played in Baylor history.
• The two former Baylor standouts join Morris on the call, who is in his 32nd season as the signature voice of Baylor Athletics and is a recent inductee into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame. This marks his 40th season overall, which included eight years working with the legendary Frank Fallon. He has also been behind the mic for Baylor Basketball, Women's Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Soccer, Track & Field, Equestrian, Men's & Women's Tennis and Acrobatics & Tumbling. Morris, who was honored with the Chris Schenkel Award in 2024 by the National Football Foundation and the Dave Campbell Award from the Waco Chamber of Commerce, has called 454 consecutive Baylor football games. He was named the Texas Sportscaster of the year in 2019 by the National Sports Media Association.
ABOUT BAYLOR
• Baylor is situated on a 1,000-acre campus located on the Brazos River in Waco, Texas, and was chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers. It is the oldest continually operating university in Texas. Baylor is a R1 Institution according to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
• BU sponsors 19 varsity sports as members of the Big 12 Conference and boasts the 2021 Men's Basketball National Champions, the 2005, 2012 and 2019 Women's Basketball National Champions and the 2004 Men's Tennis National Champions, in addition to 88 Big 12 Conference Championships in the league's 26-year history.
- BaylorBears.com -
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