By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
After losing to his former team in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl on New Year’s Eve, head coach Dave Aranda went to work looking to build on an 8-4 season. Baylor football added 11 players in the transfer portal and replaced two coaches before the start of spring football.
The Bears revamped the defensive coaching staff shortly after the final game of the season, adding Carson Hall as outside linebackers coach and Paul Gonzales as passing game coordinator and cornerbacks coach. Hall made pit stops at Georgia and LSU before spending the last two seasons as defensive line coach at Western Kentucky.
Hall teams up with former Hilltoppers assistant Jamar Chaney, who just completed his first season as Baylor’s inside linebackers coach in 2024. The 29-year-old takes over for Caleb Collins, who spent five years with the Bears, months after being named to 247Sports’ 30 Under 30.
“What an honor it is to join coach Dave Aranda and this Baylor Football program,” Hall said. “I’ve always admired coach Aranda and the program he has built, and have always viewed him as one of the best defensive minds in our sport. The opportunity to join his staff and work with such a promising group of outside linebackers is very exciting.”
Gonzales heads to Waco after spending 13 years on staff at TCU, where he led various units in the secondary. He came up under former head coach Gary Patterson, starting as a graduate assistant in 2012 before being elevated to cornerbacks coach and spending the last eight seasons as the safeties coach. He takes over for Kevin Curtis, who spent four years with the green and gold.
“We are very excited to add Paul to the Baylor family,” Aranda said. “I’ve admired Paul’s work for many years in Fort Worth and have always appreciated the way the cornerbacks and safeties played over his career. I believe he will be a tremendous mentor for our cornerbacks and will be able to step right into our coaching staff and hit the ground running.”
The former Horned Frog coach helped the Big 12 force land at least one four-star safety in each recruiting class from 2020-2023 and landed two three-star prospects in 2024. Gonzales noted that one of the major factors in his decision to go to Baylor was the opportunity to elevate his status as a defensive mind, as he aims for a defensive coordinator position in the future.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to join coach Aranda and Baylor Football,” Gonzales said. “I look forward to doing my part to make the Baylor secondary elite. Pursuing a championship is my primary goal and I believe in coach Aranda’s vision to achieve that.”
In addition to the coaching additions, the Bears picked up 11 transfers in the winter window to make up for 12 departures. The green and gold added senior three-star safety twins, Northwestern’s Devin Turner and Oregon’s Tyler Turner, to fill the roles of sophomore safety Corey Gordon Jr., redshirt junior cornerback Isaiah Dunson and redshirt freshman cornerback Tay’Shawn Wilson, who all entered the portal in December.
Aranda and Chaney heavily recruited the linebacker position and snagged a pair of three-stars with one year of eligibility remaining, FIU’s Travion Barnes and Fresno State transfer Phoenix Jackson. The Bears also added three-star Oregon edge Emar’rion Winston, three-star Tulane edge Matthew Fobbs-White and Texas A&M three-star nose tackle Samu Taumanupepe to bolster the defensive line.
Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital and associate head coach Khenon Hall helped the Bears land four-star freshman Auburn quarterback Walker White. The green and gold added to the wide receiver room with a pair of three-star seniors, Alabama transfer Kobe Prentice and Kole Wilson. Baylor rounded out the transfer additions with three-star Louisville offensive tackle Joe Crocker.
A pair of former Bears opted to stay in the Big 12 as redshirt junior long snapper Garrison Grimes transferred to BYU and redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Alvin Ebosele moved to Houston. Sixth-year quarterback Dequan Finn earned a medical hardship waiver after missing most of the 2024 season with an injury and transferred to Miami University of Ohio. Redshirt junior wide receiver Jonah Burton, a former walk-on, committed to Idaho State on Wednesday.
The only other defensive transfers, redshirt sophomore edge rusher Carmello Jones and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Trey Wilson, landed at Jackson State and SMU, respectively. Senior running back Dominic Richardson is the only former Bear in the portal without a new home.
Baylor football will open spring camp in late February, looking to build on its bounce-back 2024 season.
