By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer
Expectations are running high in Waco as Baylor football kicks off spring practices with championship aspirations for the first time since 2022.
“I thought this was by far the cleanest first practice that we’ve had in any facet of a spring, fall camp, season — you name it,” head coach Dave Aranda said. “Expectations are higher, and so there’s for sure things that we can clean up and get better at, but I thought we hit the ground running. I’m excited to be able to see the steps this team takes to get better.”
Aranda, 31-30 in his Baylor career, is returning for a sixth season in Waco after winning six straight regular-season games to escape the hot seat. He’ll lead a suddenly-contending Baylor roster that ranks 11th nationally in returning production, including 72% of an offense that ranked third in the Big 12 in yards per game.
Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital declined overtures from Oklahoma to stay in Waco. He’ll be joined by a loaded arsenal of offensive weaponry, highlighted by redshirt senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson (3,301 total yards, 32 touchdowns), redshirt sophomore running back Bryson Washington (1,245 yards, 13 touchdowns) and redshirt senior wide receiver Josh Cameron (754 yards, 10 touchdowns).
“It’s hard to say [with] college football nowadays that this is your team, but I think at this stage, this team loves football,” Aranda said. “Sawyer’s up there all the time, wants to get better, and you just have guys that are just way investing. And it shows up when you start playing.”
Aranda placed three-star freshman quarterback Edward Griffin among that group, crediting the early enrollee multiple times as a “great example” of a player fighting to get better.
“He’s a maniac for ball,” Aranda said. “He’s up there all the time and wants to get better. … I think he really did some great things, like [Auburn transfer Walker White] did some good things. Our quarterback room, I would put up as one of the strongest ones I’ve ever been around just in terms of people and athletic ability and then care factor.”
Among the latest developments for the Bears is a trio of staff additions, headlined by former University High School head coach Kaeron Johnson. Johnson spent two seasons with the Trojans, a program that was 16-83 in the prior decade. But he produced back-to-back winning seasons, a first since 2002-03.
“There’s an energy level with him,” Aranda said. “There is a love for Baylor, and I think he’s already made an impact with our kids. The kids love being around him, and I think one of his greatest strengths is … he has that ability to see that kind of what’s below the surface.”
The Bears are fighting to string together consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2018-19, and expectations are even higher. The Bears are considered a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. The path to January starts in March.
“The way that we finished [last season], I think there was always [a fear] that it would show up in a spring ball practice, whether it was this adversity or that adversity, or a lot of it was self-inflicted, unfortunately,” Aranda said. “But to get it to where all of that was not just glimpses throughout the practice schedules, but in McLane Stadium, or at whatever stadium we’re playing at … what that does is just build confidence.”
