By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
For the first time since 2020, Baylor football kicked off spring practice with no question marks surrounding who the starting quarterback would be. Highlighted by redshirt senior Sawyer Robertson, the uncontested QB1, the quarterback room is looking to elevate the Bears’ top 20 offense in year two with offensive coordinator Jake Spavital.
“Year two is what the staff talks about all the time,” Robertson said. “Year two in the offense, you feel so much more comfortable because you’re not doing everything for the first time … We know how we were last year, especially that last half of the season — we were one of the most explosive offenses in the country. That’s where the bar is at going into this season.”
Just one week into spring ball, Spavital has implemented “about 90%” of his air raid playbook with his quarterback room — a daunting task no matter a quarterback’s experience. But Robertson’s leadership and a desire to succeed from every man on the offense have put the Bears well ahead of schedule.
“[It’s] pretty crazy to say, if you would have asked me last year at this point, I had like four concepts in and we’re just trying to get better at it,” Spavital said. “But year two is always so much better as a unit … we’re far more advanced [than] where we were at this point last year, which makes things a lot better.”
Robertson, who ESPN has dubbed a top-15 quarterback entering 2025, said that he has deleted social media to stay locked in and hasn’t let any of the buzz get into his head. After taking over for Dequan Finn in 2024, Robertson finished his first season as a starter with the seventh-best quarterback rating in the nation while throwing for 3,071 yards and 28 touchdowns to eight interceptions.
“He knows it’s his team, and he’s doing a great job with it,” Spavital said. “Sawyer is getting very good with his checks. I’m giving him a ton of freedom right now, which is fun to watch … I want to do more down-the-field throws with him. He did a really good job at the end of the year, checking and taking some vertical shots and having a lot of success with them, especially in the Kansas game.”
Robertson dealt with an ankle injury for the latter half of the 2024 season. He said it is “doing a lot better,” but the injury limited his ability to finish the season, although his play never saw a dropoff.
“I’m glad it wasn’t talked about a lot; that means I was throwing the ball where it needed to go,” Robertson said. “I wasn’t able to scramble as well and when the play would break down, I think that’s where you saw it the most … it affected me quite a bit. But I was able to grow other parts of my game as far as having to throw it and putting it in the perfect spot.”
Behind Robertson, the redshirt freshman duo of Nate Bennett and Auburn transfer Walker White have stepped up to the plate and learned whenever there is a chance. Bennett, a three-star recruit out of Westlake Village, Calif., stood in as the No. 2 quarterback when Finn dealt with injuries a season ago.
But even playing a game-changing position with the most competitive attitudes, Bennett said the quarterback room and offense as a whole never have “bad blood.”
“[Our motto is] ball, brotherhood and battle, that’s who we are and that’s who we’re always going to be,” Bennett said. “When we play together, like we’re really hard to stop, which y’all saw last year.”
When White went home for Christmas break, he was still with the Tigers, but after discussing with his family, he hit the transfer portal and later committed to Baylor, a school initially in on his high school recruitment. The four-star transfer committed to play for the green and gold with the understanding he would learn from Robertson, something that he is looking forward to and already reaping the benefits of.
“I’ve been excited to watch his routine,” White said. “[He’s a] very professional guy and knows the game well, so that’s been something I’ve really enjoyed. That’s all I want, as a quarterback and as a player personally, is just to get developed. And sometimes that’s watching other dudes that know it better than you to learn something.”
Following the first practice on Saturday, head coach Dave Aranda said the quarterback room was one of the best he’d ever been around — high praise coming from someone who gameplanned with a Heisman winner. Aranda singled out three-star freshman Edward Griffin as another “maniac for ball” in the quarterback room, constantly working to improve.
“I think great quarterbacks are obsessed with the game, and he’s obsessed with football,” Spavital said. “He wants to know everything. For his age and at this point, this is the most I’ve ever put on a quarterback … I’ve been throwing him in there with the ones to give Sawyer rest. All the quarterbacks are going with the ones, but he handles it well, and he’s doing great.”
The Bears will practice again on Saturday as they work their way toward the Baylor Blitz on April 26 at McLane Stadium.
