By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Baylor football head coach Dave Aranda has always been a defensive guy, so allowing 30 or more points in seven games during a bounce-back bowl season left a sour taste. Leaning on second-year defensive line coach Inoke Breckterfield and a veteran defensive line, the Bears are working to right the ship early in spring camp.
The defensive line will fill the void left by Treven Ma’ae and Elinus Noel III, who anchored the rotation in 2024 and are going through NFL Draft prep. Despite an 8-5 season and a bowl game appearance, Breckterfield is using the loss against LSU as motivation to be better in 2025.
“Obviously, the end is not what we wanted; it stings, still,” Breckterfield said. “The expectations for the upcoming season have been raised a little bit, like, ‘Hey, man, we’ve got to go.’ So, our guys are excited to attack it, and they’ve been attacking it.”
Redshirt seniors Cooper Lanz and Jackie Marshall headline the returning veterans in the defensive line room. Lanz spent the majority of his snaps during the past three seasons as a defensive tackle, but after battling injuries in the 2024 season and the emergence of Noel, he started earning reps at defensive end — a permanent move heading into the 2025 season.
“We went on the six-game winning streak toward the end of the year [and have] a lot of momentum going in this year,” Lanz said. “You can tell, [we’ve] got new fire going on the team, and we’re just really excited to keep progressing, getting better.”
Breckterfield and Lanz both said moving to the edge full time will better optimize his skill set and set up the rest of the line to succeed. On the other end, Marshall started all 13 games in 2024 after an injury-riddled 2023 and broke out as Baylor’s highest-graded defensive player by Pro Football Focus.
“The sky’s the limit for Jackie,” Breckterfield said. “I think just getting out of his own way [will make him better]. I think he wanted to go, but then at the same time, there’s a playbook we’ve got … You want to play free, but you want to make sure you’re playing free within the scheme.”
Redshirt sophomore Texas A&M transfer Samu Taumanupepe was the lone portal addition at this position for the Bears. The 6-foot-3, 380-pound nose tackle is 30 pounds heavier than Noel and expected to stand in for most first-team snaps.
“That’s the elephant in the room, he’s a big ol’ dude,” Breckterfield said. “His main job is going to be to clog the middle up … His number one job is to stop the run and command double teams. He knows that, and he’s excited about it.”
Along with the returning starters, Lanz and Marshall expect redshirt sophomore Brendan Bett and redshirt junior Devonte Tezino to step into larger roles in 2025. Bett redshirted in 2024 while dealing with injuries, and Tezino was limited early with injuries of his own before stepping into the rotation for the final 11 games.
“[I expect to] just be myself, play fast [and] play physical, like I know I can,” Tezino said. “All the coaches, all the players — they expect me to do the same. So, [I’m] just trying to do what they expect out of me and doing what I can to make the team better.”
Although most of the rotation is experienced, Breckterfield has been excited by the development he’s seen from redshirt sophomores Trent Thomas and DK Kalu, as well as redshirt freshmen Caden Boenig, Alex Foster and true freshman Jackson Blackwell. With playing time up in the air, Tezino thinks any of them could step into a larger role.
“This year, I feel like we do have more depth,” Tezino said. “There’s a lot of young guys, but the young guys are pretty good. So, I feel like the twos could be the ones, the threes could be the twos. Everybody can play, but it’s whoever is going to show up the most.”
Behind Breckterfield and a “play fast, play green” mentality, the defensive line is focused on upping the 11th-best Big 12 defense from 2024.
“It’s really just play physical, play fast, so that when the [opponents] come on the field, they’re like, ‘Ah, we’ve got to play Baylor,’” Tezino said. “It’s going to be a tough time playing Baylor’s defense. That’s basically the message [Aranda] wants to put out to the defense.”
The Bears will practice again on Thursday as they work their way toward the Baylor Blitz on April 26 at McLane Stadium.
