By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Despite expecting to utilize a two-headed monster in the backfield, Baylor football will lean heavily on redshirt sophomore running back Bryson Washington and freshman backups, as junior running back Dawson Pendergrass will miss the entire season with a foot injury.
On Aug. 8, head coach Dave Aranda confirmed that Pendergrass will miss all of the 2025 season with a foot injury that requires surgery.
“He’s going to have to have surgery on his foot, and it’s going to take majority of the season to come back from it,” Aranda said. “It’s something that Dawson is wrapping his head around, and we’re all here to support him.”
This comes as a blow to the Bears’ run game after they found themselves with somewhat unexpected production from their running back duo in 2024. Washington broke out as a redshirt freshman, rushing for over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. He paired with Pendergrass, who recorded 671 yards and reached the end zone seven times.
Now down 30% of their rushing yards from 2024, the Bears will look to Washington to take up more production after he became the program’s first freshman to eclipse 1,000 rushing yards. As expectations have risen for the sophomore running back, he looks to ramp up his work as fall camp comes to an end and the regular season is less than two weeks away.
“I got to work even harder now that my brother [Pendergrass] is gone,” Washington said.
Without their second-string running back, the Bears will look to the rest of the position group to replace Pendergrass’ production.
“I feel good about our depth behind [Pendergrass],” Aranda said. “We’ve got some young players that are now going to be pressed into playing a little bit earlier than maybe they were thinking.”
The next players up include true freshman Caden Knighten and redshirt freshman Joseph Dodds. Knighten was listed as a four-star recruit by On3 and the 27th best running back in the nation, recording 2,500 yards and 38 touchdowns. Dodds, another four-star recruit by On3, redshirted last season while recovering from an injury.
“When you really press somebody into service, and you really press them into work, and you challenge them, and you give them adversity and you push them through it, a lot of times they surprise you with what they come up with,” Aranda said. “We’ve got a good room, talented players, and so I expect for them to step up.”
Along with a change in the physical demands for the freshman pair, they will also have a mentality shift in order to fill Pendergrass’ production. The change in plans brings a new challenge for the running back room in a short period of time before the regular season starts.
“Dawson’s a big part of the offense, but at the end of the day, it’s next man up,” Washington said. “With the brotherhood we got, it’s just always bringing another one along.”
Despite losing Pendergrass, Washington and the Bears have not lost belief in themselves. With multiple key contributors returning from last season and several notable transfer additions, Baylor hopes to run the table and make a push for a Big 12 championship.
“Every day we’re 1% better,” Washington said. “With the mentality we have, why not us?”
The Bears will face off against Auburn for the home opener Friday at 7 p.m. at McLane Stadium.
