By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
After finishing the 2024 season 79th in scoring defense and allowing 44 points to LSU in the Kinder’s Texas Bowl, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda knew there had to be a change.
Aranda, who called the Bears’ defense for the first time last year, brought in 13 defensive transfers over the offseason to help invigorate that side of the ball and lift Baylor to become contenders.
While the offense lit up the scoreboard, averaging 34.4 points a game, the defense continued to struggle. The team’s returners now look to right past wrongs and build more consistency.
“There’s guys that have been through the good and the bad from last year,” Aranda said. “Moving forward into this year, there’s a lot of leadership in the dos and don’ts.”
The Bears’ defensive backs particularly struggled in 2024.
“Everybody got a chip on their shoulder,” junior safety Carl Williams IV said.
The Bears allowed 234 yards per game through the air, ranking 94th in the nation. The secondary has spent the offseason focusing on correcting and improving from last season.
“[After] last year, we got some strides to make to come back,” Williams IV said. “If you don’t know, you should know the urgency is there in the room.”
For Williams, playing with confidence is key to becoming a lockdown unit. Competing against a premier passing game in fall camp was the way to do that.
“Some young guys on the group last year … were just timid,” Williams IV said. “Now I feel like we’re playing green, seeing that confidence build up through team reps with the offense, how good the offense is and their whole receiving corps.”
The group also formed a bond throughout the offseason, integrating the transfers and building a rapport with each other.
“There’s a level of comfort, a settling down of anxiety maybe, in terms of how to get aligned and communication between each other,” Aranda said. “That has really settled down, and that’s allowed us to put cleats in the grass and play faster.”
Throughout camp, Aranda was on the lookout for leaders who would spearhead the defense’s goals.
“When you’re around a bunch of nice guys, the nice guys can be taken advantage of,” Aranda said. “To have the ability to be yourself and have your heart wide open like how God made you, but to be able to call the BS, I think that is a really strong leader.”
Aranda listed some of those leaders on the defense with a mix of veterans like redshirt junior linebacker Keaton Thomas and senior safety Devyn Bobby, along with more recent additions like redshirt junior linebacker Emar’rion Winston, who transferred from Oregon.
In the center of the defense is Thomas, who led the team with 114 total tackles last year. He models his leadership after his former linebacking counterpart Matt Jones, who recorded 113 tackles in his final collegiate season in 2024.
“That’s probably been my biggest growth aspect, trying to turn into the leader Matt Jones was,” Thomas said. “Do more and do it with my style.”
Thomas has impressed teammates not only as a leader, but also in his skill and ability on the field.
“His energy is just contagious,” Marshall, a redshirt senior defensive lineman, said of Thomas. “I see him flying around making plays. I want to do the same thing.”
But leading a whole defense is a group effort. Thomas has leaned on redshirt senior Phoenix Jackson, who came from Fresno State, and senior FIU transfer Travion Barnes.
“Bringing in guys who are older and have done it before, and to be in that leadership role and to help me mold the defense,” Thomas said. “It’s not just me; you have other people you can go talk to.”
To round out the strengthened defense, multiple players in the front seven are stepping into new starting roles. Redshirt sophomore nose tackle DK Kalu won the nose tackle battle outright, while Winston and Matthew Fobbs-White, a Tulane transfer, will spend time in the linebacker rotation.
“[They’re] really elite pass rushers,” Thomas said of Winston and Fobbs-White. “They play really hard, dominant. They can drop, they can rush, they’ve even had some picks from last spring.”
Redshirt senior Cooper Lanz shifted further to the outside, changing from defensive tackle to defensive end. With two new starters on the line, his transition is crucial to Baylor’s defense.
“I think Coop’s going to have a big season,” Marshall said. “He moved [positions] in the spring and he hasn’t missed a step.”
Marshall leads the group after starting all 13 games last season. He finished 2024 with 42 total tackles, including 6.5 for loss and three sacks.
“My goal was to step up and do more, [to] evolve,” Marshall said. “Coming off of a decent season, my goal was to just be better, do even more.”
The defense looks to make its strides known in a Week 1 matchup with Auburn at 7 p.m. Friday at McLane Stadium.
