By Jackson Posey | Sports Editor
Kobe Prentice cradled his hands by his helmet, orange-clad defenders well in the rearview.
Night-night.
Prentice breezed through the end zone, splitting through the Oklahoma State defense for his fifth touchdown in 16 catches. The senior Alabama transfer has been nothing if not efficient.
Saturday’s score was a 73-yard sprint, with the final 40 coming after the catch. It’s part of an unassailable tide of Baylor receiving threats spilling out from a unit with nearly unmatched depth. The Bears have five 200-yard receivers, tied with No. 11 Texas Tech for tops in the Big 12; no one else in the conference has more than three.
“The strongest piece of the roster is that position group,” head coach Dave Aranda said of the receivers. “The most invested into a position group is that group.”
That group has helped redshirt senior Sawyer Robertson become the nation’s leading passer in yards (1,713) and touchdowns (17) at incredibly high dropback volume. He’s been prolific, and much of that credit is owed to the arsenal at his disposal.
“There’s so many weapons, there’s really not a go-to first [option]”, Robertson said after Saturday’s win.
Redshirt senior Josh Cameron’s 407 yards lead the team and rank third in the Big 12. After leading the team in receiving last season, Cameron has increased his production by over 20 yards per game and is on pace to eclipse 1,000 yards if he plays 13 games again this season.
“A lot of us used to play running back when we were kids, and so I feel like that’s where it comes from,” Cameron said of the unit’s success after the catch. “Whenever we kind of get the ball in our hands, it’s like, okay, ‘How can I get vertical? How can I get that explosive 20-plus yard play?’ So whenever the ball is in our hands, we’re always thinking touchdown, not first down.”
Tight end Michael Trigg has finally broken out as a top target after years of displaying tantalizing potential. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound athlete freely shifts around the offensive formation, lining up in-line, in the slot and out wide. He’s already caught in a career-high four touchdown passes as a redshirt senior and looks to be in no danger of slowing down.
“He’s great — big frame, runs well, catches the ball really well,” Robertson said of Trigg. “So whenever he’s open, I just gotta get it close to him and he makes a play.”
A pair of former Texas State transfers — sixth-year Ashtyn Hawkins (271 yards) and senior Kole Wilson (274 yards, 2 TDs) — round out the top end of an explosive receiving corps.
“We just have to capitalize on what they give us,” Wilson said. “We have a lot of playmakers and we have a great quarterback, so they know if they play us [in man-to-man defense], it’s pretty much over for them.”
The depth has forced some players out of the Bears’ 2025 plans entirely. Aranda confirmed this week that Louis Brown IV, a senior San Diego State transfer who battled for a starting job well into fall camp, will redshirt the rest of this season with the option to return in 2026.
“I think with some of the depth that we have at receiver, it’s probably the best for all people involved in this that he does that,” Aranda said. “I think there’s been the emergence of a couple other guys at receiver that really have kind of allowed us to find this space.”
Aranda said there are “still more guys in there that can contribute” in Brown’s stead, and hopes the move will open up more opportunities for the rest of the room. Cameron pointed to sophomore Jadon Porter and freshman Taz Williams Jr as potential options to step up.
“Every time I go to the film room, I see Taz, JP, those guys are always in there, just watching some kind of film, just trying to get better, really just trying to elevate their game,” Cameron said. “So seeing those young guys stay ready and just knowing I can trust them, that’s the main thing. I’m really excited to see what they bring to this offense.”
For now, Baylor’s aerial attack remains at the top. The Bears lead the nation in explosive drives per game, a metric that counts drives that average at least 7.5 yards per play. Prentice’s catch factors into that, as does the Bears’ game-opening drive against Oklahoma State, which featured two Wilson catches for 61 yards and a score.
In an offense as unpredictable as Battleship, the hits just keep coming.
“I feel like a lot of that is just, honestly, God-gifted talent,” Cameron said. “We got just so many explosive guys.”
Baylor will take to McLane Stadium at 11 a.m. Saturday to face Kansas State (2-3, 1-1 Big 12). The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
