By Jackson Posey | Sports Editor
After a long winter, Baylor football is (sort of) back.
The Bears’ spring practice window opens Tuesday, under the weight of significant expectations. Baylor hasn’t won a bowl game in four years, the program’s longest such streak since 2010.
Only six starters return from a senior-heavy team that limped to the finish line in 2025; Baylor lost five of the final six to fall one win shy of bowl eligibility. With a new athletic director in office and losing seasons mounting, head coach Dave Aranda needs a strong fall to survive the hot seat.
That journey begins Tuesday, when the Bears kick off spring ball with an overhauled roster and new-look assistant coaching staff. Here are four things to watch this spring.
How does DJ Lagway look?
Sawyer Robertson’s Big 12-leading 3,681 yards and 31 touchdowns ain’t walking through that door. The Bears avoided playing backup options last season, resulting in minimal film for the backup trio of Nate Bennet, Walker White (now at Central Arkansas) and freshman Edward Griffin, who redshirted.
The Bears swung big on Jake Spavital’s next signal-caller, bringing in former Florida Gator DJ Lagway from the transfer portal. Lagway, a former five-star recruit and Baylor legacy, has elite arm strength and above-average athleticism as a runner, but struggled with turnovers as a sophomore in 2025.
Behind him, Griffin and Bennett will duel with freshman Quinn Murphy, a presumed redshirt, for the primary backup role. Griffin is positioned well to unseat the incumbent Bennett, but spring ball could change that.
… and who catches his passes?
Louis Brown IV is back after taking a late redshirt in 2025 — and that’s it. Baylor’s top five pass-catchers exhausted their eligibility, leaving the room up for grabs behind Brown and Jadon Porter, who could take on a bigger role in year three.
A quartet of transfers will compete with former blue-chippers Jacorey Watson, Ashton Jones and Taz Williams Jr. for reps on the outside.
How does Joe Klanderman shape the defense?
The former Kansas State defensive coordinator will be Aranda’s fourth defensive play-caller in five years. He brings a consistent system from Manhattan, where he led the Wildcats to five straight top-30 finishes in defensive efficiency after winning multiple national championships under Chris Klieman at North Dakota State.
He faces a serious undertaking. The Bears return just four defensive starters: defensive lineman Devonte Tezino, linebacker Kyland Reed and defensive backs Jacob Redding and LeVar Thornton. Several depth options are gone, too.
The Bears invested heavily in the front seven in the transfer portal, but Klanderman will need to make major changes to make the defense respectable again. The team’s scoring defense has cratered nearly every year finishing 10th in 2021: Baylor fell to 69th in 2022, 116th in 2023, 81st in 2024 and 122nd in 2025.
How ‘bout those ‘croots?
Baylor spent heavily on blue-chip freshmen last season, few of whom saw the field in year one. Edge Kamauryn Morgan is already out the door, first to Virginia Tech before re-entering the portal, but his classmates are keyed up for breakout seasons.
Kaleb Burns is in perfect position for a larger role in the linebacking room, which lost Keaton Thomas to Ole Miss. Running backs Michael Turner and Caden Knighten will challenge Dawson Pendergrass for snaps after spelling Bryson Washington in 2025. At least one of the receivers will be expected to take the next step.
Baylor has had a poor track record with blue-chip recruits in the 2020s. Across Aranda’s first four classes (2020-23), the Bears signed 11 four-star recruits, per the 247 Sports Composite; only Hal Presley (2021) has become a multi-year starter. (Thornton, a ’23 cornerback, should make that two come August.)
Baylor’s transfer portal class ranks 45th nationally (11th in the Big 12), per On3, which takes both incoming and outgoing talent into account. The amount of roster and coaching turnover is significant, and the Bears are expected to again be a borderline bowl team. To break out of the funk, they’ll need the homegrown talent to produce.
