By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
It’s been 456 days since Dawson Pendergrass last suited up and took the field for Baylor football.
It’ll be another 157 days before the Bears take the field for a game that goes in the books, but five practices into spring ball, Pendergrass has already reached a milestone of his own. The redshirt junior running back is back on the field at last.
“Is he back to 100%? I think he’s getting close,” associate head coach Khenon Hall said. “We don’t want to push him too hard, but he’s really close and we’re going to make sure he gets there. So it’s great to have him. He’s an unbelievable young man and he’s going to be something to reckon with, and I’m very happy with where his progress is and where he’s at at the moment.”
Pendergrass never saw the field in 2025 after suffering a season-ending foot injury during fall camp, one that ultimately required surgery and sidelined one of Baylor’s most proven backs before the season began.
The injury halted the momentum he’d built early in his career. But for Pendergrass, a running back known for physicality and downhill bursts, the time away reshaped his perspective on the game.
“I learned how much I really love football [while] being on the sideline last season,” Pendergrass said.
That experience, combined with a long recovery process and time in the training room, has shaped the mindset he brings into spring ball.
“Football’s full of random events and setbacks,” Pendergrass said. “It’s a ‘So what, now what?’ mentality.”
Returning to a different backfield than the one he left, Pendergrass is back at a time of transition for the Bears following redshirt junior Bryson Washington’s departure.
Without Pendergrass last season, freshman Caden Knighten stepped into an elevated role to help steady the position group. Now healthy enough to be back on the field, Pendergrass rejoins a room still taking shape this spring alongside sophomores Knighten and Michael Turner.
Despite Washington’s transfer to Auburn, Pendergrass said he has confidence in Baylor’s running back room.
“I still believe we have a very, very good group,” Pendergrass said. “We have a bunch of guys with a common goal, and we have a lot of young athletes. I wish Bryson the best where he is, but we’re focused on what we have now, and I feel great about that group.”
Before his season was cut short, Pendergrass had already become a regular part of Baylor’s backfield. Over two seasons, he totaled 1,311 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns.
That production continued into 2024, when he rushed for 671 yards and recorded seven total touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards per carry before the injury.
With spring ball in full swing and all eyes on the season ahead, Pendergrass knows his return is only part of the process — and just the beginning.
“I’m not going to take that spot right now. I still have to come back and work for it,” Pendergrass said. “We’ve got three very capable guys going out there on the field and performing. Right now, it’s just about going out there and doing the best I can.”
