By Dylan Fink | Sports Writer
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected. It had mistakenly included a third player, Ryan Lengyel, who was not a walk-on.
Josh Cameron. Jacob Redding.
Two stars for the Bears this season. Two players who came to play for head coach Dave Aranda’s program for nothing more than chasing a dream.
“I think that walk-ons just give such a heart and soul to a team,” Aranda said.
The Bears have been fueled this fall by two walk-ons who have gone from their scholarship-less freshman status to household names among Baylor fans.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Cameron is leading the team in yards receiving for the second year in a row, with 542 yards through seven games. Coming off a breakout year last season, Cameron is familiar with shining under bright lights.
“Confidence is the number one thing I can build on,” Cameron said. “Whenever you can get confidence and then put it with all the other things, I mean, it becomes just, ‘Watch out.’”
Cameron is no stranger to finding confidence in his work. The Cedar Park native had zero stars out of high school and only two offers — a preferred walk-on spot at both Baylor and Texas State.
“The love I got from Baylor was just different than anywhere I’ve ever been,” Cameron said. “I immediately felt like I could do something big here.”
Cameron is doing big things on the Brazos. The wide receiver has found himself in his final year with the Bears, gaining national attention, including being named to the preseason watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the best wide receiver in the country each season.
Redshirt sophomore safety Redding came into the limelight for the Bears a little more recently.
Redding, a New Braunfels native, was a unanimous First Team All-District selection in his senior year of high school and he also thrived on the track, qualifying for state in the 4×100 and 4x200 meter relays.
The safety grew up watching the Bears, hoping to one day don the green and gold himself.
“This is something that I never really thought I would be at,” Redding said. “I never really thought I would be doing this, so for this to even be a possibility, God had to open up my life and put me here in this position. I just thank the Lord.”
Redding found his way into a starting position after senior safety Devin Turner suffered a season-ending knee injury in spring camp.
Since making his way to the top of the depth chart, Redding hasn’t looked back. Halfway through the season, the former walk-on has been responsible for arguably the two most impactful plays of Baylor’s season: a fourth-quarter interception in the Bears’ 48-45 victory over SMU in Week 2 and a game-saving, 58-yard pick-six against Kansas State in Week 6. Redding also recovered an onside kick against TCU in Week 8.
“In that moment, I mean, that was surreal,” Redding said after the SMU game. “That was something I’ve dreamed of doing since I was at Baylor games when I was 12 years old … I’ve come to really believe in myself this last year and a half.”
Redding, after his electric pick-six, was named the national Burlsworth Trophy walk-on player of the week last week.
Two stars, once walk-ons, have been stellar for the Bears this season. As the team looks toward the looming second half, there is no intent to slow down.
Baylor’s next game will be a visit to No. 21 Cincinnati at 3 p.m. Saturday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
