By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Following the ankle injury he sustained against Auburn, junior quarterback DJ Lagway’s status loomed over Baylor for the last two weeks.
Head coach Dave Aranda was optimistic that Lagway could make significant progress early in those weeks, but Lagway proved that he was not quite ready to return to the field against Prairie View A&M and Louisiana Tech.
“He was at 60, 70% last week,” Aranda said. “I didn’t feel like he was in a position to protect himself, in the pocket movement, just pushing off and making sudden movements.”
Saturday before the game against the Bulldogs gave Aranda the biggest glimmer of hope that his starting quarterback would return.
“He was able to work out Saturday prior to the game on the field,” Aranda said. “He felt really good, and he feels good walking around.”
Baylor (2-1) now has Lagway returning along with junior receiver Jadon Porter, fifth-year safety Devin Turner and senior offensive lineman Logan Moore ahead of its conference opener against Colorado (2-1).
“He’s got the green light for this week,” Aranda said. “ JP is coming back, Devin Turner’s coming back, DJ’s back and Logan Moore is back.”
The return of multiple key players comes at a vital point in the season. The Bears are set to face off against a Buffs team that will be looking for a bounce back after Northwestern dominated them 41-7.
“We’re going to get their best game,” Aranda said. “With the start of the league and their head coach, knowing who he is and what he’s about, we’re going to get their best game, their best effort, their best shot.”
Lagway will have to adapt to a receiving core that has been anchored by fifth-year Jayden McGowan, who has caught four touchdowns in the last two games.
“[I] didn’t get to take a ton of reps with him because I was missing part of camp,” McGowan said. But I got reps with him a lot going into the first game … He’s a great player, great leader, and I’m really happy where this team’s going to go with him in there.”
The passing game fared well behind junior quarterback Nate Bennett, who stepped up in Lagway’s absence. Bennett went 21-for-24 with 253 yards and four total touchdowns against Louisiana Tech.
Now that Lagway is expected to return, the offense will face a struggling but determined Colorado secondary. The unit ranks 111th in the FBS with 243 passing yards allowed per game.
“I expect them to be aggressive and scrappy, but that’s fine,” McGowan said. “We have a tough receiver room for their tough DBs, so I expect them to come out and try to make big plays, and I expect us to combat that and shut that down.“
Baylor continued to struggle with penalties in Week 3. The Bears committed a season-high 10 for 90 yards. Four of those penalties for 32 yards came from the defense.
“We want to try to stay away from the don’ts,” Aranda said. “We get the not committing penalties, but let’s talk about the do’s. Here’s what you do to not get them. Get your hands inside, move your feet, have your eyes in the right spot to execute when you’re tired.”
Baylor’s defense faced a mobile quarterback for the third consecutive game against Louisiana Tech. Trey Kukuk led the Bulldogs with 75 yards on the ground, the biggest dent a quarterback has made against the Bears.
“We just take what the coaches give us, our keys and what we’re supposed to be on the field,” fifth-year linebacker Travion Barnes said. “If anything comes up, we correct it on the sideline or ask our coach, ‘Hey, how should we do this, and go about this?’ And they always put us in a great position.”
They will get a break from the mobile quarterback as Colorado’s Julian Lewis has run the ball 11 times for minus-28 yards.
Baylor takes on Colorado in its Big 12 opener at 11 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
