With Week 0 on deck Saturday, Baylor has one clear problem still hanging over Coach Aranda and the Bears before they meet Auburn in the Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta: the offensive line.
That matchup will unfold in front of an expected crowd of about 71,000, but the bigger spotlight is on a unit that has to come together fast. Baylor returns only one starter from last season up front in Kaden Sieracki, which makes the line the biggest uncertainty on the roster. Four of the five projected linemen have never played an official game together, and that’s a lot to ask in the opener.
Koltin Sieracki, who served as the sixth lineman last season, is set to step in as the starting center. The Bears are also leaning on transfers Asher Hale, Logan Moore, Nate Kibble, and Cole Rhett to stabilize the group.
The broader roster turnover only adds to the challenge. Baylor has had 32 players enter the transfer portal, and this 2026 team looks very different from the group that opened the 2025 season. Sawyer Robertson, Michael Trigg, Bryson Washington, and others are gone, but the offensive line stands out as the biggest area of concern.
That’s because everything on offense starts there. Without a dependable line, quarterbacks get no protection, the run game never finds traction, and the whole attack can slide into one-dimensional football in a hurry.
For DJ Lagway, that means the line has to do more than just hold its ground. If he’s going to have any kind of productive season throwing to his receivers, he needs time.
Dawson Pendergrass, Caden Knighten, and the other backs need space and movement in front of them. If the line can’t function as one unit, Lagway could be stuck dealing with constant pressure, TFL, FF, and QB Sack-seeking opposing defensive lines.
The lesson is simple, even if the reference point is a little unusual. Roger Miller once sang, "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd," and the line that follows in the song is, "All you gotta do is put your mind to it; knuckle down, buckle down, do it, do it, do it."
That may work as a lyric, but football doesn’t bend that way. If Baylor can’t consistently push defenses backward and control the line of scrimmage, individual effort alone won’t be enough to cover the gap.
In Other News...
Baylor Is Bringing Back A Game Day Tradition Fans Remember
Baylor is reaching back into its past for a familiar touchpoint on game days, bringing the Bear Bell tradition back for the 2026 football season. Baylor Athletics said the bell, first introduced in 1972 during Coach Grant Teaffs tenure, will once again be part of the home-game experience, ringing after Baylor touchdowns and showing up during the Bear Walk.
The redesigned bell, with support from Sigma Chi and Baylor Student Activities, is set to make its first appearance Sept. 12, 2026, against Prairie View A&M. For fans who remember the old ritual, it adds a little more pageantry to McLane Stadium Saturdays and gives the program another link to the sort of traditions that tend to stick with a fan base long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Is Suddenly In The Hunt For A Massive 5-Star Prize
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For Baylor, the appeal is obvious. Uvwos calling card is his defense, especially as a rim protector and rebounder, and Scott Drews reputation for developing NBA talent gives the Bears a real selling point in a race that figures to get crowded quickly. Getting him to Waco this early is only part of the challenge, but its enough to keep Baylor squarely in the mix for one of the class biggest prizes. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors Pressure-Filled Reset Puts New Faces At Center Of 2025
Dave Aranda heads into his seventh season at Baylor with the kind of roster turnover that usually signals more than just a routine reset. After 32 players transferred out in the offseason, the Bears are leaning hard on a new wave of arrivals, with transfer quarterback DJ Lagway and freshman London Smith among the names quickly drawing attention as the program tries to reshape itself for 2025.
The pressure is obvious, because the conversation around Baylor now goes beyond simply replacing production. It is about whether the culture can hold, whether the newcomers can settle in fast enough, and whether a coach who needs results can turn a roster in flux into a team that looks ready by fall. Smith, in particular, adds another layer of anticipation as the Bears wait to see how much he can change the feel of this season before it even starts. [Read more 🡒]