After two weeks of fall camp, Baylor’s defense is beginning to take shape, and the projected starting group is loaded with portal additions and proven returners. The Bears are leaning on veterans such as Hosea Wheeler, Travion Barnes and Jacob Redding while trying to stitch together a unit that has changed a lot since last season.
Up front, Jordan Mack is penciled in at defensive end. The senior transfer from Coastal Carolina also brings two years of JUCO experience and played in all 13 games for the Chanticleers. He finished with nine tackles and one sack and was ranked the 115th defensive lineman in the portal.
Wheeler is set to anchor the middle at nose tackle. The former national champion enters his sixth year and arrives as the 11th-best defensive lineman in the portal, giving Baylor a veteran presence in the center of the line.
Next to him, Kamren Washington projects as the defensive tackle. The senior transfer spent two years at Texas State from 2023-2025 and one year at Sam Houston as a freshman. He played in all 13 games last season for the Bobcats and totaled 23 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and two sacks over his two-year span.
At JACK, Baylor appears ready to use Garrick Ponder as a versatile piece. The fifth-year linebacker played 15 games for North Alabama from 2022-2024 and 13 games with Southern Miss last year. He posted 11.5 tackles for loss and four and a half sacks in the Sun Belt Conference, and while he was originally recruited as an edge rusher, he is expected to settle into more of a hybrid role that can help in coverage and against the run.
Kyland Reed looks like a key returning starter at will linebacker. The junior played in all 12 games for Baylor last season and finished with more than 50 tackles and one forced fumble.
Travion Barnes is projected next to him in the middle. The fifth-year senior saw his season end after four games because of injury, but he had opened last year strongly and was ranked third in the nation in tackles per game at FIU.
The secondary also has a familiar backbone. Devin Turner is projected at strong safety after missing spring last year with an injury.
The fifth-year safety brings a track record from Northwestern that includes 162 tackles, four interceptions and seven pass breakups over three years. At free safety, Redding returns after starting nine games last season and finishing as Baylor’s highest PFF-graded defender with 53 tackles and three interceptions.
Bo Onu is the name to watch at star. The sophomore has been drawing attention throughout camp and played in more than 11 games last season as a rotational piece in the backfield. He showed enough as a freshman to make him one of the more intriguing players on this defense.
On the outside, Devon Jordan is projected to start at right cornerback after transferring in from Oklahoma. He appeared in more than 25 games over two seasons as a reserve, served as Oklahoma’s primary nickelback last year and was the No. 3 corner on the depth chart.
On the left side, LeVar Thornton Jr. is back after starting all 11 games last season for Baylor and missing just one game. He logged more than 522 snaps, including over 230 in coverage, and gives the Bears another experienced piece in the secondary.
In Other News...
Baylors Season May Ride On One Urgent Fix Up Front
With less than 20 days until kickoff, Baylors attention is centered on the kind of front-line fix that can change a season before it gets going. The defensive line has been reworked, and the addition of Wheeler gives the Bears a veteran presence with championship experience as they try to create more pressure on opposing quarterbacks and make life easier for the rest of the defense.
The urgency is easy to understand when the offense is also trying to find its footing with a revamped receiver group and a new quarterback. Offensive coordinator Jake Spavital has the job of building chemistry quickly, and Baylor does not have much time to let the pieces settle in on their own. If the line can hold up and the new faces can come together, the Bears have a chance to look much more stable once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Baylors New Receiver Group Faces An Early Auburn Test
Baylor has spent the offseason rebuilding its receiver room, and the season opener against Auburn will be the first real look at how quickly that group can come together. With Taz Williams Jr. and Louis Brown back in the fold and Dre'lon Miller and Gavin Freeman added to the mix, the Bears have blended experience and new faces in a unit that knows it is still in the early stages of forming its identity. The competition inside the room has been a point of emphasis, with the players talking about pushing one another while getting ready for the first snap of the year.
The challenge now is turning that internal push into production against an Auburn defense that figures to make the opening night test uncomfortable. Baylors receivers have stressed the importance of physicality and getting off to a fast start, two things that usually matter even more when a new group is trying to settle in under game pressure. For a Baylor offense looking to find reliable targets quickly, this game is less about finishing the story than revealing which of these wideouts is ready to shape it. [Read more 🡒]