Baylor heads into fall camp with a roster that looks a lot different than the one fans watched last season, and the turnover touches nearly every part of the depth chart. With transfer additions flooding in and several key spots being rebuilt, the Bears are sorting through eight position groups as camp begins.
The biggest shakeup may be at receiver, where Baylor lost almost an entire rotation from last year but answered with portal help and three freshman additions. Dre'lon Miller from Colorado, Gavin Freeman from Oklahoma State, and Louis Brown IV from San Diego State - who redshirted with the Bears last year - headline the new wave. That group gives Baylor a mix of proven production and fresh upside, which should keep the offense moving in a hopeful direction.
One name that stands out is Waco native London Smith. The four-star recruit and top 50 receiver in Texas picked Baylor over Alabama, Georgia, and Texas, and his résumé is loaded: over 1400 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior in just 12 games. He also brings track speed and basketball ability, and he looks like the kind of player who could flash in camp and earn snaps during the season.
At quarterback, the headline addition is former Gator DJ Lagway, but Baylor also has depth behind him. Nate Bennet, a three-star from California, won the backup role last year behind Sawyer and likely won’t see much more action than he did a season ago. Redshirt freshman Edward Griffin, the District 6A MVP for Coppell High School, is also in the mix.
Up front on defense, Baylor has completely reworked the group with major additions like National Champion Hosea Wheeler and top JUCO transfer and former Gamecock Zavion Hardy. Jamaal Whyce Jr. from Marshall and former Coastal Carolina player Jordan Mack add more bodies to a room that now blends experience with players who still have plenty to prove. The hope is that this mix can bring a different edge than Baylor had last season.
Freshman Jae'Lin Battle could be part of that change sooner rather than later. The four-star was ranked the second-best defensive lineman in Oklahoma and chose Baylor over Missouri, Auburn, and Washington. At 6'2", 305 pounds, Battle played multiple techniques in high school and showed the kind of quickness and effort that can translate quickly.
The secondary also gets a reset under new defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman, who brings in two experienced players with him after Baylor allowed 195 passing yards per game last year. Former Northwestern safety Devin Turner and Colby McCalister, one of Klanderman's players at Kansas State, are expected to make an immediate impact at safety.
Bo Onu is another safety to watch. The sophomore played in 11 games last season as a reserve, missed only one game because of injury, and finished with nine tackles. A solid Texas recruit ranked among the top 750 players in the 2025 class, Onu has a chance to carve out a bigger role if he stays healthy.
Running back looks like it will revolve around three returners and one freshman. Dawson Pendengrass is the name to circle after redshirting last year because of a preseason injury.
He was a major backup when Bryson Washington was a freshman, and with Washington now at Auburn, Pendengrass has a real opening to become the lead back. Behind him, sophomores Michael Turner and Caden Knighten both had productive seasons and could form a three-man rotation.
Tight end brings another portal addition in Tony Livingston, a teammate of Lagway’s who was seen as underused at Florida. He caught 23 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns across 27 games for the Gators.
Originally recruited as an athletic offensive lineman before switching to tight end, Livingston could bring some explosiveness to the offense. Senior Matthew Klopfenstein is behind him after playing in 12 games last season and showing he can deliver as a backup.
The offensive line sits near the bottom of the rankings because so much of it is new. Transfers from smaller conferences such as Logan Moore from UAB and Yakiri Walker from Memphis are part of the rebuild, and Koltin and Kaden Sieracki are expected to lead the group. With Lagway arriving and Aranda on the hot seat, the way this line comes together early in camp could shape the season.
Linebacker is another room with very little returning experience. Kyland Reed is one of the only returning starters, and the rest of the battle will be handled mostly by former backups and transfers.
FIU transfer Travion Barnes has the best chance to become the star of the group and even an All-Big 12 player after appearing in just four games last year because of a season-ending injury. Kaleb Burns and Kedrick Walker are expected to rotate with Barnes and Reed.
In Other News...
Baylor May Finally Have The Defensive Breakout Fans Have Been Waiting For
Travion Barnes arrived at Baylor with the kind of rsum that made him look like an immediate difference-maker, and the preseason buzz only reinforced that view. The former FIU linebacker was projected as one of the Bears top defensive pieces for 2025, with national preseason recognition from Athlon and Phil Steele backing up the idea that he could help change the shape of the defense.
His first Baylor season was brief, but the flashes were enough to keep the optimism alive. Barnes played in four games and finished with 11 tackles and a sack before the year was cut short, and since then he has been rehabbing while continuing to learn the system. For a defense still searching for more reliable internal answers, his development remains one of the more important subplots to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Why Caden Knighten May Matter More To Baylor Than Fans Think
Caden Knighten already gave Baylor a useful glimpse of what he can do in 2025, handling a primary reserve role and showing enough versatility to matter in more than one phase of the offense. He ran with enough consistency to stay involved, caught passes out of the backfield and added value in ways that do not always jump out first when people talk about the Bears skill talent.
What makes him more interesting now is the path ahead under Jake Spavital, where his receiving ability and blocking could push him into a much larger role. As he moves deeper into his upperclassman years, Knighten is the kind of back who can carve out snaps in the situations that decide drives, and Baylor has reason to see him as more than just depth. [Read more 🡒]