Baylor heads into Saturday’s game at Kansas with some important injury news tilted in its favor.
The Bears, sitting at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in Big 12 play, are trying to bounce back after a 17-6 loss at home to TCU that ended their four-game winning streak. The good news is that Baylor is not adding any new names to its availability concerns from last week’s rivalry game.
The same five players who were out against the Horned Frogs remain unavailable. That group includes senior safety Redding and fifth-year senior defensive lineman Tezino, both of whom have already been ruled out for the season because of ACL and ankle injuries, respectively. Baylor also remains without freshman cornerback Jamarion Richardson, senior offensive lineman Cayden Tone and sophomore wide receiver Ashton Jones.
So while the Bears are still dealing with three defensive absences and two offensive ones, the injury report itself is unchanged from a week ago.
What stands out for Baylor is who is not on that report. Junior left guard Nate Kibble and junior cornerback Devon Jordan are both absent from the questionable or doubtful list ahead of the Kansas matchup.
Kibble left Saturday’s loss after logging just 34 snaps and appearing to pick up an injury. Jordan also saw reduced work, playing a season-low 44 snaps against Power Four competition.
Their status suggests Baylor could have both available against the Jayhawks, which would matter on both sides of the ball. Kibble’s return would be especially useful for an offensive line that had a rough day against TCU. The Bears rushed for only 54 yards on 34 carries, and quarterback DJ Lagway was taken down four times.
Lagway is not listed on the injury report, but his movement is still something to monitor after last week. He has been dealing with a high-ankle sprain since Baylor’s season opener and looked limited at times against TCU. He scrambled three times for 14 yards while going 22 of 53 for 256 yards and an interception.
His 41.5% completion rate was the lowest of his career.
Asked Monday if Lagway was still feeling the effects of the injury, head coach Dave Aranda said the quarterback is continuing to push toward full strength.
“Where he was, however many weeks ago, was not 100%, and he's closer to it. He's always working, always trying to get better, and always wants the best.
He wants the best for this team. He wants the best for this community.
He's going to be really hard on himself, and so you look at the criticism and the ways that he can get better. Those are things that he internalizes, and so I know that we're going to get a better DJ coming out of this game.”
Kansas enters at 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12, still looking for its first conference win. Kickoff is set for noon CT at David Booth Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas, and the game will air nationally on TNT.
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Kansas erased an 11-point deficit in the final period and then slammed the door with a game-winning field goal block, turning a wild finish into a result that will stick with both sides for a while. Beyond the score, it also ended a 14-game losing streak against Baylor, which gives the Jayhawks a rare bit of history to carry forward even as the details of how they pulled it off deserve a closer look. [Read more 🡒]