FRISCO - Kyler Jordan’s college choice pulled him away from Lubbock, but it never pulled him away from Lubbock-Cooper.
The Baylor football senior said he still feels the split in his hometown as the school continues to break into multiple high schools, yet his loyalty hasn’t changed. He’ll always be with the Pirates, even as he built his own path by choosing Baylor instead of Texas Tech out of high school.
That decision came with some pressure. Jordan grew up in Lubbock, where the Red Raiders were an easy sell, but he wanted to make the call for himself. Joey McGuire was Baylor’s lead recruiter for Jordan before taking over at Texas Tech two weeks before Jordan signed with the Bears.
Now heading into his fifth and final season of college football, Jordan says the move to Waco gave him exactly what he was looking for.
"Out of high school I took a big step of faith leaving Lubbock and getting away from home," Jordan said at The Star during Big 12 media days, "and the whole reason I did that was just to get more out of myself. I feel like going to Baylor has made me grow as a man, it's made me grow in my faith tremendously. Those two things are super important to me, but just being here is just such a blessing."
Jordan’s Baylor story also overlaps with another West Texas connection. Coronado grad Sawyer Robertson was his teammate with the Bears, and the two even roomed together for a time. They already knew each other from competing against one another and from attending Victory Life, and that relationship carried over once they got to Waco.
Baylor is moving into a new quarterback era this season with Florida transfer DJ Lagway set to take over, bringing the kind of buzz that follows a highly touted recruit. Jordan said his own decision to stay with Baylor all these years had less to do with wins and losses and more to do with Dave Aranda.
"The things that Coach Aranda preaches every day is who I want to be as a person," Jordan said. "One of the main mottos that's really always stuck with me was how you do anything is how you do everything, and I just feel like that can't be more true."
There’s plenty hanging over Baylor this season, too. Jordan is in his last year in Waco, and Aranda remains on the hot seat, with the 2026 campaign likely to determine whether the head coach is still around after this season.
For Jordan and the Bears, that means the focus is simple: handle your business.
"As a leadership group, I think there's about 20 of us on it in the spring, we kind of brainstormed kind of what w want to stand on," Jordan said, "and the motto that we stood on was kill or be killed. Football can be as team-oriented and as physical as it is, but if you're not going out there and winning your one-on-one, you're not going to win football games."
In Other News...
A.J. Holmes Jr. Now Carries Texas Techs Biggest Defensive Burden
A.J. Holmes Jr. arrived at Texas Tech with a built-in familiarity that made the transition easier, coming over from Houston in December 2024 after previously playing under defensive coordinator Shiel Wood. Once he settled in, the defensive tackle didnt take long to become one of the most dependable pieces on the Red Raiders front, moving into the starting lineup in 2025 and backing it up with the kind of production that turned him into an All-American-caliber presence.
Now Holmes is being talked about as one of the most important players in the country for 2026, and that says as much about Texas Techs expectations as it does about his rise. The Red Raiders are counting on him to anchor the middle of the defense again after a season that brought major national recognition from both the Associated Press and Pro Football Focus, and hell even be changing to No. 10 this fall, a number with some recent significance in Lubbock. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Is Getting Major 2026 Hype Despite One Lingering Doubt
Texas Tech is entering the 2026 conversation with real momentum, and USA Today has gone so far as to pick the Red Raiders to win the Big 12. The preseason recognition does not stop there, either, with multiple Tech players landing on USA Todays all-Big 12 teams, a sign that the roster is being viewed as more than just a one-year flash. For a program trying to turn national attention into something lasting, that kind of early respect matters.
Still, the broader picture around the Red Raiders is not entirely settled. National outlets have split sharply on where to place them in their preseason rankings, with some putting Tech in the top 10 and others sliding the team outside the top 20, a range that says plenty about how much faith people have in the returning talent versus the uncertainty left behind by key departures. The biggest question hanging over all of it is the same one that can reshape a season before it starts, and it is the part of this hype that will matter most once September arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech Defense Just Earned The Big 12 Respect Fans Wanted
Texas Techs defense is starting to look like more than a promising unit on paper. The Red Raiders landed seven players on the 2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team, a haul that gives the program real conference-wide credibility before the season even kicks off and signals that the talent in Lubbock is being taken seriously across the league.
Senior linebacker Ben Roberts and senior cornerback Brice Pollock give the group a familiar backbone, while newcomers Austin Romaine and Adam Trick are already drawing preseason recognition before taking a snap for Texas Tech. The honors did not stop on defense, either, with senior tight end Terrance Carter Jr earning a spot on the preseason offense team and kicker Stone Harrington getting the nod on special teams, a reminder that this roster is getting attention in every phase. [Read more 🡒]