Six Former Bears to Participate in Big 12 Pro Day
WACO, Texas -- Six former Baylor football standouts will participate in the inaugural Big 12 Conference Pro Day, to be held at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco March 27-30.
Offensive lineman Clark Barrington, defensive linemen TJ Franklin, Gabe Hall and Justin Sambu, and linebackers Mike Smith Jr. and Byron Vaughns will all participate in the event.
A native of Spokane, Wash., Barrington played his final season in Waco after spending the first four years of his career at BYU. He started all 12 games for the Bears in 2023, seeing time at center and guard, and played in 58 games in his career, including 49 consecutive starts over the two schools to conclude his career. He earned All-America honors for the Cougs in 2021.
Franklin started 12 games for the Bears in 2023 at defensive end, totaling 31 tackles, nine for a loss and 3.5 sacks, with three QB hurries and one pass break-up. A native of Temple, Texas, Franklin played in 57 games for the Bears, totaling 126 tackles, 22.5 for a loss and 11.5 sacks, with five pass break-ups, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
A 6-foot-6, 292-pounder out of Waller, Texas, Hall played in 47 games for the Bears from 2019-23. He totaled 77 tackles, 16.5 for a loss, and 12.5 sacks, breaking up three passes, forcing two fumbles and recovering one that he returned for a touchdown, and blocking two kicks. Hall, who participated in the NFL’s combine and the Senior Bowl following the 2023 season.
Sambu, a transfer from Maine, played his final season in 2023 in Waco and saw action in all 12 games, totaling two tackles. Over his Maine career, he played in 28 games with 59 tackles, 10 for a loss, with 5.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.
Smith joined the Bears for his final season in 2023 and was immediately recognized as a leader of the team, earning a trip to the Big 12 Football Media Days in the preseason, a spring and preseason that saw him earn consistent praise from the coaching staff as an elite, instinctive linebacker. Smith started the first five games of the year before suffering a season-ending injury during BU’s comeback win at UCF. He totaled 25 tackles, three for a loss and one sack. He played the 2022 season at Liberty, which followed three years at Mississippi Gulf Coast. In 2022 at Liberty, he had 85 tackles in 12 starts, with 10 stops for a loss, half a sack, one interception and two QB hurries, earning Boca Raton Bowl Defensive MVP honors after a 16-tackle effort. At Mississippi Gulf Coast, Smith totaled 248 career tackles with 19 for a loss and seven sacks.
A native of Fort Worth, Vaughns stepped right into the Baylor lineup in 2023 as a force at outside linebacker. He played in 11 games with 32 tackles, eight for a loss and three sacks, forcing and recovering a fumble. Vaughns played at Utah State and Texas before becoming a Bear, and totaled 99 tackles, 19 for a loss, and six sacks during his time at Utah State, where he was the 2021 Mountain West Conference Championship Game Defensive MVP. He played 2018-20 at Texas.