Baylor Football Trio Named to DCTF All-Texas Teams
WACO, Texas – Three Baylor football standouts have garnered preseason recognition from Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, as announced Monday by the publication.
Sophomore cornerback Caden Jenkins was named to the DCTF All-Texas First Team, while senior offensive lineman Campbell Barrington and sixth-year senior linebacker Matt Jones earned spots on the Second Team.
After bursting onto the scene as a Freshman All-American in 2023, Jenkins was tabbed as one of the state’s top defensive backs heading into the 2024 campaign. The native of Lewisville, Texas, made 37 tackles and nabbed three interceptions for the Bears last season, while adding three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. Jenkins was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week and the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week following his performance at UCF on Sept. 30, in which he had an interception and returned a fumble 72 yards for a TD as part of BU’s largest-ever comeback victory (28-point deficit).
Jenkins graded out as the 10th-highest qualified freshman in pass coverage via Pro Football Focus with a score of 74.5 and rated as Baylor’s second-best defensive player with a 74.9 rating from a season ago. He made seven starts and played in all 12 games for the Bears in 2023, making at least one tackle in all 12 outings and recording nine multi-tackle efforts, including a personal-best seven stops against Texas in Week 4. Jenkins received votes for the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year award, while also receiving all-league honorable mention status in 2023.
In his first season with the Bears, Barrington started all 12 games and saw time at both right tackle and right guard for BU. He graded out as the 12th-best tackle in the Big 12 and the 127th tackle in the nation, per PFF. The Spokane, Wash., product posted a pass-block grade of 77.9 and a run-block grade of 65.1 in 2023. PFF also rated him as the ninth-best power-5 center in the nation.
Jones led Baylor with 82 tackles in 2023, including a team-leading 11.5 tackles for loss. He recorded a career-best three sacks on the year and deflected five passes. One of the most disruptive players on the defensive side of the ball for BU in 2023, Jones logged a pair of double-digit tackle performances in Week 2 vs. Utah and Week 12 at TCU and matched his career high with 3.5 TFL’s in back-to-back weeks against Texas and at UCF. For his efforts, the sixth-year senior was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection for the second time in his career last season.
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2024 DCTF ALL-TEXAS PRESEASON TEAM
First Team
- Caden Jenkins, CB
Second Team
- Campbell Barrington, OL
- Matt Jones, LB