Player's Club: 'I Truly Would Not Be Who I Am Without Baylor'

When things looked bleak for the Bears at the season's midpoint, quarterback Sawyer Robertson (RJr.), desperate for some good mojo, wanted to switch things up and decided to grow out his facial hair. 

During Baylor’s first bye week, the Lubbock native strung together a couple of stellar practices. Believing it was due to his facial hair; he thought to himself, “Okay, we’ll see where this goes.”

Now, almost two months later, when Robertson spoke to the media on Wednesday ahead of Baylor’s Texas Bowl matchup against the LSU Tigers on Dec. 31, the star signal-caller boasted what appeared to be an early attempt at a handlebar mustache above his upper lip.

“I told myself I was going to shave it once we lost, and we still haven’t lost. Here we are eight weeks later, six wins later and two bye weeks,” he jokingly said.

With Robertson’s facial hair at the focal point of Baylor’s improbable six-game winning streak to close out the regular season, the Bears are now looking to put it all together one final time and finish the year on an even higher note with a victory over the Bayou Bengals.

“I have a lot of respect for LSU; they are super talented,” Robertson said. “If we win this one, it’s going to be really big for everybody's confidence and to keep the momentum and carry that momentum into the offseason and next season.”

Robertson added, “I’m excited to get the opportunity to play them. It’s going to be good for me because I get to see where I’m at playing against elite competition — that’s why you do what you do and why you want to be in these types of games.”

To add to the Texas Bowl storylines, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda will face his former team for the first time since arriving in Waco in 2020. Aranda was LSU’s defensive coordinator for four seasons and helped lead the Tigers to the 2019 National Championship.

Linebacker Matt Jones (6Sr.) says that going against your previous school can sometimes be your “Super Bowl” and noted, “When you get to go back and play a team that you coached for, played for — has a special meaning in your heart — but you’re in a new home with a new jersey and new color, they are nothing but a team you want to go beat.”

The game is also being played at NRG Stadium in Houston, which Jones believes is a fitting setting to end his six-year collegiate career. The Texans' home is roughly halfway between Waco and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“It’s big time,” he said. “I’m from Texas, and when you’re from Texas, it feels like its own world. Getting to go and play one last college game in Houston against a very good team will be fun and a great experience.”

Jones, who earned First-Team All-Big 12 honors this fall after collecting over 100 tackles and four sacks, says closing the season with a victory is paramount.

“Not only for me, but the rest of the seniors deserve one last win,” he said. “The players coming back next year deserve a win to translate it to next year and give them a big boost of hype to go into next year and win it all.”

When asked to reflect on his time in Waco, Jones had nothing but fond things to say about the program that helped mold him into the individual he is today.

“I truly would not be who I am without Baylor,” he said. “Baylor definitely saved my life in many ways. I don’t think I’d be in a good spot in my life without Baylor. I’d give everything to Baylor. Baylor is my home, and it’ll always be home; I love this place.”

The Bears are set to lose over 25 players in the senior class, including four of Baylor’s top pass-catchers — Ashtyn Hawkins (5Sr.), Hal Presley (Sr.), Monaray Baldwin (Sr.), Ketron Jackson (Sr.) — a group that Robertson also wants to send out on top with a win.

“They’re easy guys to [build a connection] with because of who they are,” he said. “Everybody sees the football aspect of it on Saturdays, but the human beings that they are are the reason why I want to send them out on a high note.

“All of the work that they’ve put in, and they’ve had my back since day one. Getting to play with them one last time is such a blessing for me, and I’m super thankful for it. I want this one for them.”

With Baylor having to rebuild its wide-out room this offseason, Aranda and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital have already been quick at work, adding Alabama wide receiver Kobe Prentice and Texas State wide receiver Kole Wilson via the transfer portal.

“I’m really excited about those two guys that we got out of the portal,” Robertson said. “A lot of speed there and a lot of production; they’ve played a lot of snaps. That's on top of what we have coming back and the high school kids we’ve got. As a quarterback, I’m really excited to get to work with those guys this offseason.”

With more transfer portal additions en route and a core group of returning players, Baylor will enter the upcoming year with high expectations. Jones believes a conference championship and a potential College Football Playoff berth are all possible for Aranda’s squad.

“I wish I could come back for one more year,” he said. “Baylor will be in the Big 12 [Championship]; I promise y’all that.”

The Bears and Tigers will square off in the Texas Bowl at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The game will be televised on ESPN.