Win to Keep Playing: Baylor Seniors Fighting for One More Month Together

As the 2025 season winds down and Senior Day approaches Saturday against Houston, Baylor redshirt senior wide receiver Josh Cameron is beginning to feel the reality that his collegiate career is coming to a close and that he has one last chance to play at McLane Stadium.

“It’s kind of been creeping up on me; it creeped up on me a little bit last game, just the feelings of winding down toward the end,” Cameron said. “I think it’s definitely going to hit when I walk on that field before the game with my family and just being able to play in front of this awesome crowd, this awesome university, one last time at home. It’s definitely gonna hit more and more as the game builds on, but I’m just so blessed to even be in this position.”

As for the rest of the senior class, head coach Dave Aranda said on Monday that “resilience” best describes their time in Waco, and that they will be very much missed following this season.

“Those are all my guys,” junior safety Micah Gifford said of this year’s senior class. “I love them to death. We’re riding in this last game. We’re all fighting to try to be able to practice and play for a whole other month. We don’t want it to end this week.”

Cameron, across his five seasons, has been an ideal representative for the program. After starting his career as a walk-on, Cameron rose through the ranks to become one of the team’s biggest leaders and one of the best wide receivers in the country.

“Baylor means the world to me,” Cameron said. “Just the fact that Coach Aranda saw something in me, saw the potential in me, truly just gave me a shot to show the world what he saw from the get-go. I’m really thankful for him, first and foremost. I’m really thankful for all the coaches that truly believed in me and sowed into me through my five years that I’m here.”

Cameron’s success over the past two seasons has been heightened by his connection, both on and off the field, with quarterback Sawyer Robertson. Across 22 games with Robertson as his signal caller, Cameron has hauled in a team-high 115 receptions, 17 touchdowns and 1,498 receiving yards in that span.

“That’s my dog; being able to confide in him whenever I want, whenever I need to vent, talk about life, really talk about whatever with him has been really cool,” Cameron said of Robertson. “That’s my best friend for real, for real. Outside of football, I know he’s going to be with me for the rest of my life. That’s another thing about this game that’s so awesome, is being able to build those relationships and knowing that it’s going to last outside of football is really cool.”

Saturday, however, isn’t supposed to be the last time Robertson, Cameron and the rest of the team play together. The senior class, in particular, is really setting the tone throughout practice that they still want to make a bowl game, despite the disappointing season and 5-6 record.

“The motivation is the same as last week and really all the other games, but I think it does mean a little bit more knowing the stakes of this game and wanting to spend an extra whole month with this group of guys when we win this game,” Cameron said. “That’s really the motivation spreading throughout the entire room, whether you’re a freshman or even a senior. All the guys are on board and ready to get the dub against Houston.”

Gifford added, “Everyone’s bought into that fact. It’s most definitely something we’re emphasizing, being able to keep playing football throughout the year and actually make it to where it’s getting cold down here in Texas.”

While the senior class will be departing, whether in the next week or another month, the rest of the roster set to remain has no intention of missing a bowl game or finishing the year with a losing record.

“Here, just the culture — we’re not losers,” Gifford said. “We don’t want to go out losing. When you don’t make a bowl game, you’re a loser. We just want that winning record. We want to go out winners.”

Baylor (5-6, 3-5) will close the season against No. 23 Houston (8-3, 5-3) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29. The game will be televised on TNT.