As Baylor football’s first game against Auburn (Sept. 5) approaches, it’s time to start breaking down the roster, plus the biggest storylines and questions heading into the 2026 season. Today, we’ll assess the returners slated to make the biggest impact on this year’s squad.
Wide Receiver: Louis Brown IV | 6-2, 206 | Fifth-Year Senior | South Los Angeles, CA
In head coach Dave Aranda’s final press conference of the 2025 fall camp, he told the media, “Louis is one of our top guys, if not the [top guy].”
It raised a lot of people’s eyebrows, considering Brown IV transferred into the program during the summer from Colorado State, as well as the fact that Brown IV was in a wide receiver room that consisted of Josh Cameron, Ashtyn Hawkins, Kole Wilson and Kobe Prentice.
The high praise and expectations didn’t come to fruition last season, as Brown IV hauled in just six passes for 79 yards across three games before ultimately deciding to redshirt with the expectation that he would return and be a key piece in Baylor’s 2026 offense.
Well, 2026 has arrived, and Baylor’s looking to replace the production of its top five pass catchers from a season ago. The hype train for Brown IV hasn’t slowed down, though, with fellow wide receiver Taz Williams Jr. saying Brown IV has been the top standout this fall camp.
“Even when he came here last year, I was like, ‘Who is this? Where did you come from?’ This year, we got Lou back, and we’re finally on the field together,” Williams said on Saturday. “He’s just doing his thing, and that’s the Lou I know and am excited to see Week 1 and throughout the season.”
Third-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital added his own praise, saying, “Louis Brown is looking awesome right now. We’re still challenging him. Coach Baker is still challenging him every single day. He was making some great contested plays today. He’s a guy that has the ability, when he’s on, and the ball is in the vicinity of him, he can take a game over.”
Cornerback: LeVar Thornton Jr. | 6-3, 182 | Senior | Fort Worth, TX
Although the opening play from scrimmage in the SMU game might be burned into the consciousness of Baylor fans, cornerback LeVar Thornton put together a pretty strong season in 2025, with one source telling SicEm365 that he would have been “All-Big 12 if he caught his picks.”
Last fall, he started the 11 games that he played in and finished with 30 tackles, one interception and seven pass breakups. He boasted an above-average 70.2 coverage grade from PFF and was targeted 43 times, allowing 20 catches for 340 yards (121 of which came after the catch).
Sure, maybe some of his success came because the Bears couldn’t stop much of anything on the ground, but Thornton has all of the physical tools, standing at 6-foot-3, 182 pounds, to be a high-quality cornerback, as he enters his fourth year in the program.
“For me, it’s just being more fluent in my technique and flowing and going throughout practice,” Thornton said of the main things he’s working on throughout fall camp in a recent press conference. “Also, just catching balls, because last year, I dropped a few that I really wish I had back.”
Paired with Oklahoma transfer Devon Jordan on the other side, the cornerback position should be a unit of strength for Klanderman this season, assuming Jordan and Thornton both stay healthy.
Safety: Jacob Redding | 6-1, 198 | Senior | New Braunfels, TX
On a struggling defense, whose highlight moments were few and far between last season, safety Jacob Redding emerged as Mr. Johnny on the spot for the Bears in 2025, with a game-altering interception against No. 17 SMU, a game-winning pick-six against Kansas State and a season-high eight tackles against the rival Horned Frogs.
Redding became a huge bright spot on a defense that was near the bottom of the Power Four in points per game (32.6) and rushing yards (197.2) allowed. The New Braunfels native played in 11 games last year with nine starts, finishing with 53 tackles, 0.5 TFLs, three interceptions and two pass breakups. He was graded as Baylor’s highest-rated defender according to PFF, with a 75.2 defensive rating, an 81.4 run-defense mark and a rating of 80.0 in tackling and 69.8 in coverage.
With first-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman taking over the reins, Redding is expected to be a key piece, and you wouldn’t find a more selfless player, as Redding noted, “My goal is to do literally whatever my team needs, whatever my room needs, whatever the defense needs, to win football games, whether that’s playing 60-70 snaps a game, whether it’s helping the young guys develop, whether it’s making plays, whether it’s off the field leading guys, I just want to make myself as useful as possible.”
With a defense where he can play more freely and that fits him better, Redding also wants to take on more of a leadership role, saying, “I think being the outspoken leader is a step I can take, like being the field-general. Last year, I was new to all the planning and stuff, so my role wasn’t that. This year, it can be, so I’m [trying] to step into that.”
Running Back: Dawson Pendergrass | 6-2, 225 | Senior | Alba, TX
In an ideal scenario, a top-five list of most impactful returners wouldn’t feature two players coming off season-ending injuries, but that’s the reality of the situation, with a head coach sitting on a scorching hot seat and bringing over 50-plus new faces into the program this offseason.
Although he’s coming off a foot injury, Baylor fans are well aware of what running back Dawson Pendergrass is capable of, dating back to his breakout season in 2023, when he burst onto the scene with 537 all-purpose yards as a true freshman. As a primary back-up to Bryson Washington in 2024, Pendergrass totaled 132 touches for 774 yards and seven touchdowns.
“It’s great to have Dawson back,” running backs coach Khenon Hall told reporters in the spring. “Just being a veteran, his leadership, his commitment — he just shows the young guys how to do things, how to go about their business and how to be pros off the field.”
This offseason, the Bears made a gamble, allowing Washington to walk after an injury-riddled 2025 campaign in which he rushed for 788 yards and six touchdowns. Without Washington, however, that leaves a ton of carries for presumably Pendergrass, who’s taken the majority of the first-team snaps throughout fall camp, with returning sophomores Caden Knighten (104 carries, 469 yards) and Michael Turner (65 carries, 320 yards) both expected to be key pieces, as well as potentially four-star freshman Ryelan Morris.
“We wish Bryson well in his future endeavors, but I think we’ve got a really, really talented room,” Hall said. “When you look at those three guys, starting with Dawson, he brings a little bit of everything. Where he gets kind of slacked on is that they don’t understand how fast he is, how mobile he is and his ability to make guys miss in open space. He’s an all-around player.”
Safety: Devin Turner | 6-2, 205 | Fifth-Year Senior | Little Elm, Texas
Following the 2024 season, safety Devin Turner, by way of Northwestern, received rave reviews throughout the spring and was set to be one of Baylor’s most impactful defenders last season. Unfortunately for Turner, he suffered a season-ending knee injury on the final play of spring practices.
It’s been a long road back to get fully healthy, but after totaling 162 tackles in three seasons with the Wildcats, he’s ready to make an impact this fall and believes he’s in the best shape of his career.
When he was finally able to ditch his knee brace, Turner said, “It felt amazing. I threw that thing in the Brazos as soon as they told me I didn’t have to wear it anymore. I was so happy to get that brace off. I feel so much faster. I feel like I can move a whole lot more.”
Klanderman named Turner a standout this fall, telling the media, “When I got here, I didn’t know the old Devin prior to the knee injury. I knew big-knee-brace Devin, and that’s what I saw in the spring, and it bothered him. To see him move around now versus where he was in April is night and day, and he is playing at another level. He’s playing out of his mind right now.”
