Baylor Players See ‘Crazy Good’ Potential in Revamped Defense as Fall Camp Ends
With fall camp winding down, Baylor has begun shifting its attention toward the Sept. 5 season opener against Auburn in Atlanta. The Bears held one of their final scrimmages Friday, with a major emphasis on mentally preparing players for what game day will look and feel like.
“We really went through our whole pregame and what it looks like,” fifth-year senior defensive lineman Kyler Jordan told the media in a post-practice press conference. “We've really been focusing on the mental process of getting yourself ready to play, and today was practice for that. Guys are learning what works for them and what doesn't, and just getting their minds right on game day. I thought we did a good job of that today. We handled it with maturity, so that was exciting to see.”
According to fifth-year senior safety Michael Allen, the biggest takeaways from the scrimmage were familiar themes that have surfaced throughout fall camp, as he noted, “DJ [Lagway] is a guy that continues to flash, whether it be off-plays and him running around or just making great throws; I thought he did a great job. Also, I thought a couple guys on the defensive line really showed up as well.”
Jordan and fifth-year senior Devonte Tezino are two of the only returning players along a defensive front that saw a massive influx of talent this offseason via the transfer portal. Head coach Dave Aranda has repeatedly stated that the majority of the offseason budget went toward the trenches, so the Bears could return to being a tough team that can stop the run.
“They're awesome,” Jordan said of the transfers along the defensive line. “Shoot, I mean, Tez has been here for forever, and he's playing the best football I've ever seen him play. But those guys are awesome. They want to be here. They want to win. I think meshing with the culture at Baylor can be hard for some guys, honestly. They've done a great job aligning with us, and I think we're all ready to go win some football games.”
Beyond the defensive line, there’s plenty of optimism among the Bears that the overall defense can be much improved under first-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman after Baylor spent the past few seasons near the bottom of the Big 12.
“We can be crazy good,” senior safety Micah Gifford said. “The potential we have is insane. We're so bonded. Everyone's so willing to just get in the playbook and do what they got to do to get the job done. Everyone's doing their role. It's just everyone's having fun out there, really.”
Jordan didn’t hold back and shared the same sentiment, saying, “I think the sky's the limit. We've been flying around. Coach Klanderman does a good job of letting us play fast, like we've been saying since the spring. This team is really meshing together. We're starting to learn exactly who you're playing next to, what they're good at, ways that y'all can complement each other, and I think those are ways that we'll continue to get better as a defense.”
Gifford believes that the safety room's improvement and depth will play a key role in Baylor’s defensive improvement, naming Colby McAlister, Tyler Turner, Devin Turner and Jacob Redding as players who can all play significant snaps. Klanderman has noted recently that he’s going to be rotating a ton at safety to keep guys fresh, healthy and locked in.
“It's so nice,” Gifford said of the depth. “Not gonna lie, not feeling like you gotta pick up other people's slack. When you're tired, you can get a sub. Colby, Tyler, DT, J-Red, anybody could go in, and it's gonna be great football. People are making plays anywhere.”
Much of the talk from the coaches and players throughout fall camp has centered on the shared sense of connection within the program. It’s a bit surprising, considering that there are more than 50 new players in the building this year and its head coach, Aranda, is perched upon one of the hottest seats of anyone in the country.
Allen, a key leader within the locker room, explained that shared bond going into the season, saying, “Obviously, it's a lot of new people, and so one of the things that we really focused on was not assuming anything. ... This summer, we did a lot of players-only meetings and really got to know people on a deeper level. I think just being really intentional with that has helped a lot, and it's been a lot of buy-in with the team.”
When asked whether that will translate onto the turf this fall, Allen was quick to say, “I do. I think guys are out there playing for each other and it’ll show up on Saturdays.”
That family-like culture was on display earlier in the summer when Allen was voted a single-digit and awarded No. 0. Instead of wearing it, Allen gifted it to Indiana transfer defensive lineman Hosea Wheeler, who was in the middle of a fight to get his sixth season of eligibility.
“Just hearing Hosea's story, getting to know his background and what he's gone through and what it's taken for him to get here,” Allen said of what went into giving Wheeler his single-digit jersey. “Then all the stuff he was going through with his eligibility, and how he was showing up and working and leading every single day, unsure of his future.”
Allen continued, “I knew how much No. 0 meant to him, and I thought it was a really cool opportunity to unite the guys. I cleared it with Coach Aranda and the guys on the team, went up there and told them it was an honor to get voted zero, but I want to give this to Hosea. Everyone loved on Hosea, and I thought that was really cool for him. He's going to be a dude for us this year.”
