Bernard leads eight Athlon Sports Preseason All-Big 12 selections

WACO, Texas – Led by first-team selection Terrel Bernard, eight Bears earned Preseason All-Big 12 honors by Athlon Sports, the publication announced Wednesday.

Junior linebacker Terrel Bernard was named to the preseason first team defense by Athlon Sports after earning Second Team All-Big 12 honors in 2019 by the AP and Big 12 coaches. The La Porte, Texas, native finished the 2019 season with a team-high 112 tackles, 4.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, one interception and five quarterback hurries. He had double-digit tackle totals in four games, including a career-high 19 at TCU, the most by a Baylor player since 2011.

Second team honorees include offensive lineman Connor Galvin and cornerback Raleigh Texada. Galvin, a junior, has appeared in 23 career games for the Bears, starting 15 of those. Texada, a rising senior, joins Bernard as the only two returning starters on defense from 2019. He has started 20 games for the Bears, including all 14 in 2019 at corner.

The third team selections for the Bears are running back John Lovett and wide receiver Tyquan Thornton. Senior Lovett finished the 2019 season with 655 total rushing yards on 103 attempts for five touchdowns, an average of 6.4 yards per carry. He also had eight receptions for 66 total yards and returned five kicks for 104 yards. Thornton was an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection in 2019 and finished the season with 45 receptions for 782 yards and five touchdowns.

Finally, the Bears are represented on the fourth team by quarterback Charlie Brewer, defensive lineman Chidi Ogbonnaya and punter Issac Power. Brewer has started 30 of the last 31 games for the Bears as he enters his senior season and was a Big 12 honorable mention selection in 2019. Ogbonnaya is a rising junior defensive lineman who appeared in all 14 games last season, while Power averaged 40.3 yards per punt over 69 punts last season.