4. College Football News Preview 2020: Baylor Bears Defense 3 Things To Know
– New head coach Dave Aranda made his name handling defenses, but defensive coordinator Ron Roberts is getting his first shot as an assistant at a Power Five program after handling Billy Napier’s Louisiana D for the last two seasons.
There’s a lot of work for the entire coaching staff to do with just two starters back from a defense that was No. 1 in the Big 12 in pass rush, takeaways and scoring D, and third in total defense. Nine of the top 11 tacklers are gone.
– The line has young parts who got in the rotation last year and made a bit of an impact, but six of the team’s top seven players are gone, including James Lynch and Bravvion Roy who combined for 32.5.
Lynch is the big loss, but his production could be instantly replaced if Arkansas State transfer William Bradley-King is able to replicate what he did with the Red Wolves. It’ll be a big line, but the giant Coke machine will be missing without Bravvion Roy around on the nose. The linebackers will have to do a whole bunch of cleaning up.
Leading tackler Terrel Bernard isn’t huge, but he’s more than fine to work around somewhere in the linebacking corps. The young guys have to step up, starting with redshirt freshman Matt Jones – he brings some much-needed 237-pound size – and Jalen Pitre, who came up with 12 tackles in four games before redshirting.
– Losing safety Grayland Arnold early to the NFL stings, but solid corner Raleigh Texada is back for his senior year. JT Woods, Jairon McVea and Christian Morgan should fill in just fine at safety, and junior Kalon Barnes got in enough work last year to be okay early on at the other corner.