Tag: Baylor Football

Former Wisconsin DC Dave Aranda on recruiting success at Baylor: ‘We’re paying players’

Former Wisconsin DC Dave Aranda on recruiting success at Baylor: ‘We’re paying players’

Here’s a pretty effective snapshot of the current landscape of college football: Former Wisconsin Badgers defensive coordinator and current Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda spoke bluntly at the ongoing Big 12 media days about how his program has found recent success on the class of 2025 recruiting trail.

“We’re paying players,” Aranda said.

Related: Ranking every wide receiver corps in the Big Ten Conference entering 2024 season

The question was asked to Aranda after the Bears started July with three class of 2025 commitments, including one from four-star DL Kamauryn Morgan. The class ranks No. 43 in the nation with only 11 total commitments. Though as mentioned, much of that progress was made in the last week.

Aranda says the quiet part loud and clear. The program finished the 2024 cycle with only 14 total commitments and the nation’s No. 67-ranked class. That is a low standing in a talent-rich region like Texas. Now, the program is taking forward strides in the class of 2025 after, as Aranda said, paying more players.

Aranda has been Baylor’s head coach since 2020. He has a 23-25 overall record in those four seasons, buoyed by a terrific 12-2 2021 campaign. Things are trending in the wrong direction over the last few years, however, with a 6-7 2022 campaign and recent 3-9 record in 2023.

The longtime defensive coordinator spent 2013-2015 at Wisconsin under Gary Andersen (2013-14) and Paul Chryst (2015). He has long been one of the better defensive minds in the sport, though has run into a few roadblocks as a head coach.

It’s easy to assume that Aranda speaks for many coaches across the sport when it comes to recruiting inducements. More money leads to better recruiting classes in today’s age of college football.

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A Big 12 commit: 4-star running back Caden Knighten verbals to Baylor

Caden Knighten committed to Baylor on Tuesday.

Baylor football got a huge commitment on Tuesday from four-star running back Caden Knighten.

A member of the class of 2025, Knighten is ranked as the No. 23 running back in the nation in the 247Sports Composite, where he is also the No. 7 recruit in Oklahoma.

Last year in 12 games played, he had 2,278 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns for Wynnewood (Wynnewood, Oklahoma).

Yes, that’s right. Knighten had nearly three rushing touchdowns a game last season.

He ran a 4.46 time in the 40 and has good size at 6-foot and 190 pounds.

He held offers from Colorado, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas and Vanderbilt among others.

 

Following his commitment on Tuesday, Knighten told USA TODAY High School Sports why he picked Baylor:

“The appreciation and support the entire staff has shown and given me along with a huge welcome to the family was heartwarming,” Knighten told USA TODAY High School Sports.

“I felt loved as soon as I got the phone call from coach Hall (Khenon Hall, Baylor’s associate head coach and running backs coach)! He’s been a part of my process since freshman year, he was my first offer at SMU. So his love and character really showed me that he was serious about the situation.”

The addition of Knighten pushes Baylor up to seven commits in the 2025 class. He is the second-highest-ranked recruit for the Big 12 program behind four-star quarterback Adam Schobel.

Rutgers football recruiting: Jaeylyne Matthews gets his latest offer from the Big 12

Jaelyne Matthews was offered by a Big 12 program on Friday.

Four-star offensive lineman Jaelyne Matthews was offered by Baylor on Friday. This latest offer comes after a busy couple of weeks for one of New Jersey’s top recruits, which included an unofficial visit last week to Rutgers football.

Matthews, from Toms River North (Toms River, New Jersey) is slated to play in the Under Armour All-America Game next January. He is one of the top recruits in New Jersey.

His first Power Five offer came as a freshman from Rutgers. ESPN ranks him as the No. 88 player in the nation and the second-best player in New Jersey’s 2025 class.

He is a consensus top-six player in New Jersey this year.

Over the weekend, Matthews took a visit to Tennessee. Earlier in the month, he was offered by Kentucky and re-offered by Michigan State.

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On Friday morning, Matthews posted on social media about the offer from Baylor:

 

As for his relationship with Rutgers, Matthews has been a frequent visitor on campus. The Scarlet Knights were his first offer and Rutgers is the campus as well as coaching staff that he is most familiar with.

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Matthews opened up his recruitment this past fall after being a Penn State verbal for much of the calendar year.

On Tuesday, Rutgers received a commitment from [autotag]Talibi Kaba[/autotag], a three-star recruit who is one of the top players in New Jersey in the 2025 class.

 

Baylor retains Dave Aranda as head coach, eliminating him from USC DC search

Cross Dave Aranda off your lists, #USC fans. He has been retained by Baylor for one more season.

The coaching carousel news cycle is in overdrive on Sunday, with teams’ regular seasons ending and schools making official announcements on firings and retentions for 2024. The Baylor Bears have announced that head coach Dave Aranda will be retained for 2024, putting him off the market as a possibility for USC’s open defensive coordinator position.

Many people thought Aranda would be fired, given how much Baylor cratered late in the 2023 season. However, the Bears — realizing that Aranda did win the Big 12 championship and the Sugar Bowl in the 2021 season — have decided to give him one more year. Aranda will be on the hot seat in 2024, but he will at least get one more chance to save his job in Waco.

USC does have Tom Allen of Indiana to consider. Allen was fired by Indiana earlier on Sunday, putting him on the market as Lincoln Riley’s potential new coordinator. We will see if USC interviews Allen. We will keep you updated on USC’s defensive coordinator search, which now becomes more intense since the Trojans can interview lots of candidates. Expect USC to have a new coordinator in the next five days.

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Eric Collins’ voice nearly broke as he called this improbable UCF 4th-down conversion

“IT’S CAAAAAUUUUUUGGGHHHHT!”

Veteran broadcaster Eric Collins always knows how to accentuate an exciting moment in a football game, but his call of this absolutely improbable University of Central Florida fourth-down conversion is one of his best.

As UCF faced down 4th-and-five with 1:02 left in its game against Baylor, the Knights trailed by a point and absolutely needed to get the first down.

Quarterback Timmy McClain decided to defy the laws of football physics by scrambling all the way back to his team’s end zone from around the 30-yard line, avoiding the safety and moving up just a few yards to make the mind-blowing throw to running back R.J. Harvey for the conversion.

The way Collins guided viewers through the dramatics of the play was spectacular, and the “What do ya got, McClain?” quote all the way to his voice almost breaking when Harvey hauled in the pass was just special.

UCF wasn’t able to get points out of this wild sequence, but it doesn’t take away from the spectacular throw from McClain and the unforgettable narration from Collins on the “unbelievable” conversion.

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Pregame social media buzz ahead of No. 3 Texas vs. Baylor

Fans are excited for Texas to kick off Big 12 conference play tonight.

No. 3 Texas kicks off Big 12 conference play against the Baylor Bears on Saturday night. Continue reading “Pregame social media buzz ahead of No. 3 Texas vs. Baylor”

Should Texas’ offensive game plan be in the air or on the ground?

How should Sark attack the Bears defense?

Texas could go either way when it comes to the Baylor defense. From a fans perspective, we would love to witness the Quinn Ewers connection to star receivers, but that may not be what we see.

Baylor has a decent pass rush, with Byron Vaughns leading the charge holding a 78.9 PFF pass rush grade, followed by linebacker Mike Smith Jr. and defensive lineman Devonte Tezino. Vaughns is Baylor’s best pass rusher, with six pressures on the passer, two sacks and four hurries.

Ewers is not the best when pressured so if the Bears want to make Ewers uncomfortable they will need to put pressure on him.

Baylor has decent cornerbacks in Carl Williams IV and Caden Jenkins. Williams has an 81.6 coverage grade and is the top corner for the Bears’ defense.

If Steve Sarkisian wants to air it out then he will have to have his wide receivers make big time plays and try to avoid the costly drops. They cannot afford to miss wide open touchdowns and easy targets dropped.

As much as the deep ball is pretty, the game plan might be better on the ground. Texas is expected to have freshman running back CJ Baxter back on Saturday and with Brooks coming off a phenomenal game against Wyoming, the backfield is in good hands.

The Longhorns have averaged nearly 150 rushing yards per game, and the Bears have allowed 170 rushing yards per game. If Baxter is 100% without limitations, it will be very exciting to see what he can do as he has had unfortunate injuries to start his young collegiate career.

The Texas Longhorns kickoff against the Baylor Bears at 6:30 P.M. CT.

Previewing the final rivalry matchup between Texas and Baylor

We preview the Longhorns’ crucial Big 12 season opener against the Baylor Bears.

The Texas Longhorns (3-0) face the Baylor Bears (1-2) on Saturday. It could be the final meeting between the two teams.

It’s a significant game for both teams. We have noted the importance of the game to Baylor alumni this week, but it needs to be as important to Texas given what is at stake.

The Longhorns have something to lose. The team is undefeated and ranked No. 3 in the country presently. Its goals and aspirations are all ahead of the team.

In our fall camp preview, we stated the importance of a 4-0 start in the 2023 season. I wrote the following on that topic.

“Texas can avoid letting a win slip away against Alabama or getting upset by Baylor early with a changed mindset. … (The program) shouldn’t be able to stomach another bitter upset loss to Baylor by the fourth game. It’s no longer okay for Texas to lose any of the first four games. Leadership will have to elevate the Longhorns to meet that standard.”

Now Texas’ leadership gets its opportunity to play championship-level football. It can start by performing well in the conference opener.

Let’s preview the game between Texas and Baylor.

Baylor Week: Will Texas play to the standard or to its opponent?

Expect another close game unless Texas starts playing to the standard this week.

The Texas Longhorns take on the Baylor Bears on Saturday. It poses another challenge for the team, albeit the challenge would be of Texas’ own making.

The Longhorns have played substandard football in two of their first three games. And as much as we have made of starting quarterback Quinn Ewers’ improvement, he is still completing just 60.7 percent of his passes this season. The completion rate is better than last season, but not good by any stretch.

Texas receivers are certainly culpable for Ewers’ low completion percentage. The unit has dropped catchable passes and missed on several other catchable footballs. Even so, there’s a marked difference between Ewers against Alabama and how he plays against lesser opponents.

The focus hasn’t been there for both Ewers and his receivers this season, and the lackadaisical nature of the passing game has led to unimpressive results. Texas might be 3-0 now, but it won’t be for long if the passing game continues to be inefficient.

On the flip side, a focused effort this week could lead to a strong performance against Baylor this weekend. Texas needs to play to a championship-level standard it wants championship results. If it does, the Longhorns should beat the Bears comfortably on Saturday.

Former Baylor QB J.J. Joe discusses the team’s matchup with Texas

“If we do what we did against Texas State, Sark will put a 50 spot on us … because he will isolate and attack.”

It’s Baylor week for the Texas Longhorns football program. And as much as some would like to reject it, the game is a rivalry as long as the two teams take the field.

The game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Former Baylor quarterback and current Baylor color analyst J.J. Joe shared his thoughts on the game with 365 Sports Radio. He started by discussing Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and what he brings as a play caller.

“They have an elite play caller. Sark, I mean, we may think another way about his head coaching ability. I think he’s grown and learned a lot from being with (Alabama head coach Nick Saban). But offensively, that dudes a genius.”

Joe continued by discussing Sarkisian’s ability to isolate mismatches. He noted that if the Longhorns’ offensive play caller can pinpoint what Texas State exploited from the Baylor defense in Week 1, the Bears could be in for a long night.

“If we do what we did against Texas State, Sark will put a 50 spot on us … in the first half, because he will isolate and attack.”

We don’t expect Sarkisian and company to hang a 50-burger and certainly not in the first half where Texas has struggled this season. That said, there’s an opportunity for the Longhorns passing attack to make plays downfield. Baylor head coach Dave Aranda will have some say in whether or not those opportunities are clearly visible.