Baylor football player leaves team, plans to redshirt following 4-2 start

Baylor defensive lineman Tonga Lolohea announced on Instagram that he is no longer on the Baylor football team, and he will redshirt this season with one year of eligibility remaining. Lolohea is no longer listed on the Bears' football roster.

"Thank you Baylor family for my time here! Super grateful for the coaches and the football staff for taking care of me! I've decided it's best for me to enter the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility left. Trusting Gods plan to guide me through this! To my great teammates I call brothers love yall boys!"

Lolohea's path to Baylor

Tonga Lolohea never played for Baylor in the 1.5 seasons he was in Waco. He came to Baylor from the JUCO route. In 2021, Lolohea enrolled at Lamar University, where he played one season. He then played for North Texas in 2022, before going to JUCO's Tyler JC in 2023.

In 8 games with the Apache, Lolohea recorded 21 total tackles, 1 sack and 3 tackles for a loss. Prior to signing with Lamar out of high school, Lolohea had offers from UNLV, Liberty, and others. He was a three-star prospect.

What it means for Baylor?

You never want to lose players in the middle of the season, but this won't have much effect on the Baylor football team. Lolohea was a veteran who only had one more year of eligibility, and it was clear he wasn't going to see the field for the Bears.

Baylor has been recruiting fairly well, and head coach Dave Aranda isn't afraid to use the transfer portal to add some players. With that in mind, it made sense for Lolohea to move on and get a chance somewhere else.

The Baylor Bears will now regroup and take on TCU this weekend in what's going to be a big game for both teams. The Bears are still hopeful they can reach the Big 12 Championship Game, but there can't be any more losses on the schedule. If Baylor can slow down Josh Hoover and the TCU offense -- it has a shot to do just that.