Baylor Football Spent More On its Defense Than Ever Before

Aranda and the Bears seized an opportunity to scoop up Klanderman upon learning that Collin Klein would be taking over for Kleiman in Manhattan. It also frees up Aranda from a defense he’s led for two seasons since Ron Roberts left for Auburn.

Some of that recalculated investment went toward attracting defensive linemen Hosea Wheeler (Indiana), Garrick Ponder (Southern Miss), and Jae’Lin Battle (Oklahoma) in the portal.

“I think one of the things I found the most freeing was not being the head coach and the (defensive coordinator) really allowed us to spend more money on defense,” Aranda said. “This is the most money we’ve spent on defense since I’ve been here. So I think one of the things that held me back on defense and also being the head coach was that I didn’t want to overload that side of the ball, and then you come back, and you look at it – we didn’t do enough!”

He continued:

“We didn’t do enough, and we should have done a whole lot more on the line of scrimmage, and we made sure that we did this time, as well as with our linebackers and our secondary. You look at last year, and the majority of money on our team was spent on the receiver room, almost way too much to be honest, so now that money is spent on defense, and I felt it freeing to not be in that position, where I could just say ‘Joe, we’re going to get you everything you need.’”

Diving into that investment, here’s a breakdown of the new Bears on the scene: this spring:

Up Front

• Jordan Mack, DL, Coastal Carolina

• Jamaal Whyce Jr., DL, Marshall

• Kamren Washington, DL, Texas State

• Zavion Hardy, DL, South Carolina

• Daemian Wimberly, DL, UT San Antonio

• Ryan Davis, Edge, Kansas State

• Garrick Ponder, Edge, Southern Miss

Linebackers

• JJ Shelton, LB, Arkansas

• Kendrick Walker, LB, Georgia State

Secondary

• Stilton McKelvey, CB, New Mexico

• Devon Jordan, CB, Oklahoma

• Austin Ausberry, S, LSU

• Anthony Crenshaw Jr., S, Delaware

• Daniel Cobbs, S, Kansas State

• Colby McCalister, S, Kansas State

Aranda made a name for himself coaching defenses at LSU, Wisconsin, and Utah State, among other stops, before landing in Waco six years ago. But that same focus appeared to drag against his duties as head coach in a recruiting season that’s becoming slimmer and slimmer each year.

While Baylor looked efficient under quarterback Sawyer Robinson, now competing with Florida transfer DJ Lagway for the starting job this offseason, the defense was another story.

Aranda’s 3-3-5 struggled immensely against the run (last in the Big 12) and allowed an average of 392.1 yards per game (12th in the Big 12). Linebackers Kaleb Burns, Kyland Reed, and corner Levar Thornton Jr. are among the few returning contributors from last year’s defense.