Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda. Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Dave Aranda, Baylor may have found DJ Lagway successor

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Mar 31, 2026 9:34 PM ET

It's hard to project what the college football world will look like in a year or two.

There's so much changing when it comes to NIL and the transfer portal. The recruiting trail has always been the Wild West, but now it can sometimes be hard to tell what is up and what is down.

That's college football's new normal, so it's hard to sit here in 2026 and say that a 2027 recruit will be the future of a program.

Heck, that 2027 recruit may not even play a snap with the team they ultimately sign with.

Still, Dave Aranda and the Baylor Bears have to be very excited about their most recent commitment. They earned a pledge from four-star quarterback Luke Babin on Tuesday, who committed to Baylor over Oklahoma State and Houston.

Babin, from Woodville, Texas, is a former Vanderbilt commit.

BREAKING: Four-Star QB Luke Babin has Committed to Baylor, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’3 195 QB from Woodville, TX was previously Committed to Vanderbilt

“Baylor felt like home to me with a lot of familiar faces”https://t.co/1bDu5LKu25 pic.twitter.com/QKjVmi1kpO
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) March 31, 2026

Baylor got a big win in the transfer portal this winter by landing quarterback DJ Lagway, a former five-star recruit and two-year starter for the Florida Gators.

Lagway has the potential to be an elite player for the Bears, and he very well could even be a Heisman Trophy candidate when all is said and done. He scratched the surface of that potential in Florida, but his lack of development was one of the main reasons that former Florida head coach Billy Napier was fired.

Lagway, a junior, will have two years of eligibility to play two seasons in Waco, but he could always declare for the 2027 NFL Draft if things break right this season.

That would make Babin a massive pickup for Baylor, because he could redshirt behind Lagway in 2026 and be ready to be the starter by 2027.

Even if Lagway plays for the Bears in 2027, Babin would still have plenty of eligibility remaining to be the heir apparent in Waco.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Babin is the No. 25 quarterback in the 2027 class.

This past season at Woodville High School, the four-star recruit threw for 3,063 yards and 40 touchdowns while rushing for 562 yards and seven touchdowns.

He's an elite recruit, and he could potentially be the future of Baylor football.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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