New faces in the locker room and new attitude has Bears looking for a bounceback
Baylor head coach Dave Aranda is in the process of building a bridge in his mind between truth and love. Luckily for the Philosopher Coach, there are plenty of examples of bridge construction in Waco, Texas.
Aranda leans towards love. He’s more Seneca than Saban. Aranda’s goal for himself is to move towards truth. And the truth is, the Bears disappointed in 2022. Aranda blames himself.
“A lot of it is me, man,” Aranda said when asked what needs to happen for his program to return to 2021 heights. “The truth without love can be weaponized and mobilized as shame or personal attacks. Love by itself is just a Disney movie, which I love, but this ain’t a Disney movie, so you must live in both at the same time.”
The first adjustment came in the transfer portal. Aranda, who prefers love, wanted to restock his depleted starting lineup with players already on the team. He felt that hitting the transfer portal was a betrayal of the players on the roster already sacrificing blood, sweat, and tears. The 2022 squad underperformed, finishing .500 in the regular season before dropping to 6-7 with a bowl loss to Air Force. It was the second losing season in three tries under Aranda. The other season – 2021 – resulted in 12 wins, a Big 12 championship, and a victory over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
“We showed some immaturity on the team and I didn’t deal in truth enough to stop it,” Aranda said. “For me, self-reflection is a big part of the job. Maybe that can be a bad thing sometimes. I overthought the portal.”
The Bears shifted tactics entering the 2023 campaign, and the hopes are that the new faces brought in through the portal shore up a solid existing roster enough to push back towards the top of the Big 12 standings. Baylor brought in three players through the transfer portal in the 2022 cycle, and only Jaxon Player became a real contributor. That number grew to over a dozen in the 2023 cycle with over a handful cracking the starting lineup during spring ball.
Aranda was worried that the new faces would cause issues for the culture he’s building. The reality is the opposite, according to the Baylor players. Newcomers such as linebacker Mike Smith Jr. and offensive lineman Clark Barrington are already emerging as leaders despite only spending a few months in Waco.
“Having older guys enter the program who can buy in and bring the young guys along is a blessing,” defender Bryson Jackson said. “Competition makes us all better. We’re a brotherhood here, and those guys are only improving our outlook as a team. We welcome that.”
Aranda is an interesting cat in a college football landscape overpopulated by old dogs. He’s an outlier. A thinker. A critic. An understated head coach who is vulnerable about his insecurities and faults. Some might see that as a weakness for a football coach because the world is used to the profession being ruled by wannabe military generals. Baylor players would disagree.
“Playing for Aranda is amazing,” Jackson said. “His football mind is unmatched. He is very philosophical about the game and about life. He teaches us so much. He’s authentic, so you know that he means everything that he says. In modern terms, he is Him.”
DCTF'S TAKE
An improved defense and more consistent quarterback play puts the Bears right back into Big 12 contention. Continued regression at those spots means Baylor is fighting to get bowl eligible. Two losing seasons bookend a magical year that resulted in 12 wins, a Big 12 title, and a win in the Sugar Bowl. Which is more predictive of what Dave Aranda’s squad looks like in Year 4? The recipe in 2021 was to keep opponents under 30 points while wearing down defenses with the run game.