3 Baylor Football Players Under the Most Pressure Entering Fall Camp
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As fall camp is getting started and college football is just a month away, teams across the country are beginning to take form and find out who on their team is going to take charge.
For Baylor, there are a few players who have some unique pressures going as preparation for week one amps up.
Travion Barnes (Linebacker)
Barnes has pressure on his durability this fall. This time last year, he had some serious hype around becoming a breakout linebacker but left the season early with an ACL tear.
Unfortunately for Barnes, he has to prove he can play the majority of a season and rack up a full season of stats for next year's NFL evaluations. I expect him to produce; he just needs to stay on the field.
Garrick Ponder (Edge Rusher)
The pressure lingering for Ponder this season is coming from the general weakness at his position. Last year, Baylor was the worst rush defense in the conference with only 12 sacks to their name.
Along with that, the top three edges Baylor had all left through the portal, leaving an even bigger gap for Ponder to fill. He is the highest-paid player on the roster behind Lagway, per The NIL Standard, and is expected to live up to it.
He had a solid season at Southern Miss with 11.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks but will need another step in the right direction; if he doesn't pan out, Baylor doesn't have a great backup plan.
DJ Lagway (Quarterback)
Obviously, everyone on the roster has pressure to perform this season, but none more than Florida Transfer DJ Lagway. Already being rated low on QB rankings, he will have to tune all of it out and focus on his game.
Time is running out for the former five-star prospect, and nothing quiets the haters like putting up wins. Lagway is going to have to embrace the pressure this season; Baylor is pushing all the chips in.
He had some serious turnover issues at Florida that are hopefully going to be figured out over the fall practices. Eyes are on Lagway to be an instant difference-maker for the Baylor Bears.
He is also surely facing some pressure from his head coach Dave Aranda, who is on the hot seat this season and probably needs a winning record to keep his job.
But if Lagway can tune it all out and put some trust into the high-level Spavital offense, I have no doubt he can lead this team to a winning record.
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Bennett is an undergrad student at Baylor University, studying journalism on the sports track. He is from the DFW area and grew up playing and watching sports, which inspired him to pursue sports writing.
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