Baylor football loses defensive lineman to the transfer portal
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The hits keep coming to the Baylor defense. On Friday, On3's Pete Nakos revealed that redshirt sophomore DK Kalu was entering the transfer portal. The 6-foot-4, 309-pound lineman played in eight games for Baylor this season. He was 17th on the team with 281 snaps.
While he played a decent amount, Kalu wasn't overly productive. In the eight games played, he recorded just 11 tackles and 0.5 TFLs.
Baylor DT DK Kalu plans to enter the transfer portal, his agent @AgentJoeD tells @PeteNakos.
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) December 12, 2025
The 6-foot-4, 309-pound DL has two years of eligibility remaining. Played in six games in 2025. Son of former NFL DL N.D. Kalu. https://t.co/kSYG7dYADj pic.twitter.com/NyUruLttNA
The Texas native came to Baylor in 2023. He redshirted that year and saw three games of action in 2024. As a prospect, he was a three-star recruit and the No. 733 player in the country, per the Composite. Kalu held offers from programs like Kansas State, Iowa State, Georgia Tech, and Houston, among others.
With Kalu hitting the portal, he will join players like Phoenix Jackson, Jeremy Evans, and DJ Coleman, who have all announced their intentions to enter the portal.
The news comes one day after Baylor hired its new defensive coordinator. Former KSU DC Joe Klanderman was hired for the same position under Dave Aranda. With Klanderman coming into Waco, the hope is that Aranda turns the playcalling duties over to him and take more of a focus on the entire program -- not just the defense.
Klanderman in Baylor
One of the nation's top defensive minds, Klanderman joins the Bears after spending the last seven years overall with the Cats, also serving as the safeties coach in 2019, and coordinating the defense from 2020-25. He was the defensive backs coach from 2014-18 at North Dakota State, helping NDSU win four national titles in five years, which followed 12 years on the defensive staff at his alma mater, Minnesota State.
Spending six seasons helming the Wildcats' defense, he helped his unit become one of the most consistent in the conference.
His 2025 season was led by second-team All-Big 12 Conference selection in linebacker Austin Romaine, who totaled 66 tackles in just nine games, and owning seven TFLs, two PBUs, an interception and a forced fumble. Romaine has totaled 184 tackles in his first three seasons under Klanderman, including 17.5 TFLs and three forced fumbles. The K-State defense ranked among the nation's leaders in several categories in 2025, including fumble recoveries (second), turnovers gained (fourth), defensive TDs (10th), interceptions (20th), passing efficiency defense (32nd) and sacks (39th).
More From Baylor On SIEmpty heading
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- Baylor might not be done recruiting following the firing of Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore
- Baylor basketball assistant leaving the program
- Baylor football set to lose top-five tackler to transfer portal
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Trent is the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI and also serves as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines on SI. His work has additionally been featured on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.
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