CFB Analyst Gives Promising Ranking for New-Look Baylor Football Offensive Line

Baylor football enters 2026 with one of the most rebuilt offensive lines in the Big 12, but Phil Steele’s preseason evaluation suggests the Bears may have more to work with up front than the turnover alone indicates

The Baylor Offensive Line preparing for the 2025 season | Via Baylor Athletics

In a recent On3 article by Brian Jones detailing Steele’s top 69 offensive line rooms in college football, Baylor checked in at 45th nationally.

For a unit replacing four starters, breaking in a new position coach and asking several transfers to immediately mesh in a new system, that feels like a fair and quietly encouraging ranking.

Kaden Sieracki is the lone returning starter with substantial experience in Baylor’s system, but the Bears added proven college snaps through the portal. Toledo transfer Cole Rhett, UAB's Logan Moore, and South Alabama transfer Asher Hale are among the veterans expected to help stabilize a group now coached by interim-turned-permanent offensive line coach Austin Woods, a former 4-year Oklahoma starter with previous experience at USC.

There are still questions. Chemistry matters more along the offensive line than almost anywhere on the field, and Baylor will need this group to settle quickly with DJ Lagway behind it and a talented backfield capable of carrying a large share of the offense.

Still, No. 45 suggests Steele sees enough experience and upside to keep Baylor out of the bottom tier nationally.

The Big 12 context makes the ranking more interesting

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cincinnati is the conference’s highest-ranked offensive line at 14th, followed by BYU at 19th. The Cougars host Baylor in Provo on November 14th.

Texas Tech sits at 27th, giving the Bears another highly regarded front to deal with when the Red Raiders visit Waco one week later. West Virginia and Houston are clustered at 37th and 38th, respectively, with Houston serving as the regular-season closer for the Bears. Former FCS member North Dakota State, despite playing outside the Power Four, lands at No. 41, four spots ahead of Baylor. 

TCU checks in at No. 48th giving Baylor a slight preseason edge entering the October 17th Revivalry matchup. Arizona follows at 50th, while Kansas and UCF sit together at 52nd and 55th. Utah falls all the way to 60th after losing both Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu to the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Fano went No. 9 overall to Cleveland, while New England selected Lomu at No. 28.

Baylor above a national power

Then comes perhaps the biggest eye-opener on the list: Alabama at No. 61, seemingly unimaginable under the previous Saban tenure

Seeing Baylor ranked 16 spots ahead of the Crimson Tide does not mean the Bears suddenly have one of the nation’s elite offensive fronts. It does, however, reinforce the idea that Baylor’s rebuild has more legitimate pieces than the “new-look” label may suggest.

For a unit entering the season as one of the roster’s largest uncertainties, 45th is a promising place to begin.

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