Focus is the Word of the Day from Baylor's First Fall Camp Practice
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Dave Aranda took to the podium today for the first day of fall camp to brace for what is a big season for both him and the program.
Aranda knows he’s on the hot seat. The program knows he’s on the hot seat, which led to a knew buzz word of the day.
Focus.
The players know the situation, and the coach does as well. Baylor needs to have a big year to get their program back on track. That leads to a higher level of intensity and attention to detail early in the season.
That focus is even more paramount as Baylor tries to break in so many new players, which is where a new leadership group is what Aranda thinks will help carry things along.
“We're excited. This group and the leadership that has really emerged throughout the year and really kind of showed up in the summertime. Excited about that group,” Aranda said on Wednesday.
“And, you know, they're pushing this team and, we had a leadership council meet yesterday. I thought that the feedback on, you know, we looked at fall camp and, hey, if fall camp were to go sideways, if fall camp were to not go right, what are, what would be the reasons? And LaVar [Thornton] was our guy on the board and put all — everyone kind of gave their reasons, we put it on the board. And then we tried to group — there's certain things that kind of put together.”
Aranda channeled inner... Batman
Fall camp gives Baylor time to prep for its first game of the season, a showdown against the Auburn Tigers of the SEC. Last year, Baylor dropped their season opener against Auburn by two scores.
How are they going to reverse the trend and what does Aranda think is going to be the key going into that first game? He channeled Christopher Nolan’s Batman.
“It's a connected team. You know, right now what we're really working to do is to take it all to the grass. I think I look back at spring semester, one of the very first clips that we show, there's a scene in Batman Begins where they drop Bruce Wayne off just on the side of a road and he's got to make a climb,” Aranda said.
“And so to get to know people and really get to know kind of why they're here, what they're about. A lot of guys have kind of been beaten up and kind of dragged through it and have kind of risen above it and all that. So get all those stories and then to come together academically is the best semester Baylor football has ever had.”
Perhaps that iron sharpening, and the togetherness it brings to the program is what can lead to Baylor finding its way to a better season than a 5-7 campaign that beat them up throughout the 2026 offseason.
The Head Coach is Not Alone
A poor season has led to a strong offseason as Aranda noted, but he’s not the only one who has noted.
Jacob Redding is not new here at this point. Redding is entering his redshirt junior year and expected to be one of the stars for the team on defense. He’s been here for three years, and said the first practice was different than any of the others.
“I don't think it was typical. I think I don't know,” Redding said.
“Every first day you're going to have the energy and everybody's going to be high up in the warm up lines. But I think there's a little more focus today. I think we kind of know what this team can be and how good we can be. And I think it was like it wasn't a typical first day. I think it was it was a more focused day.”
Focus is going to be necessary for the Bears if they’re going to knock off Auburn and improve on their 2025 season.
They’re going to go through some transition and potentially be outgunned from a talent perspective in games during the year.
Intensity, leadership, focus, and attention to detail are all keys to trying to bridge some of a talent gap.
For now, Baylor is saying all the right things.
With the first day of fall practice underway, there are a few talking points that we are watching regarding #Baylor football. @JacobWestendorf has it for you here.
— Baylor Bears On SI (@BaylorBearsOnSI) August 5, 2026
STORY: https://t.co/VOtnQ95Tnv pic.twitter.com/71gv9OEk3a
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Jacob Westendorf is a contributing writer for Baylor Bears on SI. He is also a writer covering the Green Bay Packers for Packers on SI. Westendorf graduated from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay where he earned a degree in communication with an emphasis in journalism and mass media. He worked in newspapers in Green Bay and Rockford, Illinois. He also interned at Packer Report for Bill Huber while earning his degree. In 2018, he became a staff writer for PackerReport.com, and a regular contributor on Packer Report's "Pack A Day Podcast." In 2020, he founded the media company Game On Wisconsin. In 2023, he rejoined Packer Central, which is part of Sports Illustrated Media Group.