How Baylor Football's 'Outlaw' RB Room Can Punish Big 12 Defenses in 2026
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Baylor enters a pivotal season in 2026 and the Bears will look to not only make a bowl game, but also compete for the Big 12. They will have to do so without several key figures from last year's team. Sawyer Robertson, Michael Trigg, and Josh Cameron are gone, among others.
And so is running back Bryson Washington, who starred for Baylor in each of the last two seasons. He is now at Auburn, a team the Bears will open the season up against in Atlanta. And while losing a top running back in the Big 12 is tough, the cupboard is far from bare.
Associate head coach and running backs coach Khenon Hall is excited about his group as 2026 approaches. They are considered the 'outlaws' in Waco, as the unit doesn't get the respect it should receive. But they are going to play a key hand in what happens this season.
"It's the running back, the outlaws, it's just our calling card," coach Khenon Hall said. "We want to hang our hat on some, we want to kind of just build — that's how we build our bond. We are the outlaws, we feel like — the running backs sometimes get thrown in the pasture and don't get the respect and the love that they deserve sometimes.
"So we just want to make sure we bring something, we cultivate something, and that's kind of like our badge of honor."
Bringing physicality to the Big 12
Hall's unit gains veteran Dawson Pendergrass back after he suffered a season-ending injury last fall. Pendergrass is a bigger back, but has more speed than people might realize. He is joined by two sophomores, Caden Knighten and Michael Turner, who played key roles as true freshmen last fall.
They each bring their own abilities to the table, which will allow all three of them to play this season — with the possibility of seeing freshman Ryelan Morris. But while they all have their unique abilities, the calling card for the entire room is going to be physicality.
"I guess they're pretty tough, they're competitive, they're fiery," Hall said of the RBs. "Our group is a brotherhood. They put the work in since they've been here, getting to know each other, hanging out with each other, so I think it's a pretty competitive group. I'm fired up about them.
"I love them, so I think this group is going to be exactly what we are. We're going to be tough, smart, and they're going to be pretty dependable, but as everybody knows, we want our calling card to be physical, so they're going to bring that physical mindset and toughness every day."
Next-man up mentality
Someone is going to walk on as the starter when Baylor's offense takes the field on Sept. 5 against Auburn. But that doesn't mean there will be a bell cow in 2026. Feeding the hot hand will be important for the Bears this season, but so is rotating between the three backs.
Pendergrass is likely going to be the guy who does trot out there with the starters, but even he believes the room is deep and the other two backs are going to play an important role for Baylor this season.
"This is a very, very deep room, I mean like, think about it right now, I think we'd be okay if anybody went out there and ran the ball," Pendergrass said. "Like everybody's got the skill set, everybody's put in the work all summer, everybody's been putting the work all camp. I mean, if it's kind of like a next man up mentality. Ff someone goes down, like we still got somebody else, so I'm very confident in this room."
Fans can see the exciting room in action when the Bears take on Auburn on Sept. 5 at 2:30 CT.
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