Keep an Eye on Baylor's Caden Knighten: If You Don't, he's so Fast, You Might Miss Him
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Caden Knighten was an Oklahoma 2-A 100 meter state champion as a high school sophomore in 2023, with a winning time of 10.95 seconds. I'll be honest with you and tell you that it took longer than 10.95 seconds to write this sentence that you're currently reading. Knighten really is just that fast.
Sharing the rushing attempts last season with Bryson Washington, and Michael Turner, in lieu of Dawson Pendergrass' season ending foot injury in practice, Knighten had 104 carries accounting for 469 yards and 11 receptions totaling 134 yards and both a single rushing and a single receiving touchdown.
Washington has since used the transfer portal to find himself at Auburn, but Pendergrass is healthy this season. His role as a reserve/backup could end up looking very similar to how it did last year with Knighten getting a dozen or so opportunities to touch the ball each game.
Baylor's Three-Headed Monster?
There's a lot of speculation in this next prediction, and maybe some wishful thinking as well, but Baylor could absolutely rush for 2,000 yards by the end of the season between Pendergrass, Lagway, and Knighten. And, if that were to come to fruition, it would only open opposing defenses up more to get picked apart by Lagway's arm.
Come the second half of every game, a tired defense becomes very easy to exploit. The moment the defense starts walking around with their hands on their hips, the speed of someone like Caden Knighten is able to flourish. You can't catch a running back as a defensive lineman when you're too out of breath to keep up.
Familiarity at a Skill Position
Dawson Pendergrass may not have played last season, but he was originally slotted to be a one-two punch with Washington before his foot injury. He got the chance to watch Knighten and Turner get their reps and the three of them are among the few remaining members of last season's team, especially after the offseason saw 32 players leave by the way of the transfer portal.
Familiarity and experience are intangible traits that simply cannot be taught, they have to be lived; and these three already have a year shared together.
Nightmarish Short-Yardage Threat?
Knighten isn't the biggest player on the field at 5'11, and he certainly isn't a power-back at 211 lbs. He's a speed-back. He needs just enough of a lane to explode through, or an edge to race to get to.
Knighten could be the solution to Coach Aranda and the Baylor Bears' third-down conversion problem. Not as a "three feet and a cloud of dust" kind of solution as Knighten simply isn't that kind of running back, but rather a "quick screen/toss and sprint to the first down marker." One block in space, and Knighten's speed will have every defense losing sleep the night before the game trying to plan ahead for him.
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Brad is a writer and contributes to the Baylor Bears on SI, with aspirations to share his own unique thoughts and perspectives with fans. Whether through the facts and figures of the past or the untold potential and triumphs of the future, sports have always been a large influence on Brad's storytelling and life overall. His inspiration to write began while watching sports when he first noticed the highs and lows of each game, each quarter, each play; there's a story in each of them worth telling, and he wanted to tell them.
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