Inside The Bears

On the transfer front, Baylor needs a proven quarterback

Baylor loses Sawyer Robertson, who is fourth all-time on the school’s passing list

Anthony Thomas

Nov 1, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears quarterback Sawyer Robertson (13) throws downfield against the UCF Knights during the first half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Nov 1, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears quarterback Sawyer Robertson (13) throws downfield against the UCF Knights during the first half at McLane Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images / Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
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As the 2025 campaign has come to an end for the Baylor Bears (5-7), Dave Aranda and his staff are already preparing for the 2026 season and one of the most important positions to address is the most important on the field, quarterback.

One of the greats says goodbye

The Bears lose starting quarterback Sawyer Robertson. In 2025, Robertson passed for 3,681 yards, 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions (on 504 pass attempts). In addition, Robertson added three rushing touchdowns and completed 60.3 percent of his passes. He averaged 306 yards passing per game.

Robertson posted three games of over 400 yards passing. Also, Robertson recorded four games of 300 or more yards through the air. In addition, Robertson posted seven games of three or more passing TD’s. For his efforts in the classroom and on the gridiron, Robertson was named the Big 12 Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year. In addition, he earned honorable mention All-Big 12 status.

For his Baylor career, Robertson leaves Baylor with 7,616 passing yards, good enough for No. 4 all-time on the Baylor passing list. In addition, Robertson tossed 61 touchdowns and 24 INTs. He has a career completion percentage of 60.6.

Signing day gem

On National Signing Day on Wednesday, the Bears signed talented 3-star quarterback Quinn Murphy (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) out of Liberty Christian High School in Argyle, TX. In his high school career, Murphy passed for over 11,000 yards. Murphy ranks No. 3 all-time in Texas high school football history with 168 TD passes. Murphy's coaching and development as a collegiate quarterback is critical.

In the 2025 season, Murphy accounted for 3700 total yards and 46 total touchdowns. Baylor secured Murphy’s signature on a letter of intent over 26 other schools, including Houston, Louisville, Miami and SMU.

Passers in the portal

Just this week alone, five quarterbacks have announced their intention to enter the transfer portal, looking for more playing time and a better collegiate experience. Changes in transfer rules now have the portal window from January 2-16, with the spring portal period going away all together.

So, it is imperative that Aranda and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital find a proven and talented QB that is the right fit to line up behind center for the Bears. The five intended transfers so far are Max Johnson (North Carolina), Jacurri Brown (UCF), Dylan Lonergan (Boston College), Tayven Jackson (UCF) and Drew Dickey (Vanderbilt).

Of those five signal-callers, Lonergan and Jackson were the most productive in 2025. Lonergan passed for 2,025 yards, 12 touchdowns and five INTs. He completed 66.9 percent of his passes for the Eagles. Jackson passed for 2,151 yards 10 TD’s and eight INTs. He completed 63.5 percent of his throws. In addition, Jackson posted four games with multiple-touchdown passes.

This is just the beginning of quarterbacks entering the portal. As teams finish their seasons, more talented signal-callers are sure to announce their intention to seek a football life elsewhere. Aranda and his staff need to get this one right.

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Anthony Thomas
ANTHONY THOMAS

Tony comes to On SI with six years of experience writing about sports online. His work has been published on such sites as The Gridiron News, Mike Farrell Sports, YardBarker, Athlon Sports and College Football Backers. Tony is a U.S. Air Force veteran and is a member of the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).

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