Two key Baylor players are 'doubtful' on Saturday vs. UCF

The Bears need all hands on deck, but it might not happen

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Baylor's availability report was released on Wednesday night and the Bears had a total of six players on the report.

Wide receiver Mason Dossett and edge Jaylin Jones were marked 'out' against UCF. Safety Carl Williams and wide receiver Kobe Prentice are 'doubtful', and safety Kendrick Simpkins is listed as 'questionable' for UCF.

Both Prentice and Simpkins are big players for the Bears, and Williams is a veteran Baylor was hoping to get back soon. However, it doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.

After playing 413 and 440 snaps in 2023 and 2024, respectively, Williams has seen a total of five snaps in 2025 for the Bears' defense. Earlier this week, Dave Aranda addressed Williams' availability for the final four games.

"We're making a really last pretty strong push right now as we speak to get him kind of reevaluated and kind of looked at to try to see if we can get some out of him. I know he wants to, we want to. It's been a frustrating part to a frustrating season so far. And so we're going to try to be able to get it better at the end and see if we can get him involved."

Missing both Prentice and Simpkins would be a tough blow

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With the injuries in the defensive backfield, Simpkins has come on as of late. He has played the 12th-most snaps of any Baylor defender and is 10th on the team with 20 tackles. The hard-hitting safety is also fifth on the defense, racking up two TFLs this season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Simpkins is the No. 4 tackler on the team with a 79.2 tackle grade. He is behind Caden Jenkins, Cooper Lanz, and LeVar Thornton. With how poorly the Baylor defense has played this season, not having Simpkins against UCF would be a tough blow.

As for Kobe Prentice, Baylor could use him in the passing attack. The Bears have plenty of wide receivers -- and a lot of good ones. In fact, Prentice is probably fourth on the depth chart behind Josh Cameron, Ashtyn Hawkins, and Kole Wilson, but Prentice is the player who finds the end zone the most.

Through eight games, the Alabama transfer leads Baylor with six touchdowns caught. He has reeled in 21 receptions for 282 yards. If Prentice can't go, the Bears will lean on the their main trio of targets, along with tight end Michael Trigg.

More From Baylor On SI:

• Bowl projections for Baylor football following 4-4 start
• Baylor gets to the post-season if they just win, baby!
• 3 Keys to a Baylor football victory over UCF
• National CFB analyst places Baylor’s Dave Aranda on the hot seat
• Following Morris commitment, Baylor jumps into the top 25 recruiting class rankings