Inside The Bears

Top Baylor football commit spurns Bears and flips to Texas

Not a good look for Dave Aranda.

Trent Knoop

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On Saturday, Baylor's top commit, four-star edge Jamarion Carlton, flipped to Texas. It comes after Carlton has made multiple recent visits to Austin to see the Longhorns. He was back in Austin on Friday night for Texas' win over Texas A&M. His flip also comes after Baylor's seventh loss of the season against Houston.

Baylor had a top-25 class, but with Carlton leaving the 2026 class, the Bears will now fall in the class rankings. Baylor isn't guaranteed to keep the rest of its class either. Players like Jamarion Vincent, Jordan Clay, and London Smith have all been connected elsewhere -- even after Baylor retained Dave Aranda.

Dave Aranda was partly retained to keep the recruiting class together

In President Livingtone's letter regarding Aranda coming back for another year, one of the reasons was for roster retention. Keeping Baylor's roster intact, along with its top-tier recruiting class was of importance.

"...Student-athlete experience: Retaining our current roster and protecting a nationally ranked recruiting class are essential to our future success;"

Not only did Baylor go 5-7 this season, but the Bears aren't holding onto their top commits either. Without keeping the class intact, some fans are going to wonder what the purpose of keeping Aranda was.

Here is 247Sports' scouting report on Carlton:

"Physically and athletically gifted front-line defender who could play from the edge or bulk to a true defensive lineman thanks to immense frame space. Measured exceptionally well during 2025 Navy All-American Bowl week, while assembling an encouraging performance against elite competition to reacquire the "stock up" label. North of 6-4 and around 240 pounds with excellent length. Displays quick-twitch athleticism that shows in pads and explosive basketball context. Dynamic open-floor finisher in hoops, where second-jump juice regularly shows. Technically raw, but flashes high-level splash playmaking ability. Also showed encouraging down-to-down competency in various scenarios during NAAB week. Plays upright at times and can improve flexibility. Rush arsenal should expand with experience. Flashes startling speed-to-power ability and point-of-attack strength. Limited track and field reps (100 meters, shot put, discus) create a three-sport athletic profile. Represents a high-ceiling on-ball defender who could fit multiple roles and schemes. Projects as a possible high-major impact player with bona fide NFL Draft traits."

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent is the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI and also serves as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines on SI. His work has additionally been featured on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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