Baylor Football: 3 reasons Dave Aranda was perfect hire for the Bears

2. Baylor has experienced a high amount of success defensively

Most schools in the Big 12 are most known for their explosive offenses. This past season, the Oklahoma Sooners, Iowa State Cyclones and the Baylor Bears are the three teams that had consistent defenses that could stop the run and passing game.

This past season, the Bears’ defense ranked 16th in the nation in points allowed per game (19.3), which is the first in the Big 12 conference overall. The Bears also ranked third in the conference in total yards accounted per game (357.2), fourth in the conference in rushing yards allowed per game (142.4), and fourth in the conference in passing yards allowed per game (214.8). This was due to the wide variety of impact players throughout the defense.

Defensive end James Lynch was named 2019 Big 12 defensive player of the year after accounting for 41 total tackles, 23 solo tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss, and 13.5 sacks. Lynch and defensive tackle Bravvion Roy were named first-team All-Conference for the Big 12.

There were also four other Baylor defenders in cornerback Grayland Arnold, safety Chris Miller, outside linebacker Terrel Bernard, and middle linebacker Clay Johnston were all named as second-team All-Conference for the Big 12.

The Bears will lose some of these impact players on defense but Aranda is also a great recruiter, who can acquire future stars for Baylor.