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Baylor Football: Defense expected to lead way in Year 2 of Dave Aranda

By Andrew Tineo

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 14: Linebacker Jalen Pitre #8 of the Baylor Bears lines up during the first half of the college football game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 14, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 14: Linebacker Jalen Pitre #8 of the Baylor Bears lines up during the first half of the college football game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on November 14, 2020 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Oct 3, 2020; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda calls a timeout during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 3, 2020; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda calls a timeout during the fourth quarter against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /

Dave Aranda trying to leave mark on defense

Dave Aranda came into the program, with a known mind for defense, with his stint in LSU, alongside Wisconsin as defensive coordinator. The 2020 defense did not dip off as many expected despite losing the number of players the Bears did from 2019.

Where the known excitement of the team comes from is the defense. Baylor’s defense kept the bears in games and gave up 30 or more points just three times in 2020.

Baylor goes through linebacker Terrel Bernard, who returns after a season-ending injury last year. Even with the injury and four games left to go, Bernard still led the Bears in sacks at 3.5 and was third in tackles.

The Bears return 10 starters from last year’s team and bring in one of the most exciting defensive newcomers in the conference in nose tackle Siaki “Apu” Ika. He’s a transfer from LSU and has a good relationship with Aranda. Ika started multiple games for LSU during their national title run and has three years of eligibility in Waco.

The secondary is the deepest position in the unit, with both cornerbacks and safeties returning. Raleigh Texada is considered a top-five cornerback in the conference and the duo of J.T. Woods and Christian Morgan have received significant playing time every season since 2018.

The final notable of the unit is STAR Jalen Pitre. The STAR position is a specialty within Aranda’s system, with a player that is essentially a hybrid linebacker and safety. Pitre, alongside Texada, is the lone player that committed to Art Briles back in 2016. When the 2017 class imploded, Pitre was the lone player to keep his commitment. He is now on the Bednarik watch list and led the team in tackles last season with 60.

Pitre is expected to be another impact player, that has the potential to land on the All-Big 12 first team this season.

The Bears finished 30th nationally in passing defense, giving up just 203 yards through the air a game, good for second in the Big 12.

This unit is expected to be top three in the conference this year and might have to carry the bears for a win or two, solely off of year two in Aranda’s system, alongside the development of being an older group.

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