Baylor's Dave Aranda Had Brutally Honest Explanation for Recent Recruiting Wins

Karl Rasmussen | Jul 10, 2024

Baylor Bears head coach Dave Aranda on the sidelines during the second half against the Texas State Bobcats. / Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports

The new name, image and likeness rules have had a significant impact on the way college football teams approach recruitment. Baylor, much like the rest of the NCAA, has had to adapt to the new era of recruiting, in which big sums of money are being handed to athletes in order to entice them join to the program.

When asked about the Bears' recent string of recruiting successes, head coach Dave Aranda didn't shy away from the fact that money was at the root of those commitments.

"We're paying players," Aranda bluntly stated (h/t Craig Smoak, 365 Sports).

Baylor has added three new commits to its class of 2025 since the start of July, including their highest ranked commit, four-star defensive lineman Kamauryn Morgan from Dallas. The trio of new additions—Morgan, Jacorey Watson, and Jackson Blackwell, make up three of the top four rated players in the class. The program has 15 hard commits for 2025 and is ranked as the No. 43 class in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Morgan is the program's highest-ranked defensive recruit since Aranda took over as coach in 2020. He's one of Baylor's highest-rated recruits in history, too.

Although it's not clear how much the program is paying their incoming recruiting class, Aranda didn't even try to hide the fact that it was playing a major role in their recruitment tactics, and yielding some success, too.