FUELED TO BE THE BEST

Champions' TriBUne Archive

By: Raleigh Texada

Champions' TriBUne is a special feature through Baylor Athletics that gives you the student-athlete's perspective and the chance for them to share their own story. Raleigh Texada, a senior from Frisco, Texas, graduated in May with a degree in corporate communications. A two-sport athlete, he earned All-Big 12 honors in track and started every game last season for an 11-3 football team that played in the Sugar Bowl. Coming off a 38-31 loss to 17^th-ranked Iowa State, the Bears face Texas Tech at 3 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock:

Growing up in a house where my older brother and younger brother and I have all played college football, I guess you could say it would get pretty intense at times. And it wasn't just sports, it was video games, basically anything you could play, it was just super competitive.

We played football, basketball, baseball, we played soccer as young kids. We basically played all the sports possible, and my dad coached us in everything. That was cool having him support all of us growing up.

I'm three years younger than my brother, Ranthony, who played at TCU; and four years older than Ridge, who's a freshman this year at McNeese State. Honestly, Ridge jumped in from the start, as soon as he could walk, just because he saw us playing everything.

People from the outside looking in probably thought that there was a pressure on me, just because Ranthony was so good in high school and college. But, I never looked at it like that. I looked up to him, and it pushed me, but it just made me want to be where he was and gave me a goal to chase.

When I was younger, I played receiver and corner. But then, I saw my brother switch over to corner just because he would go to camps and notice that not many people were playing there. He had played offense, too, but when he went to corner, I just went full-out at corner from about the 8^th grade on.

I went to a lot of TCU camps while my brother was playing there, but they didn't really look at me. Baylor was actually the place I had always dreamed of playing because I went with my older brother and visited Baylor several times as a kid.

About half of that 2016 signing class left, with everything that was going on at the time, but I talked to my dad about it and felt like I should stick it out. I knew things were going to get better, and the academics were a big part of why I was coming to Baylor.

Raleigh Texada

Wide receiver Jared Atkinson and I are the only two scholarship guys from that class, and we talk all the time about the memories from when we first came to Baylor till now. There are some other guys that came in with us, like Zeke Brown, Jairon McVea, Michael McNair and Thor Rodoni, but Jared and I are the only two scholarship guys that came in together and are still around.

Nobody really wants to redshirt. Coming out of high school, everybody feels like they should be at the top and want to play. But, I talked to my coaches, and they had a plan for me, just to redshirt and be patient. The next season, just as I was getting ready to play and felt like I was ready, I had a back injury and didn't play at all until the last three games. Still, it was cool just to finally get out there and get some experience.

Those first couple of years, I was frustrated just because I'm competitive and wanted to play and always felt like I've been the best. But, I was just waiting for my time and getting reps at practice and just grinding every day in spring football and fall camp. I was grinding for those years that I didn't play. Going out there at practice, and seeing results, seeing me getting better each year, that kind of burned a fire in me to keep working.

Raleigh Texada

Back in high school, I ran track every year, and it always made me feel like I was getting better out there and it was helping me, football-wise. In the spring of 2018, my second year at Baylor, I was the only football player on the track team. I went out there just to compete and make myself better. The thing is, I was going through football practice and then going out to the track, so I was never fresh. I was always tired, but I was still running some pretty good times. At the National Relays Championships, I ran a 200-meter leg on the 1,600-meter sprint medley relay that finished fourth.

The next year, we had a few more football guys out for track, and I was part of our 4x100 relay that placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships, earning all-conference honors. Looking back on it now, I'm not sure how I did it, just because I was lifting weights for football, had football practice in the afternoon and then went to track practice. But, I saw how my success and competing in track carried over to football, helping me go from not playing at all to just being patient and working hard, to starting every game for a team that won 11 games and played in the Sugar Bowl last year.

We've obviously had some coaching turnover since I've been here. I've played for three head coaches and four different position coaches. Carlton Buckels was the coach that helped recruit and kept me encouraged during my freshman season when I was redshirting. Coach Fran Brown came in with Coach (Matt) Rhule, and I would say he helped lay the foundation for me and pushed me to be better than what I was. Coach Fran pushed me to be tougher and made me a better player. After Coach Fran, I had Coach Coop (Evan Cooper). He's a phenomenal coach and pushed me hard. And now, I have coach (Brian) Stewart. He's a phenomenal coach and man, just like all of them. They're all good men off the field.

Coming from 1-11 that first year to 11-3 last year with Coach Rhule, it was just a great feeling. It was super fun playing with all of those guys that are now on NFL rosters. I knew those guys for a couple of years, and it was just fun seeing how much better everybody got and building that winning culture, it was fun to be a part of that. Everybody's goal is to make it to the College Football Playoffs, and we never made it, but it was a lot of fun playing in the Sugar Bowl last year.

This year, with me and Terrel Bernard being the only returning starters on defense, I knew I had to step up and definitely be a leader by example. Just seeing younger guys playing and the guys coming up, they actually look up to me. That was a big difference this year, just seeing the young guys looking to me to lead and to teach them. That's been a lot of fun.

Raleigh Texada

Being one of the 10 players who received a single-digit jersey this year means everything to me, just to know that my hard work was paying off. I know that I still have a lot to accomplish, but just getting that single-digit jersey was a big goal of mine. It was awesome to know that my teammates look at me as a guy that deserves a single digit.

Just like my four position coaches, I have also learned a lot from the three head coaches I've played under at Baylor and have a ton of respect for them as coaches and men. I remember talking to Coach (Jim) Grobe at the bowl game in Arizona when he was here in 2016. He was just telling me that he's seen a lot of great players redshirt, and he gave me motivation to just keep my head down and work. Coach Rhule was a phenomenal coach and person, and we had many talks while he was here. I'm forever grateful for him giving me the opportunity to play, and he taught me a lot as a football player and as a person off the field. And then, Coach (Dave) Aranda is just a phenomenal person. I love talking with him and love the way he leads. It's been pretty awesome to see all the different coaches that have come through here and just seeing how each person leads in a different way.

This spring, when we got shut down by COVID-19, I just kept my head down and grinded and have done everything I can to stay ready. I've kept my head right and, regardless of what's been happening, I've just been doing my best to be ready.

Raleigh Texada

That cornerbacks room we have is special and we're all close. Boogie (Kalon Barnes), he's a great player, and then Mark Milton and B.J. Hanspard. Even the freshmen, they've come in and have been learning a lot. Everybody in that room has the potential to be great players, and we're all working hard every day just to be the best versions of ourselves.

I graduated in May with a degree in corporate communications, which was a huge deal for me. It was the reason I came to Baylor: to get my degree and to be a student-athlete. So, it was just an awesome feeling knowing that my hard work paid off.

I've applied for grad school, and I'll weigh my options at the end of the season, because the NCAA has granted us the option of coming back for another year. Right now, my goal is definitely to play in the NFL and have a career. That's what I'm working for right now, football-wise, and I'm going to give it everything I have. Post-football, I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do yet, but I have a whole lot of options of things that I'd like to do. I think I would like to coach one day, just because I know the impact that my coaches growing up had on me still lasts to this day.

Raleigh Texada

My time here at Baylor has been amazing. Being able to go to school and play two different sports has been the best experience of my life so far. I'm just super grateful to God for this opportunity and the blessing it's been to go to school here.

Previous Champions' TriBUne Features
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Hodge (Oct. 29, 2020)
Women's Cross Country - Sarah Antrich (Oct. 15, 2020)
Volleyball - Hannah Sedwick (Oct. 1, 2020)
Soccer - Maddie Algya (Sept. 10, 2020)
Men's Basketball - Freddie Gillespie (March 26, 2020)
Women's Track & Field - Tuesdi Tidwell (March 20, 2020)
Women's Basketball - Moon Ursin (March 5, 2020)
Men's Track & Field - Cole Hardan (Feb. 27, 2020)
Volleyball - Shelly Stafford (Jan. 30, 2020)
Men's Golf - Mike McGraw (Jan. 3, 2020)
Volleyball - Yossiana Pressley (Dec. 5, 2019)
Baseball - Nick Loftin (Nov. 21, 2019)
Men's Cross Country - Ryan Day (Nov. 1, 2019)
Women's Cross Country - Lindsay Walton (Oct. 15, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Obim Okeke (Oct. 1, 2019)
Volleyball - Gia Milana (Sept. 17, 2019)
Soccer - Raegan Padgett (Sept. 5, 2019)
Football - Sam Tecklenburg (Aug. 29, 2019)
Men's Golf - Cooper Dossey (July 11, 2019)
Baseball - Richard Cunningham (June 27, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Jimmy Bendeck (June 14, 2019)
Baseball - Shea Langeliers (May 30, 2019)
Women's Track & Field - Kiana Horton (May 22, 2019)
Men's Golf - Garrett May (May 9, 2019)
Women's Golf - Maria Vesga (May 2, 2019)
Acrobatics & Tumbling - Camryn Bryant (April 25, 2019)
Equestrian - Shannon Hogue (April 16, 2019)
Women's Tennis - Angelina Shakhraichuk (April 9, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Lauren Cox (March 22, 2019)
Men's Track & Field - Wil London (March 7, 2019)
Men's Basketball - Jake Lindsey (March 4, 2019)
Softball - Nicky Dawson (Feb. 21, 2019)
Baseball - Josh Bissonette (Feb. 14, 2019)
Men's Tennis - Will Little (Jan. 31, 2019)
Men's Basketball - King McClure (Jan. 17, 2019)
Women's Basketball - Chloe Jackson (Jan. 3, 2019)
Football - Blake Blackmar (Dec. 13, 2018)
Volleyball - Braya Hunt (Nov. 29, 2018)
Soccer - Jackie Crowther (Nov. 16, 2018)
Women's Cross Country - Alison Andrews-Paul (Nov. 8, 2018)
Football- Ira Lewis (Nov. 6, 2018)

FUELED TO BE THE BEST

Players Mentioned

Jared Atkinson

Kalon Barnes

Terrel Bernard

Zeke Brown

Shea Langeliers

Will Little

Michael McNair

Jairon McVea

Mark Milton

Thor Rodoni

Raleigh Texada

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FUELED TO BE THE BEST

Players Mentioned

Jared Atkinson

Kalon Barnes

Terrel Bernard

Zeke Brown

Shea Langeliers

Will Little

Michael McNair

Jairon McVea

Mark Milton

Thor Rodoni

Raleigh Texada

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