A TEXAS HOMECOMING

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            While Baylor (5-1, 3-1) is hosting 19^th-ranked BYU (5-1) for its annual Homecoming game this Saturday at McLane Stadium, Drew Estrada's homecoming actually came 10 months ago when he returned to Texas.
            An All-Ivy League receiver and kick returner at Dartmouth College, Estrada entered the transfer portal when the Ivy League canceled the 2020 season because of COVID-19. The Argyle, Texas, native signed with Baylor last December, the same month he graduated with a degree in sociology modified economics, and enrolled the next month.
            "First and foremost, just being back home was huge for me," he said. "Argyle is about an hour and a half north of here, so just having my family be able to come to games. And not just my immediate family but my extended family, too. That really meant a lot to me. Also, just being able to go home really whenever I want on the weekends and stuff."
            The thing is, Estrada's weekends have been pretty full this fall, particularly the last two. After missing part of fall camp and the first two games with a hamstring injury, the 6-foot, 196-pound receiver saw limited action in the next two games and then exploded in the last two, hauling in a combined 10 catches for 178 yards.
            "You never really know when you come to a new environment what your role is going to be," he said. "Seeing that role increase has been exciting for me, and really just a blessing overall. I dealt with some injuries, so just being healthy is the thing for me right now. I'm blessed to be healthy."
            After Estrada caught four passes for 90 yards in the 45-20 win over West Virginia, Baylor head coach Dave Aranda said, "We're going to see more and more of him."
            "I think there's a strong competitiveness, a strong maturity with him. His work ethic is really strong," Aranda said of Estrada, who's going through his sixth year of college. "There's a toughness to him, so he can be a blocker as well as a receiver and a runner. So, there's great flexibility to him. I think the key for him is just to stay healthy."
            A sophomore on Argyle's 2013 Class 3A Division II state championship team, Estrada was part of Argyle teams that went 56-5 during his four years and played in three-straight state championship games. Also named the District MVP in soccer, scoring 22 goals, Estrada finished his high school career with 2,165 yards and 24 touchdowns receiving and another 530 yards and 10 TDs on the ground.
            Despite those gaudy numbers, Estrada got only a few nibbles in recruiting and said he "wasn't sure if I was going to play college football" until the Ivy League "opened its doors." Getting offers from both Penn and Dartmouth, he decided to join a friend from Argyle named Drew Hunnicutt, choosing the Dartmouth program in Hanover, N.H.
            "I don't regret that decision at all," Estrada said. "It ended up being a great place for me."
            He certainly flourished on the football field. Leading the team in receptions in each of his last two seasons, Estrada earned second-team All-Ivy League honors as a junior and finished his career with 110 receptions for 1,418 yards and 10 touchdowns and ranks 14^th all-time at Dartmouth with 2,392 career all-purpose yards.
            "His ability to play special teams in the return game, to be on cover and return units as well," Aranda said on signing day last December, "and then his ability as a receiver to play outside and inside. That flexibility as a player was the big tell. And not necessarily seeing him as just an inside guy, even though he can do that, but also as an outside guy. The maturity and character that he brings just tops it off."
            Baylor hit the lottery in the transfer portal, adding offensive linemen Grant Miller (Vanderbilt) and Jacob Gall (Buffalo), along with Estrada and nose tackle Siaki Ika (LSU). All four started last Saturday's game against West Virginia.
            Returning All-Big 12 safety Jalen Pitre said Estrada "is a beast, and you'll continue to see that the rest of the fall."
            "He's a standard, he's a hustler, and he's grimy," Pitre said of the veteran receiver. "He's going to go out there and try to fight you. He's going to do everything he has to do to make the catches. What you guys saw on Saturday, he's been doing that every day in practice."
            Part of that is the connection he has developed with fourth-year junior quarterback Gerry Bohanon, going back to the spring and summer.
            "Gerry really puts in the work to make sure we have that connection," said Estrada, who's fourth on the team with 12 catches for 204 yards. "Not only me individually, but every receiver, no matter where they are on the depth chart.
            "Even in the offseason, when the quarterback battle wasn't decided, he was a guy that was staying after practice, sending text messages to make sure we were getting in work outside of the allotted time. . . . I've been playing for a little bit, and you can tell the authentic guy from the non-authentic. He's an authentic leader, and it's easy for guys to follow him when he's like that."
            With an Ivy League degree in hand and now working on his MBA at Baylor, Estrada said "it's a blast" being a part of this Baylor team.
            "When COVID happened, there was a lot of unknown for me," he said. "I wasn't sure if I would be able to play college football again. A lot of the guys that I played with at Dartmouth are done. So, I feel really fortunate to be in this position and have this opportunity. It's just a blessing to be able to come out here and play football every day. I could be done with school right now, working a job or doing something like that. So, I'm real fortunate to be here."
            Saturday's Homecoming game kicks off at 2:30 p.m. at McLane Stadium and will be broadcast by ESPN, with Mark Jones, Quint Kessenich and former Baylor All-American and 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III calling the action.

A TEXAS HOMECOMING

Players Mentioned

Gerry Bohanon

Drew Estrada

Jacob Gall

Siaki Ika

Grant Miller

Jalen Pitre

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