By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
Poring over every Baylor game film after the junior college all-American picked up a scholarship offer in late November, Keaton Thomas said he noticed "the energy was lacking, for sure."
 
"Especially that West Virginia game," Thomas said of a 34-31 loss to the Mountaineers, when the defense gave up more than 500 yards and a go-ahead touchdown in the last minute. "So, my goal was to create energy on the field with physicality, and then on the sideline get loud when guys make plays and get on them when they don't make plays."
 
That's exactly what the redshirt sophomore linebacker from Northeast Mississippi Community College has brought to the Bears since enrolling in January and going through his first spring at Baylor.
 
"A guy like KT, it doesn't matter what kind of play it is, doesn't matter if it's a bad day, he's going to bring the juice," said fifth-year senior Brooks Miller. "I feel like we've been missing a little bit of swagger in the linebacker room ever since guys like Terrel (Bernard) left. And I feel like KT brings that. He brings physicality. It's really good to have that in the room."
 
The 6-2, 224-pound Thomas started his collegiate career as a defensive back at West Virginia before transferring to Northeast Mississippi and racking up 107 tackles, earning first-team NJCAA all-America honors.
 
He certainly has big goals for the 2024 season.
 
"I want 100-plus tackles, that's the main goal," he said. "All-American, Big 12 Newcomer (of the Year), anything I can get my hands on. Honestly, it's just each week get better. Take great tackling angles, have clean footwork, attack blockers really well and cover well. That's the goal every day."
 
And while Saturday's second closed scrimmage at McLane Stadium might be "super important," Thomas just looks at it as another day.
 
"Guys understand that it's important, but every day is important," he said. "If you make the scrimmage bigger than practice, you're doing it wrong. Practice should be harder than the game. So, every day is game day for me. And I think we have a lot of guys who are starting to realize that. If you take every day like a game, a game is just another day."
 
And every day, Thomas and the rest of the linebackers have Baylor head coach Dave Aranda in the room. The former defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and LSU is taking more of a hands-on approach with the defense this year after a disappointing 3-9 finish last season.
 
"He's a genius," Thomas said. "Schematically, we're going to know what's going on. Offensively, we understand concepts, schemes, positions, and how important it is. . . . Just with some guys, and just how we've really evolved our mindset, not even just physicality, but mindset and mentality to understand the approach to each play."
 
Miller, who played in 11 games last season with five starts, said he's "never been around a coach (like Aranda) that makes me feel dumb, in a way."
 
"He gets so in-depth and everything," Miller said. "Usually, I have a good grasp on defenses, but he'd be going so in-depth, I'm just mind-blown by how much he knows and how much he's taught me just in the short time (the linebackers) have had him as a coach."
 
He's also learned how to read Aranda's expressions more than just his words.
 
"He looks down, shaking his head. The next play, if it's not right, it's going to be a bad day for everybody. . . . (When you make a mistake), a lot of guys compare it to disappointing a parent. He might not talk to you for a second, but it's almost worse than if he would grill you for a minute."
 
Other than Aranda, the leader in the inside linebackers' room is sixth-year senior Matt Jones, who's made 33 career starts and led the team last season with 82 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss.
 
"It's big, because we still have a lot of young guys around," Miller said. "We've got some old heads at safety like Devin Lemear. But you look at (cornerback) Caden Jenkins, he's got experience, but he's still a sophomore. And to have a guy like Matt, who can keep his composure in the fourth quarter, it's really good to have that on defense."
 
The Bears also return former LSU transfer Josh White and redshirt sophomores Carmello Jones and Jeremy Evans and then added East Carolina transfer Rara Dillworth this summer. Starting his career at North Carolina, Dillworth has played in 29 career games, registering 21 tackles last year at East Carolina.
 
"He's been awesome," Thomas said of Dillworth. "Great kid, works really hard, and I definitely love his mindset and how he attacks every day."
 
After Saturday evening's scrimmage and a day off on Sunday, the Bears return to the practice field on Monday for the third full week of camp. The annual "Meet the Team" event will be held at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday, Aug. 24, at the Allison Indoor Practice Facility.
 
Baylor opens the season Aug. 31 with a 6 p.m. home opener versus Tarleton. For football season tickets, mini plans or single-game tickets, go to the link at 2024 Football.