NO LONGER THE STANDARD

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Between them, Baylor running backs Bryson Washington and Dawson Pendergrass rushed for a eye-popping 1,699 yards and 18 touchdowns and averaged 5.7 per carry in breakout performances that led the Bears to an 8-5 season and bowling for the 12^th time in 16 years.

But second-year running backs coach Khenon Hall is expecting even more out of what should be one of the best running back duos in the country this season.

"I tell them all the time, 'Y'all created the standard. The standard is the standard; and the expectation is the expectation. But now, you've got to understand what it takes to exceed those expectations,''' Hall said.

"That's not knocking what we did last year. But that's not our standard anymore. They understand, for us to take that next step and go fight for the Big 12 championship, they've got to be better. And they understand that. "

As automobile business magnate Henry Ford once put it: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."

And considering that Baylor has had just two players in program history rush for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons (Lache Seastrunk and Shock Linwood), it would be quite the coup if the 6-3, 213-pound Washington can "get what he got" with the freshman-record 1,028 yards he put up last year.

The Franklin, Texas, product is trying to make strides on and off the field, becoming more of a leader for a running back room that lost veterans Richard Reese and Dominic Richardson in the transfer portal.

"I'm trying to learn how to keep my head out of things and really lock in mentally off the field," he said, "and get on the board more and learn defenses. I already feel like I know a lot of defense, but I need to learn more to make my runs easier; and even pass (protection). I feel like the brotherhood in the room needs to be more tight. When you feel the energy is good, I feel like we all play good."

After a redshirt season in 2023 when he saw limited action in three games, Washington missed the first two games last year with an injury. But he hit the ground running with 106 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries against Air Force, the first of six 100-yard games.

Hall still expects Washington to take "a big step" this year.

"There is so much more he can do," Hall said of Jackson, who finished the regular season with four-straight 100-yard games, including a career-high 196 yards and four touchdowns in the 37-34 win over TCU. "He's a guy that's aiming to potentially try to go pro next year, so he's got a lot of work to do. He's working hard and putting himself in position to be able to do that. You see it out there, just his ability to get that different gear he has right now."

Adding 10 pounds in the offseason, Washington said his "body feels better in practice and when I'm lifting. I feel like I've gotten faster and also stronger."

The 6-2, 230-pound Pendergrass did the same thing, adding 15 pounds of muscle to an already sturdy frame.

"At first, I was a little scared," he said, "because I thought I might lose some speed. But I'm still just as fast and I'm a lot stronger now."

Finishing second on the team in rushing in each of the last two seasons, Pendergrass also topped the 1,000-yard career milestone last year. After rushing for 338 yards and five touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2023, the Mineola, Texas, native tallied 671 yards and six TDs last season, giving the Bears an effective 1-2 punch out of the backfield.

"Our whole room and our whole team is a brotherhood," Pendergrass said. "It's just little things, like I'll be sitting behind (Washington), watching him. And if I see something he did that I think he could do better, I'll tell him. And vice versa. We just feed off each other."

Hall said his top two backs are competing with each other, "not against each other."

"That's just how the room is and the brotherhood is in there," Hall said. "I tell Bryson and Dawson, 'Hey, I don't care if Bryson rushed for 1,000 and Dawson rushed for that, hey, go get it!'''

With the departures of Reese and Richardson, leadership was thrust upon Washington and Pendergrass, who are suddenly the old guys in a room that includes redshirt freshman Joseph Dodds, redshirt sophomore walk-on Joseph Hagman and first-semester freshman Caden Knighten. Another four-star recruit, Michael Turner, will come in this summer.

"It's kind of weird being one of the oldest guys in the room now," Pendergrass said. "I'm used to being the young buck. But I've got to lead the freshmen in the right way, make sure they're doing everything right and stay on them."

While Washington and Pendergrass will likely carry the bulk of the load, Hall and second-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital like to use a rotation of three or four backs to keep guys fresh.

"We're going out there, and we're not as beat up," Pendergrass said. "That's the main reason why we get to the third and fourth quarter and people just didn't want to tackle us. We're out there running through people, and people didn't want that for four quarters."

Particularly when Turner jumps in this summer, the competition for the No. 3 spot will be intense. Knighten is a four-star recruit out of Oklahoma's Pauls Valley High School who rushed for 1,883 yards and totaled 38 touchdowns last season, while Turner rushed for 1,668 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior at Richland (Texas) High School.

"They're both elusive in the open field, they both run hard and physical, they can catch the ball out of the backfield," Hall said. "So, it's just an extension of pretty much Bryson and Dawson. But I think they've got some other stuff to them where they've got the top-end speed and make-you-miss ability in the open field. They check all the boxes, what you're looking for in a running back."

Baylor continues its spring workouts with a Saturday practice and will wrap up on April 26. For ticket information, go to Baylor Football 2025.

NO LONGER THE STANDARD

Players Mentioned

Joseph Dodds

Joseph Hagman

Caden Knighten

Dawson Pendergrass

Richard Reese

Michael Turner

Bryson Washington

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