No Divas, No Drama: Baylor WR Room Embraces a New Identity in Spring Ball

While the litany of new faces has been a consistent theme throughout the spring for a good chunk of Baylor’s roster, and while that’s undoubtedly a storyline for the pass-catching core as well, the constant staple in the wide receiver room is the charismatic fifth-year coach, Dallas Baker.

Unlike many modern coaches, Baker is prone to long, thoughtful answers, and when asked about the identity of this year’s wide receiver room, the former Florida great raved about the group’s makeup and how different they are from the stereotypical big-personality-led units.

“I love this group — character is the first reason why,” Baker said in a post-practice press conference over the weekend. “Before anyone says anything, this has nothing to do with the last group. For example, we have something called commitment time. Basically, if you miss an obligation or are late twice, it’s Friday night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., with whatever coach has that week.”

Baker continued, “A couple of years ago, we led the team. One of the guys set a record. This year, we have not had one receiver have to do commitment time. Everybody is making body weight. They actually put the pressure on me because these guys want to be great on and off the field.”

One of the players leading the charge is the ever-dependable Oklahoma State transfer, Gavin Freeman, who is already being viewed as one of the most trusted and respected players on the offense.

“They call me Unc because I’m pretty much on my fifth year, and I’ve been at two other programs,” Freeman said. “I’ve seen some rooms have divas. Here — I don’t see that. Everybody wants to compete. Everybody wants to learn, and everybody wants to make plays. Whenever you have that as a room, you can only go up. We don’t have to really pull anybody [up] attitude-wise. It’s a good group.”

Baker’s been a big fan of what Freeman’s given the room so far this spring, saying, “Gavin is extremely tough. Gavin reminds me of Ashtyn Hawkins and a little of Monaray [Baldwin]. … If there were a bear, I would be worried for the bear. No, if there were two bears, I’d be worried about the two bears. The guy’s just tough. He holds himself to a certain standard.”

Last fall, Freeman hauled in 53 passes for 481 yards in a season filled with turmoil as Oklahoma State parted ways with long-time head coach Mike Gundy in the middle of the year. Since transferring in the offseason, Freeman’s aiming to be a key piece in Jake Spavital’s offense.

“When I got the call from Coach Spav and Bake, and they’re talking about all the things they do with the offense, how they move around and looking at the stats from last year and seeing where Coach Spav has come from, it was a no-brainer,” Freeman said of his decision to transfer to Baylor. “I’m trying to catch 80 balls this year and touch 1,000 yards, and here is the best place to do it.”

Another player who’s steadily becoming one of the top voices inside the wide receiver room is redshirt senior Louis Brown IV, a holdover from last year’s team. Brown IV transferred in last summer from San Diego State and made headlines as potentially the Bears’ best pass-catcher throughout fall camp, according to head coach Dave Aranda.

Brown IV, however, played only in Baylor’s first four games in 2025, totaling 79 yards and a touchdown, before ultimately deciding to redshirt, as he sat behind an extremely talented and deep room that featured Josh Cameron, Ashtyn Hawkins, Kole Wilson and Kobe Prentice.

“I think it was great for him,” Baker said of Brown IV redshirting. “He’s still growing. He’s on the leadership committee. His GPA is higher than it’s ever been. He’s also gained 12 pounds. God has a plan for us all. I may have been disappointed [that he decided to redshirt], but God already knew that was going to happen, and look how it’s working out.”

As for Brown IV’s take on the situation, he noted, “It was definitely tough. I did not want to redshirt, but just thinking about it, it was the right decision for me and my career at the time. It was something I didn’t want to do, but looking forward into my future and how things went down, I felt like it was the best decision that I made, just learning the playbook and the offense more and being closer with the coaches.”

Baker praised Brown IV for sticking with it and staying at Baylor, saying that many players in similar positions would transfer again. Now, Brown IV has gotten tougher, more dependable and is starting to grow into a leader in the room, similar to how Cameron was in recent years.

“Growing up, I’ve never really had a role model to see how, as a leader, you’re supposed to lead by example and everything like that,” Brown IV said. “When I came in, Josh Cameron was a good example of that. He showed and paved the way for us. He showed what it takes, how things are run here and how things are going. Looking back at that, I definitely took everything I could from him.”

Speaking of Cameron, while Brown IV might have looked up to how the all-time Baylor great handled himself off the field, Colorado transfer Dre’lon Miller is looking awfully familiar to Cameron on the field, according to those who’ve watched spring practice.

“You never want to compare anyone, but I know everyone sees it, and I know everyone is saying it — he reminds us of Josh Cameron so much,” Baker said of Miller. “A big dude that can move. It’s going to be hard to bring him down with the ball in his hand. What I love about him is that you can tell he’s played a bunch of football when he hasn’t played a lot of football. It’s like this confidence, and he’s very knowledgeable.”

Miller, standing at 6-foot-1, 211 pounds, played in 18 games with the Buffaloes and was a Swiss-Army knife, totaling nearly 600 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. The Silsbee High School product was one of Baylor’s top additions in the transfer portal this offseason, and he says his game is “full of excitement” and sees the similarities to Cameron.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s a good comparison,” Miller said. “He’s a great player. We played Baylor back in Colorado in my freshman year. Seeing who Josh Cameron was and everything, I thought he was a great player and a great person off the field. That’s a good comparison. I’ll take that.”

Miller, among the other wide receivers, has started to build a strong connection with Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway. Spavital, as well as Baker, has noted that Lagway understands the importance of connection, as he regularly takes his pass-catchers to dinner, routinely sends them clips from practice and does a great job spreading the ball around during practice to get everyone involved.

When asked about the difference between Lagway and the starting quarterback from the last two seasons, Sawyer Robertson, Baker said, “I would say they’re very similar, as far as loving the game, and as Christians. Sawyer and Josh Cameron, they even had me having to step my game up, and to see DJ talk about how God doesn’t make mistakes.”

Baker continued, “I would say the arm talent is a little different, but I would say Sawyer made up for that with his wisdom. It’s not too much of an adjustment. It’s probably more down-the-field throws, and so when defenses hear that, we’re going to run the ball a little bit more. It makes it a little bit harder to stop our offense, but I don’t want to take anything from Sawyer, to be honest.”