The 2026 college football season is mostly going to focus on the offensive side of the ball for the Baylor Bears.That’s the nature of business when you consider most of their major additions in the transfer portal focused on that side of the ball, none bigger than quarterback DJ Lagway. Defense, however, was the calling card for head coach Dave Aranda, and how he got hired thanks to his work at both Wisconsin and LSU as a decorated defensive coordinator. One of the players Aranda brought in to help his side of the ball was Garrick Ponder, who checks in on our list as a top-15 player for 2026, landing at the No. 14 spot. Recapping 2025 Baylor will be Ponder’s third school in five years as the redshirt senior transferred from Southern Mississippi after seeing a leap in production in his one year there. Ponder transferred from North Alabama with a desire for greater competition, and a jump in production.It worked. In 13 games, Ponder piled up 4.5 sacks, 11.5 TFL’s, a forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Baylor lands a proven pass rusher in the portalhttps://t.co/ARNwJEBix6— Baylor Bears On SI (@BaylorBearsOnSI) January 10, 2026Ponder entered the portal at the end of the season, and chose to come play for Dave Aranda in hopes of making his mark in a defense that should give him a chance to make more plays. Why is 2026 Important for Him?Ponder transferred to Baylor hoping to get a better opportunity and also boost his draft stock should he choose to pursue the NFL at the end of the season.In order to do that, Ponder needs to put together a big season. With his size, at 6-foot-2, 252 pounds, he is likely seen as tweener in NFL circles. What a player with that label on him needs to do is produce at a high level. In 2025, Ponder did that by piling up TFL’s and the aforementioned 4.5 sacks. Now, Ponder will have a chance to build on that as there should be a jump in competition moving from Southern Mississippi to Baylor. A good showing could be a boon for Baylor’s defense, but also for Ponder, as he enters the next step of his football career. Prediction Ponder is going to have a lot of opportunities to create havoc in Dave Aranda’s defense. Aranda is going to attempt to build part of his scheme in the front seven around Ponder, which should put him in position to make a lot of plays.The bet here is that Ponder will have a lot of opportunities to get after the opposing quarterback.His career high in sacks came last year with 4.5. He should surpass that with relative ease this season. See our full top 25 players:Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow