Caden Jenkins is out at Baylor. The former Freshman All-American cornerback has officially been dismissed from the program for a violation of team rules, and it sounds like this one wasn’t up for debate.
Jenkins was one of the few bright spots in what was otherwise a forgettable 2023 season in Waco. As a true freshman, he made plays all over the field. He picked off three passes, took one back 72 yards to the house, and looked like a guy Baylor could build its secondary around for years to come. For a team that desperately needed juice on defense, Jenkins looked like a future star.
Then the next two years happened.
Whether it was scheme changes, coaching turnover, or just a sophomore slump that never quite ended, Jenkins never got back to that level. He kept starting games, but the production dropped off. The splash plays disappeared. You kept waiting for him to flip the switch again, and it just didn’t happen.
And now it’s over. No long statement, no drawn-out suspension, just a flat-out dismissal from the program. That usually means whatever went down behind the scenes wasn’t something Baylor was going to play around with. They’ve got enough problems to fix already without trying to manage a guy who’s no longer delivering on the field or off it.
From a roster standpoint, this isn’t a backbreaker. Jenkins hadn’t been the same guy since that first year, and the staff has young corners coming in who will get a shot to step up. But it’s still a loss when you think about what could’ve been. He had the size, speed, and instincts to be one of the best corners in the Big 12, and instead, he’s out the door without much to show for it beyond that one great season.
For Dave Aranda and his staff, it’s another reminder that culture beats hype every time. Baylor’s trying to hit the reset button after a brutal couple of years, and if that means making tough calls like this, so be it.
As for Jenkins, we’ll see if he lands somewhere else. There’s still talent there, and somebody will probably take a flyer on him. But for now, the Baylor chapter is closed, and it didn’t end the way anyone hoped.
