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Dave Aranda uses epic ‘fighter pilot’ description for return to play-calling at Baylor
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Dave Aranda was a highly-regarded defensive coordinator before being named Baylor’s head coach in 2020.
And with the Bears allowing 421.3 yards and 33.3 points per game in 2023 under DC Matt Powledge in 2023 — among the bottom 25 teams in FBS in both statistics — Aranda will take defensive play-calling duties in 2024.
Saturday saw the Bears off to a good start: they defeated Tarleton State 45-3, allowing just 181 yards of total defense on the evening.
After the match, Aranda was asked about returning to play-calling.
“I was angry a lot of time,” Aranda said, according to KWKT-TV’s Eric Kelly. “It’s like you’re a fighter pilot and you get this great fighter jet, and it’s all this Mach, all this stuff, and it’s got all these weapons, and you get to fly the thing.
“But there’s people that want to kill you. And so you get to fly it, but you don’t want to die. So that’s how I feel about calling plays. I feel that all the time.”
Fighter pilot analogies aside, Baylor will have a much tougher challenge in Week 2 when it heads to Utah to kick off Big 12 action.
Dave Aranda with an all-time quote tonight about his experience calling plays again.
"I was angry a lot…It's like you're a fighter pilot and you've got this jet but there's people that want to kill you. You get to fly it, but you don't want to die. I feel that all the time." pic.twitter.com/fJCfDsEIMA
— Eric Kelly (@EricKellyTV) September 1, 2024
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
