At the end of December following Early Signing Day, I wrote about the 24 athletes joining the Baylor Football team this season from high schools and other colleges. During that period, head coach Dave Aranda brought in a 27th-ranked 2023 group (according to Rivals) of elite new and transfer football players guaranteed to make their mark as they grow up on the team. One of those athletes is senior OL Clark Barrington—a graduate transfer from BYU, which is now part of the Big 12 Conference (although the Bears will not face the Cougars this season). Barrington and his younger brother and fellow OL junior Campbell joined the Bears back in December, and the former is already notching preseason awards. He’s already been named preseason All-Big 12 first-team by College Football Network, All-Big 12 second-team by Pro Football Focus, and All-Big 12 third-team by Athlon and Phil Steele, and Barrington most recently notched a place on the Rimington Trophy Watchlist, which is given to the most outstanding center in NCAA Division I college football. Barrington is one of 40 centers who was named to the watchlist.
Previously for the Baylor Football team, sophomore RB Richard Reese and senior DL Gabe Hall notched first-team awards from Athlon and Phil Steele, respectively. Reese, Hall, and sophomore S Alfonzo Allen all recently snagged spots on prestigious national award watch lists with Reese on the Maxwell Award Watchlist, Hall on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watchlist, and Allen on the Wuerffel Trophy Watchlist. The Maxwell Award is given to the most outstanding player in college football, of which Reese is among 85 candidates for the honor. The Bronko Nagurski trophy is awarded to the national defensive player of the year with Hall joining 96 other defensive athletes eligible. Finally, Allen is one of 110 candidates for the Wuerffel Trophy, which is an honor for a national athlete who’s demonstrated exceptional community service. Alongside Reese for 2023 preseason honors for Baylor, Athlon acknowledged redshirt senior LB Matt Jones (second-team), Hall (third-team), Barrington (third-team), redshirt sophomore S Devin Lemear (fourth-team), junior WR Monaray Baldwin (fourth-team), fifth-year senior DL TJ Franklin (fourth-team), and redshirt senior LB Garmon Randolph (fourth-team). Phil Steele honored fifth-year senior LB Mike Smith (second-team), Barrington (third-team), Lemear (third-team), and RB junior Dominic Richardson (third-team).
