Despite his late heroics, DJ Lagway couldn’t get Baylor off to a winning start against Auburn in their season opener. To make matters worse, the Bears’ QB1 suffered an injury during the game. Although he played through it on Saturday, Lagway will miss Baylor’s next game. As a result, Dave Aranda is turning to his QB2 for their game against Prairie View A&M.

According to Pete Thamel, Baylor will have third-year quarterback Nate Bennett as their signal-caller in Week 2 as starting quarterback DJ Lagway continues to recover from an ankle injury. Lagway’s injury is not expected to be long-term, but it remains uncertain if he will dress for this weekend’s non-conference clash.

Lagway sustained what has been reported as a high-ankle sprain during the opening possession of Baylor’s heartbreaking 17-16 loss to Auburn in Week 1. The injury occurred when he landed awkwardly on his right foot after attempting to hurdle a defender, which resulted in a fumble and a brief trip to the medical tent.

Despite emerging with his ankle heavily taped, Lagway returned to the field on the very next possession. Gutting through discomfort and mobility limitations, he delivered an incredibly tough debut for the Bears. The Florida transfer had experience of facing SEC defenses, and it showed.

Lagway completed 27 of his 54 attempts for 333 passing yards and two touchdowns. That included a last-second touchdown to make it 17-16. However, rather than going for the field goal and tying the game, Aranda opted for a 2-point conversion attempt. Lagway even completed the pass to tight end Matthew Klopfenstein near the goal line. However, just as he was about to cross the goal line, Auburn freshman safety Eric Winters made the game-saving tackle despite having a size mismatch.

Head coach Dave Aranda initially labeled Lagway as ‘day-to-day’ following a Monday walkthrough. However, the coaching staff ultimately opted for caution as the week progressed.

The Bears are scheduled to open Big 12 conference play in two weeks against the Colorado Buffaloes. Given how crucial Lagway’s mobility is to his style of play and his undeniable importance to Baylor’s hopes of contending in a wide-open Big 12, there is no reason for the coaching staff to risk further aggravating the ankle.

With this, the offense will lean on Bennett, who has previously seen brief action in a backup capacity.

What can Baylor fans expect from Nate Bennett?

During his first two years at Baylor, Nate Bennett didn’t see much action. In his freshman year, the QB played in only three games. He completed 1 of his 2 pass attempts for 19 yards.

Even in 2025, Bennett didn’t see any increase in the number of snaps. He briefly featured against Samford in Week 3 of the 2025 campaign. However, in Lagway’s absence, Aranda has shown confidence in his QB room. That also includes sophomore quarterback Edward Griffin.

“I feel really good about Nate and Ed,” Aranda said on Monday, as per Baylor Lariat. “We have guys that have been here and have invested and know the offense.”

Prairie View A&M is coming into the Week 2 matchup against the Bears after a convincing victory over Texas Southern (52-14). The Panthers didn’t start the campaign on a high note, losing their Week 0 game to Tarleton State (30-49).

And unlike Baylor, Prairie View A&M has a signal-caller who has passed for five touchdowns in the last games. Against Texas Southern, Tevin Carter completed 16 of his 22 passes for 217 yards and four touchdowns.