![\"Coach](\"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/aranda-jan20.jpg\")
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Hundreds of fans packed the Baylor Club on Monday for the press conference introducing new Baylor football head coach Dave Aranda<\/a>. As we’re all becoming familiar with our new coach, here are seven things Baylor fans should know about Coach Aranda:<\/p>\n 1. He’s a truly elite defensive coordinator.<\/strong> An ESPN analyst recently called Aranda “the best defensive mind in college football<\/a>.” Over the last six seasons, Aranda’s defenses at LSU and Wisconsin ranked among the nation’s the top 12 in total defense five times<\/a>. (That should continue Baylor’s recent trend; the Bears led the Big 12 in scoring defense in 2019.) Aranda has also\u00a0sent 15 players to the NFL<\/a> over the past three seasons.<\/p>\n 2. He’s a teacher at heart. <\/strong>Those who know Aranda have referred to him as a professor, a philosopher, and one of the most cerebral men in the game. “Dave is an introvert, and he\u2019s such a deep thinker,” says Texas Tech head coach Matt Wells<\/a>, who coached with Aranda at Utah State. “The key to being great at [coaching] is individualizing your teaching to meet your student\u2019s needs and their level of understanding… Dave does a really good job of that.”<\/p>\n 3. He’s tough, and a hard worker.<\/strong> “No one was gonna outwork him,” recalls his high school coach<\/a>, who remembers Aranda as a 140-pound linebacker who once played the second half of a playoff game with a broken clavicle. He toughed out multiple shoulder surgeries — so many that he couldn’t pass the physical he needed to join the Navy. (That disappointment ultimately led to his career in coaching.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s get started.#SicEm<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/URaagEoZ4y<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dave Aranda (@CoachDaveAranda) January 21, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n