Oregon Ducks linebacker Emar’rion Winston announced his transfer portal commitment to the Baylor Bears on Dec. 30, but coach Dave Aranda seemed to have hinted at the possibility ahead of time.
When speaking to the media ahead the day before the Texas Bowl in Houston against the LSU Tigers, Aranda said that the Bears expected a commitment “any moment now.” Winston committed later that day.
“We do. Any moment now, we should expect something. We put in a lot of work to that,” Aranda said, per Foster Nicholas of Bears Illustrated on 247Sports.
The Bears clearly have an eye for the talent in Eugene, as Baylor also snagged a commitment from Oregon safety transfer Tyler Turner on Dec. 23. Turner, a San Antonio native, chose to return to his home state after two seasons with the Ducks. However, the decision marks a big change for Winston, who’s now packing up and moving far from his hometown of Portland, Oregon.
Winston was originally a four-star recruit for the Ducks in the 2022 class. During his two seasons with the Ducks, he appeared in 27 games while posting 27 total tackles (nine solo, 0.5 for loss) and two pass breakups.
Winston and Turner are just two examples of the work that Baylor has put into the portal. The Bears have also landed commitments from receiver Kobe Prentice (Alabama), defensive lineman Samu Taumanupepe (Texas A&M) and quarterback Walker White (Auburn) among many others.
“We put in a lot of work to that,” Aranda said. “I think it’s difficult, because you talk about the prep being done prior to getting on the bowl site. The thing about that is that you’re in transfer portal season. So, we’re having staff meetings, talking about this, talking about that. We should be hosting players, and we should be touring players, and we should be spending time with players that are visiting. So, we’ve got that going on at the same time.”
Since the portal opened, Oregon has seen the departures of Turner, Winston, cornerbackKhamari Terrell, offensive tackle JacQawn McRoy, running back Ellis Bynum and edge rushers Jaeden Moore and Jaxson Jones, 2025 quarterback signee Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele.
The roster departures have made room from some addition, as Oregon has landed two defensive backs in Purdue transfer Dillon Thieneman and Northwestern transfer Theran Johnson along with USC defensive tackle Bear Alexander, Texas State offensive tackle Alex Harkey, Louisville tight end Jamari Johnson and Nevada offensive tackle Isaiah World.
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