Baylor cornerback Raleigh Texada doesn’t talk much. He’s a perfectionist. He picks his words carefully and is much more comfortable watching film and working out than singing his own praises. 

When he drops into coverage, he envisions the call, thinks through every step to make sure his footwork is impeccable and walks through every responsibility. It doesn’t matter that Baylor’s No. 1 cornerback is rarely targeted – teams know better.  And Raleigh knows better. One mistake, one slip, one missed read could cost his team the game. 

Even during a rough rebuilding season for Baylor, Texada is dominating games. Pro Football Focus rated his game against West Virginia the best cornerback performance in America that week. Lindy’s named him the top cover corner in the Big 12. The Bears rank top-five nationally in pass defense among Power Five teams and have yet to allow a 100-yard receiver this season. 

Iowa State was one of the first teams that dared to throw to Texada Island. Future NFL quarterback Brock Purdy threw a pick to Texada, had another pass broken up and only completed multiple passes to one wide receiver. 

“He’s a very humble person, and there is a competitor – a fighter – hidden inside of all the nicety,” Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. “Inside of the kid that does everything right, there’s a scrappy dude in there – a guy that will punch you in the face.” 

However, Texada’s success at Baylor is no coincidence. It’s carefully crafted, more than a decade in the works and comes down to shared dedication of a whole family. 

This is the story of the Texada Brothers. 

* * *

Ranthony Texada Sr. made a promise to himself after his college football career finished at Louisiana Tech in 1989. If his sons had any football aptitude, he wanted to give them the guidance and support he never had and point them in the right direction. 

It became clear early in life that all three of his sons – Ranthony II, Raleigh and Ridge – had the potential to be top-end athletes. Without elite height, though, Ranthony Sr. knew they’d have to find a lane. 

Texas football is dominated by offense. The air raid was mastered in Texas high school football and in Big 12 colleges. The best offensive skill talent in the country comes from right here. Naturally, when Ranthony Sr. brought his eldest son to college camps, the lines for wide receivers and running backs to work out stretched across the field. 

Cornerback? That’s a different story. Top athletes don’t want to play cornerback. They want the ball in their hands, to score touchdowns, to get their picture taken, brag about stats. Cornerbacks only get attention when they get beat. It takes 60 minutes of precision and focus for little fanfare. But the lines were shorter. 

“I knew the fastest place for me to get on the field was playing defensive back,” Ranthony II said. “When I was going through the process, the game was changing, spread offenses were starting to be implemented. I knew that the defensive back position was going to be a real valued spot and there weren’t a lot of people playing it.”

Said Raleigh: “Once we figured out we wanted to be corners, we just locked in and learned everything we could about the position.” 

That meant watching film, working with trainers, watching videos, anything that would help the Texadas become experts on cornerbacks. They also signed up for track to work on their best physical attribute: their speed. Afternoons were spent perfecting technique at Centennial or lifting weights. The brothers pushed each other to be great.

“There was no Ranthony and Raleigh and we’re leaving Ridge behind,” Ranthony Sr. said. “Ridge was a little kid working out there with them.”