Baylor senior punter Palmer Williams keeps collecting honors, and the latest one comes from The Sporting News, which named him to its Midseason All-America Second Team.
Williams, a Ray Guy Award finalist a year ago, is leading the country with a 51.4-yard punting average. That number has him on track to pace the Big 12 for a third straight season and lead the nation for the second time in three years. If he gets there again, Williams would be the first Bear in program history to top the country in punting average twice.
The award trail has been building for a while. Williams was the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year last season, and he’s continuing to separate himself as one of the top punters in the country. He is also on pace to finish his Baylor career as the program’s all-time leader in punting average, while already owning two of the best single-season marks in school history.
Even before this season got rolling, Williams was drawing national attention. He entered the 2026 campaign with preseason All-America recognition from multiple outlets, including first-team honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation and first-team All-Big 12 recognition.
Baylor returns to action Saturday, Oct. 24, at 12 p.m. against Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. J.B. Long, Mike Golic Jr. and Allie LaForce will call the game for TNT/tru TV/HBOMax, while John Morris, Geff Gandy and Bryson Jackson will handle the broadcast on the Baylor Sports Media Network.
The Bears also have a long list of 2026 honors spread across the roster. Among them: Michael Allen as a Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Semifinalist, AFCA Good Works Team Nominee, Jason Witten Man of the Year Nominee, William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist and Wuerffel Trophy Semifinalist; Rhett Armstrong as Week 4 Lou Groza Award Star of the Week; and Daniel Cobbs, Gavin Freeman and Micah Gifford earning Midseason All-Texas First Team recognition from Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.
DJ Lagway collected a batch of weekly awards in Week 5, including Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, Davey O'Brien Award Great 8, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week and Manning Award Star of the Week. He is also on the watch lists for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Maxwell Award and Shriners 1000.
Other Baylor names on watch lists or earning recognition include Travion Barnes, Ryan Davis, Tony Livingston, Ryelan Morris, Dawson Pendergrass, Jacob Redding, Dylan Schaub, Kaden Sieracki, Devonte Tezino, LeVar Thornton Jr., Devin Turner, Hosea Wheeler, and Palmer Williams, who also picked up Week 4 Ray Guy Award Ray's 8, Week 4 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week and Week 1 Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week honors.
In Other News...
Kansas Heads To Baylor With One Problem Fans Can't Ignore
Kansas is heading into its Big 12 matchup at Baylor still trying to clean up the issues that showed up in its loss to Kansas State, where Lance Leipold pointed to a lack of physicality and too many missed tackles. The Jayhawks were gashed for 359 rushing yards and never found much rhythm offensively, which makes this trip even more important as they try to steady things against another conference opponent.
Baylor arrives with some questions of its own after a loss to TCU, and the Bears have had their own offensive line concerns to sort through. For both teams, this is more than just another league game on the calendar. It is a chance to show whether the problems from last week were a one-game setback or something deeper that still needs fixing. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Pitre Update Gives Baylor Fans A Reason To Exhale
Baylors NFL contingent had a mixed Week Six, with several former Bears dealing with the usual wear and tear of a long season while still finding ways to make an impact. The cleanest update came on Jalen Pitre, who came away with a non-severe AC joint and shoulder injury and is expected back soon, which should ease any concern for Baylor fans tracking the health of one of the programs most reliable pros.
There was less encouraging news elsewhere, though, as Tyquan Thornton remains sidelined after ankle surgery. Even so, Baylor alums continued to show up around the league, with Josh Cameron, Terrel Bernard, James Lynch, Ross Mastick and Jon Weeks all turning in notable contributions or steady work in their respective games, a reminder that the Bears NFL pipeline still has plenty of life in it. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Let TCU Find An Offensive Formula Fans Wont Like
TCU spent much of its game against Baylor searching for the right offensive rhythm, and the adjustments they made were hard to miss. Jaden Craig repeatedly leaned on wide receiver Jordan Dwyer, while the Horned Frogs also dipped into some creative wrinkles, including a Wildcat look with Kari Ashley, to keep the Bears from settling in.
The bigger issue was how fragile the rest of the operation looked once injuries started to affect the running game. TCU tried to manufacture momentum with a trick play, but the call backfired and ended in an interception, a reminder that the margin for error shrinks quickly when an offense is piecing things together on the fly. [Read more 🡒]