Baylor’s Palmer Williams is back in the Ray Guy Award spotlight.
The senior punter was named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2026 honor on Thursday, giving him semifinalist recognition for the second straight season after finishing as a finalist in 2025. The Augusta Sports Council made the announcement, and Williams enters the next phase of the race as one of six Big 12 punters among the 10 semifinalists.
Williams has been one of the most reliable legs in the country this season. He ranks fifth nationally and second in the Big 12 with a 48.1-yard punting average, a number that has powered Baylor’s strong showing in net punting.
Through nine games, he has punted 37 times for 1,781 yards, with 15 punts of 50 yards or more - the second-most in the Big 12. He has hit at least one punt of 50-plus yards in eight of Baylor’s nine games and has dropped 13 kicks inside the 20.
That consistency has helped Baylor climb to 16th nationally in net punting at 42.9 yards per attempt.
The hardware has already followed this season. Williams has been named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week twice, earning the honor in Weeks 4 and 10. His latest award came after Baylor’s 42-31 Homecoming win over Iowa State, when he averaged 43.7 yards on six punts for 262 yards, including a long of 57 yards and two punts downed inside the 20.
Williams’ 2026 season is also adding to a Baylor career that already stacks up with the best in program history. The Advance, N.C., native is on pace to finish as the school’s all-time leader in punting average, and he currently owns a 46.97-yard career mark across four seasons.
He already holds the program record for single-season punting average after posting a 49.3-yard average on 43 punts in 2024, the best in the nation that year. His current 2026 average would rank among the top single-season marks in Baylor history.
The 2025 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year is also chasing a place in rare company. If he wins the Ray Guy Award, he would become the second Baylor punter to do it, joining Daniel Sepulveda, who won in both 2004 and 2006.
The award process moves quickly from here. A national voting body made up of FBS sports information directors, media members and former Ray Guy Award winners will select the three finalists.
Voting for that round opens Nov. 14, and the finalists will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 24.
After that, the same group will vote again to determine the nation’s top punter, with the winner announced live on ESPN during The Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 11.
In Other News...
BYU-Baylor Suddenly Has A Game-Day Problem Fans Need To Watch
A nationwide grounding of flights has put Baylors trip to Provo in a tricky spot, with the Bears among the college football teams dealing with disrupted travel plans heading into their game against BYU. The issue is not just getting there, either. If Baylor cannot leave as planned, the timing of the trip itself becomes a problem, and the earliest possible departure would be Saturday morning.
BYUs long-standing agreement not to play games on Sunday makes the situation even tighter, because it narrows the window for any backup plan if the Bears are delayed. Baylor is not alone in dealing with the fallout, with Arizona State and UCF among the other programs facing similar headaches, but this one has a particularly awkward setup because of the games location and the limited flexibility around the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Heads To BYU With New Uncertainty Around A Crucial Big 12 Test
Baylors trip to BYU picked up an extra layer of uncertainty Friday night when a nationwide FAA ground stop forced the Big 12 to shuffle kickoff times for several games on Saturday. The conference announced updated start times for four matchups, including the Bears road test in Provo, as travel disruptions rippled through the league on the eve of a key November slate.
The timing change adds another wrinkle to a matchup Baylor already needed to navigate carefully in a Big 12 race that leaves little margin for error. Kansas at West Virginia, Arizona State at UCF and Utah at Arizona were also affected, while Kansas State at TCU remained set for 1 p.m. CT pending further updates. [Read more 🡒]
Baylor Is About To Give Texas An Early Reality Check
Sean Miller knows exactly why this one matters. Before Big 12 play even settles in, Texas is getting a nonconference test against Baylor, a game that should tell a lot about where the Longhorns stand and what kind of team they are becoming. Early-season matchups like this are where identities start to harden, and Baylor brings the kind of profile that can expose a team quickly, with Scott Drews group built around rebounding and pressure defense.
For Texas, the stakes go beyond the usual November measuring stick. Davis Punch pointed to the game as a chance to answer for the preseason scrimmage loss to St. Johns, and that makes this trip feel like more than just another step in the schedule. Baylor has a way of making opponents work for every possession, and if Texas wants to leave with momentum, it will have to show it can handle that physical edge from the opening tip. [Read more 🡒]