ANDREW BILLINGS RETURNS TO FINISH DEGREE

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            That ear-to-ear grin said it all.
            Crossing the Ferrell Center stage to pick up his Baylor diploma at Saturday's summer commencement, Andrew Billings was feeling a sense of accomplishment and fulfilling a promise he made to his parents five years ago.
            "I came here for a reason, to get my degree," said Billings, now in his third year with the Cincinnati Bengals after earning All-America honors as a defensive lineman at Baylor (2013-15) and all-state recognition at Waco High School. "Coming back here, even though I'm in training camp, is just as big as anything in my whole life, to come and get it. This is a point in my life where I get to move on and accomplish a goal I set for myself."
            Anthony Billings, Andrew's father, remembers the Baylor coaches sitting in their home years ago, "and they told us they were committed to make sure that he finished his educational journey."
            "And that commitment rang true right to the end, as far as the athletic department and the advisors," Anthony said. "They just worked with him until he finished. Nothing missed a beat. . . . (Director of Academic Services Aaron) Tebo said, 'I'm going to get him there.' He told us that up front. And he did exactly what he said and stayed in touch with us."
            Twelve hours shy of his degree when he left Baylor after his junior season, Andrew returned in the offseason the last two years and finished up his last class this summer. He majored in communications with a minor in business.
            "You always want to travel and do stuff in the offseason," he said, "but coming back to school, I definitely had the support of my teammates and my family, just to come back and get it done. When it's something you've got to do, you've just got to do it, whether you want to do it or not. And I actually wanted to do it, so I'm happy for that. But, it wasn't easy. Coming back, sitting down and focusing on something that wasn't football, it was a little different."
            It goes back to the promises he made to his parents, though, both when he enrolled in 2013 and then left school after the 2015 season.
            "I didn't go to college just to play football, I went to college to get a degree," said the 6-foot-1, 325-pound Billings, a two-time All-Big 12 pick who had 40 tackles, 5 ½ sacks and 15 tackles for losses as a junior in 2015 when he earned All-America honors and was named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year. "When I left early for the NFL, I told them I would get it, and I did."
            Drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round in 2016, Billings missed his rookie season with a knee injury and came back to make seven starts and play in 15 of the team's 16 games last year.
            "Oh man, that first year was pretty hard," he said, "just coming in as a rookie but with some expectations of what I was supposed to do for the team, and not doing anything. It's hard. I just had to sit down in my house and focus while I couldn't walk."
            As tough as it was coming back to school during the offseason, "I think the first was a relief, because he got hurt," Anthony said of his son. "It was almost a relief when the season was over and he came back to Waco and went to class that January. I think it really lifted his spirits."
            The knee injury now behind him, Andrew said he feels "definitely about as good as I've felt in a while." He was the Bengals' starting nose tackle in Thursday's 30-27 preseason victory over the Chicago Bears.
            "Just getting back in the trenches and getting back on that run game and rushing the passer, it's feeling really good," he said. "It's even better than I felt last year."
            While it was a five-year process, Billings said getting his degree was a "big feeling . . . it's an accomplishment, like a bowl game or even the Super Bowl, even though I haven't done that yet. It's just an accomplishment, getting to walk across that stage and get my degree."
            Former teammates Byron Bonds and KJ Smith, who came in with him as Baylor freshmen in 2013, came down from Dallas to celebrate the day. After flying back to Cincinnati on Sunday and going back to practice on Monday, Andrew will be back in Texas next Saturday for a preseason game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.
            "Until he left for the NFL, he had never left Waco to play football," Anthony said. "But, this will be his first time playing back in Texas. We're all excited about that."
            Also earning their degrees this summer were current juniors JaMycal Hasty, Lenoy Jones Jr. and Ross Matiscik. Including grad transfers, Baylor will have 13 football players on this year's roster that have already earned their undergrad degrees. That total is the most in the Big 12 and ranks third nationally.
            "He had a big smile on his face today," Anthony said, "and we did, too."

ANDREW BILLINGS RETURNS TO FINISH DEGREE

Players Mentioned

JaMycal Hasty

Lenoy Jones Jr.

Ross Matiscik

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