(This is the second part in a series of features on Baylor Athletics' 25 for 25, which honors Baylor's top 25 athletes in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference (1996-21). Selected by a panel of Baylor experts, the final list was picked from a pool of over 100 candidates that came from all 19 intercollegiate sports that the school offers. Over the next three months, two honorees per week will be released and will also be featured during game broadcasts on the Baylor Sports Network from Learfield IMG College.)
 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Not that anyone would argue, but Andrew Billings is undisputedly the strongest player in Baylor football history and one of the strongest people on the planet.
            Competing for the power-lifting team at Waco High School as a senior, Billings broke a Texas state meet record that Mark Henry held for 22 years with a combined effort of 2,010 pounds (805 squat, 500 bench, 705 dead lift).
            But, what he discovered at Baylor was that it takes more than strength to not just hold your own but dominate in the defensive line.
            "I felt good about playing, but when I got on the field, I was a little worried," he said. "I knew I was strong, but once you get out there, you can still get moved by one person. There are so many other factors other than strength."
            No worries, though, Billings developed into one of Baylor's all-time great interior defensive linemen. A two-time first-team All-Big 12 pick, he was selected an AP first-team All-American as a junior when he was also named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year.
            "He's relentless," former Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett said. "He doesn't think there's a play he can't make. He plays hard and plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. He has a very high motor and finishes plays."
            During a monster junior season when he started 12 of 13 games at nose tackle, Billings totaled 40 tackles (32 solos) with 15 tackles for loss, 5 ½ sacks, three QB hurries and one forced fumble. A rare destructive force inside, he finished his three-year Baylor career with 29 ½ stops behind the line and 7 ½ sacks.
            Part of the best three-year stretch in Baylor football history, Billings started 27 of 36 career games played for teams that won back-to-back Big 12 championships in 2013 and 2014, finished 32-7 overall and capped with a Russell Athletic Bowl win over 10^th-ranked North Carolina.
            After foregoing his senior season, Billings was taken in the fourth round with the 122^nd pick overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2016 NFL Draft. Despite missing his rookie season with an injury, he made 37 starts in 47 career games with the Bengals and had 80 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 3 ½ sacks and 12 QB hits before signing a $3.5 million, one-year deal with the Cleveland Browns.
            Because of his issues with asthma, Billings opted out of the 2020 NFL season and plans to return next year. "Ultimately, I had to make this decision with my health and family in mind," he tweeted. "I want to thank the Cleveland Browns for all they did to keep players safe, and for working through such a hard decision with me by providing the answers and information I needed."
            Twelve hours shy of his degree when he left Baylor after his junior season, Billings fulfilled a promise he made to his parents and graduated in August 2018.
            "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," he said. "This is a point in my life where I get to move on and accomplish a goal I set for myself."
 
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