LONG WAY FROM A WALK-ON
1/7/2025 3:17:00 PM | Football
Cameron blossoms as Bears' top receiver, All-American punt returner
By Jerry HillBaylor Bear Insider
(Editor's note: This is an updated story from a feature that was published in the Kinder's Texas Bowl issue of the Baylor Insider magazine. The full digital magazine is available online and was emailed to Bear Foundation donors.)
With her son largely overlooked in a recruiting process that included one offer – from Division II Augustana (South Dakota) – Andrea Cameron sent a flood of emails and even took to Twitter to drum up some kind of interest for wide receiver Josh Cameron.
Even with a combined 170 catches for 2,353 yards and 28 touchdowns over two seasons at Cedar Park High School, there were still no stars (from recruiting services) and not one Division I scholarship offer.
"I think COVID was a big part of that for my class," Josh said. "I was really betting on spring ball, because that's when all the coaches come in to see you. And then, when we didn't get that, I missed out on a lot of opportunities. Not just me, but for a whole bunch of people."
One of his mom's emails reached David Wetzel, Baylor's Associate AD for Football Relations at the time and a former high school coach himself. Interest piqued, Josh ended up getting a preferred walk-on offer from Baylor – no scholarship, just a spot on the roster.
"My parents really supported me with whatever decision," said Josh, whose brother, Justin, graduated from Baylor in 2018 and was part of the women's basketball team's "Dream Team" practice squad. "When it came to Baylor, I knew it was going to be a lot of financial stress. I was like, 'I'm going to get a scholarship early, as soon as I can.' There was definitely a little bit of discussion, but my parents had my back the whole time, honestly."
Part of a touted class of incoming receivers that included Monaray Baldwin, Josh played in the last three games for the 2021 Big 12 and Sugar Bowl champions that won a school-record 12 games.
"I still remember a specific moment," he said. "In the Big 12 Championship game, I was on kickoff, and we kicked off the ball first. I was out there on the field, you just look around, and I couldn't hear my breath. It was just a surreal moment. And playing in the Sugar Bowl was even more awesome, just getting to experience that as a freshman. That was huge, honestly, just getting used to the atmosphere."
Put on scholarship at the end of his first year, Josh had a breakout season in 2022, playing in all 13 games, starting four and ranking fourth on the team with 28 catches for 386 yards. But the Bears ended on a four-game losing streak, including falling to Air Force, 30-15, in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Until last year, Josh had never returned kicks on any level. But he took over punt return duties and finished second in the Big 12 with a 15.5-yard average.
Making an impact on special teams in the second half of the season, Josh had a 41-yard punt return to set up a touchdown in a 32-29 win at Cincinnati and then had a 70-yard return at Kansas State that ranked as the second-longest in the Big 12.
"It was at Cincinnati when I had my first big return," he said. "And I was like, 'Okay, I'm starting to like this a little bit.' It kind of took off from there, and now it just feels natural."
During the Bears' 8-5 season in 2024, while he put up career numbers as a receiver with 52 catches for 754 yards and 10 touchdowns, Josh earned first-team All-Big 12 and second-team All-America honors as a punt returner. He averaged a Big 12-best 20.7 yards (14-290), a mark that would also lead the nation if he had enough attempts to qualify.
"That's really all punt returning is, just being comfortable and feeling people with just the presence and kind of the peripheral vision, too," he said. "You do a whole bunch of reps, and you start to get a feel for it. You just look down a little bit, and it's like, 'Okay, I've got room.' You make the first one miss, and then you just kind of go from there."
When the kick coverage gunners are barreling down on you, sometimes within a matter of feet, "you've just got to breathe," he said.
"At first, I was like, 'Ooh, I can feel them.' It would get to me a little bit," Josh said. "You just have to do a fair catch or give an early 'Peter' call (get away from the ball). Let my guys know to clear out. You just have to tune them out. Plus, if they get too close, they're going to get a penalty, anyway."
Although his first-career touchdown was thrown by Dequan Finn in the second game of the season, Josh has built a special connection with quarterback Sawyer Robertson. At his best over the last seven games, including in the Texas Bowl, he hauled in 34 passes for 477 yards and six touchdowns and recorded three 100-yard games.
"His ability to block on the perimeter, his ability to make plays, catches when it matters," Baylor coach Dave Aranda said. "He can make people miss, he can outrun guys, even though his speed numbers may not say it. All that, though, pales in comparison to just the dude that he is off the field and how he leads when he's on the field. To have somebody that can do it and gets it, that's very rare. And we've got one in Josh. He's a huge, huge asset."
Robertson said that when he's going through his reads and progressions, he knows that "Josh is a guy I can count on."
"On top of that, he's just a great human being and somebody that deserves all the credit and everything he's been given," Robertson said, "just because he's sacrificed a lot for this university, sacrificed a lot for this team. What he's been able to do this year has been awesome."
Josh, who has committed to return to Baylor for a fifth season, said one of his expectations for next year is "just being more fluid in my routes."
"Just creating more separation in my routes, being the biggest thing, just getting out of my breaks quicker," he said. "I think that's something I'm going to be working on and just really honing. I just want to create a little more separation on my routes."
Since he was 5 years old, "because that's when I actually first started playing football," his dream and goal has been to "make it to the NFL and take care of my family."
"That's definitely at the front of my mind, for sure," he said.
With the bulk of the receiving corps lost to graduation, Josh will have to play an even larger role in leading a receiving room that includes returners Cameron Bonner and Jadon Porter and transfer portal additions Kobe Prentice from Alabama and Kole Wilson from Texas State.
In the December signing period, the Bears also added incoming freshmen Chase Collier from Jacksonville, Fla., Ashton Jones and Jacorey Watson from Pearland, Texas, and four-star recruit Taz Williams Jr. from Red Oak, Texas.
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