2026 Football Roster
Roster
Palmer Williams
- Position:
- Punter
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 221
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Advance, N.C.
- High School:
- Davie HS
ā¢ All-America Second Team (The Athletic)
ā¢ All-America Honorable Mention (Phil Steele)
ā¢ Big 12 Special Teams Ā Player of the YearĀ
ā¢ Ray Guy Award Finalist
ā¢ All-Big 12 First Team (Coaches, AP, Phil Steele)
2025 (Junior):Ā Helped lead the nation in net punting ā¦ Named second-team All-America by The Athletic ā¦ Tabbed honorable mention All-America by Phil Steele ā¦ The Big 12 Special Teams Player of the year in a voting of the league coaches ā¦ A finalist for the Ray Guy Award, given to the nationās best punter ā¦ Tabbed first-team All-Big 12 Conference by the league coaches, the AP and Phil Steele ā¦ Named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week once (week 3) ā¦ Only punted 27 times for 1,267 yards, an average of 46.9 yards per punt ā¦ Had just one touchback, seven fair caches, 11 downed inside the 20-yard line and 11 going for 50+ yards ā¦ Only punted 2.25 times per game, which falls below the ESPN threshold for national leaders (2.5 punts per game) and the NCAA threshold for national leaders (3.6 punts per game) ā¦ If qualified would have ranked ninth nationally in punting average in the ESPN rankings ā¦ Punted twice for 75 yards vs. Auburn ā¦ Had a 51-yard punt at No. 17 SMU ā¦ Had four punts for an average of 48.5 yards, with two inside the 20-yard line and two 50+, including a 59 yarder ā¦ punted twice for a 52.5-yard average vs. Arizona State, with both going 50+ and both downed inside the 20-yard line ā¦ Punted three times for a 55-yard average, with two going 50+ and one inside the 20-yard line ā¦ Punted twice for 90 yards with one inside the 20 and a long of 49 ā¦ Had three punts for a 51-yard average with two inside the 20 and two going for 50+ and a long of 57 at TCU ā¦ Had two punts for 68 yards at UC ā¦ Punted once, for 46 yards, downed inside the 20-yard line vs. UCF ā¦ Had three punts for a 47-yard average with one downed inside the 20-yard line with one over 50 vs. Utah ā¦ Punted twice for 96 yards vs. Houston ā¦ Was a preseason second-team All-America (Phil Steele), third-team All-America (Athlon) and All-Big 12 selection (Big 12 media, Athlon, Phile Steele).Ā Ā
2024 (Sophomore):Ā Had the best punting season in college football and the best in Baylor history ā¦ Finished with a 49.35 average on 43 punts, which among those who punted at least 2.5 times for game in 2024, ranked tops in the nation ā¦ Averaged ranked as the best in single-season Baylor history ā¦ With 78 career punts, ranks shy of the career leaders in BU history (100 min.) with a 46.53 average, which would be tops in school annals ā¦ Has 28 career 50+ yard punts and ranked fourth in school single-season history with 22 in 2024 ā¦ Had five 60+ yard punts in 2024, ranking sixth in single-season history and eighth in career history ā¦ Had 15 of his 43 punts downed inside the 20-yard line and six fair caught ā¦ Helped Baylor rank eighth in the nation in net punting and 44thĀ nationally in punt return defense ā¦ Had the best putting game in school history at Utah, punting six times for 376 yards, an average of 62.7, with a long of 79 yards and two inside the 20-yard line ā¦ Served as the holder on field goals for a second consecutive season ā¦ Three times was named to the Ray Guy Award āRayās 8ā (Week 2, 9, 10) ā¦ Punted twice in his season debut vs. Tarleton (average of 43.5) ā¦ Did not punt vs. Air Force but was the holder on field goals ā¦ Punted six times for 296 yards and an average of 49.3 yards per punt at Colorado, with one in the 20 and three over 50 yards ā¦ Punted three times, with a long of 52 and a 49.2-yard average vs. BYU ā¦ Punted four times for a 47.25 average with two inside the 20, a long of 56 ā¦ Punted four times for 196 yards, an average of 49 and a long of 63, with two inside the 20 ā¦ Had three punts for a 46.7-yard average with one inside the 20, two over 50 and a long of 57 vs. OSU ā¦ Punted four times for 192 yards with a 48 yard average, a long of 62, two over 50 and two inside the 20 vs. TCU ā¦ Punted three times for a 45.3 yard average with a long of 52 vs. WVU ā¦ Had four punts for 180 yards, an average of 45 with a long of 57 and one inside the 20-yard line ā¦ Had two punts vs. Kansas for an average of 47, with both downed inside the 20 and a long of 50 ā¦ Punted twice for a 44-yard average vs. LSU in the Texas Bowl.Ā
2023 (Freshman): Earned the starting punter job in the preseason and had a strong freshman season ā¦ Punted 37 times for a 43.08 yard average and 1,594 total yards ā¦ Had a long of 53 and six of 50+ yards ā¦ Downed eight inside the 20-yard line and just one touchback ā¦ Forced a fair catch on 13 punts ā¦ A total of 20 of his 35 punts were either fair caught or downed inside the 20 ā¦ Also served as the holder on field goals.Ā
High School: A three-star prospect according to 247Sports and ESPN ā¦ The No. 1 ranked punter in the class with a 6-star ranking perĀ Chris Sailer Kicking ratings ā¦ Ranked as the No. 3 punter in the nation and No. 42 overall player in the state of North Carolina by 247Sports ā¦ The No. 14 punter in the country and No. 37 player in the state, according to ESPN ā¦ Selected to 2023 Adidas All-American Bowl on NBC Punter ā¦ A āgreat-looking athlete with excellent college potential whose punting is a major strength,ā according to Chris Sailer Kicking, averaging over 40 yards per punt with 4.6+ hang time ā¦ Also has 50+-yard field goal range ā¦ Averaged 43.6 yards per punt as a senior in 2022 ā¦ In 2021, averaged 36.8 yards per punt and downed four inside-the-20 ā¦ Also served as kicker for DHS, connecting on 54 of 56 PAT attempts ā¦ Made seven of 10 career field goal attempts, with long of 47 yards ā¦ Also competed in track and field, as well as lacrosse ā¦ Regional qualifier in the discus throw as a junior with a personal best 136-8 in the event ā¦ Chose Baylor over offers from Connecticut and interest from North Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
