By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
A young Palmer Williams didn’t see it coming.
Standing atop a hill, surveying his kingdom, he stepped onto his RipStik. It was a step toward his destiny.
“I was going down a hill, and I started to get speed wobble, and I went into a ditch and broke my arm,” Williams said. “I started playing football, and I had this massive cast on. It was like, ‘What is this kid going to do?’”
The broken arm became a catalyst for a record-breaking career. Williams wanted to play quarterback as a kid, but the injury put those aspirations on hold. Without a healthy arm, there was a question of how he could play and contribute to his team.
After the injury, his coaches decided to go with Williams’ leg as an alternative to throwing the football.
“I did play soccer, so I knew how to kick a ball,” Williams said. “They made me the kicker, and I thought it was fun.”
Williams “kind of got addicted” to the work, ultimately becoming a dual specialist and embracing punting after the pandemic. It paid off.
Coming into high school as a kicker only, Williams excelled at punting, ultimately being named the No. 4 punter in the nation and a top-50 recruit in North Carolina. He averaged over 40 yards per punt, earning him a spot in the 2023 Adidas All-American Bowl.
“I started to hit a growth spurt after COVID, and I was like, ‘Well, maybe I’ll give punting a try,’” Williams said. “It started to click, and I was like, ‘Alright, this is pretty fun, too.’”
Williams was named to the Ray Guy Award watch list for the nation’s best punter, along with a preseason All-American selection. Last season, he led the nation with 49.35 yards per punt across 43 punts, which was also the best in program history.
“I see [the award talk] on Instagram and stuff, but I just like playing football,” Williams said. “I’m not too into awards, and I know if you get sucked into that, it kind of takes the joy out of the game.”
Williams credits much of his growth to his “biggest mentor”: specialist coach Dan Orner, who has coached multiple professional and collegiate kickers and punters.
“He’s like a mental coach as much as he is like a football coach,” Williams said. “He’s pretty much the main reason why I’m here, other than parents and coaches back home.”
At Baylor, Williams immediately seized the starting job as a freshman. He averaged 42.9 yards per punt and dropped six inside the 20-yard line. He took further steps forward in 2024, gaining national attention after an eye-popping Week 2 performance at Utah: six punts for 376 yards (62.7 average) and a long of 79.
And he still isn’t done.
“You look at what it was on paper, and you’re like, ‘Wow, that was pretty impressive,’ but watching the film, it’s like, ‘I can do so much better,’” Williams said. “If I want to help win a Big 12 championship, I have to do so much more.”
Even as he lights up the stat sheet with his punts, Williams isn’t satisfied with his performance. Watching film has allowed Williams to observe what can be improved and tweaked to reach his potential.
“Last year, paper told one story and watching it told another,” Williams said. “I think there’s a lot of room for improvement.”
Williams will begin his All-American campaign at 7 p.m. Friday, as the Bears take on Auburn at McLane Stadium.
