By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Consistency doesn’t always grab headlines, but for Baylor special teams, it might be the unit’s greatest strength heading into the 2026 season.
While other position groups continue to shuffle pieces during spring ball, the Bears’ special teams unit is leaning on something far more reliable — a veteran core anchored by senior punter Palmer Williams, whose emergence as a leader has set the tone early.
That continuity, paired with a shift in mindset, has become a focal point for Baylor’s specialists.
“We’ve got some pretty strong leaders in our group,” special teams coordinator Mark Scott said. “Palmer Williams and [redshirt junior long snapper] Dylan Schaub have been here numerous years. They understand the standard on and off the field and in the weight room. They’re two of the hardest workers on our football team, and their mindset coming into this season is completely different, even from last year.”
At the center of that foundation is Williams, an All-American stepping fully into a leadership role as the voice of the unit.
“Palmer has kind of taken over leadership of the group,” Scott said. “His body has changed drastically with his diet and nutrition. His numbers, and the way that he can move in the weight room, isn’t [like] your typical specialist. It’s more like a linebacker.”
Williams enters his senior season after a standout 2025 campaign that saw him help Baylor lead the nation in net punting while earning Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year and First Team All-Big 12 honors.
Though he punted only 27 times, Williams averaged 46.9 yards per kick with one touchback, recording 11 punts inside the 20 and 11 of 50-plus yards.
But the numbers and honors only tell so much. For those around him, Williams has become the steady pulse of the unit, a presence built as much on trust and leadership as production.
The way Williams has grown into the role became even more evident this spring, when his teammates unanimously chose him as a captain.
“Whether it’s a field goal, kickoff, it doesn’t matter — we know he’s going to perform to the best of his ability,” Schaub said. “Palmer’s become more of a vocal leader, and we’ve asked him to do that, too. At the beginning of the spring, we voted on captains and unanimously it was Palmer, obviously. He’s taken that in stride.”
As his voice has grown louder this spring, so has his influence across the entire roster, earning him a spot on head coach Dave Aranda’s leadership council — a group teammates say has helped transform the team’s culture.
“I think Palmer has come out a lot as a leader,” sophomore kicker Rhett Armstrong said. “I’ve really enjoyed seeing him speak up more and really be the leader that we all know he can be. He’s on the leadership council that coach Dave Aranda has put together, and that’s been super transformational for this year’s team.”
For the Ray Guy Award finalist and soon-to-be four-year starter, stepping into a full leadership role has not meant changing who he is, only embracing it more intentionally.
Now with the final stretch of his Baylor career ahead, Williams’ focus remains where it has all spring — doing whatever it takes to help Baylor win football games.
“I just wanted to make sure that every single time I step on the field, I’m positively impacting my team, and I didn’t get to fully do that last year,” Williams said. “It’s cool to hear my name being mentioned for [these awards], yeah, but I just want to win. This is my last year, and I’d really do anything for this team to win some football games.”
