By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Editor
Senior punter Palmer Williams faced sky-high expectations entering 2026. He came off a junior season where he was named an All-American and Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year.
He has continued to step up his game so much that it has left opposing coaches speaking in tongues when referring to him.
“When he gets a hold of it, this thing is a ramma damma ham slam,” Arizona State Kenny Dillingham said before the Week 5 matchup with Baylor.
While his 2025 All-American selection was only an honorable mention, Williams is leaving no doubt as the premier leg in college football.
“Their punter is phenomenal,” Dillingham said. “He’s probably the best in the country.”
His ability to flip the field has become impactful enough for Baylor (5-1, 2-0 Big 12) that opposing coaches must make a concerted effort to combat him.
“Their guy can kick it 55 yards,” Dillingham said. “You don’t field it, and it goes for 60. You thought you were getting the ball on the 35, and you’re on your own 18-yard line.”
Williams leads the country with an average punt distance of 52.8 yards, with a season-long 72 yards.
Being a major contributor for this current Bears team is what Williams wanted to focus on. He recognized that his mentality entering 2025 is what held him back from reaching his full potential.
“I kind of went into the season … my head wasn’t in the right place,” Williams said. “This year it’s like this team is completely new … No one cares what I was last season. They want to see if I can help them win this season.”
He immediately started to look forward as Baylor entered 2026. After averaging 37.5 yards on two punts against Auburn in last year’s opener, Williams knew he needed to show up for his team. He made sure he would not make the same mistakes against the Tigers.
“I played bad against them last year,” Williams said. “I’ve watched that film about 100 times … I think about those games a lot, just knowing that I let the team down … Just from my conscience, I want to play better against them.”
He averaged 52 yards per punt to begin this season with three of his four punts going over 50 yards in the Bears’ 17-16 loss.
Williams’ performance this season reached new heights in Baylor’s 23-13 win over Colorado in its conference opener. He averaged 50.43 yards on seven punts against the Buffs, with four going over 50 yards and four placing inside the 20-yard line. Those two marks were season-bests for Williams.
Aranda appreciated Williams’ ability to hold off some of his strength to place his punts well instead of trying to kick the ball as hard as he can every time.
“Any time he can just show off that leg, that’s something that he can easily do,” head coach Dave Aranda said after the Bears’ win over Colorado. “To pinpoint and to be on target like he was today, I think he’s really worked hard for that. That’s a selfless attitude to do that sometimes because you’re taking some miles per hour off your fastball.”
That ability to not only flip the field, but pin opposing offenses deep in their own zone, is a difference maker for Baylor’s defense. That unit has thwarted offenses all season, but having teams line up in their own end zone continued to energize the Bears.
“Whenever you’re going out there as a defense, and they’re inside the five … [it’s] unbelievable,” fifth-year defensive end Kyler Jordan said.
The strong showing from Williams has proved to be vital for Baylor while it struggled to find offensive consistency. While the group worked with two quarterbacks and a rotating offensive line, Williams gave Aranda a sense of security, even if the offense is limited to short drives.
“Depending on the flow of the game and how that’s going, it’s like, ‘Are we going to have to score, score here, or can we play just field position and make them have to drive the distance?'” Aranda said.
Williams enters the bye week after averaging 62.67 yards per punt in the Bears’ dominant win at Arizona State. He is currently named on the Ray Guy Award watchlist for the nation’s best punter, finishing as a finalist in 2025.
