Josh Cameron and Palmer Williams Named Phil Steele All-Americans
WACO, Texas -- Baylor football standouts Josh Cameron and Palmer Williams have earned All-America honors from Phil Steele, it was announced.
Cameron was named a second-team All-American as a punt returner, while Williams was tabbed fourth-team punter. In addition, Baylor linebacker Keaton Thomas and kickoff returner Jamaal Bell were named honorable mention.
Cameron is the first player in Baylor history to be named All-America as a punt returner and the first returner since Tristan Ebner in 2020 and 2021. Williams is the first punter to earn All-America accolades since Derek Epperson in 2009 and Daniel Sepulveda in 2004, 2005 and as a consensus selection in 2006.
It marks the third, second-team All-America accolade of the season for Cameron, who was also tabbed second-team All-America by the Football Writers Association of America and CBS Sports. He was also named first-team All-Big 12 Conference by the coaches in the circuit. A native of Cedar Park, Texas, Cameron averaged 20.7 yards per punt return, including a 73-yarder. In the Kinder’s Texas Bowl vs. LSU, Cameron returned an 82-yarder for a touchdown but it was called back due to a roughing the punter penalty. Offensively, Cameron had a breakout season where he established himself as one of the nation’s top receiving threats, totaling 52 catches for 754 yards and 10 TDs, which ranked 13th nationally.
Cameron finished just shy of qualifying for the nation’s lead in punt returns, which was capped at 1.2 returns per games played, and featured 1.08 punt returns per game for the junior, meaning he finished three return attempts shy of the national lead. He did help the Bears lead the nation in punt returns, good for an average of 20.71 yards per return. Cameron finished the season ranked fourth in program history in single-season punt return average and 10th in punt return yards, while his career average of 18.18 yards per punt return marks the best in Baylor annals.
Williams was named first-team All-Big 12 Conference by the league’s coaches, the Associated Press, Sports Info Solutions and College Football News, who also tabbed him the punter of the year. A sophomore out of Advance, N.C., Williams led the nation with a 49.3 yard per punt average, and had a long of 79 yards, which tied for the longest punt in the nation in 2024. Williams was also named to the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Year Watch List and was a three-time member of Ray’s 8, which honors the best putting performances each week in college football.
The 6-foot-2, 201-pound Williams finished 2024 setting the program record for punting average (49.34) – which was 2.86 yards more than Sepvulveda during his unanimous first-team All-America season in 2006, the previous record holder. He had 22 punts of 50 yards or more, ranking fourth in Baylor single-season history.
Thomas led the Bears with 114 tackles, adding seven stops for a loss, with 2.5 sacks, one interception and three QB hurries. Despite playing the majority of the season with a cast on his hand, Thomas totaled the most tackles in a season since Bryce Hager in 2012. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Thomas totaled a nation-leading 107 tackles as a first-team junior college All-American in 2023 at Northeast Mississippi Community College. He had four games with double-digit tackles, including a 13-tackle effort at Houston.
Bell, a native of Lancaster, Calif., had a strong lone season after transferring from Nevada. He returned 22 kickoffs for a 24-yard average, including a 100-yard return for a touchdown at Colorado. The all-time leading kickoff returner in Nevada history, Bell finished his career returning 2,239 yards worth of kickoffs.
2024 BAYLOR FOOTBALL POSTSEASON HONORS
Omar Aigbedion, OL
Second Team All-Big 12 (AP)
Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
First Team All-Texas (DCTF)
Jamaal Bell, KR
Honorable Mention All-America (Phil Steele) – KR
Josh Cameron, WR
Second Team All-America (FWAA, CBS Sports, Phil Steele) – PR
Burlsworth Trophy Semifinalist
First Team All-Big 12 (Coaches) – KR/PR
Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches) – WR
Honorable Mention Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year (Coaches)
Second Team All-Texas (DCTF) – WR
Lorando Johnson, DB
Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
Second Team All-Texas (DCTF)
Matt Jones, LB
First Team All-Big 12 (AP, Coaches)
Treven Ma’ae, DL
Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
Jackie Marshall, DL
Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)
Sawyer Robertson, QB
Second Team All-Texas (DCTF)
Keaton Thomas, LB
Honorable Mention All-America (Phil Steele)
First Team All-Big 12 (AP, Coaches)
Honorable Mention Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year (Coaches)
First Team All-Texas (DCTF)
Michael Trigg, TE
Second Team All-Big 12 (Coaches)
Bryson Washington, RB
Honorable Mention Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year (Coaches)
Honorable Mention Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year (Coaches)
Second Team All-Texas (DCTF)
Palmer Williams, P
Fourth-Team All-America (Phil Steele)
First Team All-Big 12 (AP, Coaches)
First Team All-Texas (DCTF)
Gavin Yates, FB
Honorable Mention All-Big 12 (Coaches)