Baylor Football Earns 18 All-Big 12 Awards

IRVING, Texas – Baylor football collected a total of 18 All-Big 12 awards, including two players of the year, five first-team honors, a second-team selection, and 10 honorable mention recognitions, as the league’s 2025 awards were announced on Thursday by the conference office.

Senior quarterback Sawyer Robertson was named this year’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while junior punter Palmer Williams picked up the Special Teams Player of the Year accolade. Williams also earned a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team, alongside Josh Cameron (WR), Michael Trigg (TE), Omar Aigbedion (OL) and Micah Gifford (Specialist).

Redshirt junior linebacker Keaton Thomas represented the Bears on the second team, while Robertson (QB, OPoY), Ryan Lengyel (OL), Coleton Price (OL), Jackie Marshall (DL), Devyn Bobby (DB), Jacob Redding (DB), LeVar Thornton Jr. (DB), Connor Hawkins (PK) and Cameron (Returner) each received votes at their respective positions to earn honorable mention distinction.

Headlining this year’s honors as the Big 12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Robertson made waves as one of the nation’s most prolific passers, throwing for 3,681 yards and 31 touchdowns, the nation’s second-leading marks in each category. But his impact extended far beyond the gridiron, as he is set to graduate with a 3.73 GPA in marketing and was named a finalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award. Additionally, Robertson was tabbed a semifinalist for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award. Robertson is the third Bear in program history to earn Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, joining Dillon Doyle (2022) and Nick Florence (2012).

Furthermore, Robertson was tabbed an honorable mention selection among the league’s quarterbacks and received votes for the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award.

For the fourth time in school history, Baylor has the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year as Williams was selected as this year’s recipient. Williams punted 27 times for a total of 1,267 yards, a league-leading average of 46.92 yards which would rank second in the BU record books. A Ray Guy Award finalist, which recognizes the nation’s best punter, Williams helped the Bears to the nation’s best net punting average (45.0 yards) as just 12 of his punts were returned for a total of 32 yards. Eleven of Williams’ punts landed inside the 20 and seven were fair caught, while 11 traveled at least 50 yards, giving Williams 39 career 50+-yard boots, tied for the seventh-most in Baylor history. Williams joins two-time winner Trestan Ebner (2020, 2021) and Daniel Sepulveda (2006) as the only Bears to be named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year.

Additionally, Williams earned one of two punter spots on the league’s first team. 

After leading the Big 12 with 69 receptions, Cameron earned first-team praise for the first time in his illustrious career. He finished the 2025 season as the league’s third-leading receiver with 872 yards and ranked fourth in the conference with nine receiving touchdowns. Cameron ended his collegiate career on a 29-game consecutive reception streak and caught a touchdown in each of his last five games. He teamed up with Robertson 18 times in the last two seasons to become Baylor’s fourth-most productive QB/WR duo all-time in terms of touchdowns scored.

A finalist for the 2025 John Mackey Award, which honors the nation’s top tight end, Trigg landed on the first team after a record-shattering season for the green and gold. He posted the school’s best single-season marks in receptions (50) and receiving yards (694) by a tight end, and tied for the top spot with six receiving touchdowns this season. Also a semifinalist for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award, Trigg capped off his BU career as the school’s all-time leader in career receiving yards (1,089) by a tight end and ranks second in career receptions (80) and touchdowns (nine) at the position.

A mainstay on the Baylor offensive line, Aigbedion made 10 starts at right guard in 2025 and graded out as the nation’s sixth-best guard, per Pro Football Focus. A senior out of Katy, Texas, Aigbedion posted an even 80.0 overall offensive grade, with a 76.2 pass block rating and 81.9 run block rating. Across 684 offensive snaps this year, Aigbedion did not allow a sack and was called for just two penalties all season. This is his first-career All-Big 12 First Team honor.

New this season to the All-Big 12 Awards is the specialist position, which recognizes a top special teams contributor. A former wide receiver, Gifford starred on kick and punt coverage for the Bears while also making an impact as a hard-hitting reserve safety. The junior from Pflugerville, Texas, made 21 tackles this year, including a career-high nine stops in the season finale against Houston. Prior to that, six of his 12 tackles had come on special teams. Gifford made his first-career tackle for loss, a sack, in Week Three against Samford and also snagged his first-career interception against the Bulldogs. Gifford also became the first Bear since 2022 to block a PAT in Week 12’s contest against Utah.

One of the Big 12’s most productive tacklers, Thomas ranked second in the conference for the second-straight season with 105 tackles in 2025. He became the first Bear since Eddie Lackey (2012, 2013) to post back-to-back 100+ tackle seasons and the first since Terrel Bernard (2019, 2021) to do so twice for the green and gold. Thomas led BU with seven TFLs and added one sack, one interception and three pass breakups to his stat line. He also recovered a fumble in Week Eight at TCU and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. Thomas recorded five double-digit tackle outings in 2025, giving him nine for his career.

Baylor’s six combined first- and second-team honorees are its most in a single season since receiving seven in 2021, a season that set the school record with 12 wins.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor football, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BUFootball.

2025 ALL-BIG 12 AWARDS

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Sawyer Robertson, QB

Special Teams Player of the Year

Palmer Williams, P

First Team

Josh Cameron, WR

Michael Trigg, TE

Omar Aigbedion, OL

Palmer Williams, P

Micah Gifford, Specialist

Second Team

Keaton Thomas, LB

Honorable Mention

Sawyer Robertson, QB

Ryan Lengyel, OL

Coleton Price, OL

Jackie Marshall, DL

Devyn Bobby, DB

Jacob Redding, DB

LeVar Thornton Jr., DB

Connor Hawkins, PK

Josh Cameron, Returner

Honorable Mention Individual Awards

Offensive Player of the Year

Sawyer Robertson, QB