WACO, Texas -- Baylor football stars Michael Trigg and Palmer Williams were named second-team All-America by The Athletic, it was announced.
Baylor’s duo at tight end and punter earned second-team All-America honors for their historic 2026 seasons. It marks the first time since Jalen Pitre and Connor Galvin in 2021 that Baylor has appeared on The Athletic’s All-America team.
A 6-foot-4, 240-pound product of Tampa, Fla., Trigg had a decorated two seasons in Waco after transferring from Ole Miss and USC. He completed his BU career with 80 catches for 1,089 yards with nine TDs. It ranks first among BU tight ends in yards, and second in catches and TDs. In 2025, Trigg was named one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, given annually to the nation’s top tight end. He posted 50 catches for 694 yards and six TDs, setting new school single-season standards for catches and yards. Overall in his NCAA career, Trigg had 108 catches for 1,419 yards and 14 TDs.
Williams, a native of Advance, N.C., continued to re-write a deep Baylor punting record book with another strong season in 2025. A junior and the 2025 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, Williams punted 27 times for 1,267 yards, with a Big 12-leading 46.92 yards per punt, the second-best total in school history behind average of 49.30 last season. Williams helped Baylor lead in the NCAA in net punting (45.0) as just 12 of his punts were returned for a total of 32 yards. He had a total of 11 punts downed inside the 20 and seven were fair caught, with 11 going at least 50 yards. His 39 career punts is the seventh-best in program history.
