Mims, Arnold earn weekly Big 12 honors
WACO, Texas – Senior wide receiver Denzel Mims was named Big 12 Co-Offensive Player of the Week, while junior safety/punt returner Grayland Arnold was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 2, it was announced by the Conference office Monday afternoon.
Mims tied his career high with three touchdown receptions in the Bears’ 63-14 victory over UTSA on Saturday afternoon. He opened up scoring for the Bears on the day with a 9-yd touchdown reception in the first quarter, then added a 30-yd touchdown reception in the second quarter and his third TD reception of the day was a 26-yd pass that he hauled in for the score in the second quarter. He finished with 101 receiving yards on seven receptions (averaging 14.4 yards per catch), his seventh-career 100 yard plus receiving performance.
Overall, Mims now has 19 career touchdowns, good for sole possession of ninth on the Baylor all-time TD list for receivers. He also ranks 13th with 132 career receptions and now has 2,052 receiving yards in his career, good for 10th best all-time at Baylor.
This is Mims’ first-career Player of the Week honor and the first Offensive Player of the Week selection for the Bears since Shock Linwood on Oct. 3, 2016. He received the honor as Co-Offensive Player of the Week with Texas’ Devin Duvernay.
Junior safety/punt returner Grayland Arnold ran back the first punt return for a touchdown for the Bears since Levi Norwood’s 58-yd punt return TD vs. Texas Tech on Nov. 16, 2013. On Saturday vs. UTSA, Arnold ran one back 73 yards for his first-career punt return touchdown, good for the ninth longest in Baylor history (tying Don Huggins’ 73-yd TD return vs. TCU in 1970) and the longest since Shaun Rochon’s 85-yd punt return touchdown vs. Samford in 2005.
The honor is the first of Arnold’s career and the first Special Teams Player of the Week honor for the Bears since Drew Galitz on Sept. 24, 2018.
The Bears have now had six different Big 12 weekly honorees under head coach Matt Rhule.
BU (2-0) is idle this week before heading to Rice on Saturday, Sept. 21 for a 6 p.m. CT kick on CBSSN.
BAYLOR'S 2019 BIG 12 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sept. 9 – Denzel Mims (Offense)
Sept. 9 – Grayland Arnold (Special Teams)
BAYLOR'S BIG 12 OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
2002 - Jonathan Golden, RB (Sept. 7)
2006 - Shawn Bell, QB (Oct. 23)
2007 - Blake Szymanski, QB (Sept. 10)
2008 - Robert Griffin III, QB (Sept. 15)
2009 - Nick Florence, QB (Nov. 9)
2010 - Robert Griffin III, QB (Oct. 24)
2011 - Robert Griffin III, QB (Sept. 6)
2011 - Robert Griffin III, QB (Nov. 21)
2011 - Terrance Ganaway, RB (Nov. 28)
2011 - Robert Griffin III, QB (Dec. 5)
2012 - Lache Seastrunk, RB (Dec. 3)
2013 - Lache Seastrunk, RB (Oct. 7)
2013 - Shock Linwood, RB (Nov. 11)
2013 - Bryce Petty, QB (Nov. 18)
2014 - Seth Russell, QB (Sept. 8)
2014 - Bryce Petty, QB (Oct. 13)
2014 - Corey Coleman, WR (Nov. 10)
2015 - Corey Coleman, WR (Sept. 14)
2015 - Seth Russell, QB (Oct. 19)
2015 - KD Cannon, WR (Nov. 23)
2016 - Seth Russell, QB (Sept. 26)
2016 - Shock Linwood, RB (Oct. 3)
2019 – Denzel Mims, WR (Sept. 9)
BAYLOR'S BIG 12 SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
2003 - Robert Quiroga, WR (Nov. 10)
2004 - Braelon Davis, CB (Sept. 27)
2004 - Willie Andrews, S (Nov. 1)
2005 - Ryan Havens, PK (Oct. 10)
2005 - Daniel Sepulveda, P (Nov. 21)
2006 - Daniel Sepulveda, P (Nov. 6)
2010 - Derek Epperson, P (Nov. 1)
2011 - Aaron Jones, PK (Sept. 6)
2014 - Terrell Burt, S (Oct. 6)
2017 – Connor Martin, PK (Sept. 25)
2018 – Drew Galitz, P (Sept. 24)
2019 – Grayland Arnold, PR (Sept. 9)