Baylor’s Williams Named Big 12 Defensive Player of Week - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

IRVING, Texas – Baylor junior cornerback Joe Williams was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, two days after the football team knocked off No. 1 Kansas State, 52-24. Williams, who was honored for the first time in his career, was selected by a media panel.

A St. Louis, Mo., native, Williams recorded a team-high 11 tackles – nine of which were solo – and intercepted two passes to help Baylor to its first-ever win over a No. 1 ranked opponent. He became the first Baylor player with two interceptions in a game since Sam Holl and K.J. Morton each picked off two passes against Texas on Dec. 3, 2011.

Williams' first interception came just outside the red zone at the Baylor 21-yard line, ending a Kansas State drive that could have tied the game early in the second quarter. He also picked off a pass in the end zone late in the third quarter, becoming the first player to record two interceptions against Kansas State this season.

Holl also picked off a pass, giving the Baylor defense three interceptions in the game, and equaling the number of interceptions thrown by Kansas State through its first 10 games of the season.

Williams is the Bears' first Big 12 weekly award winner of the season, and he's Baylor's first Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honoree since linebacker Elliot Coffey won the award on Nov. 14 last season, two days after Baylor's overtime win at Kansas. The Bears have now had at least one Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honoree in each of the last nine seasons. Williams joins Dwain Crawford (2006) as the only Baylor cornerbacks to win the award.

Baylor returns to action when it faces Texas Tech in the Texas Farm Bureau Insurance Shootout at Cowboys Stadium at 1:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The Bears need one more win to clinch bowl eligibility, and, if awarded a bowl bid, would play in a bowl game for the third consecutive season for the first time in program history. Tickets to the Shootout can be purchased by calling the Baylor Athletic Ticket Office at 254-710-1000 or online at www.BaylorBears.com/tickets.