Phil Steele All-American, All-Big 12 Honors for Baylor FB

Ika with Phil Steele honor
Photo credit: LM Otero – Associated Press

A few weeks after Baylor Football star freshman RB Richard Reese was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and several other athletes received conference honors (read my whole post on the Big 12’s 2022 postseason awards here), the accolades continued to roll in from other lists! Dave Campbell’s Texas Football released their state of Texas honors at the beginning of December where Reese was again named Offensive Freshman of the Year in the entire state as he easily notched a program record for most rushing yards in a single season by a freshman with 190 carries for 962 yards and 14 TDs—downing former RB Shock Linwood’s record of 881 yards—with one more game left to play. College Football News also named Reese a Freshman All-American around the same time. The 2022 postseason All-Texas Awards by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football highlighted 6th-year OL Jacob Gall as the Best Offensive Lineman in the state and a First Team pick along with 5th-year OL Connor Galvin. Junior DL Siaki Ika and 5th-year TE Ben Sims were named Second Team selections. Ika totaled 24 tackles with 2 for a loss of 4 yards, 2 pass breakups, and 5 QB hurries this season. Sims had 31 catches for 255 yards and 3 TDs and 1 carry for 1 TD. The Associated Press picked 5 Baylor athletes for their All-Big 12 selections shortly after Dave Campbell’s announcement. Galvin and Ika were named to the AP All-Big 12 First Team and 5th-year LB Dillon Doyle, 6th-year OL Grant Miller, and senior S Al Walcott were Second Team picks. According to Baylor Athletics’ Jerry Hill (papa), “Doyle became the first player in program and league history to be named all-conference at an offensive and defensive position in 2022” as he listed a tied team-leading 80 tackles, 2 interceptions returned 11 yards, 2 pass break ups, and 3 QB hurries; 6 carries for 11 yards; and 2 catches for 4 yards and 1 TD. Walcott tied Doyle with a team-leading 80 tackles with 10 for a loss of 35 yards, 2 sacks for a loss of 20 yards, 3 forced fumbles, 1 interception returned 4 yards, and 4 pass break ups. Most recently, Ika was named a third-team All-American by Phil Steele to lead the Bears in that awards list. Ika also earned a first-team All-Big 12 pick by Steele joining Galvin. Steele picked Gall, Miller, and Doyle as second-team selections; Reese and 6th-year WR Gavin Holmes (22 catches for 470 yards and 3 TDs; 4 kick returns for 76 yards; and 10 punt returns for 133 yards and 1 TD) to the third-team; and sophomore WR Monaray Baldwin (33 catches for 565 yards and 4 TDs; 7 carries for 71 yards and 1 TD), junior LB Matt Jones (55 tackles with 4 for a loss of 28 yards, 2.5 sacks for a loss of 23 yards, 2 QB hurries, and 4 pass break ups), and Walcott to the fourth-team.

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