Rhett Armstrong will trade one Bear for another when he begins his college career.

The Palmer Ridge senior kicker will head to Waco, Texas, next season where he’ll kick for Baylor in the Big 12 Conference.

This comes after Armstrong originally committed to play for Air Force but flipped his commitment to Baylor in late July.

“I re-evaluated that decision and switched over to Baylor and feel like this will be a cool opportunity,” Armstrong said. “It was a tough decision and it wasn’t anything against the coaches. Coach (Brett) Skene was one of my favorite coaches I talked to during the recruiting process. … I let them know this wasn’t their fault.”

Armstrong chose Baylor over Tennessee and said the Bears felt like “the right fit.”

“I have a lot of family ties to Texas and my brother’s out there,” Armstrong said. “Faith values run very strong at Baylor and that meant a lot to me while I was choosing a school. Baylor just felt like my fit more so than Tennessee. It felt more like home.”

Baylor finished 3-9 in 2023 and closed the year on a five-game skid. Baylor’s Isaiah Hankins, the Bears current kicker, ended his redshirt sophomore season 18-for-25 on field goals (72%) and went 21-for-23 on extra-point attempts.

Hankins also had three touchbacks on 20 kickoff attempts last year.

For Armstrong, last season at Palmer Ridge, he finished 5-for-6 on field goals during the Bears’ 12-1 state runners-up finish.

For his career, Armstrong is 180-for-187 on extra-point attempts and since his sophomore year, the Baylor commit is 123-for-125.

Armstrong finished his junior year 69-for-70 on extra points and connected on 69 consecutive PAT attempts.

That streak ended in Palmer Ridge’s final contest.

“That miss came on a block in the championship game and that was tough,” Armstrong said. “We’ve made some changes to our protection on PATs and we’re working with the unit to make sure we get kicks off as much as possible. I’m feeling great about it and I don’t think there will be any issues with the operation this year.”

Rhett Armstrong will trade one Bear for another when he begins his college career.

The Palmer Ridge senior kicker will head to Waco, Texas, next season where he’ll kick for Baylor in the Big 12 Conference.

This comes after Armstrong originally committed to play for Air Force but flipped his commitment to Baylor in late July.

“I re-evaluated that decision and switched over to Baylor and feel like this will be a cool opportunity,” Armstrong said. “It was a tough decision and it wasn’t anything against the coaches. Coach (Brett) Skene was one of my favorite coaches I talked to during the recruiting process. … I let them know this wasn’t their fault.”

Armstrong chose Baylor over Tennessee and said the Bears felt like “the right fit.”

“I have a lot of family ties to Texas and my brother’s out there,” Armstrong said. “Faith values run very strong at Baylor and that meant a lot to me while I was choosing a school. Baylor just felt like my fit more so than Tennessee. It felt more like home.”

Baylor finished 3-9 in 2023 and closed the year on a five-game skid. Baylor’s Isaiah Hankins, the Bears current kicker, ended his redshirt sophomore season 18-for-25 on field goals (72%) and went 21-for-23 on extra-point attempts.

Hankins also had three touchbacks on 20 kickoff attempts last year.

For Armstrong, last season at Palmer Ridge, he finished 5-for-6 on field goals during the Bears’ 12-1 state runners-up finish.

For his career, Armstrong is 180-for-187 on extra-point attempts and since his sophomore year, the Baylor commit is 123-for-125.

Armstrong finished his junior year 69-for-70 on extra points and connected on 69 consecutive PAT attempts.

That streak ended in Palmer Ridge’s final contest.

“That miss came on a block in the championship game and that was tough,” Armstrong said. “We’ve made some changes to our protection on PATs and we’re working with the unit to make sure we get kicks off as much as possible. I’m feeling great about it and I don’t think there will be any issues with the operation this year.”