Sawyer Robertson: Faith, Leadership and Teamwork

Show Notes

Sawyer Robertson has become one of the nation’s top quarterbacks, but there’s far more to his story than the highlights on the field. Robertson analyzes his journey to the starting quarterback position at Baylor, highlights meaningful moments with his teammates and classmates and discusses what it means to have a national platform to share his faith through football.

The conversation highlights:

• How competitiveness and calmness define Robertson’s presence on the field.
• Insights into how spiritual growth and Bible study with teammates have shaped his journey.
• The moments with teammates that mean the most to him.
• A marketing major with a 3.73 GPA, Sawyer discusses his experience in Baylor’s S3 program and the professors who’ve impacted him.
• Why serving others is a priority and how it’s helped him connect with people from all walks of life.
• Sawyer’s favorite Baylor traditions, including FM72 and Christmas on Fifth, and his love for supporting other sports on campus.

As Sawyer prepares for the second half of the season and reflects on his time at Baylor, he shares what it means to represent the university and how he hopes to carry these experiences forward.

Transcript

Derek Smith:

We're here with the quarterback today, Sawyer Robertson off to an outstanding 2025 season. As we visit, he leads the nation in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing yards per game, but his story is much bigger than that and we're excited to have him here with us today on Baylor Connections. And Sawyer, great to have you with us. Appreciate you taking the time in a game week.

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me.

Derek Smith:

Well, a lot of exciting things going on for the football team, for you. The team's got some big wins under their belt and coming off the bye week, now an opportunity to really build a strong second half of the season. There's a lot of places that you get to talk about that. We want to get to know you a little better, as we said here, as a teammate, as a student here at Baylor. But people know you for football, so let's just start right there.

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah.

Derek Smith:

If we were in the huddle with you, if we're in the huddle, we're on the sideline, what would we see? Maybe what would your teammates say? Who would they say you are in the huddle and in the locker room?

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, probably a combination of things. I think it starts with competitiveness. I've always been a competitive person, whether it's on the football field, in the locker room, ping-pong table. I have a dart board at my house. Just everything. Everything is driven by competitiveness. I think that stems from my older brother. I'm the younger sibling, obviously. He's 18 months older than me. Basically like twins. And so everything we did, we competed in, and it's just so many great memories there. But that kind of carried with me throughout the course of my life. And so that would probably be the first thing that my teammates would say, is just a competitive person.

And then after that, hopefully on the sidelines and stuff, just there's a level of calmness and poise as well, just as a quarterback, leadership position, all this stuff. There's so much havoc and chaos it seems like that happens on the sidelines, just in the football game, people hitting each other, there's a lot of pain, everything. And so hopefully when people look at me, it calms them down a little bit and we get back to that level mindset where it's like, "Okay, we can go out there and execute the game plan because we have this guy." So, hopefully those are the things.

Derek Smith:

Does being a competitive little brother mean you always had to give a little extra growing up?

Sawyer Robertson:

Absolutely. He grew before I did. He was smarter than I was. Everything. He was just advanced. And so I had to get my competitive edge somewhere, and so whether that was trying harder, maybe bending the rules a little bit in whatever game we were playing. But I did whatever I could to win and to beat my older brother.

Derek Smith:

As quarterback, you're in a position where all eyes are on you, and whether it's fair or not there tends to be a lot of analysis of, "Well, did the quarterback win or did the quarterback lose?" But you're a teammate, it's a team game. And I'm curious, what kind of teammate do you strive to be? Not just the quarterback, but as one of the guys?

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, I think that's one of the common misconceptions with football. I think it's the best team support ever. I think there are so many statistics around the quarterback position just because you can have them, whether it's completion percentage or yards or touchdowns, whatever it is. But I was saying this earlier, if the offensive line and the quarterback execute everything perfectly, which never happens anyway, but if they executed everything perfectly and the receiver doesn't catch the ball, there's no praise and "Oh wow, he's so good." It'd be criticism. And so, just having a complete team and a group of guys, there's a cohesiveness that we all play for each other, we celebrate with each other, just having that, that's where we see the success. And so hopefully it's nothing more than that, my teammates don't see me as anything more than that, just one of the teammates, one of the guys that's trying to do their 111th every single play in order to have success on the field as a team.

Derek Smith:

As a team, or as an individual, has there been a favorite moment for you in the first six weeks of the season so far?

Sawyer Robertson:

I think the SMU game was fun to win just because it was the first win of the season, and so that would probably be mine as a team, just being able to get out of Dallas with a win. They're a ranked team. I think it was the first ranked win we've had in quite some time, a few years. And so that one would be my favorite team one. And then I think Trigg's catch against Kansas State, the one-handed catch, was really cool for me to see, just from my point of view. Being able to throw him the ball and see the way he caught it was really cool. So those two.

Derek Smith:

It's got to be a great throw for a one-handed catch? You got to-

Sawyer Robertson:

I'm not going to take any credit for that, because that was all him.

Derek Smith:

Yeah, that SMU game, you guys are down 14 points, going to that with under 10 minutes to go, find a way to win. Very impressive, I think showed some fortitude from the guys for sure. Is it in the end zone? Is it elsewhere, when you think of your favorite moments with your teammates? I picture y'all celebrating after that SMU game, but there's a lot of places we don't see you. Where are your favorite places to be with your teammates?

Sawyer Robertson:

I would say probably the most favorite is in the locker room after a win. You're celebrating the week of preparation and hard work. You go out and execute, you get the results you want, and then you celebrate with all the guys that you love after the game. So that's probably number one. The end zones are always fun, the dances, all that stuff's great. And then in the off season, that time you get when all the students are gone, really, the coaches are gone too, recruiting or whatever. And it's just really the strength coaches and you and your teammates, whether it's at the facility or you're going to the movies or going bowling, or you're at somebody's house playing video games. Those are some awesome memories and ones that you don't forget as a part of a team. But number one would probably be in the locker room after a win, and then all those other ones kind of feed into that as well.

Derek Smith:

Seems like y'all have a great culture, great chemistry as a group.

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And it goes to what I was saying, everything earlier, if you have a guys that do their 111th every single play on the offensive side and the defensive side of the ball, that's where teams have the most success. And so it starts with the culture. You have to have that. And we have a really, really close locker room, and so it's fun to be a part of.

Derek Smith:

I want to ask you a little bit about your path to being QB1 here at Baylor. I think in a lot of ways, you look at your resume and all the signs that you see for being elite quarterback are there, record-setting high school career, you were a four-star recruit. Now here you are leading the nation in several key passing categories. And yet, it seems like your path to that was anything but direct. You had to wait a little bit. So I'm curious, take us inside that. And what has it meant to you to have to wait for your time to come? How has that shaped you?

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, I think it's been great. When I was going through all of the stuff, it was kind of like I was feeling sorry for myself. I was like, "Why can't I just be successful?" All the things. But now looking back on it, I'm so thankful that that stuff happened, because if I had all the success that I wanted that I had planned for my life at 18 years old as a freshman, I don't think I'd be the type of person, the type of human being that I am right now. And so I think in a weird way, those failures, the adversity, all the things that I went through, just humbled me and molded me in a way that I needed.

Because I think it was a way that God was just saying, "Hey, you're not ready yet for what this stage is and for all these things." And so basically I was just molded into getting ready. And so I'm super thankful for all of the adversity, everything that I went through, because I think it molded me into who I am. And now that I'm in this stage, I'm able to just live in who I am and be comfortable in knowing that.

Derek Smith:

Well, you touched on the spiritual aspect. It seems like so many stories in the Bible are indicative of it's God's timing and not our own timing. How real does that feel to you?

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. It's funny you say that. In our Bible study, we're going through Joseph right now. And Joseph, obviously sold by his brothers, went through all this stuff and ended up being second in command over Egypt. If God had told him, "Hey, this is where you're going to end up," anybody would sign up for that. It'd be like, "Yeah, of course. Let me do that. But it's like, if God had shown him all the stuff that he would have to go through in order to get there, it'd be like, "Oooh." Maybe he'd be a little more hesitant. And so I think in a weird way, all the stuff that happens to us, like I said, the trials, the tribulations, I think that's God's way of just molding us into the person that He wants us to be.

Derek Smith:

You mentioned Bible study. Is that team-led, player-led? What's that look like?

Sawyer Robertson:

Player-led. Yeah, so we started a few years ago, no coaches in there. We do it Tuesday nights and we just basically... We pick a topic that we're going to discuss. Michael Allen is the one who take it all... He's the one who organizes the whole thing, basically. And then we watch our video and we split off into small groups. Small groups are about five to six people. And we talk about the video. We get a good group every single week. We get about 30 guys, maybe 40 guys that show up. And it's grown since we first started it. So just being a part of that has been something really, really cool, and it's going to be something that I look back on 20 years from now and be like, "Man, that's cool that we got to do that in college."

Derek Smith:

That's amazing. Yeah. I look and I think, Sawyer, we see things. You've been able to share your faith in different ways in interviews. Remember that moment in the Texas Bowl last year, when Whit Weeks went down with an injury and you were able just to be there in the moment and pray for him. And I'm curious, you've got a platform that most students don't have, what does it mean to you to use that platform to amplify your faith, to lift Christ high, and to really show people a different side of sports at this level?

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, I think it's the whole reason for why I believe I'm doing what I'm doing. I think God's just using me as a vessel in order to do that on the stage that I'm doing it on. And so with the LSU player and the Bowl game, obviously it wasn't like a thought-out thing. And I had actually done it a couple times before that throughout the course of the season, it's just that's the one that got the photo taken and that's the one that got captured. But if that was me, I would want somebody else to do that for me, or if that was my son, I would want somebody to do that for my son.

So there wasn't a whole lot of thinking in that moment, it was more just reactionary. And that was kind of the first thing that I went to. Probably because of how Baylor has shaped me and like I said, just how everything I've learned throughout the years in my lifetime and how I was raised, that was kind of the first thing I thought of to do. And so just being able to do that on this stage is truly a blessing, and I think at the end of the day, that's why I do what I do.

Derek Smith:

Well, it feels like a great fit for you here at Baylor, and it sounds like it is for you as well, being a part of that. I want to ask you about being a student as well. You're a student athlete. There's two sides of the coin. We see you out there on the field on Saturdays or the occasional Friday, but you got some good stats there as well. A 3.73 GPA. That's very impressive. A marketing major in the Hankamer School of Business. So, favorite class at Hankamer? Do you have a favorite class?

Sawyer Robertson:

I did the S3 program with Dr. Wakefield, and it was awesome because I think a lot of it is perfect for me. I want to be around sports, don't necessarily want to be a coach whenever I'm done playing. And so that job was great because it's kind of the business side of sports. And so both of my S3 classes that I took were just fantastic because I got to learn about basically the business side of sports, the naming rights, the sponsorships, the ticket sales, all of that. And so I just really, really enjoyed those classes, and then also got some hands-on experience with it as well.

Derek Smith:

You mentioned Dr. Wakefield, I'm sure he... Have there been him or other professors you feel like have really taken the time to invest in the student side of you?

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, it's pretty incredible just how different professors are here, whether it's praying before a class or before a test, just things like that, where it's just real personable. You don't just feel like another student in any of the classes. But yeah, Dr. Wakefield was a great one, and then I've just had so many. Honestly, too many more to name, but he's definitely one that stands out.

Derek Smith:

I would imagine that you keep pretty busy just focusing on the things you have to focus on, but are there aspects of the business of sport that you find maybe you don't have to think about it for class, but you want to think about it? Or you notice maybe a team is doing this sales or marketing-wise. Do you ever notice things like that?

Sawyer Robertson:

Here and there. After being in the class, you're just more aware of it. Especially with all the logos on jerseys now and all of that stuff, you're just like, "Okay, well, there was a business deal that had to happen in order for that to even be a thing." Whereas before, all the sponsorships, everything, that wasn't on the jersey. It might've been on the stadium, all that stuff. But it's cool to see that side of it.

Derek Smith:

Yeah, you kind of see the game behind the game-

Sawyer Robertson:

Right, exactly. Yeah.

Derek Smith:

... on the business side now for sure. Also, obviously you are very busy, whether it's playing, being a student, even doing things like this, taking the time to do these interviews, service is a big part of what you do as well. Why is that important to you, and how do you find the time to, I guess navigate all of that and blend all that together?

Sawyer Robertson:

Right. Yeah, I think one, it's super important just being able to serve, whether it's in the community. Honestly, I think the best part of that is just getting to meet new people and hear different stories about where people come from. Not every story is like your own, and so just being open and aware of that has been really eye-opening for me and really cool for me. Whether it's a team activity and we're going out and serving, or just through the Bible study too. We go out and we make little packs of food and things and go around, give them to the homeless, whatnot, all that stuff. And so I think it's huge just because it's cool to meet new people like that, and then just being able to find the time to do that. It's not a thing. You make the time. It's like anything else. It's not like, "Hey, man, I'm just so busy. I don't have a whole lot of options to do this." It's like, you're going to prioritize it, and so you make the time to do something because you feel like it's necessary.

Derek Smith:

Very cool. Other sports at Baylor. Obviously, you're pretty busy this time of year, but are there other sports at Baylor you like to attend or cheer on when you find the time?

Sawyer Robertson:

Absolutely. I went to quite a few home basketball games last year, had a blast. Those are awesome. And then I love going to the ballpark and watching a baseball game. And so I went to literally I think every home baseball game last year. Didn't necessarily stay the whole time, but at some point. I went for either the back half of the game or the beginning of the game, just because I think it was a nice little escape from my world of football. And so just getting to go and watch those guys play, it is really fun for me. It's kind of like a breath of fresh air. And so, yeah, I love supporting all the other sports and it's just really cool to see other student athletes have success in their own respect.

Derek Smith:

Now, I know you've played baseball in high school, your dad played professionally. Do you ever see the guys out there and think, "I wouldn't mind trying to hit that curveball" or-

Sawyer Robertson:

I do, man. I do. I really do. I miss it. I think it's a great sport. Loved it. Loved playing it. I thought it was fun. Really, everything about it is just great. I think it's good too, because it's a sport of failure. You're a Hall of Famer if you're successful three times out of 10. You're one of the best in the league at what you do. And so I think just those life lessons that you can learn from it are great. And I know that's kind of how my dad was. My dad raised me. Obviously he played, he got drafted, played baseball. And so I do, I love getting to go and watch. But obviously God had a different plan for me and we're living that out.

Derek Smith:

Yeah, we're glad you're playing quarterback here at Baylor, for sure. Campus traditions. Are there any you enjoy? Are there any aspects of just campus life away from athletics completely that are your favorites?

Sawyer Robertson:

Yeah, absolutely. I think Baylor does a great job with all of that stuff. I think the two that stick out are probably, I would say FM 72 is really cool, and then my other favorite one is Christmas on Fifth. There've been two. I've gone both years to that. I'm going to go to the one this year too. And I think it's just fun to get you in the holiday spirit and whatnot. Baylor does a great job with all of those things, and so I'm looking forward to going to another one this year.

Derek Smith:

What, do you go over there, check out the living nativity, the camels or anything?

Sawyer Robertson:

I do. I sure do. The camels are great. The camels are fantastic. And then the massive Christmas tree that they light up, it's all great. I love it.

Derek Smith:

That's great. Big Christmas guy. And FM 72, a great annual prayer service here at Baylor, for those who aren't aware. Really a fantastic annual event here on campus. Well, Sawyer, as we wind down here on the program, bringing it all back together here for you, representing Baylor, representing this Baylor football program, what means the most to you about that, and what aspects of that do you think will really stay with you when your time here is done?

Sawyer Robertson:

I think what means the most is just like, there's going to be a day that's coming soon, within the next six months, where I'm not the Baylor quarterback anymore, and so just being able to sit back and say like, "Wow, that was something cool that I got to experience and something that I'm going to get to tell my kids one day," has been awesome. I think there might be a lot of pressure that might come with that if you look at it from that lens, but at the end of the day, I just feel like being yourself every day, being myself every day, that's all that I can ask for.

And just being genuine, knowing who I am, knowing my foundations and my faith, all of that has made it... It's relieved all that pressure. Like I said, if you're the quarterback of a university, it comes with some weight. But I think when you have that mindset, it relieves a lot of that pressure. And so that's just how I've been living the past two years being in that position. But it's going to be fun one day to look back, and actually take a step back and look at all the things I got to do and just how much fun I had.

Derek Smith:

Well, some great moments to come, right?

Sawyer Robertson:

Absolutely.

Derek Smith:

We've got six more weeks in the regular season.

Sawyer Robertson:

Absolutely.

Derek Smith:

And then what's ahead, excited to see what you and this team can accomplish together. And really appreciate you taking the time to join us. Really proud of what you and your teammates are doing on and off the field.

Sawyer Robertson:

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Derek Smith:

Great to have you here. QB1, Sawyer Robertson, our guest today on Baylor Connections. A reminder, you can hear these and other programs online at Baylor.edu/connections, and you can subscribe to the program on iTunes. And of course, got more home games upcoming here for Baylor football. The next is Homecoming November 1st. Come on out to McLane Stadium and cheer on Sawyer and his teammates. That's going to be a lot of fun. I'm Derek Smith. Thanks so much for joining us here on Baylor Connections.