Six members of the BYU football team have been named to the 2023 Phil Steele All-Big 12 Teams for offense, defense and special teams.

Leading the way for BYU was punter Ryan Rehkow who was named Big 12 Second Team and was also recognized by Phil Steele as All-American Honorable Mention. Four Cougars were named to the Big 12 Third Team, including defensive end Tyler Batty, cornerback Eddie Heckard, offensive tackle Kingsley Suamataia and linebacker Max Tooley, while long snapper Austin Riggs was named Fourth Team.

Rehkow was previously named Second Team All-American by ESPN and Honorable Mention All-American by College Football Network. He was also honored in the coaches’ voting as All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year Honorable Mention. A three-time Ray’s 8 weekly awardee from Ray Guy in 2023, Rehkow led the Big 12 in punting average at 48.4 yards per kick and was second nationally. He also led the conference in total kicks (68), yards (3,289), punts over 50 yards (31) and punts downed inside the 20 (25). Rehkow graduated with a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Batty was previously named Pro Football Focus Big 12 First Team and was also honored by the coaches as All-Big 12 Second Team, with honorable mention recognitions for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year. Batty, who was one of just 11 FBS players to be named to the All-State AFCA Good Works Team in 2023, collected 57 tackles (second in the Big 12 among defensive lineman), had 5.5 sacks and forced two fumbles over 12 games. Batty graduates in December with a degree in communications.

Heckard, who finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the Big 12 with five interceptions, was previously named a College Football Network Honorable Mention All-American and was honored by the coaches as All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and Defensive Newcomer of the Year Honorable Mention. He was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 23, after recovering a fumble for a touchdown and posting an interception in BYU’s 27-14 win over Texas Tech. In addition to five interceptions, Heckard forced three fumbles and had 11 passes defended. He graduated with bachelor’s degrees in professional sales and mechanical engineering.

Suamataia, who was ranked among the Top-30 Big 12 players entering the 2023 season by College Football News, was previously selected to the All-Big 12 Second Team Offensive Line. In addition to being named to the 2023 Outland Trophy watch list, the sophomore was a preseason All-Big 12 pick by College Football News, Athlon Sports and Phil Steele. Suamataia is a junior academically, majoring in global studies.

Tooley, who finished his BYU career with 311 tackles (14th most all-time), was previously named All-Big 12 Linebacker Honorable Mention by the league coaches. In 12 games, the senior led the Cougars with 92 tackles and was seventh in the Big 12. Tooley also led BYU in unassisted tackles (52) and tackles in a single game (16 vs. Cincinnati). He finished the season as the NCAA Active Career Leader in interceptions by a linebacker (7). Prior to the season, Tooley was named to the Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Fourth Team. Tooley graduated with a bachelor’s degree in global studies.

Riggs has been the Cougars long snapper for the past four seasons (2020-23). He recorded his first-career fumble recovery, setting up a BYU touchdown, in BYU’s 35-27 win over Cincinnati on Sept. 29. Riggs graduates in December with a degree in communications.

Football players tabbed for Academic All-District

Six BYU football student-athletes have been named 2023 Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators.

Representing the Cougars on the CSC Academic All-District Team were kicker Will Ferrin, wide receiver Talmage Gunther, defensive lineman Blake Mangelson, offensive lineman Connor Pay, punter Ryan Rehkow and quarterback Kedon Slovis. Gunther, Pay and Rehkow were repeat selections in 2023 having also been recognized as All-District last year.

The Academic All-District award recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. To be eligible for nomination, the student-athlete must be a starter or significant contributor and maintain a minimum 3.50 cumulative GPA.

Academic All-District honorees now advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot. All-Americans will be announced for the 2023 season in January.

Gunther is a 6-0, 195-pound wide receiver who exceled on special teams. The senior from Cedar Hills, Utah, has a 3.64 GPA in the finance program. He played in 49 of 51 games over the past four seasons (2020-23) and was named CSC Academic All-District in 2022.

Pay, from Highland, Utah, is a 6-6, 312-pound junior center who holds a 3.84 GPA in entrepreneurial management. He’s been a two-time candidate for the Rimington Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best center. Pay was named preseason All-Big 12 by Athlon Sports and Pro Football Focus in 2023. He was also named Midseason Honorable Mention All-Big 12 by College Football News. Over the past four seasons, Pay has played in 34 games for the Cougars with 24 starts. He was also named CSC Academic All-District in 2022.

Rehkow, a 6-6, 232-pound junior punter graduated with a degree in finance. He was a candidate for the Ray Guy Award the past three seasons and was recently honored as a 2023 Second Team All-American by ESPN and an Honorable Mention All-American by College Football Network. The Veradale, Washington, native started all 35 games for BYU over the past three seasons. In 2023, Rehkow led the Big 12 in punting average at 48.4 yards per kick and was second nationally. He also led the conference in total kicks, punts over 50 yards and punts downed inside the 20. He was named CSC Academic All-District in 2023 and CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 in 2022.

Ferrin, a 6-3, 175-pound kicker, has a GPA of 3.53 in business management at the nationally recognized BYU Marriott School. The sophomore transfer from Kaysville, Utah, made 11 of 14 field goals attempts in 2023, including 13 of 14 inside 50-yards. He also converted 32 of 33 point after attempts and led BYU in scoring with 65 points.

Mangelson from Nephi, Utah, has a 3.57 GPA in the family studies program. The 6-5, 260-pound junior defensive lineman played in 28 games for the Cougars over the past three seasons. He played in every game during the 2023 season with three starts in the final four games. Mangelson was second on the team in tackles among defensive linemen, with a career-high seven tackles at nationally ranked Texas.

Slovis from Scottsdale, Arizona, transferred to BYU for the 2023 season following four years as the starting quarterback at USC and Pitt. The 6-3, 215-pound senior started the first eight games of the year for the Cougars before an injury ended his season. Slovis was on the watch list for the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. In eight starts he completed 153 passes for 1,716 yards and 12 touchdowns. The graduate transfer is in Biology master’s degree program at BYU.

For more information about CSC Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.

BYU Athletic Media contributed to this report.

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