BYU Roundup: Rehkow makes preseason watch list for Ray Guy Award

BYU punter Ryan Rehkow punts the ball during the game against Liberty at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2022.
AUGUSTA, Georgia — The Augusta Sports Council announced on Wednesday that BYU punter Ryan Rehkow has been named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Ray Guy Award, which honors the nation’s top collegiate punter.
Rehkow, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior from Veradale, Washington, has now been named to the Ray Guy Award watch list for the third consecutive year. He was recently selected to the 2023 Phil Steele Preseason All-Big 12 Second Team after finishing the 2022 season with a punting average at 46.2.
At the conclusion of the last season, Rehkow was named to the 2022 Associated Press All-Bowl Team and the College Football Network All-Independent First Team. The previous year he was selected the 2021 Pro Football Network Independent Punter of the Year and was also named to the PFN All-Independent First Team as well as the Phil Steele All-Independent First Team. Rehkow was a Ray’s 8 honoree in week five of the 2021 season for his performance at Utah State.
As a finance major with a 3.74 GPA, Rehkow was named CSC Academic All-District in 2023 and was selected CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 First Team in 2022.
The 2023 Ray Guy Award preseason watch list includes 50 candidates selected from the 2022 Ray Guy Award Semifinalist List, the top-10 NCAA Punters from 2022, the 2022 All-Conference teams, the 2022 All-American teams, the 2023 pre-season All-Conference teams and eligible punters on the 2022 watchlist.
The Augusta Sports Council created the Ray Guy Award in 2000 to honor Thomson, Georgia, native and College and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Ray Guy. Among the statistics used to identify the winner is net punting average, number of times punt is downed or kicked out of bounds inside the opponents 20-yard line, total yardage punted, average returned yardage and percentage of punts not returned with particular emphasis placed on net punting average. The winner must display team leadership, self-discipline and have a positive impact on the team’s success.
In mid-November, the Ray Guy Award committee will meet to select the 10 semifinalists who will be announced on Nov. 10. A national body of Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) sports information directors, media representatives and previous Ray Guy Award winners will then vote for the top three finalists to be announced on Nov. 22. After the finalists are named, the voting body will cast ballots again to select the nation’s top punter.
The 2023 Ray Guy Award winner will be announced live during The Home Depot College Football Awards airing on ESPN in December 2023.
Lucas signs with British Basketball League
The Bristol Flyers have completed their 2023-24 roster with the addition of former BYU point guard Te’Jon Lucas, the club reported on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old has signed his first professional contract with the Flyers and joins the team on a one-year deal.
“It’s definitely a dream come true” Lucas said. “It’s always been the goal to play basketball professionally. I’m very excited to get down to Bristol and get my career started. Just from talking to Coach (Andreas Kapoulas), you can tell he’s very straightforward on what he wants. He’s very team and family oriented and it seems like we have the same vision on what we’re looking for. I’ve done a bit of research into the team and have watched a lot of film from last year and saw that the team finished third. I feel like I can help the team take another step forward and prove a lot of people wrong once again.”
Lucas played his first two collegiate seasons at Illinois (2016-18) and then played to the University of Milwaukee. He joined the BYU program as a grad transfer for the 2021-22 season. Lucas started 34 games, averaging 10.4 points and 4.7 assists per game for the Cougars. His 160 total assists tied for ninth in the BYU record books for a single season.
“I’m the type of player who likes to make players around me better and be the head of the snake on the defensive end,” Lucas said. “I want to do whatever it takes to win and help this club reach its first ever championship. My message to the Flyers fans is to get your tickets early, because it’s going to be a great season. We’re going to play hard and do our best to bring home as many wins as possible