NORTHWEST NOTES July 8, 2016

Idaho punter/kicker Rehkow

on two preseason watch lists

Austin Rehkow kicks off, literally, his senior season as a member of the watch list for two collegiate kicking awards – the Ray Guy Award and the Lou Groza Award. As the Vandals’ kicker and punter, Rehkow has made a name for himself in both disciplines and is one of just two players who is on both watch lists.

“Austin is a tremendously dedicated and driven player,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “He has worked diligently to be the best at both positions – and he’s succeeding. Kicking and punting are very technical and Austin has been committed to breaking down every kick to see how he can improve each time he’s on the field.”

Rehkow, from Spokane’s Central Valley High, led the nation in punting average as a freshman in 2013. He was on the Ray Guy Award watch list that season and a first-team Walter Camp All-American as he set NCAA records for freshman punting average (47.8) and punting average for a player with 75 or more punts.

He was a Guy Award finalist as a sophomore and a second-team Walter Camp All-American as well as first-team all-Sun Belt conference. As a junior in 2015, he was watch listed by both the Guy and Groza awards and was a semifinalist for the Groza Award while earning all-Sun Belt honors for punting (first team) and kicking (second team).

He is one of 30 kickers on the Groza Award’s watch list and one of 27 punters on the Guy Award watch list. Austin Seibert, a sophomore from Oklahoma, is the only other player on both lists.