BYU earns 19 All-Independent selections

PROVO, Utah – BYU football's Tanner Mangum earned all-freshman honorable mention and All-Independent First Team honors as one of 19 players named to Phil Steele's 2015 Postseason All-Independent Team.

Mangum, the Touchdown Club of Columbus Freshman of the Year, received Campus InsidersFreshman All-American honorable mention for his play this past season. He led the Cougar offense to a 9-4 record, throwing for 3,377 yards, 23 touchdowns and a 136.0 efficiency rating while completing 59.9 percent of his passes.

Mangum also headlined 19 Cougars honored with All-Independent honors by Phil Steele. Along with Mangum, offensive first-team selections included running back Algernon Brown, wide receiver Mitch Mathews and center Tejan Koroma.

Brown led the team with 13 total touchdowns (11 rush, 2 receiving), 709 rushing yards and 127 carries to go along with 13 receptions for 71 yards. Mathews' 737 receiving yards and 11 touchdown catches led a nucleus of receivers that had five players who each had more than 450 yards. Koroma and Mathews' selections to the first team are their second All-Independent honors. Koroma was also named to five freshman All-American teams in 2014.

Defensive end Bronson Kaufusi, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive backs Kai Nacua and Michael Wadsworth were named to the All-Independent First Team. It is the second first-team honors for Kaufusi.

Kaufusi led the defense to rank No. 1 in blocks with eight and No. 8 in team sacks per game with 3.08 and 40 total for the most by BYU team in the history of official NCAA defensive statistics. He recorded 64 total tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, one interception, two pass breakups, six hurries, one fumble recovery, three forced fumbles and a national-leading four blocked kicks. 

Warner, the sophomore outside backer, had 67 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two interceptions and tied for No. 2 in the nation with four fumble recoveries. Nacua was No. 6 in the country with six interceptions to go along with 66 total tackles, one tackle for loss, six pass breakups, two hurries and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Wadsworth stepped up for the Cougars, leading the team with 79 total tackles, including 51 solo stops in addition to 2.5 tackles for loss and double-digit tackle totals in five games in 2015.

Second-team offensive honorees include receivers Devon Blackmon, Nick Kurtz and Terenn Houk along with offensive linemen Ryker Mathews and Brad Wilcox. Linebackers Harvey Langi and Sae Tautu along with defensive lineman Logan Taele and cornerback Micah Hannemann earned defensive honors on the second team. 

Punter Jonny Linehan earned special teams honors on the first team, and kicker Trevor Samson was named to the second team. Linehan averaged 42.7 yards per punt with a long of 77 while landing 20 kicks inside the 20-yard line and 10 punts of 50 or more yards. 

View Phil Steele's 2015 Postseason All-Independent Team