Three Cougars named All-America by The Athletic

BYU left tackle Brady Christensen, kicker Jake Oldroyd and tight end Isaac Rex have been named to All-America teams by The Athletic. 

Christensen was named to The Athletic Second Team at offensive tackle. The 6-foot-6 300-pound junior earned grades above 95.0 as both a pass-blocker and run-blocker throughout the regular 2020 season. He allowed just three pressures across 372 regular-season pass-blocking snaps and posted a 96.4 overall grade, which is on pace to break the PFF college record set by 2019 Outland Trophy winner Penei Sewell last season. 

Christensen protected the blindside of All-America quarterback Zac Wilson. Together they led a BYU offense that currently ranks No. 4 in scoring (43.5 ppg) and No. 7 in total offense (522.2 ypg). USA TODAY called Christensen, “the unsung star of the nation’s fourth-best offense in yards per play.” To date Christensen has been named to eight All-America teams including first-team All-American by The Associated Press, USA TODAY Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, Pro Football Focus and Bleacher Report as well as second team by the Sporting News and The Athletic. He is the first Cougar to earn multiple first-team All-America honors since 2009 consensus All-America tight end Dennis Pitta. 

Joining Christensen on The Athletic second team is Oldroyd, who is one of three finalists for the 2020 Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award presented by the Orange Bowl and was earlier named a third-team AP All-America. The 6-1, 195-pound sophomore, finished the regular season a perfect 13-for-13 on field goals, the most by an FBS kicker without a miss this season. More than half of those kicks came from at least 40 yards out, including three from over 50. That gives him more 50-yard field goals in a perfect season than any FBS kicker since 2004. 

Oldroyd made at least one field goal in nine of the 11 games he played, including four games with multiple conversions. He also converted 60 of 62 extra points to rank No. 4 nationally for the most PAT conversions, while his 99 total points in 2020 ranks No. 3 in the country among kickers. 

The Athletic also announced its Freshman All-America teams. BYU tight end Isaac Rex was named the second-team freshman tight end. 

The 6-6, 247-pound redshirt freshman played in all 12 games with eight starts for the Cougars. On the year, Rex had 37 receptions for 429 yards, good for 11.6 yards per catch. His 429 yards receiving is the most by a freshman tight end at BYU since All-American Matt Bushman had 520 yards in 2017.

Rex also led BYU in touchdown receptions with 12, which was tied for No. 3 in the nation. He caught touchdown passes in seven of BYU’s 12 games and had five games with multiple TD catches. Rex took over the starting tight end role when senior Bushman was lost for the season prior to the season opener.

Rex's award marks the fifth-straight year under BYU head coach Kalani Sitake that a Cougar has earned Freshman All-America honors. Last year linebacker Payton Wilgar was a PFF Freshman First Team selection, following center James Empey (2018), Bushman (2017) and offensive lineman Thomas Shoaf (2016) being named Freshman All-America the previous three seasons.

The Athletic 2020 All-America teams were selected based on nominations from staff reporters as well as national and team writers across the country. Overall, BYU has had five student-athletes named to All-America teams in 2020. Junior quarterback Zach Wilson and junior receiver Dax Milne join Christensen, Oldroyd and Rex in earning All-America accolades. Wilson and Milne garnered PFF second-team All-America honors.