Three Cougars honored as Freshman All-American by College Football News

CHICAGO — College Football News named its annual Freshman All-America Teams today which included BYU offensive right tackle Kingsley Suamataia, wide receiver Kody Epps and safety Micah Harper. 

Suamataia was named Freshman All-American Second Team Offense, while Epps and Harper were named Freshman All-American Honorable Mention. 

A transfer from Oregon, Suamataia started 11 games at right tackle for the Cougars as a redshirt freshman in 2022. The 6-6, 325-pound lineman from Orem, Utah, was also selected by CFN as a Mid-Season Freshman All-American. He played a key role on an offensive line that helped amass 5,286 yards of total offense, including 3,199 yards passing and 2,087 yards rushing. 

Epps also played a key role in the offense before suffering a season-ending injury, missing the final four games. Epps still finished No. 3 in receiving yards with 459 yards and in second in receiving touchdowns with six. The 5-11, 185-pound redshirt freshman from Los Angeles was also selected by CFN as a Mid-Season Freshman All-American. He finished the season No. 3 overall in receiving touchdowns among all independent FBS teams.

Harper, from Chander, Arizona, played in all 12 games for BYU with eight starts in the defensive secondary. The 5-10, 185-pound redshirt freshman was No. 19 overall in total tackles with 58 among all independent FBS teams. Harper led BYU in unassisted tackles with 33 and forced fumbles with two. Harper, who redshirted in 2021 due to an injury, was also No. 3 on the team in total tackles during the regular 2022 season.

Since Kalani Sitake took over as head coach of the Cougars in 2016, BYU has had at least one player named freshman All-American each season, including Thomas Shoaf (1016), Matt Bushman (2017), James Empey (2018), Payton Wilgar (2019), Isaac Rex (2020), Campbell Barrington (2021), Suamataia, Epps and Harper (2022).