BYU, UC, ISU and OU capture Big 12 Football Week 1 Awards Cincinnati’s Emory Jones (offensive and newcomer), Iowa State’s Jeremiah Cooper (defensive), BYU’s Ryan Rehkow (co-special teams) and Oklahoma’s Gavin Freeman (cospecial teams) picked up the first Big 12 football weekly awards of the season.
Jones led all Big 12 players with seven total touchdowns, which is three more than any other player. He set a Cincinnati record for single-game TD responsibility and passed or ran for a score on UC’s first six possessions in a 66-13 win over Eastern Kentucky. By halftime, the senior QB had passed for his second career 300-yard game and four TDs. He finished the game with 371 yards of total offense (345 passing and 26 rushing). Cooper grabbed his first two career interceptions in Iowa State’s 30-9 win over Northern Iowa. The sophomore returned the first pick for 58 yards and ISU’s first interception return touchdown since 2021. His second interception came just before the half and was returned 30 yards, setting up a 56-yard field goal on the next play as time expired. Cooper is tied for the league lead in interceptions and leads the Conference in return yards (88). He is the first ISU defender with two interceptions in a game since 2018. He also had four tackles, including 0.5 for a loss.
Rehkow punted nine times for an average of 53.2 yards in BYU’s 14-0 win over Sam Houston. Seven of the junior’s kicks were 50-plus yards with two traveling 65 and 64 yards. He also had four punts downed inside the 20-yard line and flipped the field on Sam Houston several times.
Sophomore wide receiver Freeman returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown to give Oklahoma a 14-0 lead in an eventual 73-0 win over Arkansas State. He became just the fourth Sooner to score a TD on his first career punt return. It was OU’s first PR for a score since 2016 and its longest since 2013. It also represents one of just three punt return TDs nationally this season and is the longest. Freeman also returned another punt eight yards and caught four passes for 19 yards, including a seven-yarder for his first career receiving touchdown. This marks the second straight season Freeman scored a touchdown on his first touch of the year.
