BYU excels as Big 12 announces football awards.

With the regular season concluded, the focus now shifts to the Big 12 Conference title game in Arlington this Saturday, where the BYU Cougars will face off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Alongside the anticipation for the championship clash, the conference has revealed its annual awards and All-Big 12 selections.

BYU, boasting an 11-1 overall record and 8-1 in Big 12 play, received widespread recognition across multiple categories.

All-Big 12 Teams

Four BYU players earned First Team All-Big 12 honors. On offense, running back LJ Martin and center Bruce Mitchell were selected. Defensively, linebacker Jack Kelly and safety Tanner Wall secured First Team spots.

The Second Team featured two more Cougars. Parker Kingston was named in two roles, as receiver and returner, highlighted by his punt return touchdown against UCFone of only three such scores in the conference this season. Kicker Will Ferrin also made Second Team after a slight drop in performance compared to his First Team campaign last year, though he remains one of the Big 12's most reliable kickers.

Conference Individual Awards

Kalani Sitake, the BYU head coach, earned the Big 12 Coach of the Year award. Recently extended, Sitake guided BYU to 22 wins over the past two seasons, the most in the conference, solidifying his status as the highest-paid head coach in the Big 12. The conference recognized him by stating, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake was voted the Chuck Neinas Big 12 Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to an 11-1 record and a Big 12 Football Championship appearance. Since the beginning of the 2024 season, BYU has posted an overall record of 22-3. It marks the fourth-best record in FBS over the last two seasons.

Freshman quarterback Bear Bachmeier earned Offensive Freshman of the Year. At just 19, he started every game, led the team to 11 wins, and ranks fifth in the conference in passing yards while topping all Big 12 quarterbacks with 11 rushing touchdowns. The Big 12 commented, After becoming the first true freshman to start at quarterback in BYU history, Bear Bachmeier led the Cougars to an 11-1 record and a berth in Saturdays Edward Jones Big 12 Football Championship. The Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year is the only FBS player this season with at least 2,500 passing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns with four or fewer interceptions.

Running back LJ Martin received the Offensive Player of the Year Award. Martin ranks 12th nationally with 1,229 rushing yards and led the Big 12 by nearly 100 yards over any other player. His standout performance came in BYUs 26-14 victory over Cincinnati, rushing 32 times for 222 yards. The Big 12 noted, LJ Martin was selected as Offensive Player of the Year after a decorated season in the backfield. He is on pace to become just the third Cougar in the last 30 years to finish in the top 10 nationally in rushing yards.

Author: Natalie Monroe