PROVO — BYU center James Empey was named to the 2018 Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-America Team on Monday.
Empey, an American Fork native, started all 13 games for the Cougars and was ranked by Pro Football Focus as the No. 1 freshman center in 2018.
Empey is BYU’s 16th freshman All-American. Teammate Thomas Shoaf, also an offensive lineman, earned freshman All-America honors in 2016.
Empey’s predecessor as the Cougars’ center, Tejan Koroma, was also named a freshman All-American by the FWAA in 2014. Koroma was a four-year starter at BYU and currently plays for the Kansas City Chiefs.