Austin Rehkow, Idaho's record-setting punter and kicker, is joined as a preseason all-conference selection by quarterback Matt Linehan and receiver Callen Hightower. Rehkow is a first-team choice of the Sun Belt Conference coaches at kicker and punter, while Linehan and Hightower earned second-team recognition.
 
Rehkow, a senior, has been garnering national attention since his senior year at Central Valley High School (Spokane, Wash.) when he kicked a 67-yard field goal. He since has rewritten Idaho's punting records and has been a mainstay on the Ray Guy Award (for the nation's best punter) since his freshman season. He was a Lou Groza Award (for the nation's best kicker) semifinalist as well last year. He is one of just two players in the country on the preseason watch list for both of those awards.
 
Linehan, a junior who played high school football at St. Mary's in Orchard Lake, Mich., was one of the league's and nation's top quarterbacks as a sophomore. He led the conference in completion percentage and was second in four – completions per game, total passing yards, passing yards per game and total offense, other statistical categories.
 
Hightower, from Loganville, Ga., burst onto the scene for the Vandals just a year ago and proved himself a speedy, athletic receiver with the ability to make the difficult catch. He had more than 100 yards receiving in three of the Vandals' final five games. He had a career-high of 161 yards at Auburn.
 
The Vandals open the 2016 season at home against Montana State at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 1, in the annual Tackle Cancer game.