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BYU football: James Empey named freshman All-American; Dallin Holker mission-bound; Isaiah Armstrong transferring

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.