Austin Rehkow (; born March 17, 1995) is an American former professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

punter. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Idaho Vandals football The Idaho Vandals are the college football team that represents the University of Idaho and plays its home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho is a member of the Big Sky Conference in the Football Cham ...

team at the

University of Idaho The University of Idaho (U of I, or UIdaho) is a public land-grant research university in Moscow, Idaho, United States. Established in 1889 and opened three years later, it was the state's sole university for 71 years, until 1963. The un ...

Early years

Rehkow was raised in Veradale, Washington and attended Central Valley High School in

Spokane Valley, Washington Spokane Valley is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, and the largest suburb of Spokane, Washington, Spokane. It is located east of Spokane, west of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and surrounds the city of Millwood, Washington, Millwood ...

. He also played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

before switching to American football. In 2012, Rehkow set the record for the longest

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

ever kicked in the state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, measuring 67 yards, just one shy of the national high school record set in 1986 by Dirk Borgognone. Kelly Imhoff made (62 yards) in 1929 and Larry Stovall-Moody (60 yards) in 1996 are the only 3 60 yards or more kicked in the state of Washington. It was one of three field goals of over 50 yards Rehkow kicked that year.

Professional career

Rehkow went

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the

2017 NFL draft The 2017 NFL draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

, with the league's scouting combine profile concluding he lacked the leg strength to be a full-time placekicker but had enough precision as a punter to have a future in the league.

Buffalo Bills

On May 5, 2017, Rehkow signed with the Buffalo Bills, who had released their previous placekickers Jordan Gay and

Dan Carpenter Daniel Roy Carpenter (born November 25, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after playing c ...

at the end of the 2016 season. He was waived on August 20, 2017, having lost the competition to Stephen Hauschka.

New York Giants

On January 1, 2018, Rehkow signed a reserve/future contract with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

as a punter. He was waived by the Giants on May 7, 2018.

Salt Lake Stallions

In 2018, Rehkow joined the Salt Lake Stallions of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

as a punter. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Houston Roughnecks

In October 2019, Rehkow was selected by the Houston Roughnecks in the 2020 XFL Draft's open phase. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

Indianapolis Colts

On December 23, 2020, Rehkow signed with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

' practice squad. On January 10, 2021, Rehkow signed a reserve/futures contract with the Colts. On April 28, 2021, Rehkow was waived by the Colts.

Personal life

Rehkow is the older brother of

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

punter, Ryan Rehkow. Austin and Ryan's youngest brother, Cameron Tyler Rehkow, had leukemia when he was 11-years-old. Rehkow is a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rehkow, Austin 1995 births Living people American football placekickers American football punters Buffalo Bills players Idaho Vandals football players Indianapolis Colts players New York Giants players People from Spokane Valley, Washington Sportspeople from Spokane County, Washington Players of American football from Spokane, Washington Salt Lake Stallions players Houston Roughnecks players