Austin Rehkow (born March 17, 1995) is an

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

punter who is a free agent. He played college football 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 Cha ...

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. It is the state's land-grant and primary research university,, and the lead university in the Idaho Space Grant Consortium. The Universit ...

Early years

Rehkow was raised in

Veradale, Washington Veradale—originally known as Vera—is a locale and former census-designated place (CDP) in Spokane County, Washington, United States. The population was 9,387 at the 2000 census. Veradale retains its own post office. History Veradale was named ...

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. It is located east of Spokane, west of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and surrounds the city of Millwood on three sides. The city incorporated as ...

. He also played soccer before switching to American football. In 2012, Rehkow set the record for the longest field goal ever kicked in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, measuring 67 yards, just one shy of the national high school record set in 1986 by

Dirk Borgognone Dirk Borgognone (born January 9, 1968) is a former National Football League placekicker who currently holds the record for the longest field goal ever kicked in the history of high school football, 68 yards. High school career Borgognone attende ...

. 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 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 contract at present but who is a ...

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 ...

, 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 a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2008 after playing college football for the University of Montana. He has also played for ...

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

Salt Lake Stallions

In 2018, Rehkow joined the

Salt Lake Stallions The Salt Lake Stallions were a professional American football franchise based in Salt Lake City, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which began play in February 2019. The Stallions were the northernmost team i ...

of the Alliance of American Football as a punter. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Houston Roughnecks

In October 2019, Rehkow was selected by the

Houston Roughnecks The Houston Roughnecks are a professional American football team based in Houston, Texas. The team is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL founded by Vince McMahon's Alpha Entertainment and plays its home games at TDECU Stadium. History ...

in the

2020 XFL Draft The 2020 XFL Draft was the inaugural player selection process to fill the rosters of the eight teams of the 2020 reboot of the XFL. The draft was held on October 15–16, 2019, via conference call, with results released through the XFL's social ...

'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' 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.

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 Players of American football from Spokane, Washington Salt Lake Stallions players Houston Roughnecks players