Dec. 12, 2008
2008 CollegeFootballNews.com All-Freshman Team
University of New Mexico kicker James Aho and offensive tackle Byron Bell were named to the 2008 CollegeFootballNews.com All-Freshman team this morning. Aho, a true freshman walk-on, earned second team honors, while redshirt freshman Bell was an honorable mention selection.
Aho set a Lobo freshman record with 18 field goals on 24 attempts in 2008, ranking third in the Mountain West Conference and tied for 17th nationally with an average of 1.5 conversions per game. He was 11-12 in the second half and a perfect 5-5 in the fourth quarter.
The Rosewell, N.M. product officially joined the team in the spring of ’08 after missing the cut in his first tryout attempt in the fall of 2007.
He opened his debut season with seven straight field goals, including a school and conference record tying 5-5 performance in New Mexico’s upset win over previously undefeated Arizona. Four of his field goals against the Wildcats were 40 yards or longer – also a school record – and his 18 points scored were a MWC record.
A two-time MWC Special Teams Player of the Week honoree, he finished his rookie season with four multiple field goal games and tied running back Rodney Ferguson with a team-high 78 points scored this fall.
Aho is the first Lobo kicker to earn freshman All-America honors.
Bell, meanwhile, was the first UNM freshman to start at offensive tackle (all 12 games) since 1994 and improved throughout the season. He finished with 93 knockdown blocks and recorded 10 or more in three games to help power the nation’s 16th-ranked rushing offense.
The Greenville, Texas product played his most polished football over the final six weeks, recording 78% and above performance grades in each game, including 80% and above four times. He allowed just three sacks all year in 289 pass attempts with just one in the final month of the season.
Bell joins offensive guards Claude Terrell (2001) and Robert Turner (2003) as the third member of the UNM offensive line group, known as The Hitmen, to earn freshman All-America honors over the past eight years.