What Ryan Rehkow shared about being a missionary at NFL combine

Before he was a prolific punting force at BYU, Ryan Rehkow was a missionary in England.

The former Cougar specialist reflected on his mission experience for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during media interviews this week at the NFL Combine. Rehkow hopes to be drafted by one of the league’s 32 teams in April.

Rehkow was asked about his two years serving the church in London and how it affected his college career. The eastern Washington native replied that serving a mission “100 percent” helped him, according to an X post from BYU football.

“Two years of your life is very on a schedule and regimented, where coming out of high school you don’t have a lot of that,” Rehkow said. “High school is very much you just kind of do as you please, so making that transition from high school to college, (the mission) just instilled a good work ethic, definitely. It just helps you plan out and prioritize everything, and in college football that’s huge, especially now as I work towards getting to the next level.”

After committing to BYU in August 2016, Rehkow left to serve in England upon graduating from high school in 2017. He completed his mission in 2019 and joined the Cougars prior to the 2020 season.

Over four years at BYU, Rehkow punted 178 times for 8,341 yards, good for the third most in program history. He holds the school record for longest punt with an 83-yard blast against Arizona State in 2021.

Rehkow was a Second Team All-Big 12 selection in 2023 after averaging 48.3 yards on 68 punts. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound special teams weapon ranks second all-time among all FBS punters with a 47.4 yard career punting average.

ESPN’s Mel Kiper, Jr. currently ranks Rehkow as the third-best punter in the 2024 NFL draft class.