December 9, 1998

LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior punter Joe Kristosik has been named to his fourth All-American team this season, becoming the first consensus first-team honoree in school history.

Kristosik was named First-Team All-America by the American Football Coaches Association and will be part of the nationally televised presentation of the team live from Disney World's MGM Studios in Orlando on ESPN2 Thursday, Dec. 10 (5-7 p.m. PST). The Las Vegas native also was previously named to first teams by Walter Camp, Football News and the Football Writers Association of America.

Kristosik led the nation in punting this fall with an average of 46.2 yards per kick coming on a school-record 76 attempts while UNLV led the nation in net punting as a team with a an average of 41.4.

The AFCA has selected an All-American team since 1945. Previous Rebels selected to the team were punter Randall Cunningham (1983), defensive lineman Joe Ingersoll (1975) and running back Mike Thomas (1974 & 75).

Of the Rebels' eight previous All-Americans, only Randall Cunningham (AFCA & Kodak) was a first-team selection by more than one organization.

Also, Kristosik has been named as one of five finalists for the 1998 Mosi Tatupu Award, the Maui Quarterback Club announced. The winner of the Tatupu, which will be announced later this week, also earns an automatic invitation to this season's Hula Bowl. The award, which began last season, honors college football's top special teams player.

1998 MOSI TATUPU AWARD FINALISTSPlayer              Pos     SchoolTim Curry       DB      Air ForceMartin Gramatica    PK      Kansas StateJoe Kristosik           P       UNLVAron Langley        P       WyomingChris McAllister    DB/KR           Arizona

1998 AFCA BURGER KING COACHES' ALL-AMERICA TEAMOFFENSEPos Player      SchoolWR  Troy Edwards    Louisiana TechWR  Torry Holt  North Carolina StateTE  Rufus French    MississippiOL  Matt Stinchcomb GeorgiaOL  Aaron Gibson    WisconsinC   Todd McClure    Louisiana StateOL  Jon Jansen  MichiganOL  Anthony Cesario Colorado StateQB  Cade McNown UCLARB  Ricky Williams  TexasRB  Mike Cloud  Boston College
DEFENSEPos Player              School DL  Jared DeVries           IowaDL  Montae Reagor           Texas TechDL  Corey Moore         Virginia TechDL  Tom Burke           WisconsinLB  Dat Nguyen          Texas A&MLB  Al Wilson           TennesseeLB  Adalius Thomas          Southern MississippiLB  Chris Claiborne         Southern CaliforniaDB  Antoine Winfield        Ohio StateDB  Champ Bailey            GeorgiaDB  Chris McAlister         Arizona
SPECIALISTSP   Joe Kristosik           UNLVPK  Martin Gramatica    Kansas StateRS  Kevin Johnson           Syracuse