LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV football program saw a program-record eight of its players earn spots on the 2024 Academic All‐District® Football Team, which was announced Tuesday.
 
Selected by College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), the list recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. To be eligible, players must hold at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and have played in 90 percent of their team's games last season.
 
Junior offensive lineman Anton Ambuehl (AM-bule) started all 14 games at left guard last fall and the Santa Monica, CA, native makes his debut on this list after posting a 3.60 grade point average in finance.
 
Senior tight end Kaleo Ballungay (kah-LAY-oh BAL-in-guy) earned a spot on the team for the third straight year with a 3.61 GPA in management as a graduate student. The Tracy, CA, native ranked third on the team with a career-high 17 receptions for 152 yards and was second on the squad with six touchdown catches.
 
Sophomore offensive lineman Austin Boyd (Lehi, UT) appeared in every game this season and boasts a 3.72 GPA while majoring in business.
 
Graduate student Jalen Catalon (Mansfield, TX) grabbed five interceptions en route to earning AP All-American honors as a safety while maintaining a 3.52 in sociology.
 
Senior wide receiver Jacob De Jesus (Manteca, CA) became the first Rebel return man to earn First Team All-Mountain West more than once, taking it this time as a punt returner. The LA Bowl Offensive MVP holds a cumulative GPA of 3.63 in marketing.
 
Another repeat honoree is senior defensive lineman Tatuo Martinson with a 3.67 in sociology. The graduate student out of Loomis, CA, started 11 games up front and finished with 24 total tackles, including 1.5 sacks.
 
Senior All-America wide receiver and graduate student Ricky White III makes his second straight appearance on the list as he earned a 3.58 GPA in human services. White (Marietta, GA) was named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year after leading the nation with four blocked punts. Offensively he became the first Rebel in history to have more than one 1,000-yard receiving season with 1,041 on 79 catches, including 11 touchdowns.
 
Senior linebacker Jackson Woodard (Little Rock, AK) is also a back-to-back CSC honoree after becoming the first Academic All-American in Rebel football history last time around. The 2024 MW Defensive Player of the Year and LA Bowl Defensive MVP is the program's most decorated player ever, including becoming UNLV's first finalist for the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy, widely known as the "academic Heisman." He ranked fourth in the nation with 135 total tackles, which is the third-most in UNLV single-season history while the graduate student boasted a GPA of 3.81 in kinesiology.  
 
Catalon, White and Woodard have all advanced to become finalists and are part of the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First- and second-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced Jan. 28.
 
UNLV 2024 College Sports Communicators All-District Football Team Members
 POS  PLAYER                      SCHOOL YR     GPA     MAJOR
OL     Anton Ambuehl            UNLV        Jr.     3.60      Finance
TE     Kaleo Ballungay           UNLV        Sr.      3.61      Graduate Student
OL     Austin Boyd                 UNLV        So.    3.72      Business  
DB    Jalen Catalon               UNLV        Sr.      3.52      Graduate Student
WR    Jacob De Jesus           UNLV        Sr.      3.63      Marketing 
DL     Tatuo Martinson           UNLV        Sr.      3.67      Graduate Student
WR    Ricky White III              UNLV        Sr.     3.58      Graduate Student            
LB     Jackson Woodard         UNLV        Sr.     3.81      Graduate Student