UCF football pass-rusher Malachi Lawrence named to All-Big 12 1st team
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ORLANDO — Malachi Lawrence wrapped a five-year UCF career with All-Big 12 accolades.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pound redshirt senior was one of five defensive lineman selected Thursday, Dec. 4, to the conference’s first team. He joins RJ Harvey, Javon Baker and Tre’Mon Morris-Brash as the Knights‘ lone All-Big 12 first-teamers since the program joined the league in 2023.
Lawrence — a native of Louisville, Kentucky — recorded a career-high 11 tackles for loss, seven sacks and an 89.9 pass-rush grade courtesy of Pro Football Focus. He had back-to-back, multi-sack performances against West Virginia and Baylor.
In 39 games for the Knights, including 22 starts, Lawrence had 72 tackles, 28 TFLs, 20 sacks, three forced fumbles and five pass breakups.
A pair of impact transfers cracked the All-Big 12 third team: kicker Noe Ruelas and linebacker Cole Kozlowski.
Ruelas — a redshirt senior from West Hartford, Connecticut — became the first kicker in UCF history to make three field goals of at least 50 yards in a single season. He made 15 of 17 attempts overall and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award.
Kozlowski — a senior from Spring Lake, New Jersey — finished second on the team with 82 tackles, adding 7½ TFLs, two sacks, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.
UCF had eight All-Big 12 honorable mentions: cornerback Jayden Bellamy, linebacker Lewis Carter, safety Phillip Dunnam, defensive tackle RJ Jackson Jr., edge rusher Nyjalik Kelly, kick returner Jaden Nixon, wide receiver Duane Thomas Jr. and tight end Dylan Wade.
All-Big 12 Conference first team
- QB: Noah Fifita, Arizona
- RB: Raleek Brown, Arizona State
- RB: LJ Martin, BYU
- WR: Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State
- WR: Josh Cameron, Baylor
- WR: Amare Thomas, Houston
- WR: Eric McAlister, TCU
- FLEX: Michael Trigg, Baylor
- FLEX: Tanner Koziol, Houston
- OL: Omar Aigbedion, Baylor
- OL: Bruce Mitchell, BYU
- OL: Sam Hecht, Kansas State
- OL: Spencer Fano, Utah
- OL: Caleb Lomu, Utah
- DL: Malachi Lawrence, UCF
- DL: David Bailey, Texas Tech
- DL: Romello Height, Texas Tech
- DL: Lee Hunter, Texas Tech
- DL: John Hunter Daley, Utah
- LB: Jack Kelly, BYU
- LB: Jake Golday, Cincinnati
- LB: Kaleb Elarms-Orr, TCU
- LB: Jacob Rodriguez, Texas Tech
- DB: Dalton Johnson, Arizona
- DB: Treydan Stukes, Arizona
- DB: Tanner Wall, BYU
- DB: Keith Abney II, Arizona State
- DB: Brice Pollock, Texas Tech
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 11 UCF Knights football players named to All-Big 12 teams
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