SDSU'S KAMERON KELLY NAMED BRONKO NAGURSKI NATIONAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kelly led staunch Aztec defense in 20-17 win over No. 19/19 Stanford

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

September 19, 2017 (San Diego) - San Diego State senior cornerback Kameron Kelly (Murphy, Texas) has been named the FWAA/Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week, the Football Writers Association of America announced Tuesday. Kelly is just the second Aztec to win the prestigious weekly award and first since Matt McCoy on Sept. 18, 2004.

It is the second straight week that a San Diego State player won a national weekly award after Rashaad Penny was chosen as the Walter Camp FBS National Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 10.

Kelly, who yesterday was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week, helped SDSU defeat No. 19/19 Stanford, 20-17, on Saturday night, by racking up six tackles (five solo) with a career-high two sacks, career-best two tackles for loss, his first career forced fumble and an interception.

Kelly’s two sacks were the first of his career (in his 36th game) as was the forced fumble, which was recovered by defensive tackle Damon Moore and stopped the Cardinal from driving in the waning moments of the second quarter. Kelly later had a shoe-string tackle on Stanford running back Bryce Love on a 47-yard run midway through the third quarter, keeping the Cardinal to a field goal. He added an interception on Stanford’s final drive, preserving the win for San Diego State as it went into victory formation.

Kelly and the Aztec defense forced Stanford to six 3 and outs, three turnovvers (the Cardinal had not turned the ball over in six straight games and had just two turnovers combined in its last eight games) as SDSU dominated the time of possession, 41:14-18:46. The 18:46 was the fewest time of possession for a Stanford team since at least 1996. 

On the season, Kelly ranks third on the team with 15 tackles, including 14 solo (tied for first on the team). He has also added three tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble. Kelly ranks in a tie for fourth in the MW in sacks per game (0.67), a tie for sixth in passes defended (PBU + INT) per game (1.00) and a tie for eighth in fumbles forced per game (0.33).