SDSU'S RASHAAD PENNY NAMED THE MW SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Penny wins seventh weekly MW accolade this season

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

November 20, 2017 (San Diego) - San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny (Norwalk, Calif.) has been named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week for his play against Nevada in a 42-23 Aztec win on Saturday night, the league announced Monday.

Penny, who earlier this season became the first player in MW history to be named a player of the week in four consecutive weeks, now has nine MW player-of-the-week awards for his career, including seven this year (five offensive and two special teams). Penny’s nine career MW weekly accolades are the most in Aztec history.

Penny, who yesterday was named the Walter Camp National FBS Offensive Player of the Week for the second time of the season, amassed 429 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns against the Wolf Pack, rushing 24 times for 222 yards (9.2 avg.) and two touchdowns, catching a 6-yard pass, returning two kicks for 131 yards, including a 100-yard touchdown, and returning a 70-yard punt for another score.

The 429 all-purpose yards are tied for the ninth most in a game in NCAA FBS history and broke Marshall Faulk’s school record of 422 vs. Pacific on Sept. 14, 1991. The Norwalk, Calif., native became just the second FBS player since at least 1996 with a rushing touchdown, kick return touchdown and punt return touchdown in the same game (also Missouri’s Marcus Murphy vs. Florida on Oct. 18, 2014) and the only player since 1996 with two rushing touchdowns, one kick return touchdown and one punt return touchdown.

Penny’s kick return touchdown was the seventh of his career, tying Clemson’s C.J. Spiller (2006-09) and Houston’s Tyron Carrier (2008-11) for the most in NCAA FBS history. His 100-yard KR score was also the fourth of his career, one shy of tying an NCAA FBS record.

A semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award (nation’s most outstanding player), Maxwell Award (college player of the year) and the Doak Walker Award (nation’s premier running back), Penny became the first Aztec in program history with at least 200 yards rushing in three consecutive games and the first by an NCAA FBS player since LSU’s Leonard Fournette in 205. His three straight games with at least 200 rushing yards is tied for the fifth-longest streak since at least 1996.

Penny’s 70-yard punt return was the first time he had been back in punt return formation. He is just the second player in FBS this season with a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, kick return touchdown and punt return touchdown (also TCU’s KaVontae Turpin), while his four touchdowns were a career high and are tied for the seventh most in a FBS game this year.

Penny, a two-time MW Special Teams Player of the Year (2015-16), broke 100 rushing yards for the ninth time this year (T-3^rd in SDSU single-season history) and 14^th time of his career (T-4^th in SDSU history), and eclipsed 200 yard rushing for the fourth time this year (T-1^st in SDSU single-season history with Donnel Pumphrey (2016) and Marshall Faulk (2012)) and fifth time of his career (3^rd in SDSU history).

On the season, Penny leads all NCAA FBS players in rushing yards (1,824), all-purpose yards (2,462) and all-purpose yards per game (223.82), second in total touchdowns (22), tied for second in points per game (12.0), tied for third in rushing touchdowns (17), tied for fourth in kick return touchdowns (2), seventh in kick return average (30.4), eighth in rushing yards per carry (7.21) and tied for 10^th in punt return touchdowns (1).

The Aztecs (9-2, 5-2 MW) play host to their final regular-season game at 12:30 p.m. PT Friday against New Mexico (3-8, 1-6 MW).