SDSU FOOTBALL: FIVE AZTECS TO PLAY IN SENIOR BOWL GAMES

Source: goaztecs.com

Photo: running back Donnel Pumphrey (left) and cornerback Damontae Kazee (right) will each play in the Reese's Senior Bowl.  Courtesy goaztecs.com

January 18, 2017 (San Diego) - Five San Diego State football players are scheduled to play in senior bowl games over the next two weekends. Running back Donnel Pumphrey (Las Vegas), offensive guard Nico Siragusa (Chula Vista, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic HS) and cornerback Damontae Kazee (San Bernardino, Calif.) will play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Jan. 28, while linebacker Calvin Munson (St. Charles, Mo.) - East-West Shrine Bowl - and tight end Daniel Brunskill (Valley Center, Calif.) - NFLPA Collegiate Bowl - will each play in bowls this Saturday.

Munson kicks things off for the former Aztecs when he will compete in the East-West Shrine Bowl this Saturday (Jan. 21) at 3 p.m. ET (noon PT) on the NFL Network in St. Petersburg, Fla. Munson will play on the West Team, which is coached by current Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards.

Munson led SDSU with 116 tackles on the season, 43 more than the next player. He also had a team-high 17 quarterback hurries, 11 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, three pass breakups and a 12-yard interception. Munson finished his career ranked sixth at San Diego State in tackles (301) and ninth in sacks (18.0). He was a three-time all-Mountain West pick, including a first-team selection each of the past two seasons.

Brunskill, who has moved back to tight end after playing right tackle for the Aztecs last year, will play for Team American at the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif., this Saturday (Jan. 21) at 1:45 p.m. PT on FS1. Former NFL head coach Jim Zorn will lead the Team American squad.

Brunskill, who played in 54 games over his career, tied with Pumphrey and Siragusa for the most in school history, earned second-team all-MW accolades at right tackle this year after being an honorable mention pick as a tight end in 2015. He had 15 catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns in his three seasons at tight end (2013-15) and was named the team’s offensive player of the year in 2016.

Pumphrey, Siragusa and Kazee, meanwhile, will each represent the South Team at the Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 28. The game is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. CT (11:30 a.m. PT) and will be broadcast on the NFL Network. The trio will be coached by current Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson (former Aztec and current Chicago Bear head coach John Fox will coach the North Team).

Pumphrey rushed 349 times for 2,133 yards (6.1 avg.) (10^th in NCAA FBS single-season history) with 17 touchdowns on the season, while adding a team-high-tying 27 catches for 231 yards. A Doak Walker finalist, two-time MW Offensive Player of the Year (2015-16) and three-time first-team all-MW selection (2014-16), Pumphrey set an NCAA FBS record with 6,405 rushing yards over his career. He also finished fifth in NCAA FBS history in all-purpose yards (7,515), tied for eighth in overall touchdowns (67) and ninth in rushing touchdowns (62).

Siragusa helped SDSU set program records in rushing yards (3,680), rushing touchdowns (34), rushing yards per carry (5.8), points (493) and field goals (21). He was a two-time first-team all-MW selection (2015-16).

Kazee finished his final year with 65 tackles (45 solo), seven interceptions for 156 yards, eight pass breakups, three tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry en route to being named the MW Defensive Player of the Year for a second straight season. Kazee, a three-time all-MW selection over his career (first team in 2015-16, second team in 2014), finished with a school-record 17 interceptions, 30 pass breakups (sixth at SDSU) and 214 interception yards (seventh at SDSU).

San Diego State captured its second straight Mountain West title with a 27-24 win over Wyoming on Dec. 3 in Laramie, Wyoming and downed UH, 34-10, in the Las Vegas Bowl for its second consecutive bowl win. The Aztecs (11-3) tied a program record with 11 victories and finished the season ranked 25^th in both the AP Top 25 poll and Amway Coaches Poll.