Multiple San Diego State football players honored with All–Mountain West First Team selections
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Senior cornerback Chris Johnson not only snagged the Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year Award, but he is one of six San Diego State players who made first-team all-conference on Tuesday.
The all-conference awards are voted on by the league's 12 head coaches and various media members from the league.
Johnson joins sophomore linebacker Owen Chambliss and junior edge rusher Trey White on the defensive team, while junior running back Lucky Sutton and senior offensive lineman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli made the all-conference team on offense. Sophomore Jordan Napier was named first-team punt returner. Napier also made the second team as a wide receiver.
Senior offensive lineman Christian Jones, senior kicker Gabe Plascencia and junior punter Hunter Green earned second-team accolades. San Diego State’s 10 overall first or second-team selections were also the most in the league, two ahead of Boise State’s eight.
Here is a look at the first-team performers:
Who is Chris Johnson?
Johnson completed one of the best regular seasons defensively in program history. He had 49 tackles, including 36 solo, four interceptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns, nine pass breakups, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries.
His 97-yard interception return for a touchdown highlighted SDSU’s 34-0 upset win against California on Sept. 20 and he added a 45-yard pick-6 in a 44-10 win at Nevada on Oct. 11.
He is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in the country and an Associated Press Midseason First-Team All-American.
Who is Trey White?
White made his second straight all-MW first team after registering 49 tackles, a team-high 10 ½ tackles for loss, a team-high-tying seven sacks and a team-best 16 quarterback hurries. He was the MW preseason defensive player of the year, and a member of both the Bednarik Award (most outstanding defensive player) and Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year) watch lists.
Who is Owen Chambliss?
Chambliss led the Aztecs with 106 tackles, 39 more than the next-closest player; 61 solo tackles; and 45 assisted stops. He has 9.5 tackles of loss, four sacks, five pass breakups, five quarterback hurries, an interception and a fumble recovery.
Who is Lucky Sutton?
The San Diego native had a breakout season with 1,237 yards and 10 touchdowns on 239 carries, an average of 5.2 yards, in his first year as a starter. He has six 100-yard games, while gaining at least 75 yards in 11 of 12 games.
Sutton became the 20th SDSU player with a 1,000-yard season (it’s been done 28 times overall) and is ranked 16th in SDSU single-season history with a bowl game still left to play.
Who is Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli?
Ulugalu-Maseuli led an offensive line that helped spring the league’s leading rusher, Sutton, along with other running backs that combined to rush for a combined 2,003 yards and 14 touchdowns on 379 attempts, an average of 5.3 yards, while losing only 31 yards overall.
Who is Jordan Napier?
Napier joins Jordan Byrd in 2022 as the only SDSU punt returners to make an all-MW first team in the 27-year history of the league. Napier also became just the second San Diego State wide receiver (also Tyrell Shavers in 2022 - second team) to make an all-MW first or second team since Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson were second-team picks in 2010.
Despite suffering a season-ending injury early in the Boise State game on Nov. 15, Napier finished with 48 catches for 629 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 40 rushing yards and a touchdown, returned 22 punts for 193 yards (an average of 8.8 yards), including a 75-yard touchdown return in a 44-10 win at Nevada.
He was a midseason addition to the Biletnikoff Award for the top wide receiver in the country and a preseason member of the Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player).
What’s next
San Diego State (9-3, 6-2 MW) finished in a four-way tie for first place in the conference and was knocked out of the championship game by computer metrics. UNLV will play Boise State for the title on Friday. SDSU must wait until Sunday to find out its bowl destination.
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-bd678ba4dbad4f453246f539ee56a3b4.jpg "Bernie Wilson")
Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.