Daniel Bellinger Season 2021

Final Bio

HONORS
* 2020 Honorable Mention All-Mountain West
* 2022 NFF Hampshire Honor Society
* Three-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2018-20)
* Four-time Mountain West Fall All-Academic Team (2018-22)

Tall, lanky tight end who runs great routes ... Played more as the season wore on in 2018 as a true freshman and was routinely used in big packages ... Then had productive 2019 and 2020 campaigns.

SEASON SEASON (2021)
Was named a team captain, voted on by his teammates ... Was named to the Mackey Award Watch List for the outstanding collegiate tight end for the second straight season ... Also was on the Reese’s Senior Bowl Watch List ... Was named a preseason fourth-team all-Mountain West selection by Phil Steele Magazine ... Was listed as “SDSU’s third-best offensive player” by College Football News ... Sarted and played in 13 of the team’s 14 games ... Had 31 receptions for 357 yards (11.5 avg.) with two touchdowns ... Also had a long catch of 73 yards, which was the ninth longest in the country this year by a tight end ... Among the tight ends in the Mountain West, he ranked fourth in receptions (31) and receiving yards (357), and tied for sixth in touchdowns (2) ... Also had a 2-yard rush ... Also had an assisted tackle ... Started for the 18th straight game in the opener with New Mexico State on Sept. 4, making a 10-yard catch ... Played in 58 of the team’s 63 offensive snaps ... Started again at Arizona on Sept. 11, making three catches for a career-high 113 yards and a touchdown ... Became the first Aztec tight end to break 100 receiving yards since Gavin Escobar had 108 vs. UNLV on Oct. 27, 2012 ... Had the most receiving yards by an Aztec tight end since Escobar had 117 against North Dakota on Sept. 15, 2012 ... Became the 87th different Aztec to record a 100-yard receiving game ... Had a career-long 73-yard catch, which was the longest by an Aztec tight end since at least the 1996 season ... The 73-yard reception was the longest by an Aztec since Ryan Agnew connected on a 74-yarder to Jesse Matthews in the 2019 New Mexico Bowl ... An impressive 101 of his 113 receiving yards were after the catch ... Ended up playing 57 of the team’s 73 snaps ... Along with Jordon Brookshire was named the team’s offensive player of the game ... Made a 15-yard catch in a start against Utah on Sept. 18, playing 64 of the team’s 67 offensive snaps ... Played in 51 of the team’s 66 snaps against Towson in a start, but did not record a stat ... Caught two passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg.) with a long of 17 yards in a start against New Mexico on Oct. 9, playing in 53 of the 71 offensive snaps ... Joined Tyrell Shavers as SDSU’s offensive players of the game ... Tied a career high with five receptions for 34 yards (6.8 avg.) with a long of 15 yards in 61 offensive snaps in a start at San José State on Oct. 15 ... Had a catch (for zero yards) at Air Force on Oct. 23, playing 52 of the team’s 53 snaps ... Had three catches for 19 yards (6.3 avg.) with a long of nine yards in another start against?Fresno State on Oct. 30, playing 52 of the team’s 75 snaps ... Tied a career high with five receptions for 41 yards (8.2 avg.) in a start and 54 offensive snaps at Hawai’i on Nov. 6 ... For his efforts was named the team’s offensive player of the game ... Caught five passes for 26 yards and a touchdown vs. Nevada on Nov. 13 ... It was his second touchdown pass of the season and fifth of his career ... The 2-yard touchdown reception came on fourth-and-goal and put the Aztecs on the scoreboard ... The five catches tied a career high ... Played 41 snaps overall ... Started at UNLV on Nov. 19, but only played five statless snaps ... Had three catches for 61 yards (20.3 avg.) with a ong of 39 yards against Boise State on Nov. 26 in a start and 59 snaps ... Also had a 2-yard rush on a third-and-1 play, giving the Aztecs the first down ... Was chosen as one of SDSU’s offensive players of the game ... Did not play against Utah State in the Mountain West Championship on Dec. 4 ...?Caught two passes for 13 yards aganst UTSA in a start in the Frisco Bowl.

JUNIOR SEASON (2020)
Was named an honorable-mention all-Mountain West selection by the league’s coaches and media ... Also was a member of the Mackey Award Watch List for the outstanding collegiate tight end ... Was a preseason fourth-team all-Mountain West pick by both Athlon Sports and Phil Steele Magazine ... Started all eight games, making 21 catches for 203 yards (9.7 avg.) with a long of 21 yards ... Among tight ends in the Mountain West, ranked third in receptions (21) and fifth in receiving yards (203) ... Started for the 10th consecutive game against UNLV on Oct. 24, making a 4-yard grab ... Had two catches for 20 yards (10.0 avg.) with a long o 16 yards in a start at Utah State on Oct. 31 ... Had four catches for 49 yards (12.3 avg.) with a long of 21 yards in  a start at San José State on Nov. 6 ... Earned another start vs. Hawai’i on Nov. 14, but did not record a catch, which snapped an 11-game stretch of games with a catch ... Started at Nevada on Nov. 21 , making two catches for 18 yards (9.0 avg.) with a long of 12 yards ... Had a good game at Colorado in a 15th straight start on Nov. 28, making three catches for 38 yards (12.7 avg.) with a long of 17 yards ... Started again vs. Colorado State on Dec. 5, where he caught five passes for 53 yards (10.6 avg.) with a long of 15 yards ... The five receptions and 53 yards were each career bests, while the five catches led the team and were tied for the most in the game ... Caught four passes for 21 yards (5.3 avg.) in a start at No. 14/16 Brigham Young in the season finale.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2019)
Played in all 13 games on the season with 11 starts ... Had 15 catches for 201 yards (13.4 avg.) with three touchdowns ... Among tight ends, his three touchdown catches ranked in a tie for fourth in the Mountain West and a tie for 47th in FBS play ... Came off the bench to play 36 snaps against Weber State, hauling in a 12-yard catch ... The catch came on a third-and-6 situation, which led to SDSU’s second field goal and final points of the game ... Earned his first career start vs. UCLA, but did not find the stat sheet in 61 snaps at UCLA ... Started again at New Mexico State, hauling in a career-high two catches for a then career-best 16 yards in 50 snaps, including a 2-yard touchdown grab on third-and-goal to put SDSU on the scoreboard ... It was his first career touchdown ... Did not record a stat in 52 snaps off the bench vs. Utah State ... Made his third start of the season at Colorado State, logging 49 statless snaps ... Had two catches for 40 yards (20.0 avg.), including a 12-yard touchdown reception, vs. Wyoming ... Both catches were huge as the first - a 28-yarder - came on a third-and-6 situation ... The 28-yarder was a career-long catch ... Later in the drive, caught a 12-yard pass on Ryan Agnew scramble which ended up being the game-winning score with just 2:09 left in the game ... The 40 yards were a career high ... Started again at San José State, coming down with a 11-yard catch in 63 snaps ... Had a 20-yard grab in 55 snaps and a start at UNLV ... Made a 28-yard catch in 48 snaps and another start vs. Nevada ... The 28-yard catch tied a career long ... Had a busy game vs. Fresno State, making a career-high four catches for 29 yards in 63 snaps and a start ... Had a 9-yard catch in a start and 44 snaps at Hawai’i ... Had a 25-yard touchdown catch over 34 snaps and a start against Brigham Young ... It was his third touchdown of the season (and career) and was the only touchdown of the game ... Started and played 50 snaps vs. Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl, making an 11-yard catch and carrying once for (minus)-6 yards.

FRESHMAN (TRUE) SEASON (2018)
Was on the travel squad in three of the first four games of the season as a true freshman before playing in the final nine contests at tight end ... Had one catch for 10 yards ... Played 59 snaps on the season, including his first two against rv/No. 24 Boise State on Oct. 6 ... Played a career-high 31 snaps against Ohio in the DXL Frisco Bowl with Kahale Warring out with an injury, making his first career catch for 10 yards.

HIGH SCHOOL
Earned three letters at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas, Nev. ... Had a successful 2017 season, where he totaled 21 catches for 371 yards (17.7 avg.) and three touchdowns in nine games on offense, according to MaxPreps ... As a linebacker on defense, he finished with 131 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery ... His 131 tackles were the most on PVHS and 84 more tackles than No. 2 on the team ... Racked up numerous awards, including all-state first-team accolades at linebacker, a first-team all-league selection on both offense and defense, and an all-city honoree ... Also was his high school athlete of the year ... Was a two-star recruit at linebacker by Rivals and a two-star tight end by 247sports ... Rated as the 14th-best recruit in Nevada by 247sports ... Also starred in both basketball and track and field at Palo Verde HS, earning second-team all-league honors in basketball and making the regional finals in track and field in the 400 meters and 4x400-meter relay ... His 4x100 team placed third at the Nevada state championships ... Was a scholar-athlete.

PERSONAL
Daniel George Bellinger was born Sept. 22, 2000, in Las Vegas ... Son of Frank and Renee Bellinger ... Picked SDSU over other offers from California, Navy, UNLV and Weber State ... Is majoring in business administration with a focus in finance.

SINGLE-GAME BESTS
Receptions: 5, four times
Receiving Yards: 113 at Arizona (9/11/21)
Receiving Touchdowns: 1, five times
Long Reception: 73 at Arizona (9/11/21)
Carries: 1 vs. Boise State (11/26/21), vs. Central Michigan (12/21/19)
Rushing Yards: 2 vs. Boise State (11/26/21)
Tackles: 1, six times