Dec. 4, 2007
SAN DIEGO - Three San Diego State senior football players, punter Michael Hughes (Moreno Valley, Calif.), quarterback Kevin O'Connell (Carlsbad, Calif.) and wide receiver Brett Swain (Carlsbad, Calif.), earned second team all-league honors for their performances during the 2007 season, the Mountain West Conference office announced Tuesday. Hughes was also a second team honoree as a sophomore in 2005, while it is the first such award for both O'Connell and Swain.
Hughes ended the regular season ranked 11th nationally and second in the league in punting average (44.2). He earned MWC special teams player-of-the-week honors twice in 2007, following the game at Air Force when he tied the school record with a 54.8 punt average, and after the Wyoming contest when he had 10 punts for 481 yards, including three of 50 or more yards. A two-time nominee for the Ray Guy Award, Hughes had 18 punts of 50 or more yards and dropped 15 inside the 20-yard line this year. He finished his Aztec career ranked second in attempts (231) and yardage (9,807) and fifth in average (42.0).
A four-year team captain, O'Connell is the first Aztec quarterback to be named first or second team all-conference since Dan McGwire was a first team pick in 1990, when SDSU played in the Western Athletic Conference. The first player to lead SDSU in both rushing and passing in the same season, O'Connell ranked first in the MWC in league outings in total offense per game (284.2) and was second in passing average (239.2 yards/g). Overall, he is 23rd nationally in total offense (289.2/g) and 28th in passing yards (255.2/g) in 2007.
For his career, O'Connell completed his eligibility as the school's all-time leader in career rushing yards (1,312) and touchdowns (19) by a quarterback. He ranks second in completions (664), attempts (1,151), total offense (9,001) and starts (33) and is third in career passing yards (7,689).
Swain was San Diego State's leading receiver each of the past two seasons. As a senior, he capped his stay on The Mesa with a career-best 58 receptions for 973 yards and five touchdowns. Swain is second in the Mountain West and 31st nationally in receiving yards per game (81.1), including a pair of 100-yard receiving efforts. He set career bests with 224 yards and three touchdowns on just six catches in the team's win over Portland State on Sept. 22.
Swain averaged 14 yards per reception in 44 career games and finished his stay at SDSU with 135 career receptions for 1,893 yards and eight TDs. He caught at least one pass in each of his final 26 games and had four or more in 18 of his last 24 contests.
Five Aztecs also garnered honorable mention all-league honors, including junior linebacker Russell Allen (Vista, Calif.), senior safety Ray Bass (Corona, Calif.), senior defensive lineman Nick Osborn (Kensington, Calif.) and senior offensive linemen Mike Kravetz (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Will Robinson (Pomona, Calif.).
Allen led the league in tackles per conference outing (10.6), while Bass was not far behind with 9.4 stops per game to tie for fifth in the MWC. Osborn garnered honorable mention accolades for the second year in a row after he tallied 51 tackles, the most by a SDSU defensive lineman, and led the team with 7.5 tackles for loss in 2007. Kravetz and Robinson were both mainstays at tackle on the offensive line, each starting all 12 outings.
The Aztecs ended the 2007 campaign with a 4-8 overall record, including a 3-5 mark in conference play for sixth place.
2007 Mountain West All-Conference Football Awards (SDSU only)
Second Team: Offense
QB - Kevin O'Connell
WR - Brett Swain
Second Team: Special Teams
P - Michael Hughes
Honorable Mention Russell Allen (LB), Ray Bass (S), Mike Kravetz (OL), Nick Osborn (DL), Will Robinson (OL)