July 16, 2014
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State football team has been picked to finish first in the West Division of the Mountain West by Lindy's Sports, with five Aztecs earning all-conference accolades in its college football preview magazine. The publication also predicted that SDSU will face Utah State in the Mountain West championship game.
Senior cornerback J.J. Whittaker (Oceanside, Calif.) was an all-MW first-team selection, while sophomore running back Donnel Pumphrey (Las Vegas, Nev.), senior wide receiver Ezell Ruffin (Long Beach, Calif.), senior offensive lineman Terry Poole (Seaside, Calif.) and junior linebacker Jake Fely (Oceanside, Calif.) were each named to the second team.
Whittaker has already been named to the Thorpe Award Watch List, as well as first-team all-MW by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. Last year, Whittaker had 32 tackles (24 solos), along with 11 pass breakups, three interceptions, a forced fumble and two tackles for loss en route to all-MW honorable mention accolades.
Meanwhile, Pumphrey was a first-team pick by Athlon Sports. He had 752 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 125 attempts last year as a true freshman, while adding 22 catches for 234 yards and two scores.
Ruffin, who was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List on Tuesday and as a second-team all-MW pick by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports, caught 68 passes last year for 1,136 yards and three touchdowns. He was named an all-MW honorable mention selection last season.
Also second-team all-MW picks by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports, Poole was an honorable-mention all-MW selection last year and was one of only two Aztecs (Bryce Quigley) to be named to both the all-MW team and the MW Fall All-Academic team in 2013.
Fely, who earlier this month was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA and is now listed as a junior, also was named to the preseason MW second team by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. He had 20 tackles with 15 solo stops before going down with a season-ending injury in the fourth game of the 2013 campaign.
Additionally, Whittaker was picked to be the conference's best cover corner, while junior defensive lineman Christian Heyward (San Diego, Calif.) was chosen as Newcomer of the Year. Fely, senior quarterback Quinn Kaehler (Pleasant Hill, Calif.), Pumphrey, Ruffin and Whittaker were named SDSU's players to watch, while Heyward (SDSU's top newcomer), sophomore Damontae Kazee (San Bernardino, Calif.) (SDSU's emerging star) and Pumphrey (SDSU's MVP) were also mentioned in the magazine. Furthermore, SDSU's road games at Oregon State (Sept. 20), Fresno State (Oct. 3) and Boise State (Nov. 15) are categorized as one of "The Big Ones" by the publication.
San Diego State returns 12 starters and 35 letterwinners from a team that finished 8-5 overall and 6-2 in Mountain West play a year ago, culminating with a victory over Buffalo, 49-24, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. With its bowl game appearance, the Aztecs became one of only 29 teams in the nation, and one of just five non-BCS schools, to play in a bowl game in each of the last four seasons.
Tickets for all individual home games go on sale to the general public on July 21 at 9 a.m. PT, and are available on GoAztecs.com, by phone (619) 283-7378 (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) or in person at Qualcomm Stadium Window "E" (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.).
Season tickets are currently on sale through GoAztecs.com and the SDSU ticket office (619) 283-SDSU. An internet only presale for the KGB SkyShow game on Nov. 8 against Idaho is now available for KGB listeners, SDSU season-ticket holders and Aztec Nation subscribers.