Nov. 12, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - San Diego State senior punter Joel Alesi (El Cajon, Calif./Christian High) has been named a Burlsworth Trophy nominee, the Springdale Rotary Club announced today.
The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding collegiate football player who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field. Nominees must have started their first season of participation with a Division I football program without financial aid of any kind from their athletic department. Alesi is one of 55 student-athletes on the list, one of just four from the Mountain West and one of eight punters.
Alesi, who was given a scholarship after this year's fall camp on Aug. 22, has punted 41 times this season for 1,544 yards (37.66 avg.). Of his 41 boots, only 13 have been returned, including just four for positive yardage, and only one has resulted in a touchback. Additionally, Alesi has landed 17 punts inside the 20, six inside the 10 and two inside the 5, while 13 have been fair caught. Alesi's 41.5 touchback percentage also ranks 14th in the country.
Alesi, who has been the team's starting punter in all 22 games over the past two seasons, has 100 career punts for 3,894 yards, posting a 38.9 average, which ranks 10th all-time in Aztec history. Out of his 100 career punts, only three have resulted in a touchback and just 25 have been returned.
The 2013 winner was Wisconsin wide receiver Jared Abbrederis, who was drafted in the fifth round of last year's NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.
SDSU (5-4, 3-2 MW) travels to Boise, Idaho, to face Boise State (7-2, 4-1 MW) at 8:15 p.m. MT (7:15 p.m. PT) Saturday. The game, which features the co-leader of the MW's West Division (San Diego State) and the second-place team of the MW's Mountain Division (Broncos, just one-half game back), will be broadcast on ESPNU, and can be listened to on The Mighty 1090 and The Max 105.7 FM.