Nov. 10, 2015
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - San Diego State senior fullback Dakota Gordon (Clovis, Calif.) has been named a Burlsworth Trophy nominee, the Springdale Rotary Club announced today. Gordon is one of 55 student-athletes on the list, the only fullback and one of just five from the Mountain West.
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. The trophy is named in honor of former Arkansas walk-on and All-American offensive lineman Brandon Burlsworth.
Gordon, who was given a scholarship prior to the 2015 spring semester and was named a captain by his teammates for this season, has started all nine games on the year, rushing 23 times for 130 yards (5.7 avg.) and adding six catches for 92 yards (15.3 avg.). He's been the lead blocker for Donnel Pumphrey, who has back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, including a school single-season record 1,867 yards in 2014. Gordon is coming off a career-high 50-yard rushing game in the Aztecs' 41-17 win at Colorado State on Oct. 31, including a career-long 46-yard run. He also added a 15-yard catch.
Over his two-year career (he played his first two seasons at Fresno City College), Gordon has rushed 49 times for 240 yards (4.9 avg.) and caught 13 passes for 150 yards (11.5 avg.).
The 2014 winner was East Carolina wide receiver Justin Hardy, who broke the NCAA all-time receiving record with 355 catches.
The Springdale Rotary Club will host an awards ceremony on Dec. 7 in Springdale, Ark., to honor the three finalists and announce the 2015 winner.
SDSU (6-3, 5-0 MW) takes a five-game winning streak into Saturday's Homecoming Game with Wyoming (1-9, 1-5 MW) at 7:30 p.m. PT at Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego State can become bowl eligible for a sixth consecutive year with a win.