Dec. 6, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
San Diego State junior fullback Nick Bawden (Los Gatos, Calif.), senior offensive lineman Nico Siragusa (Chula Vista, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic HS) and senior linebacker Calvin Munson (St. Charles, Mo.) have each been named Pro Football Focus All-Americans, the website announced today. Pro Football Focus grades and analyzes every snap of all 850-plus FBS games to select the top players at each position.
Bawden earned first-team accolades from the website, while Siragusa and Munson landed on the second team.
Of Bawden, PFF's Gordon McGuinness wrote, "One of the things that isn't mentioned enough when talking about San Diego State running back Donnell Pumphrey is just how good his lead blockers have been. A year ago it was the undersized but utterly dominant Dakota Gordon, and this year Nick Bawden is the highest-graded lead blocker in the nation, bulldozing over linebackers at the second level to give Pumphrey additional room to work with."
Bawden has caught 14 passes for 117 yards (8.4 avg.), while adding a 4-yard rush and blocking for one of the top rushing attacks in the country.
Siragusa, meanwhile, has graded out as the third-best guard this season and third-best run blocker. A first-team all-MW selection for a second straight year, Siragusa has not allowed a snack in 846 snaps, according to the website, and has helped SDSU rush for a school-record 3,553 rushing yards and 16 100-yard games by three different backs.
Munson checks in at the third-rated linebacker (according to PFF) and the second-best run stopper. Munson, who earned first-team all-MW honors once again this year, leads the San Diego State defense with 108 tackles (44 more than the next player) to go along with 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, a team-high 17 quarterback hurries and three pass breakups.
To see who PFF grades and analyses players, click here.
San Diego State (10-3) will play Houston (9-3) in the Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 12:30 p.m. PT. The game will be played at Sam Boyd Stadium and will be broadcast nationally by ABC. Tickets for the Las Vegas Bowl are available now online at GoAztecs.com. Aztec fans are encouraged to purchase their Las Vegas Bowl tickets through San Diego State as they will not only be seated in the officially designated team areas, but will also assist the athletic department meet ticket obligations and provide the best possible experience for all student-athletes at SDSU. Tickets are also available over the phone at (619) 283-SDSU or in person at the Aztec Athletic Ticket Office (Qualcomm Stadium, Window E).
Additionally, the first 500 student tickets purchased at the Viejas Arena Ticket Office with a valid SDSU ID, beginning Wednesday, Dec. 7, will be $10. Student tickets are only available at the Viejas Arena Ticket Office.