July 10, 2017
PHILADELPHIA -
2017 SDSU Football Preseason Accolades
San Diego State senior Rashaad Penny (Norwalk, Calif.) has been named to the 2017 Maxwell Award Watch List, the Maxwell Football Club announced Monday. The Maxwell Award, named in honor of Robert W. "Tiny" Maxwell, is given annually to the collegiate player of the year.
This is the third straight year an Aztec has been on the Maxwell Award Watch List and the fourth time in five years. Also named to the Maxwell Award Watch List were running backs Donnel Pumphrey (2015-16), Adam Muema (2013), Ronnie Hillman and Ryan Lindley in 2011, and Lynell Hamilton (2006. Last season, Pumphrey was a semifinalist for the award, the first in program history.
Penny is one of four student-athletes from a California school and one of three Mountain West student-athletes named to the watch list.
Penny is on the list as a running back after ranking second on the team last year in rushing yards (1,018) and total touchdowns (16). Also a kick returner, he recorded a team-high 624 kick return yards with two touchdowns.
Earlier this summer, Penny was honored on the Athlon Sports preseason All-America third team as a kick returner. He was also one of 13 Aztecs named to the Athlon Sports preseason all-MW team, earning first-team accolades as both a running back and kick returner.
In 2016, Penny rushed for 1,018 yards and 11 touchdowns on 136 attempts (7.5 avg.), adding 15 receptions for 224 yards (14.9 avg.) and three scores. He was one of only nine players in the country to record at least 11 rushing touchdowns and three receiving TDs, while being the only player in that group with a kick return touchdown as well.
Overall, Penny tied for second in the nation in kick return touchdowns (2), fourth in kick return average (31.2), 26th in total touchdowns (16) and 29th in all-purpose yards per game (133.3). The senior also became the second kick returner in MW history to win the league's special teams player-of-the-year award twice (also 2015), and was a first-team all-MW selection as a kick returner for the second consecutive season.
The Aztecs are coming off an 11-3 season, culminating with a No. 25 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll as well as the Amway Coaches Poll. It is just the second time in program history SDSU has been ranked in the final AP poll (also 1977). In addition to a victory over Wyoming in the MW Championship game, 27-24, the Aztecs defeated Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl, 34-10, to tie a single-season school record and become the first team in program history to have back-to-back 11-win seasons.
SDSU is accepting new account deposits on 2017 season tickets through the Aztec Ticket Office, while current season-ticket holders can also renew their tickets for the 2017 campaign. Fans can purchase tickets through GoAztecs.com, over the phone by calling (619) 283-7378, or by visiting Qualcomm Stadium's Window E between 9 a.m. PT and 5 p.m. PT.