IRVING, Texas – Former San Diego State football players Brandon Heicklen and Parker Houston have been named to the 2020 NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame announced Wednesday. To be eligible for the award, the athlete must own at least a 3.2 undergraduate GPA, complete his final year of eligibility in 2019 and be a starter or significant contributor throughout the 2019 campaign.
A three-time MW Special Teams Player of the Week winner this year and an honorable-mention all-MW pick, Heicklen punted 74 times for 3,347 yards in 2019, averaging 45.2 yards per punt (fourth in SDSU single-season history). A remarkable 35 of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including 17 inside the 10 and nine inside the 5. Heicklen ranked second in SDSU single-season history in punt yards (3,347), third in total punts (74) and fourth in punt average (45.23), while leading the Mountain West in punt yards (3,347, fourth in FBS), punt yards per game (257.46, ninth in FBS), punts (74, T-8th in FBS) and punts per game (5.69, T-11th in FBS), and ranking second in punts inside the 20-yard line (34, third in FBS), and third in punt average (45.23, 15th in FBS) and net punt average (40.32, 29th in FBS.
At the end of the season banquet, Heicklen was named SDSU's special teams player of the year and shared the President's Award for High Athletic and Academic Excellence with Houston. For his career, Heicklen ranked fourth all-time at San Diego State in punt yards (8,449) and total punts (201), and seventh in punt average (42.0).
Houston, meanwhile, was named a second-team all-Mountain West selection in 2019, pulling in 18 catches for 154 yards (8.6 avg.), while starting 10 games and playing in all 13. One of 185 semifinalists (71 in FBS) for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership, Houston was named to the Mackey Award Watch List (outstanding collegiate tight end) and the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List (community service, athletic and academic achievement.
Along with Heicklen, Houston was a team recipient of the President's Award for High Academic Achievement. Over his career, Houston totaled 45 catches for 420 yards (9.3 avg.) with three touchdowns, while starting 34 times and playing in each of his final 49 games.
The Aztecs are coming off a 10-3 season in 2019, capped by a 48-11 win over Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl. SDSU, which lost its three games by a combined 13 points, is one of 10 schools to win at least 10 games in at least four of the last five years.