COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- San Diego State senior cornerback Chris Johnson has been named the Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Tuesday. The all-conference awards are voted on by the league's 12 head coaches and various media members from the league.
Johnson is the fourth Aztec to be named a MW Defensive Player of the Year, joining linebacker Kirk Morrison (2003-04), cornerback Damontae Kazee (2015-16) and defensive linemen Cameron Thomas (2021).
Johnson was one of three defensive players to make the all-Mountain West first team from a SDSU defense that has a FBS-leading three shutouts, has held seven of its 12 opponents to single-digits and leads the Mountain West in almost every defensive category, including red zone percentage (66.67, 2nd in FBS), yards allowed per play (4.12, 4th in FBS), points allowed per game (12.6, 5th in FBS), pass efficiency rating (99.06, 3rd in FBS), passing yards allowed per game (157.00, 6th in FBS), first downs allowed (181, 6th in FBS), total yards allowed per game (266.67, 7th in FBS), rushing yards allowed per attempt (3.22, 16th in FBS) and rushing yards allowed per game (109.67, 22nd in FBS).
Johnson is joined on the defensive first team by junior edge Trey White and sophomore linebacker Owen Chambliss. Junior running back Lucky Sutton and senior offensive lineman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli represent the San Diego State offense on the first team, while sophomore Jordan Napier landed on the first team as a punt returner. SDSU’s five first-team selections are the most in the league.
Napier also made the second team as a wide receiver, while senior offensive lineman Christian Jones, senior kicker Gabe Plascencia and junior punter Hunter Green also earned second-team accolades. San Diego State’s 10 overall first or second-team selections were also the most in the league, two ahead of Boise State’s eight.
The Aztecs also had five honorable mentions, including senior tight end Seth Adams, senior offensive lineman Bayo Kannike, junior linebacker Tano Letuli, senior cornerback Bryce Phillips and junior safety Dalesean Staley. SDSU’s 15 overall all-conference selections are the most in the league.
Johnson completed one of the best regular seasons defensively in program history, registering 49 tackles (36 solo), four interceptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns, nine pass breakups, three tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries. A semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for the best defensive back in the country and an Associated Press Midseason First-Team All-American, Johnson is tied for the top-graded cornerback in the country with a 92.0 defensive grade per Pro Football Focus and has the second-highest pass coverage grade (92.4), both with a minimum of just 10 defensive snaps. According to PFF, when targeted against Johnson this year, receivers are 18-for-45 (44.2 pct.) for 185 yards, four interceptions and no touchdowns, for a defensive pass efficiency rating of 56.76. He’s also the top-graded defensive player in the league and No. 5 in FBS (min. 600 snaps), followed by Nevada’s Dylan Labarbera (90.8), as SDSU has three of the top-eight rated players (also Chambliss, tied for No. 4 at 86.4 and White, No. 8 at 84.4) in the MW.
Despite missing the Hawai‘i game with an injury (Hawai‘i had 300 total yards in the first half vs. San Diego State and scored 38 points in the game), Johnson ranks in a tie for first in FBS in interceptions returned for a touchdown (2, T-1st in MW), fourth in interception yards (146, 1st in MW), tied for ninth in passes defended per game (1.17, 1st in MW), tied for 16th in total interceptions (4, T-3rd in MW), tied for 23rd in interceptions per game (0.36, T-5th in MW) and tied for 31st in total pass breakups (9, T-4th in MW). Johnson improved on his 2024 honorable mention.
White, meanwhile, made his second straight all-MW first team, registering 49 tackles, a team-high 10 ½ tackles for loss, a team-high-tying seven sacks and a team-best 16 quarterback hurries. The MW preseason defensive player of the year, and members of both the Bednarik Award (most outstanding defensive player) and Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year) watch lists, White ranks fourth in the MW in total tackle for loss yards (58), and tied for fourth in sacks (7.0, T-29th in FBS), sacks per game (0.58), total sack yards (50), tackles for loss (10.5) and tackles for loss per game (0.88).
Chambliss has racked up team highs of 106 tackles (No. 2 is 67), 61 solo tackles (No. 2 is 38) and 45 assisted stops (No. 2 is 30), while adding 9 ½ tackles of loss, four sacks, five pass breakups, five quarterback hurries, an interception and a fumble recovery. Chambliss ranks second in the MW in solo tackles (61, T-8th in FBS) and total tackle for loss yards (63, T-34th in FBS), and tied for second in solo tackles per game (5.08, T-9th in FBS), sixth in total tackles (106, T-23rd in FBS) and tackles per game (8.83, T-25th in FBS), tied for eighth in total sack yards (44, T-57th in FBS), total tackles for loss (9.5) and fumble recoveries (1), and tied for ninth in tackle for loss per game (0.79). He has recorded four games this year with at least 10 tackles, while his 106 on the season are the most by an Aztec since Kyahva Tezino had 127 in 2018.
Sutton has rushed for 1,237 yards and 10 touchdowns on 239 carries (5.2 avg.) in his first time as a starter for his career. Sutton has logged six 100-yard games with 11 of the 12 going for at least 75 yards. Sutton, who became the 20th SDSU player with a 1,000-yard season in program history (28 times overall), is ranked 16th in San Diego State single-season history with a bowl game still left to play. Sutton leads the league in rush attempts (239, 8th in FBS), rush attempts per game (19.92, 9th in FBS), rushing yards (1,237, 11th in FBS), total all-purpose plays (243, 12th in FBS) and rushing yards per game (103.08, 13th in FBS), tied for third in rushing touchdowns (10), fourth in total all-purpose yards (1,232), fifth in rushing yards per carry (5.18), sixth in all-purpose yards per game (102.67) and tied for sixth in total touchdowns (10).
After earning honorable mention last season, Ulugalu-Maseuli made the first team this year. Ulugalu-Maseuli captained an offensive line that has the league’s leading rusher (Lucky Sutton, 1,237 yards) with its four running backs rushing for a combined 2,003 yards and 14 touchdowns on 379 attempts (5.3 avg.), only losing 31 yards overall. The Aztecs also rank third in the MW in sacks allowed (1.42, 31st in FBS).
Napier became just the SDSU punt returner to make an all-MW first team in the 27-year history of the league (also Jordan Byrd in 2022). Napier also became just the second San Diego State wide receiver (also Tyrell Shavers in 2022 - second team) to make an all-MW first or second team since Vincent Brown and DeMarco Sampson were second-team picks in 2010. Despite suffering an injury early in the Boise State game on Nov. 15 and missing the final 2 ½ games, Napier finished with 48 catches for 629 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 40 rushing yards and a touchdown, returned 22 punts for 193 yards (8.8 avg.), including a 75-yard touchdown (SDSU's first since Byrd had one against Idaho State on Sept. 10, 2022 and the longest since BJ Busbee had a 90-yarder vs. Colorado State on Dec. 5, 2020), and 11 kick returns for 246 yards (22.4 avg.). A midseason addition to the Biletnikoff Award for the top wide receiver in the country (the first Aztec since 2014) and a preseason member of the Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player), Napier leads the MW in punt returns per game (2.20, 2nd in FBS), total punt returns (22, T-6th in FBS), punt return yards (193, 22nd in FBS), all-purpose yards per game (110.80, 24th in FBS), punt return average (8.77, 29th in FBS), combined kick and punt return yards (439, 30th in FBS), and tied for first in punt return touchdowns (1, T-6th in FBS), fourth in all-purpose yards per play (12.00), sixth in receptions per game (4.80), seventh in receiving yards per game (62.90), ninth in total receptions (48) and 10th in receiving yards (629).
Jones made his first all-conference team as a second-team selection. Jones played left tackle and logged the most offensive snaps on the team at 741. For an offensive line that was one of just eight teams to start the same five all season (also Duke, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Old Dominion and Texas Tech), Jones was the only player not to exit a game with an injury. He has allowed just two sacks from the blind spot at left tackle and committed just one penalty on the season.
Plascencia, the MW Special Teams Player of the Year, made the second team at kicker for a second straight season, the first time an Aztec has made a first or second team in back-to-back seasons in program history. Plascencia, the all-time leader in NCAA FBS history in field goal percentage (.900, NCAA minimums of 1.2 FGM per game and 30 made field goals), is 19-for-22 (.864) on the season and has made all 30 of his PATs. A Lou Groza semifinalist for the top kicker in the country (SDSU’s first since 2018), Plascencia set a Mountain West and school record with 26 consecutive field goals before missing one vs. Wyoming on Nov. 1. On the season, Plascencia is ranked in a tie for first in the MW in PAT percentage (100.0), tied for second in made field goals (19, T-19th in FBS) and field goals per game (1.58, T-24th in FBS), and third in kickoff touchback percentage (75.00, T-28th in FBS), field goal percentage (.864, T-29th in FBS), kickoff average (63.16) and total points (87).
Green made it six consecutive years that a San Diego State punter made a MW first or second team, joining Tanner Kuljian (second team in 2020), Matt Araiza (first team in 2021) and Jack Browning (first team in 2022, second team in 2023) and Tyler Pastula (first team in 2024). The NCAA’s active leader in punt average (45.5, min. 150 punts) who spent his first two seasons at Northern Colorado at the FCS level, Green has punted 59 times for a 46.8 average this season with 26 inside the 20-yard line and 20 of at least 50 yards, including a long of 68. One of only two in the country this year with at least three punts of 67 yards, Green leads the league in punts inside the 20 (26, T-3rd in FBS), second in punt average (46.81, 5th in FBS), and fifth in net punt average (41.12, 32nd in FBS).
Adams has started all 12 games at tight end for the Aztecs, making three catches for 33 yards as a primarily blocking tight end, while Kannike has started all 12 at right guard. Letuli only played in parts of six games before an injury sideline him for the season but still had 30 tackles and an interception returned for touchdown. Phillips has logged 34 tackles, an interception and nine pass breakups, and Staley ranks second on the team with 67 tackles (38 solo) to go along with nine pass breakups, an interception and a forced fumble.
SDSU finished the regular season with a 9-3 record, including a 6-2 mark in league play. San Diego State tied with Boise State, New Mexico and UNLV atop the league standings, but was left out of a MW Championship appearance this week because of computer rankings. The six-win improvement for the Aztecs in regular-season play from last year (3-9) to this season (9-3) matches the largest by SDSU in program history (since 1921), joining a six-win improvement from 1960 (1-6-1) to 1961 (7-2-1).
San Diego State awaits its bowl destination on Sunday.
2025 Mountain West All-Conference Football Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Anthony Colandrea, UNLV, Jr., QB
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Johnson, San Diego State, Sr., CB
Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Jaxton Eck, New Mexico, Jr., LB
Special Teams Player of the Year: Kansei Matsuzawa, Hawai’i, Sr., K
Freshman of the Year: Micah Alejado, Hawai’i, QB
First Team Offense
QB Anthony Colandrea, Jr., UNLV
WR Braden Pegan, Jr., Utah State
WR Jackson Harris, So., Hawai‘i
WR Danny Scudero, So., San José State
RB Lucky Sutton, Jr., San Diego State
RB Jai’Den Thomas, Jr., UNLV
TE Dorian Thomas, So., New Mexico
OL Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli, Sr., San Diego State
OL Kage Casey, Jr., Boise State
OL Mason Randolph, Sr., Boise State
OL Jacob Spomer, Sr., Fresno State
OL Costen Cooley, Sr., Air Force
PK Kansei Matsuzawa, Sr., Hawai‘i
KR Damon Bankston, Sr., New Mexico
First Team Defense
DL Trey White, Jr., San Diego State
DL Jackie Johnson III, Sr., Hawai‘i
DL Dylan LaBarbera, Jr., Nevada
DL Keyshawn James-Newby, Sr., New Mexico
LB Owen Chambliss, So., San Diego State
LB Owen Long, So., Colorado State
LB John Miller, Sr., Utah State
LB Jaxton Eck, Jr., New Mexico
LB Jordan Pollard, Sr., San José State
DB Chris Johnson, Sr., San Diego State
DB Ty Benefield, Jr., Boise State
DB A’Marion McCoy, Sr., Boise State
DB Noah Avinger, Sr., Utah State
P Bryan Hansen, Jr., Colorado State
PR Jordan Napier, So., San Diego State
Second Team Offense
QB Bryson Barnes, Gr., Utah State
WR Jordan Napier, So., San Diego State
WR Pofele Ashlock, Jr., Hawai‘i
WR Jaden Bradley, Sr., UNLV
RB Dylan Riley, So., Boise State
RB Miles Davis, Sr., Utah State
TE Rocky Beers, Sr., Colorado State
OL Christian Jones, Sr., San Diego State
OL Jack Burnett, Sr., Air Force
OL Kaden Robnett, RS-Fr., New Mexico
OL Reid Williams, Sr., UNLV
OL Caden Barnett, Sr., Wyoming
PK Gabe Plascencia, Sr., San Diego State
KR Cam Barfield, Jr., Hawai‘i
Second Team Defense
DL Braxton Fely, Sr., Boise State
DL Jayden Virgin-Morgan, Jr., Boise State
DL Payton Zdroik, Sr., Air Force
DL De’Jon Benton, Gr., Hawai‘i
LB Jadon Pearson, Sr., Fresno State
LB Blake Fletcher, Jr., Air Force
LB Marsel McDuffie, Sr., UNLV
LB Brayden Johnson, Sr., Wyoming
DB Jeremiah Earby, Sr., Boise State
DB Al’Zillion Hamilton, Sr., Fresno State
DB Murvin Kenion III, Sr., Nevada
DB Aamaris Brown, Sr., UNLV
P Hunter Green, Jr., San Diego State
PR Javion Kinnard, Fr., Colorado State
Honorable Mention (SDSU players only)
TE Seth Adams, Sr.
OL Bayo Kannike, Sr.
LB Tano Letuli, Jr.
CB Bryce Phillips, Sr.
S Dalesean Staley, Jr.
Chris Johnson Named Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year
