Elijah Kothe Season 2021

Final Bio

HONORS
* 2022 NFF Hampshire Honor Society
* Two-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2019-20)
* Four-time Mountain West Fall All-Academic Team (2018-21)

Pronounced COTY ... Impressed the coaching staff with a good fall camp as a true freshman in 2018 ... Seemingly catches everything thrown to him ... Entered the 2019 season as the starting ‘X’ receiver, but battled a hand injury, missing four games midseason ... Was a regular starter as a senior in 2021 ... Also plays special teams.

SENIOR SEASON (2021)
Played in the team’s 14 games on the season with nine starts ... Had 31 catches for 418 yards (13.5 avg.), including a 16-yard touchdown ... Logged 20 statless snaps in the opener with New Mexico State on Sept. 4 ... Also played 19 snaps without recording a stat at Arizona on Sept. 11... Earned the start vs. Utah on Sept. 18, making a 4-yard catch on SDSU’s first series of the game ... Ended up playing 26 snaps ... Came off the bench to make a 16-yard touchdown catch against Towson on Sept. 25 ... The touchdown gave the Aztecs a 21-7 lead in the second quarter ... It was his first touchdown of the season and second of his career ... Logged 16 snaps in the game ... Caught a 7-yard pass in 14 offensive snaps off the bench vs. New Mexico on Oct. 9 ... Came up with a 6-yard catch in 21 offensive snaps at San José State on Oct. 15 ... Had a season-high three receptions for a then season-best 25 yards in a start and 26 snaps at Air Force on Oct. 23 ... The 25 yards were also the most by an Aztec in the game ... Caught four passes for 105 yards (all in the first half) in a start against Fresno State on Oct. 31, making him the 88th different Aztec with a 100-yard receiving game ... His 105 yards easily eclipsed his previous high of 45 against Fresno State on Nov. 15, 2019 ... Also tied a career high with four receptions (also at New Mexico State on Sept. 14, 2019) ... Had a career-long 39-yard grab ... Played 32 snaps overall ... Came up with two catches for 16 yards (8.0 avg.) and a long of 10 yards in a start at Hawai’i on Nov. 6, logging 49 snaps overall ... Made a career-high six receptions for 71 yards (11.8 avg.) with a long of 28 yards against Nevada on Nov. 13 in a start ... Played 52 of the 73 offensive snaps overall ... Was named one of the team’s offensive players of the game ... Had another good game in a start at UNLV on Nov. 19, where he made five catches for 84 yards (16.8 avg.) in 43 catches ...  Made two catches for 21 yards (10.5 avg.) with a long of 16 yards against Boise State on Nov. 26 across 54 offensive snaps ... Had two catches for 32 yards (16.0 avg.) with a long of 25 yards in a start and 60 snaps vs. Utah State on Dec. 4 in the Mountain West Championship game ... Started his final collegiate game against No. 24/25 UTSA in the Tropical Smoothie Frisco Bowl on Dec. 21, making three catches for 31 yards (10.3 avg.) with a long of 14 yards in 44 snaps.

JUNIOR SEASON (2020)
Played in seven games with three starts ... Had seven catches for 111 yards (15.9 avg.) and a touchdown with a long catch of 33 yards ... Came off the bench against UNLV on Oct. 24 for a 33-yard catch, which was the longest catch in the game for either team and the longest catch of his career ... Did not record a catch in action off the bench at Utah State on Oct. 31or against San José State on Nov. 6 ... Earned the first start of the season against Hawai’i on Nov. 14 and seventh of his career, making an 8-yard grab ... Earned the start again at Nevada on Nov. 21, where he made two catches for 39 yards (19.5 avg.) with a long of 20 yards ...  Had a 3-yard catch off the bench at Colorado on Nov. 28 before exiting the game with an injury ... Did not travel to the Colorado State game on Dec. 5 ... Returned to start at No. 14/16 Brigham Young on Dec. 12, making two catches for 28 yards (14.0 avg.), including a 15-yard touchdown ... The touchdown was the first of his career and put the Aztecs up, 14-7, in the first quarter.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2019)
Started the first four games, missing the next four with a hand injury ... Returned to play the final five games off the bench ... Had 17 catches for 179 yards (10.5 avg.) with a long of 29 yards ... Started the opener against Weber State for the third time of his career, making three catches for 24 yards (8.0 avg.) with a long of 11 yards in 34 snaps ... Started again at UCLA, making a 7-yard catch in 31 snaps ... Had a career-high four catches for a then career-high 34 yards (8.5 avg.) in a start and 42 snaps at New Mexico State ... Registered two catches for 30 yards (15.0 avg.) in a start and 24 snaps vs. Utah State, but was unable to play the whole game because of an injury ... Did not travel to play at Colorado State because of the hand injury ... Also did not play vs. Wyoming, San José State and UNLV ... Returned to action against Nevada, not recording a stat in five offensive snaps ... Came up with three catches for a career-high 45 yards (15.0 avg.) in 26 snaps vs. Fresno State, including a career-long 29-yard grab ... Came up with two catches for 19 yards (9.5 avg.) with a long of 12 yards in 34 snaps at Hawai’i ... Did not find the stat sheet in 13 snaps vs. Brigham Young ... Registered two catches for 20 yards (10.0 avg.) with a long of 13 yards in 23 snaps vs. Central Michigan in the New Mexico Bowl.

FRESHMAN (TRUE) SEASON (2018)
Played in 12 games with two starts, making seven catches for 78 yards (11.1 avg.) with a long of 24 yards, while recording two tackles on special teams ... Did not play in the opener at No. 13/13 Stanford ... Made his debut against Sacramento State, seeing time at wide receiver and on the kickoff unit without recording a stat ... Recorded his first two career tackles on the kickoff unit against No. 23/25 Arizona State ... Had his first two catches in the following game vs. Eastern Michigan for 16 yards (8.0 avg.) with a long of nine yards ... Played statless time on special teams at rv/No. 24 Boise State ... Saw three statless snaps against Air Force and eight statless snaps vs. San José State ... Had two catches for a career-high 20 yards at Nevada ... Had a career-long 24-yard catch in his first career start at New Mexico, playing 14 snaps ... Made a 6-yard grab in nine snaps vs. UNLV ... Played 26 snaps at Fresno State, but was unable to find the statsheet ... Did not record a catch in five snaps vs. Hawai’i ... Had a 12-yard grab in a start against Ohio in the DXL Frisco Bowl, playing 15 snaps.

HIGH SCHOOL
Earned four letters at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas, Nev. … According to MaxPreps, registered 115 catches over the last three seasons for 1,806 yards (15.7 avg.) and 19 touchdowns … Best year statistically was his junior campaign in 2016 when he had 55 catches for 1,053 yards (19.1 avg.) and 10 touchdowns … Was a two-time all-state selection and a three-time all-league performer … A two-star recruit by both Rivals and 247sports … Rated as the 13th-best recruit in Nevada by 247sports … Also a four-year letterwinner in basketball, twice earning all-league accolades … A scholar-athlete who was a three-time academic all-state selection, posting a 4.0 GPA.

PERSONAL
Elijah Jacob Kothe was born Oct. 16, 1998, in Las Vegas ... Son of Jacob and Wendy Kothe ... Picked the Aztecs over scholarship offers from Colorado, Fresno State, Navy, Air Force, UNLV, Hawai'i, Montana State, Northern Iowa, Cornell and Princeton, according to Rivals ... A business management major.

SINGLE-GAME BESTS
Receptions: 6 vs. Nevada (11/13/21)
Receiving Yards: 105 vs. Fresno State (10/30/21)
Receiving Touchdowns: 1 vs. Towson (9/25/21), at No. 14/16 Brigham Young (12/12/20)
Long Reception: 39 vs. Fresno State (10/30/21)
Tackles: 2 vs. No. 23/25 Arizona State (9/15/18)