Brandon Heicklen Season 2017

Final Bio

* Two-time Honorable Mention All-Mountain West (2018-19)
* Three-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete (2017-19)
* Three-time Mountain West Fall All-Academic Team (2017-19)
* 2019 SDSU Most Valuable Special Teams Player
* 2019 SDSU President’s Award High Academic Achievement
* Three-time Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week
- Oct. 21, 2019 for game at San José State
- Nov. 25, 2019 for game at Hawai'i
- Dec. 2, 2019 for game vs. Brigham Young

Pronounced HIKE-len ... Joined the Aztecs in the fall of 2017, immediately assuming punting duties ... An accurate punter who continued to improve his leg power over his career ... Is able to punt in both the traditional style and Aussie style ... Also was the team’s holder on PAT and field goal attempts ... Finished his career ranked fourth all-time at San Diego State in punt yards (8,449) and total punts (201), and seventh in punt average (42.0).

SENIOR SEASON (2019)
Was an honorable-mention all-Mountain West pick for the second straight season by the league’s coaches and media ... Was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List, given out to the most outstanding punter ... Was chosen as SDSU’s Most Valuable Special Teams Player and, along with Parker Houston, received a President’s Award High Academic Achievement ... Also was named a third-team all-Mountain West selection by Phil Steele Magazine ... Was named a preseason fourth-team all-Mountain West selection by Athlon Sports ... Also rated as the 24th-best draft eligible punter by Phil Steele Magazine ... Had a great season with 74 punts for 3,347 yards (45.2 avg.) and a net average of 40.3 ... 35 of his 74 punts (47.3 pct.) landed inside the 20-yard line, including 17 inside the 10 and nine inside the 5 ... Had a long of 61 yards ... 26 of his 74 punts (35.1 pct.) went for at least 50 yards and 19 were fair caught ... Ranked second in SDSU single-season history in punt yards (3,347), third in total punts (74) and fourth in punt average (45.23) ... Led 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 ranked second in punts inside the 20-yard line (34, third in?FBS), third in punt average (45.23, 15th in FBS) and net punt average (40.32, 29th in FBS), and ninth with a long punt of 61 yards ... If you take away the 16 times he had to punt inside opponents territory (for 572 yards), he averaged 47.84 yards per punt (58 punts for 2,775 yards) ...  Out of his final 14 punts in regular season, 11  landed inside the 20-yard line, seven inside the 10 and four inside the 5 ... Had a career game against Weber State in the opener, punting nine times for 441 yards, averaging 49.0 yards per boot ... Five of his nine punts went for at least 50 yards with a long of 58, while three were inside the 20-yard line ... Ended up setting career highs in punting yards (441), then punt average (49.0, previous high was 44.9) and 50-yard punts (5), while he tied a then career long with a 58-yard punt ... Punted five times for 191 yards (38.2 avg.) at UCLA with a long of 46 yards and three landing inside the 20-yard line ... Had five punts for 203 yards (40.6 avg.) with a long of 51 yards at New Mexico State ... Two of his five punts landed inside the 20-yard line ... Punted four times for 157 yards (39.3 avg.) with a long of 50 against Utah State, landing one insde the 20-yard line ... Was called upon to punt eight times for 356 yards (44.5 avg.) at Colorado State with a long of 54 yards and three inside the 20-yard line ... Finished with a net average of 43.9 ... Punted four times for 197 yards (49.3 avg.) with a long of 57 yards vs. Wyoming ... His punt average (49.3) was a then career high ... Three of his four punts went for 50 yards, finishing with a net average of 42.3 ... One of his four punts was fumbled after a minimal gain, giving the Aztecs the ball on the Wyoming 25 ... Was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 20 for his play at San José State when he punted five times for 228 yards (45.8 avg.) with a net average of 44.2 and a then career-long of 59 ... Four of his five punts were inside the 20-yard line (career high), including three inside the 3-yard line (2, 1 and 1) ... Became the first punter to have three inside the 3-yard line since Brigham Young's Riley Stephenson had three against San Diego State in the 2012 Poinsettia Bowl (Dec. 20) ... Helped flip the field, giving the Aztecs a 24-yard average field position advantage (43-19), SDSU's largest AFP position in recorded history (since at least 1998) ... Off his punts, San José State averaged starting their drives on the 11.8-yard line ... If you take away the two times he punted inside SJSU's territory (when he landed the ball on the 1 and 2), he punted three times for 160 yards (53.3 avg.) ... Also had a good game the following week at UNLV, punting six times for 242 yards (43.7 avg.) with a net average of 42.0 ... Four of his six punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including three on the 10 and one on the 7, while his long was 53 yards ... Off his six punts, UNLV averaged starting at the 14.5-yard line ... Punted six times for 307 yards (51.2 avg.) vs. Nevada with a long of 59 yards ... His 51.2 average was a then career high, while his 59-yarder tied a then career long ... Three of his six punts went for 50-plus yards, while one was fair caught ... Two of his punts, however, went for touchbacks ... Punted three times for 170 yards (56.7 avg.) against Fresno State with one inside the 20 (actually the 3) and a career-long punt of 61 yards ... Set a career high with a 56.7 avg. (previous best was 51.2 vs. Nevada on the previous Saturday ... The 56.3 average is the best mark in the Mountain West this year (min. 3 punts), tied for the fifth-best mark in FBS play (min. 3 punts), tied for the seventh-best mark in league history (min. 3 punts) and the best mark by an Aztec punter since at least 1996 (min. 3 punts) ... Had another great game at Hawai’i when he was named the Mountain West Special Teams of the Week when he punted five times for 207 yards (41.4 avg.) with none of the punts being returned ... All five of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including four inside the 10 and two inside the 5 ... The five punts inside the 20-yard line were a career-high and the most by an Aztec since Oct. 31, 2009 (six I20 in eight punts) ... Off his five punts, Hawai’i started at the 8, 2, 7, 4 and 12 for an average start of 6.6-yard line ... Was the lead cog in making Hawai'i finish with an average starting field position of just its own 14-yard line, which is the worst average starting field position against SDSU in the nearly 300 games in which data is available ... Only punted twice from SDSU’s side of the field, which went for 99 yards (49.5 avg.) ... Was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the?Week for a second straight week and third time of the season (and career) for his play against Brigham Young when he punted seven times for 323 yards (46.1 avg.) and a net average of 43.6 ... He had career-high-tying five punts inside the 20-yard line for a second straight week, including two inside the 10 and one inside the 5 ... Helped limit BYU to an average starting position of its own 22-yard line and an improvement each quarter (29 in first, 23 in second, 19 in third and 14 in the fourth) ... Only two of his seven punts were returned and only one for positive yardage ... Finished his collegiate career against Central?Michigan in the?New Mexico Bowl, punting seven times for 304 yards (43.4 avg.) with three inside the 20-yard line and a long of 53 yards.

JUNIOR SEASON (2018)
Was named an honorable mention all-Mountain West selection, voted on by the league’s coaches and media ... Was the team’s punter and holder in the 13 games ... Punted 68 times for 2,844 yards, averaging 41.8 yards per boot with a net average of 39.5 ... Had a long of 58 yards ... 26 of his 68 (38.2 pct.) punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including 11 inside the 10 and seven inside the 5 ... 23 of his 68 (33.8 pct.) punts were fair caught ... Ranked fourth in the Mountain West in net punt average (39.5, 29th in FBS) and seventh in punt average (41.8, 53rd in FBS) ... Went his first 52 punts without a touchback, recording one on his second punt at Fresno State ... Had just one touchback in 68 punts on the season (1.5 pct.) ... If you take away the 12 times he punted inside his opponent’s territory, he punted 56 times for a 43.4 average ... Had a solid opener at No. 13/13 Stanford, punting six times for 257 yards (career-best 42.8 avg.) with a net average of 38.2 ... Had a then career-long punt of 52, which ended up landing on the 1-yard line, and a 50-yarder ... Had another solid outing against Sacramento State in the home opener, punting three times for 92 yards (30.3 avg.) with two inside the 20-yard line, including one on the 13 and one on the 4 ... Two of his three punts were from Sac State’s 40 (ended on the 13) and the 35 (ended on the 4) ... Also made a great catch and hold on a quick snap for John Baron’s career-long 52-yard field goal in the second quarter ... Had another good game against No. 23/25 Arizona State, punting five times for 216 yards (43.6 avg.) with a long of 52 yards and three inside the 20-yard line, including two inside the 10 ... Punted twice for 77 yards (38.5 avg.) vs. Eastern Michigan with a long of 49 yards ... One of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line ... Had a solid game at rv/No. 24 Boise State, punting eight times for 359 yards (44.9 avg.) with two inside the 20-yard line and a long of 58 yards ... Set career highs in punt average (44.9), net punt average (42.9) and long (58) ... Had another good game vs. Air Force, punting seven times for 276 yards (39.4 avg.) with three inside the 20-yard line and long of 54 yards ... Punted four times for 167 yards (41.8 avg.) with a long of 50 yards vs. San José State, while posting a career-high 43.3 net punt average ... Two of his four punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including one on the 9-yard line ... Had another good game at Nevada, punting six times for 269 yards (44.8 avg.) with a long of 55 yards, while landing three inside the 20-yard line, including two inside the 5 ... Punted six times for 256 yards (42.7 avg.) at New Mexico, posting a 40.7 net punt average ... Landed two inside the 20-yard line, including one on the 6 and one on the 4 ... Had a long boot of 48 yards ... Had another solid outing against UNLV, booting four times for 173 yards (43.0 avg.) with three inside the 20-yard line and a long of 54 yards. ... Logged a net average of 42.2 ... Punted six times for 261 yards (43.5 avg.) with a long of 55 and a net average of 41.5 ... One landed on the 6-yard line ... His second punt went for a touchback, breaking a streak of 81 punts (52 this year) without a touchback ... Punted six times for 248 yards (41.3 avg.) with a long of 50 against Hawai’i ... Posted a 41.7 net punt average ... Three of his six punts went inside the 20-yard line and four were fair caught ... Punted five times for 192 yards (38.4 avg.) with a long of 50 yards against Ohio in the DXL Frisco Bowl.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2017)
Punted 59 times on the season for 2,258 yards (38.3 avg.) ... Eighteen (18) of his 59 punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including eight inside the 10, and 27 were fair caught ... Had a long of 51 yards ... Posted a net average of 34.5 ... Punted for the first time at the Division I level in the opener against UC Davis, punting three times for 111 yards (37.0 avg.) ... Two of his three punts landed inside the 20-yard line, including one on the 5 ... Two of his three punts were fair caught with the other going for a 0-yard return ... Had three touchbacks ... Punted four times for 153 yards (38.2 avg.) with a long of 43 at Arizona State ... Finished with a net average of 37.5 as only one of his four attempts were returned for just three yards ... Two of his punts ended up inside the 20, including one at the 6 ... Punted five times for 192 yards (38.4 avg.) against No. 19/19 Stanford with a long boot of 49 yards ... Punted five times in stormy conditions at Air Force for 193 yards (38.6 avg.) with a career long of 51 yards ... Ended up with a touchback and one of his attempts was blocked (goes down as a "team" punt, which was returned to the Falcon 4-yard line, leading to a touchdown) ... Punted a career-high 10 times for 399 yards (39.9 avg.) vs. Northern Illinois ... The 39.9 average was a then career best, as was his three punts inside the 20-yard line and seven fair catches ... Posted a long of 49 yards ... Also was the team's holder for most of the game after Mikah Holder (also a wide receiver) was ejected for the game for a targeting call ... Punted three times for 115 yards (38.3 avg.) with two touchbacks and a long of 41 yards at UNLV ... Booted seven times for 248 yards (35.4 avg.) against Boise State with a long of 42 yards ... Two of his seven punts landed inside the 10-yard line ... Was called upon to punt six times for 255 yards (42.5 avg.) against Fresno State, landing two inside the 20, including one on the 11 and another on the 9 ... The 42.5 punt average was a career high, as was his 40.2 net average ... Posted a long of 50 yards (his second 50-yard punt of the season) ... Punted five times at Hawai'i for 171 yards (34.2 avg.) with three inside the 20 and a long of 42 yards ... Ended up with a net average of 34.8 as the one return was a loss of three yards ... Did not punt at San Jose State, marking the first time an Aztec has not punted in a game since 2010 and just the third time since 1996 ... Punted four times for 146 yards (36.5 avg.) with a long of 40 yards against Nevada ... Three of his four punts landed inside the 20-yard line and none of the four punts were returned ... Punted five times for 208 yards (41.6 avg.) with a long of 50 yards vs. New Mexico ... Net average of 41.6 was a career high ... One his punts landed inside the 20 (on the 6) and four of the five were fair caught ... Made his first bowl appearance against Army West Point in the Armed Forces Bowl, punting twice for 37 yards (33.5 avg.) with a long of 34 yards.  

AT BOISE STATE
Practiced with the Broncos during the spring campaign, but transferred to SDSU in time for fall camp.  

AT SANTA MONICA COLLEGE
Redshirted the 2016 season at Santa Monica College ... In 2015 averaged 43.8 yards over 37 punts with a long of 62 yards ... Had 16 of his punts land inside the 20-yard line with only three touchbacks.  

HIGH SCHOOL
Lettered at El Camino Real High School ... Was a two-time all-West Valley League first-team selection (2013-14) ... Also was an all-city first-team pick in 2014 ... Averaged 47.3 yards with a long of 67 as a senior in 2014 ... As a junior, punted 29 times, averaging 42.9 yards per punt ... Averaged 41.2 yards per punt as a sophomore.  

PERSONAL
Brandon Matthew Heicklen was born July 8, 1997, in Santa Monica, Calif. ... Son of Michael and Claire Heicklen ... Is working on his master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies.

SEASON BESTS
Punts: 10 vs. Northern Illinois (9/30/17)
Yards: 441 vs. Weber State (8/31/19)
Avg. (min. 2 attempts): 56.7 (3-for-170) vs. Fresno State (11/15/19)
Net Avg. (min. 2 attempts): 45.3 vs. Weber State (8/31/19)
Punt Long: 61 vs. Fresno State (11/15/19)
Fair Caught: 7 vs. Northern Illinois (9/30/17)
Inside 20: 5 vs. Brigham Young (11/30/19), at Hawai’i (11/23/19)