Utah State's Zach Vigil Named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year

15 Aggies Earn All-Conference Honors: USU had five offensive players, eight defensive players and three specialists recognized for a total of 16 all-conference awards to rank first in the league.

Utah State’s Zach Vigil was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year as 15 Aggies earned 16 various all-conference accolades as the league office announced its postseason football honors Tuesday.

Overall, Vigil is the fourth linebacker in the past five years and eighth linebacker overall to be named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.

In all, Utah State had five offensive players, eight defensive players and three specialists recognized for a total of 16 all-conference awards to rank first in the league, ahead of Colorado State's 15 all-conference selections. Boise State ranked third with 12 all-conference honorees, followed by Air Force (9), Nevada (9), San Diego State (9), Fresno State (8), Hawai'i (8), New Mexico (6), San José State (6), UNLV (5) and Wyoming (3).

Utah State also had the most first-team selections with six, followed by Boise State (4), Colorado State (4), Air Force (3), Fresno State (3), New Mexico (2), Hawai'i (1), San Diego State (1) and Wyoming (1).

Utah State players to earn first-team all-Mountain West honors include defensive end B.J. Larsen, punt returner JoJo Natson, strong safety Frankie Sutera, linebacker Nick Vigil, linebacker Zach Vigil and offensive tackle Kevin Whimpey, while placekicker Nick Diaz was named to the second-team. Aggies who earned honorable mention all-league honors include punter Jaron Bentrude, free safety Devin Centers, nose guard Elvis Kamana-Matagi, defensive end Jordan Nielsen, wide receiver Hunter Sharp, offensive tackle Jake Simonich, offensive center Austin Stephens, free safety Brian Suite, and Natson as a wide receiver.

Five of the Aggies who were honored by the Mountain West (Bentrude, Larsen, Nielsen, Sutera and Zach Vigil) all began their Utah State careers as walk-ons.

Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, while Air Force's Will Conant was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year and UNLV's Devonte Boyd earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors. Colorado State's Jim McElwain was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year.

Overall, Utah State’s 16 total honorees rank tied for third all-time in school history behind the 18 all-Big West Conference picks in 1997, the 17 all-Western Athletic Conference picks in 2012, and tied with the 16 all-Big West selections in 1996. During its first season in the Mountain West a year ago, USU had 14 players earn various all-conference honors.

As for Zach Vigil, he becomes the ninth player in school history and first since 1998 to earn conference defensive player of the year honors joining linebacker Tony D'Amato (1998), defensive end Ben Crosland (1997), linebacker Jermaine Younger (1992), linebacker Del Lyles (1991), linebacker Al Smith (1986), defensive tackle Shawn Miller (1982), defensive tackle Mike Perko (1981) and defensive tackle Rulon Jones (1979), as all of those players were honored by the Big West Conference.

In all, Zach Vigil is just the 11th player in school history to earn conference player of the year accolades as running back Robert Turbinwas named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2011, while wide receiver Kendal Smith was named the Big West Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 1988.

For Zach Vigil, it marks the third time in his career that he has earned all-conference honors as he was named second-team all-WAC as a sophomore in 2012, second-team all-Mountain West as a junior in 2013, and first-team all-MW this season. Overall, Vigil is just the 14th player in school history to earn all-conference honors (first or second team) at least three times joining Kent Ryan (1934-36), Murray Maughan (1938-40), Ralph Maughan (1943, '46-47), Guy McClure (1978-81), Dave Kuresa (1982-84), Warren Bowers (1990-92), Abu Wilson (1992, '94-96), Demario Brown (1996-97, '99), Ken Watts (1996-98), Brent Passey (1998-2000), Emmett White (1999-2001),Bobby Wagner (2009-11) and Tyler Larsen (2011-13).

Aggies who earned all-conference honors for the second time this year include Diaz, Larsen, Natson, Nielsen and Suite, while Bentrude, Centers, Kamana-Matagi, Sharp, Simonich, Stephens, Nick Vigil and Whimpey all earned all-conference honors for the first time in their career.

During the 2013 season, Larsen was named to the second team all-Mountain West, while Diaz, Natson and Suite all earned honorable mention all-MW honors, and Nielsen earned second-team all-WAC honors as a redshirt freshman in 2012.

Zach Vigil, a 6-2, 240-pound senior linebacker from Clearfield, Utah (Clearfield HS) ranks first in the Mountain West and tied for 12th in the nation in tackles for loss (1.50 pg), second in the MW and eighth in the nation in tackles (11.2 pg), and tied for second in the MW and tied for 32nd in the nation in sacks (0.69 pg).

On the season, Vigil leads the team with 145 tackles and 19.5 tackles for loss, and is tied for first on the team with 9.0 sacks. He also ranks second on the team with five quarterback hurries to go along with three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one interception he returned 35 yards for a touchdown.

Vigil recorded a career-high 22 tackles against Air Force (10/11), which ranks tied for the most at the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level this year, and has eight double-digit tackle outings on the season. During his senior season, Vigil was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week twice.

Vigil’s 145 tackles this year rank fourth all-time in Mountain West single-season history and seventh in Utah State single-season history. Furthermore, Vigil's 19.5 tackles for loss is just 1.0 shy of tying the MW single-season record of 20.5 set a year ago by Boise State's Demarcus Lawrence and Colorado State's Shaquil Barrett, and 2.5 shy of tying the USU single-season record set by Jermaine Younger in 1993.

B.J. Larsen, a 6-5, 275-pound senior defensive end from Logan, Utah (Logan HS) ranks tied for second in the Mountain West and tied for 32nd in the nation in sacks (0.69 pg), and sixth in the MW in tackles for loss (1.04 pg). Overall, he ranks tied for first on the team with his 9.0 sacks, is third on the team with his 13.5 tackles for loss, and 10th on the team with his 34 tackles. He is also tied for third on the team with his four quarterback hurries, to go along with one pass breakup and one interception.

Natson, a 5-7, 151-pound junior wide receiver/punt returner from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Boyd Anderson HS) ranks first in the Mountain West and tied for third in the nation with two punt returns for touchdown, first in the MW and 10th in the nation in punt returns (12.1 ypr), and eighth in the MW in all-purpose yards (98.6 pg). On the season, Natson has returned 22 punts for 267 yards with two touchdowns on returns of 52 and 80 yards against Idaho State and Wyoming, respectively. Offensively, Natson ranks second on the team in receptions (49), tied for second in receiving touchdowns (2), and third in receiving yards (457). He also ranks second on the team in rushing yards (458), tied for second in rushing touchdowns (3), fourth in rushing attempts (45), and is the only FBS player in the nation with multiple touchdowns rushing (3), receiving (2) and returning (2).

Sutera, a 6-1, 201-pound senior safety from Murray, Utah (Juan Diego HS) ranks second in the Mountain West and eighth nationally in interceptions (0.54 pg), and 25th in the MW in tackles (6.4 pg). Overall, Sutera ranks first on the team in interceptions (7), tied for first in quarterback hurries (6) and third in tackles (83), while adding 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. On the season, Sutera's seven interceptions rank tied for the second most in MW single-season history and tied for the third-most in USU single-season history.

Nick Vigil, a 6-2, 230-pound sophomore linebacker from Plain City, Utah (Fremont HS) ranks first in the Mountain West and tied for sixth in the nation in fumbles forced (0.42 pg), third in the MW and 23rd in the nation in tackles (9.7 pg), fourth in the MW and tied for 21st in the nation in tackles for loss (1.33 pg), and fifth in the MW and 58th in the nation in sacks (0.58 pg).

On the season, Vigil ranks first on the team in forced fumbles (5) and tied for first in quarterback hurries (6), while ranking second in tackles (116) and tackles for loss (16.0), and third in sacks (7.0). He has also added two pass breakups and one interception this year. Vigil has also rushed for 118 yards on 33 carries this season and has scored two rushing touchdowns.

In all, Vigil is the only player at the FBS level this year to start at both running back and linebacker in the same game, a feat he accomplished against UNLV (10/25), and is the only player at the FBS level this year to lead his team in both rushing (57 yards) and tackles (9) in the same game, a feat he accomplished against BYU (10/3).

Whimpey, a 6-5, 295-pound senior offensive tackle from Highland, Utah (Lone Peak HS/Idaho State) has graded out at 84 percent this season, which includes 90 percent in both assignment and effort. On the season, he has graded out at 80 percent or better in 12 of 13 games and leads the team with 59 knockdowns.

Diaz, a 5-8, 182-pound senior placekicker from Redondo Beach, Calif. (Redondo Union HS) ranks third in the Mountain West and tied for 28th in the nation in field goal percentage (.800), eighth in the MW and 80th in the nation in field goals (0.92 pg), and seventh in the MW in scoring among kickers (6.0 ppg).

On the season, Diaz leads the team with 78 points scored, as he is 12-of-15 on field goals and 42-of-45 on extra points. His 80.0 field goal percentage ranks tied for seventh all-time in school history for a single season, while also ranking third all-time at USU for a single-season in both extra points made and attempted. Overall, Diaz earned Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week honors once this year.

Bentrude, a 6-1, 209-pound senior punter from Draper, Utah (Juan Diego HS), ranks eighth in the Mountain West and 69th in the nation in punting (40.9 ypk). On the season, he has punted 78 times for 3,194 yards, which includes 13 50-yard punts with a season-long of 56 yards. Furthermore, 30 of his punts have been downed inside the 20-yard line to rank 16th nationally. Bentrude has also kicked off seven times this season for an average of 57.6 yards.

Centers, a 5-9, 190-pound sophomore safety from Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler HS) ranks tied for fourth in the Mountain West and tied for eighth in the nation in fumbles recovered (0.23 pg), eighth in the MW in passes defended (0.85 pg), and 34th in the MW in tackles (5.7 pg). On the season, Centers ranks first on the team in fumbles recovered (3), first in pass breakups (10), fourth in tackles (74), fifth in tackles for loss (6.5) and tied for sixth in sacks (3.0), while adding two quarterback hurries and one interception. Furthermore, Centers has returned two of his fumble recoveries for touchdowns to rank as one of just 15 defenders at the FBS level to score multiple defensive touchdowns on the season.

Kamana-Matagi, a 6-2, 298-pound senior nose guard from Maui, Hawaii (King Kekaulike HS) has 19 tackles on the season, which includes 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack.

Nielsen, a 6-5, 270-pound junior defensive end from Lewiston, Utah (Sky View HS) ranks first on the team among defensive linemen and eighth overall with 47 tackles. He also ranks tied for eighth on the team with 5.5 tackles for loss, while adding 2.0 sacks, four quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one fumble recovery.

Sharp, a 6-0, 190-pound junior wide receiver from Palmdale, Calif. (Highland HS/Antelope Valley JC) ranks tied for second in the Mountain West and tied for 44th in the nation in receiving touchdowns (7), fourth in the MW and 56th in the nation in receiving yards (70.6 pg), and seventh in the MW and 74th in the nation in receptions (4.9 pg). On the season, Sharp ranks first on the team in receptions (63), receiving yards (918) and receiving touchdowns (7), while adding six rushes for 28 yards. During the 2014 season, Sharp had four-straight 100-yard receiving games which are the most by an Aggie since 2001, and is the only FBS player this year with four touchdown receptions of at least 70 yards.

Simonich, a 6-5, 286-pound sophomore offensive tackle from Danville, Calif. (San Ramon Valley HS) has graded out at 80 percent this season, which includes 89 percent in assignment. On the season, he has graded out at 80 percent or better in eight of 13 games and has recorded 44 knockdowns.

Stephens, a 6-3, 290-pound sophomore offensive center from West Des Moines, Iowa (Valley HS/Iowa Western CC) has graded out at 85 percent this season, which includes 92 percent in assignment. On the season, he has graded out at 80 percent or better in 11 of 13 games and has recorded 47 knockdowns.

This season, Simonich, Stephens and Whimpey have anchored an offensive line that has helped Utah State rank seventh in the Mountain West and 76th in the nation in scoring at 27.4 points per game, third in the MW and 27th in the nation in completion percentage (.631), fourth in the MW and 49th in the nation in passing efficiency (135.8), sixth in the MW and tied for 50th in the nation in sacks allowed (1.85 pg), seventh in the MW and 56th nationally in rushing offense (172.5 ypg), eighth in the MW and 82nd in the nation in passing offense (208.8 ypg), and 10th in the MW and 79th in the nation in total offense (381.2 ypg).

Suite, a 6-3, 205-pound senior safety from Honolulu, Hawaii (Punahou HS), ranks 47th in the Mountain West in tackles (5.1 pg). On the season, Suite ranks fifth on the team in tackles (66), and tied for second in both pass breakups (8) and interceptions (2), while adding 1.0 tackle for loss.

Utah State (9-4, 6-2 MW) will conclude its 2014 season with its fourth-straight bowl game appearance, which is a school record. USU will learn its bowl destination and opponent on Sunday, Dec. 7.

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