Boise State names its football award winners. Here are the MVPs and rising stars.
The Boise State football team handed out some awards at its annual banquet on Sunday.
STUD Curtis Weaver — a potential first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft — was named Team MVP after leading the Mountain West with 13.5 sacks, which ranks No. 5 in the country behind Ohio State’s Chase Young (16.5) and Oregon State’s Hamilcar Rashed Jr., Charlotte’s Alex Highsmith and Miami’s Gregory Rousseau, all of whom have 14. Weaver was also named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.
Co-Offensive MVP honors were shared by the team’s top two wide receivers: senior John Hightower and sophomore Khalil Shakir. Hightower leads the Broncos with 923 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. His 48 receptions are second to Shakir, who leads the team with 60 catches and is second on the roster with 834 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Both receivers also have taken snaps and carried the ball this season, and Shakir has run for three touchdowns and thrown one.
Special teams MVP honors went to Avery Williams, who was also named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year. He returned two punts for touchdowns this season, and blocked a punt and a point-after attempt.
Senior safety Kekoa Nawahine was named Defensive MVP. He finished second on the team in tackles (59) and tackles for loss (11), and his interception in the end zone in Saturday’s Mountain West championship game was his first of the season.
The Dan Paul Hammer award went to junior wide receiver Octavius Evans. The Hammer is awarded each week during the season to a player who made a big block or critical play on special teams the previous week. Evans caught the coaching staff’s attention with blocks on both of Williams’ punt return touchdowns.
Offensive lineman of the year went to left tackle Ezra Cleveland, and defensive lineman of the year went to David Moa, who heads into bowl season with 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
The Blue Blood award, given to the player who embodies a blue collar work ethic, went to true freshman running back George Holani, who is 21 yards shy of extending the Broncos’ streak of seasons with a 1,000-yard rusher to 11 straight.
True freshman wide receiver Shea Whiting was named the scout team’s offensive MVP. Junior linebacker Josh Booker-Brown took home the defensive scout team MVP award, and true freshman safety Alexander Teubner earned scout team special teams MVP honors.
Boise State (12-1) wraps up the season at 5:30 p.m. MT Dec. 21 in the Las Vegas Bowl against Washington.
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 9:31 AM.
