College football’s top senior student-athlete plays at Boise State; Williams honored again
Boise State senior defensive back Kekaula Kaniho was selected Wednesday as the 2020 Senior CLASS Award winner for the Football Bowl Subdivision, the university announced.
The award, voted on by FBS coaches, media members and fans, is given annually to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in the country. To be eligible, athletes must be classified as a senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: classroom, community, character and competition.
Kaniho is the first Boise State player to win the Senior CLASS Award. He beat out Florida quarterback Kyle Trask (Senior CLASS Award first team) and Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book (second team), among others.
“Being a student-athlete has taught me skills and lessons that will be the foundation for my career after football,” Kaniho said in a statement. “As a student-athlete, I have connected with diverse people and have worked side by side with them daily to accomplish a common goal. Along this journey, I have developed vital life skills such as leadership, communication, accountability, commitment and perseverance. These skills, as well as many others, are universal and applicable in any career that I choose to pursue.”
Kaniho was a first-team All-Mountain West selection last season after finishing third on the team with 11 tackles for loss and fourth with 61 tackles. He was a second-team pick this year after leading the Broncos with seven passes defended and finishing with 32 tackles.
He has also excelled in the classroom and carries a 3.94 GPA. He’s majoring in health science and is a three-time Academic All-Mountain West honoree and Mountain West Scholar-Athlete Award recipient.
Kaniho is also one of 12 finalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, which recognizes an individual as the best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. He’s also one of 24 finalists for the 2020 Lott Impact Trophy, which recognizes the top defensive college football player who demonstrates excellence in the field of athletics and exemplifies the IMPACT acronym: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.
Williams named All-American again
Boise State senior Avery Williams earned his third first-team All-America honor Wednesday after making the cut on the Football Writers Association of America’s top team.
It’s the fifth overall All-America honor Williams has received this year. He was also named first team by USA Today and Sporting News, third team by The Associated Press and second team by CBS Sports.
The former walk-on needs one more first-team selection to be considered a consensus All-American.
The NCAA takes five All-American teams into consideration — AP, Sporting News, FWAA, Walter Camp and American Football Coaches Association — and players must be first-team selections on half of them to earn consensus status. The Walter Camp and AFCA teams have yet to be announced.
Williams led the nation this season with four special teams touchdowns — returning two kickoffs and one punt for touchdowns and recovering a punt he blocked in the end zone in the Broncos’ win over Colorado State. He also blocked a field-goal attempt that night.
He returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown in the conference championship game against San Jose State, and Williams was named Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Provenzano won’t return
Boise State linebacker Nick Provenzano said Wednesday that he won’t return next season despite the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility.
Provenzano — a redshirt senior who contributed mostly on special teams the past two seasons — is the fourth member of the Broncos’ senior class who won’t return next season.
Williams and tight end John Bates declared for the NFL Draft on Christmas Eve, and right tackle Nick Crabtree announced Dec. 23 that he’s stepping away from football to focus on his professional life.
Provenzano appeared in all but one game this season. He missed the Broncos’ road trip to Hawaii for undisclosed reasons and finished the season with three tackles. He appeared in all 14 games last season, contributing mainly on special teams.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 2:29 PM.
