Speedy back, who turned into one of the top kick returners in the country ... Carried the load in 2017 with the NCAA's all-time leading rusher Donnel Pumphrey graduating to play with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles ... Finished his career tied for the most career kick return touchdowns (7) and return (KR/PR) touchdowns (8) in NCAA FBS history ... Four of his seven kick return touchdowns went for 100 yards (has only happened three other times in school history), which was also just one shy of tying a NCAA FBS record ... Also finished his Aztec career ranked first all-time at SDSU in kick return yards (2,449) and rushing yards per carry (7.49, min. 1,100 yards), tied for first in 200-yard rushing games (7), second in all-purpose yards (6,654) and kick returns (81), third in rushing yards (3,656), rushing touchdowns (38), overall touchdowns (52) and 100-yard rushing games (16), and fourth in points scored (312) ... Averaged 7.49 yards per carry, the third-best mark in NCAA FBS play since 1996 (min. 400 att.), only trailing Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon (7.79) and Stanford's Bryce Love (7.76) ... SDSU was 25-5 over his career when he scored at least one touchdown, 13-1 when he scored multiple touchdowns, 19-3 when he rushed for at least one score and 10-1 when he rushed for multiple touchdowns ... The Aztecs were also 15-1 when he rushed for at least 100 yards, 9-1 when he broke 150 yards and 6-1 when he reached 200 yards ... Finished his career with five straight games with at least 200 yards rushing, tying an NCAA FBS record with USC's Marcus Allen (1981), Oklahoma State's Barry Sanders (1988) and North Texas' Jamario Thomas (2014) ... Scored multiple rushing touchdowns in 11 games over his career, including eight times in 2017 ... Had 52 overall touchdowns, including 38 rushing, seven kick return, six receiving and one punt return ... Had 48 touchdowns (37 rushing, five receiving, five kick return and one punt return) over the final 31 games ... Penny had nine MW player-of-the-week awards for his career, including seven in 2017 in 12 weeks (five-time offensive player of the week, two-time special teams player of the week (He was also a MW Special Teams Player-of-the-Week winner once in 2015 and once in 2016) ... Penny's nine MW weekly accolades were the SDSU's most in league history ... Did not miss a game at San Diego State, playing in all 54 games.
Racked up numerous postseason accolades, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in Heisman Trophy voting (most outstanding player in college football) ... The fifth-place finish in the Heisman was the best by an Aztec since Marshall Faulk finished fourth in 1993 (third best overall), best by a Group of 5 running back since TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson was fourth in 2000, and best by a Mountain West team since Utah's Alex Smith was fourth in 2004 (second best overall) ... Also was a Walter Camp Player-of-the-Year finalist, Maxwell Award semifinalist (college player of the year) and Doak Walker Award semifinalist (nation's premier running back) ... Has been named a first-team All-American by Associated Press, FWAA, The Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, USA Today, CBS Sports, All-American and Bleacher Report ... Also is a consensus first-team All-American, SDSU's third consensus All-American in program history (also Marshall Faulk in 1992 and 1993, and Kyle Turley in 1997) ... Also has been named a second-team All-American by Walter Camp, CBS Sports (all-purpose) and SB Nation ... Was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and the MW Special Teams Player of the Year, the first in league history to win two player-of-the-year awards ... Became the first returner in league history earn the MW Special Teams Player-of-the-Year award in three consecutive seasons (2015-17) and the second player overall (also Utah kicker Louie Sakoda from 2006-08) ... Also was a all-Mountain West first-team pick at running back and punt returner by the league's coaches and media ... Also on the Pro Football Focus all-MW team at running back, and the Phil Steele Magazine all-MW first team at both running back and kick returner ... Was awarded the team's John Simcox Memorial Trophy (MVP) and the Byron H. Chase Memorial Trophy (offensive player-of-the-year) and the Dr. R. Hardy/C.E. Peterson Memorial Trophy (captain's award) ... Is a captain, voted on by his teammates ... Midseason awards included being named a second-team All-America selection by both the Associated Press and Sports Illustrated, on the CFPA Player of the Year Midseason Watch List and Sports Illustrated's Best Group of Five Heisman Candidate ... Also racked up numerous preseason national recognition, including being named to four watch lists - Maxwell Award (collegiate player of the year), Walter Camp Player of the Year, Hornung Award (most versatile player) and CFPA National Performer of the Year ... Also was named a second-team All-American as a kick returner by both Phil Steele Magazine and CBS Sports, and a third-team selection by Athlon Sports ... Was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year by the league's media, as well as a preseason first-team all-MW selection at both running back and kick returner ... Also dominated the preseason magazine awards, earning first-team honors at running back by Athlon Sports, Lindy's Sports, Phil Steele Magazine and Street & Smith's, and at kick returner by Athlon Sports, Phil Steele Magazine and Lindy's Sports (all-purpose) ... Lindy's had him as the "Fourth-Rated All-Purpose Player in FBS" and the "Sixth-Rated Talent in the MW" ... Labeled as the "Ninth-Rated Return Specialist in the 2018 NFL Draft" by Phil Steele Magazine ... CBS Sports had him as the "16th-Rated Running Back in the 2018 NFL Draft" ... Also deemed the "MW's Heisman Hopeful" and "MW's Top NFL Prospect" by Street & Smith's ... Matthew Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel had him as a "Top 10 MW Player to Watch," while Pete Fiutak of Campus Insiders as him as "SDSU's Best Offensive Player" ... Rushed 289 times for 2,248 yards (7.8 avg.) on the season with 23 rushing touchdowns and a long run of 95 yards ... Also had 19 catches for 135 yards (7.1 avg) and two touchdowns with a long reception of 33 yards ... Also returned 17 kicks for 521 yards (30.6 avg.), including two touchdowns (100 yards and 99 yards), and two punt returns for 70 yards (35.0 avg.) with a 70-yard touchdown ... Led the FBS in rushing yards (2,248), rushing yards per game (172.9), all-purpose yards (2,974) and all-purpose yards per game (228.8), and was second in rushing touchdowns (23), total touchdowns (28), points (168), points per game (12.9) and rushing yards per carry (7.78, min. 175 att.) ... Also was tied for fifth in kickoff return touchdowns (2), fifth in kickoff return average (30.6) and tied for 10th in punt return touchdowns (1) ... Ranked fifth in NCAA FBS single-season history in both rushing yards (2,248) and all-purpose yards (2,974) ... His 2,248 rushing yards were more than 78 other FBS teams (he would've ranked 52nd as a "team") ... Finished with school records in rushing yards (2,248), rushing yards per game (172.9), all-purpose yards (2,974), all-purpose yards per game (228.8), 200-yard rushing games (6) and overall touchdowns (28), and tied for first in 100-yard rushing games (11) and rushing touchdowns (23) ... Was the second Aztec in school history and first since Marshall Faulk in 1992 to start a season with six straight 100-yard rushing games ... Became the sixth Aztec with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons in program history (also Faulk (3), Donnel Pumphrey (3), Paul Hewitt (2), Ronnie Hillman (2) and Adam Muema (2)) ... Reached 1,000 rushing yards in the team's seventh game of the season, tied for the third-fewest games in program history ... Penny's rush averages by quarter this year: 1st - 7.8, 2nd - 6.3, 3rd - 7.9, 4th - 9.1 - and by half: 1st - 7.2, 2nd - 8.4 ... His rush averages by down - 1st - 7.0, 2nd - 7.3, 3rd - 11.8, 4th - 8.7 ... Was named the MW Offensive Player of the Week five times this season (Sept. 4, Sept. 11, Sept. 18, Sept. 25 and Nov. 6), the MW Special Teams Player of the Week twice (Sept. 11 and Nov. 20), the Pro Football Focus National Team of the Week once (Nov. 1), and the MW Pro Football Focus Team of the Week six times (Sept. 13, Sept. 27, Oct. 11, Nov. 1, Nov. 8 and Nov. 29) ... Was named the MW Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4 for his play against UC Davis in the opener, when he ran for 197 yards and two touchdowns on a then career-high 21 carries in just three quarters ... The 197 yards were the third most in a SDSU season opener in its Division I history (since 1969) ... Also added an 18-yard kick return to finish with 215 all-purpose yards ... Gave San Diego State a 10-0 lead in the first quarter with a 61-yard touchdown run and later added a 9-yard TD late in the second in what proved to be the game-winning score, putting the Aztecs up, 24-3, at the half ... Had arguably the best game of this career at Arizona State at the time, rushing 18 times for a career-high 216 yards (12.0 avg.) and a touchdown, while adding four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown, and a 99-yard kick return for a score ... For his efforts, racked up numerous awards, including the Walter Camp FBS Offensive Player of the Week, the MW Offensive Player of the Week, the MW Special Teams Player of the Week, the Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll, the CFPA Honorable Mention National Performer of the Week and the MW Pro Football Focus Team of the Week ... In the game, Penny became the first player (still the only player) in FBS this season with at least one rushing touchdown, one receiving touchdown and one kick return score in the same game ... Penny's 353 all-purpose yards (216 rushing, 99 kick return and 38 receiving) were the fourth most in a FBS game this season and fourth most in SDSU single-game history ... Penny's first score was a 95-yard rushing touchdown to put San Diego State up, 7-0, in the first quarter, which was tied for the third-longest rushing play in FBS this season, and is the third-longest rushing play in program history and longest since a 99-yard run by Ronnie Hillman vs. Wyoming on Oct. 29, 2011 ... Later added a 99-yard kick return touchdown in the second quarter to put the Aztecs up, 14-7, tied for the 15th-longest kick return in FBS this season and tied for the eighth-longest kick return in program history ... Finished his scoring with a 33-yard touchdown catch from Christian Chapman in the third to give SDSU a 27-14 advantage ... He became the 11th player in SDSU history with multiple 200-yard rushing games ... Had another solid outing against Stanford, rushing a career-high 32 times for 175 yards, while adding a career-high five receptions for 31 yards en route to being named the MW Offensive Player of the Week for a third straight week ... The 175 yards were tied for the 10th most in the country this year against a Top 25 team ... Recorded his third consecutive 100-yard game and third straight 150-yard rushing game ... Broke 200 all-purpose yards for the third straight game ... Improved his average per carry each quarter, going 3.4 in the first, 5.6 in the second, 6.4 in the third and 7.2 in the fourth ... Rushed 20 times for 128 yards (6.4 avg.) with three touchdowns in stormy conditions at Air Force, while catching three passes for 18 yards en route to being named the MW Offensive Player of the Week for a fourth straight week, the first time that has happened in league history ... Also was named to the MW Pro Football Focus Team of the Week ... Recorded his fourth consecutive 100-yard game ... Became the 14th player to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards for his career ... His touchdowns got SDSU on the scoreboard (two yards), put the Aztecs in the lead at 14-9 (20 yards) and put San Diego State up for good at 28-24 (53 yards) ... Rushed 25 times for 107 yards, had two receptions for 32 yards and a touchdown, and returned three kickoffs for 86 yards vs. Northern Illinois ... Recorded his fifth consecutive 100-yard game ... Recorded his second receiving touchdown of the season and sixth of his career ... Rushed 27 times for 170 yards (6.3 avg.) and two touchdowns at UNLV, while adding two catches for eight yards ... Recorded his sixth consecutive 100-yard game (then tied for second-longest active streak in FBS play and tied for fifth-longest streak in SDSU history) and 11th of his career (all over the previous 16 games) ... Joined Marshall Faulk in 1992 as the only players in school history with six consecutive 100-yard rushing games to open a season ... Was named to the MW Pro Football Focus Team of the Week for his efforts vs. the Rebels ... Rushed for 53 yards on 21 carries and returned one kick for 17 yards against Boise State ... Eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards for the second consecutive season ... Became the sixth Aztec with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons in program history (also Marshall Faulk (3), Donnel Pumphrey (3), Paul Hewitt (2), Ronnie Hillman (2) and Adam Muema (2)) ... Broke 1,000 rushing yards in just the seventh game of the season, tied for the third-fewest games to reach 1,000 yards in program history (also Hillman (2011) and George Jones (1995)) ... Only Pumphrey (2016) and Faulk (1992) reached 1,000 yards in fewer games (both in their sixth game) ... Became the third player in FBS play this season to break 1,000 yards ... Rushed 15 times for 69 yards (4.6 avg.) with a long of 21 yards against Fresno State ... Also caught a 9-yard pass and returned four kicks for 57 yards (14.3 avg.) ... Rushed 30 times for a career-high 253 yards (8.4 avg.) and two touchdowns at Hawai'i ... The 253 yards were the 13th most in a FBS game this season and tied for the 12th most in school history ... Was named to the MW Pro Football Focus Team of the Week for his play ... His rushing attempts, yards and average by quarter: 1st - 13-45-3.5, 2nd - 3-35-11.7, 3rd - 8-32-4.0 and 4th - 6-141-23.5 - and by half: 1st - 16-80-5.0 and 2nd - 14-173-12.4 ... Also added a 16-yard kick return, giving him 269 all-purpose yards, the second most of his career and the 27th most in a game this season ... Had all 99 yards on SDSU's drive in the fourth quarter to take a 28-7 lead on six carries ... Rushed 20 times for 234 yards (11.7 avg.) with three touchdowns at San Jose State en route to being named the MW Offensive Player of the Week for a fifth time of the season (sixth time winning a MW player-of-the-week award this year and eighth of his career) ... Also was named to the MW Pro Football Focus Team of the Week for the fifth time on the year ... The 234 rushing yards were the second most of his career and 25th most in program history ... Had a monster game against Nevada en route to being named the Walter Camp FBS Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and the MW Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time this year (seventh time winning a MW player-of-the-week award this year and ninth of his career) ... Ended up rushing 24 times for 222 yards (9.2 avg.) with two touchdowns, caught a 6-yard pass, returned two kicks for 131 yards (65.5 avg.), including a 100-yard touchdown, and returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown ... Totaled 429 all-purpose yards, tied for the ninth most in a game in NCAA FBS history ... His 429 all-purpose yards broke Marshall Faulk's San Diego State record of 422 vs. Pacific on Sept. 14, 1991 ... Became just the second FBS player since at least 1996 with a rushing touchdown, kick return touchdown and punt return touchdown in the same game (also Missouri's Marcus Murphy vs. Florida on Oct. 18, 2014) and the only player since 1996 with two rushing touchdowns, one kick return touchdown and one punt return touchdown ... Recorded his seventh kick return touchdown in school history, tying Clemson's C.J. Spiller (2006-09) and Houston's Tyron Carrier (2008-11) for the most in NCAA FBS history ... Recorded his fourth career 100-yard kick return for touchdown, one shy of tying an NCAA FBS record ... Became the first Aztec in program history with at least 200 yards rushing in three consecutive games and the first by an NCAA FBS player since LSU's Leonard Fournette in 2015 ... Returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown in his first career time back as a punt returner ... Became just the second player in FBS this season with a rushing touchdown, receiving touchdown, kick return touchdown and punt return touchdown (also TCU's KaVontae Turpin) ... Had a career-high four touchdowns, tied for the eighth most in a game this season ... Finished his career with the following numbers against Nevada - 41 rushes, 472 yards (11.5 avg.), 5 TD | 5 catches, 54 yards (10.8 avg.), 0 TD | 7 kick returns, 259 yards (37.0 avg.), 1 TD | 1 punt return, 70 yards (70.0 avg.), 1 TD | 54 touches, 855 all-purpose yards (15.8 avg.), 7 TD ... Rushed 22 times for 203 yards and two touchdowns against New Mexico on Senior Day, while adding a 33-yard kick return ... Became the first FBS player since Tulane's Matt Forte in 2007 with at least 200 yards rushing in four consecutive games ... Broke 200 yards rushing for the fifth time this season, passing Donnel Pumphrey (2016) and Marshall Faulk (1992) for the most in SDSU single-season history ... Rushed 14 times for 221 yards and four touchdowns, which is a 15.8 yards-per-carry average against Army West Point in the Armed Forces Bowl ... The 221 rushing yards were the most in a bowl game, while the four rushing scores ranked in a tie for second ... For his efforts, was named to multiple all-bowl teams, including Associated Press, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Bleacher Report ... Set a career high with four rushing touchdowns and matched his career high with four touchdowns overall ... Both the four rushing scores and overall scores were tied for the eighth most in a game on the season ... Passed Donnel Pumphrey (2,133 yards in 2016) for the most rushing yards in program history and his 2,248 yards are the fifth most in NCAA FBS single-season history ... Became the fourth player in FBS history with at least 200 yards rushing in five straight games. The others are Marcus Allen (USC, 1981), Barry Sanders (Oklahoma State, 1988) and Jamario Thomas (North Texas, 2004) ... Broke 100 yards rushing for the fifth straight game, 11th time this season and 16th time of his career ... The 11 100-yard rushing games this year rank in a tie for first in SDSU single-season history (Donnel Pumphrey in 2016), while the 16 career 100-yard games are ranked third ... Broke 150 yards for the ninth time this season and 10th time of his career ... Broke 200 yards rushing for the sixth time this season, passing Donnel Pumphrey (2016) and Marshall Faulk (1992) for the most in SDSU single-season history ... His seven career 200-yard rushing games are tied with Faulk for the most in SDSU history ... Scored his 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd rushing touchdowns this season (T-1st in SDSU single-season) and now has 38 for his career (3rd in SDSU history) ... Now has 28 touchdowns on the year, a school record, and 52 for his career (3rd in SDSU history) ... San Diego State fell to 25-5 over his career when he scored at least one touchdown, 13-1 when he scored multiple times, 19-3 when he rushed for at least one touchdown and 10-1 when he rushed for multiple touchdowns) ... The Aztecs also fell to 15-1 when he rushed for at least 100 yards, 9-1 when he rushed for 150 yards and 5-1 when he eclipsed 200 yards ... Finished his career ranked third all-time at San Diego State with 3,656 rushing yards.
Was named the MW Special Teams Player of the Year for a second straight season and also was a first-team all-MW pick ... Was the second kick returner in conference history to win the special teams player-of-the-year award twice (also Jeremy Kerley, 2009-10 at TCU) and the third player overall (also Louie Sakoda, 2006-08 at Utah) ... Was named the team's most valuable special teams player for a second straight season ... Was on the Paul Hornung Award Watch List, which goes out to the most versatile player ... Also was a preseason second-team All-American as a kick returner by both CBS Sports and Athlon Sports ... Was chosen as the preseason Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year by the league's media ... Also was a first-team all-Mountain West selection by the MW media, Phil Steele's 2016 College Football Preview, ESPN College Football 2016, Athlon Sports and Lindy's Sports ... Also deemed a "SDSU Player to Watch" by Lindy's Sports ... Rushed for 1,018 yards and 11 touchdowns on 136 attempts (7.5 avg.), while adding 15 catches for 224 yards (14.9 avg.) and three touchdowns ... The 1,018 yards ranked as the 21st most in SDSU single-season history ... Also returned 20 kickoffs for 624 yards (31.2 avg.) and two additional scores ... Was one of only nine players in the country with at least 11 rushing touchdowns and three receiving scores, and the only with a kick return TD as well (he had two) ... Had a touchdown in nine straight games, registering 11 total touchdowns over that span (six rushing, three receiving and two kick return), until he failed to score at Fresno State ... Ranked fourth in the nation (No. 1 in MW) in kick return average (31.2), despite being kicked away from most of the year as the defending MW Special Teams Player of the Year and preseason MW Special Teams Player of the Year ... Was also ranked first in the MW (No. 2 nationally) in kick return touchdowns (2), fifth in total touchdowns (26th nationally, 16), sixth in all-purpose yards per game (29th nationally, 133.29), and ninth in rushing yards per game (72.72) and rushing touchdowns (57th nationally, 11) ... Only 14 running backs had more receiving touchdowns than his three ... Carried nine times off the bench for 33 yards (3.7 avg.) with a 1-yard touchdown in the opener vs. New Hampshire ... Was named the MW Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 12 for his play against California ... Scored SDSU's first two touchdowns in the first quarter on a 25-yard pass from Christian Chapman and a 100-yard kick return ... The kick return touchdown was the fourth of his career, which passed Colin Lockett (2010-13) for the most in school history ... It was also the third 100-yard kick return of his career and sixth in program history ... Added eight rushes for 28 yards (3.5 avg.) ... Rushed 14 times for 65 yards, while adding two catches for 37 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown reception at Northern Illinois ... Rushed nine times for 62 yards and a touchdown at South Alabama ... Also returned three kicks for 58 yards (19.3 avg.) with a long of 26 yards ... Had another big game against UNLV, rushing 14 times for a 110 yards and a touchdown, and adding two catches for 50 yards and a touchdown ... The rushing yards, rushing touchdown, receptions, receiving yards and receiving TD were all personal bests ... Recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game (75th player in school history) ... Scored a touchdown for the ninth straight game, which gave him 11 touchdowns over that span, including six rushing, three receiving and two kick return ... Rushed 15 times for 49 yards (3.3 avg.) at Fresno State and added a 5-yard catch ... Also returned two kicks for 41 yards (20.5 avg.) with a long of 25 yards ... Had his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown snapped at nine ... Rushed nine times for 105 yards (11.7 avg.) and a career-high three touchdowns, while adding two catches (tied career high) for a career-best 64 yards against San José State ... It was his second career 100-yard game and second in three contests ... Highlighting the 105-yard game was a career-long 73-yarder ... Rushed five times for 16 yards (3.2 avg.) and caught a pass for no gain in limited action at Utah State ... Had a 56-yard kick return, but slightly injured his ankle on the play and saw little action the rest of the way ... The 56-yard return, however, moved him past Monty Gilbreath (1,505) into second place on the school's all-time list ... Rushed eight times for 108 yards and a touchdown against Hawai'i ... Logged his third career 100-yard rushing game ... His 73-yard touchdown tied a career-long rush ... Rushed 10 times for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns at Nevada ... Became the 20th player in school history with a 200-yard rushing game ... The 20.8 rushing average was the highest by an FBS running back in a game since at least 1996 (min. 10 attempts) ... Logged his fourth career 100-yard rushing game, all of which happened over his last six games ... Rushed five times for 79 yards (15.8 avg.) and had two kick returns for 94 yards, including a 93-yard return for a touchdown at Wyoming in his first start of the season (fifth overall) ... Had his second kick return for a touchdown this season and extended his school record with the fifth of his career ... Totaled 395 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries (17.2 avg.) over his last three games, and 516 yards and six touchdowns on 37 carries (13.9 avg.) over his last five contests ... Carried four times for 15 yards (3.8 avg.) against Colorado State, while returning a career-high seven kicks for 113 yards (16.1 avg.) ... Had a huge game at Wyoming in the MW Championship game, rushing 16 times for 117 yards (7.3 avg.) and two touchdowns, while adding two receptions for 13 yards and two kick returns for 113 yards, compiling a game-high 243 all-purpose yards ... Was named the game's most valuable offensive player for his efforts ... It was his 10th and 11th rushing touchdowns of the year (14th and 15th of his career) and 15th and 17th overall scores this season (23rd and 24th of career) ... Rushed 10 times for 23 yards, while adding a 4-yard catch vs. Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl ... Also returned two kicks for 29 yards (24.5 avg.) ... Became the 17th Aztec to record a 1,000-yard season (24th occasion overall) ... Finished the season with 1,018 yards, which ranks 21st in SDSU single-season history.
Was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year by the league's head coaches and media, and a first-team all-league pick as a kick returner ... Was the first Aztec to be named a league special teams player of the year in program history ... Also was named a fourth-team All-American by Phil Steele Magazine ... Was chosen as the Most Valuable Special Teams Player at the season-ending team banquet ... Was named a fourth-team preseason all-Mountain West selection as a kick returner by both Phil Steele and Athlon Sports ... Ranked third on the team with 1,292 all-purpose yards in 14 games (92.3 avg.) ... Was most impressive in the kick return game, where he returned 24 kicks for 804 yards (33.5 avg.) with three touchdowns (97, 100 and 100 yards) ... Was second in FBS in kick return average (33.5) and tied for second in kick return touchdowns (3) ... His three kick return touchdowns set a school single-season record ... His 804 kick return yards were the second most in Aztec single-season history (Monty Gilbreath, 880 in 1987) ... Also rushed 61 times for 368 yards (6.0 avg.) and four touchdowns, and had eight catches for 120 yards (15.0 avg.) and another score ... Added five tackles on special teams ... His three tackles on punt returns tied for second on the team ... Had a fantastic season debut vs. San Diego, taking the opening kickoff of the second half 97 yards for a touchdown ... It was the first kick return touchdown by an Aztec since Lockett on Nov. 3, 2012 at Boise State ... Was one of nine players in FBS with at least one kick return for a touchdown over the first week of play ... The 97-yard kick return was the fifth longest in FBS play during the opening week and tied for the eighth longest in SDSU history ... Also led the team with 39 receiving yards on two catches (19.5 avg.) and added a 6-yard carry ... Had another solid outing at California, leading the Aztecs once again with 130 all-purpose yards ... Returned three kickoffs for 93 yards (31.0 avg.), rushed five times for 34 yards (6.8 avg.) and caught one pass for three yards ... Returned two kicks for 34 yards (17.0 avg.), including a long of 25 against South Alabama ... Did not attempt a rush or catch a pass in the game ... Had a career game at Penn State, being named the MW Special Teams Player of the Week ... Returned two kicks for a career-high 137 yards (68.5 avg.), including a 100-yard touchdown (fourth 100-yard kick return touchdown in Aztec history) that tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter ... It was just the fifth kick return for a San Diego State player in a road game since 1996 and first since Nov. 3, 2012 with Lockett's 100-yarder at Boise State ... Also added a 55-yard rush, the longest of his career and first 50-plus yard run against the Nittany Lions since Nov. 23, 2013, and two solo tackles on special teams ... Finished the game with a career-best 192 all-purpose yards on just three touches (64.0 avg.) ... Had another good game vs. Fresno State, making two catches for a team-high 48 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown, adding a 17-yard rush and returning a kick back 18 yards ... The receiving touchdown was the first of his career ... Also set career highs in receiving yards (48), receptions (2, tied) and long reception (33) ... Returned two kicks for 34 yards at Hawai`i ... Also added a special teams tackle ... Had a 33-yard kick return at San José State, and rushed five times for 11 yards (2.2 avg.) ... Had a good game vs. Utah State, rushing a career-high 10 times for 38 yards and his first career touchdown ... Also returned a kick 22 yards ... Earned the start for the first time of his career at Colorado State ... Finished with 135 all-purpose yards (second most in the game) with 81 yards on three kick returns (27.0 avg.) and a long of 41 yards, and 54 rushing yards on nine attempts (6.0 avg.) ... Had a 6-yard rush against Wyoming in a second straight start ... Also returned two kicks for 50 yards (25.0 avg.) with a long of 28 yards ... Rushed for a career-high 81 yards and a touchdown on a career-best 18 attempts (4.5 avg.) off the bench at UNLV ... Also added a 2-yard reception ... Rushed six times for 21 yards and a touchdown in his third career start vs. Nevada ... Also caught two passes for 28 yards (14.0 avg.) and returned a kick for 18 yards ... The 18-yard return appeared to be returned 90 yards for a touchdown but a holding penalty kept it at just as a 18-yard return ... Had another good game in a start against Air Force with a 28-yard rushing touchdown and 87 kick returns yards on four returns (21.8 avg.) ... It was his fourth rushing touchdown this season (and of his career) ... Started out the Hawai`i Bowl with a 100-yard kick return for a touchdown against Cincinnati ... The kickoff return for a touchdown was his school-record third of the season and third of his career (tied with Colin Lockett for first all-time at SDSU) ... He became the first player to take an opening kickoff back for a touchdown in a bowl since Boise State's Doug Martin in the 2011 Las Vegas Bowl ... It was his eighth overall touchdown of the season (and career) (also four rushing and one receiving) ... Also carried three times for 17 yards (5.7 avg.).
Played in all 13 games as the team's main kick returner ... Returned 20 kicks for 500 yards (25.0 avg.) with a long of 57 yards ... The 25.0 average ranked second in the Mountain West and 29th in the nation ... Also had two rushes for 22 yards, including a long of 21 yards ... Was one of three true freshmen to see action in the opener vs. Northern Arizona ... Did not record a stat as both kickoffs were pooched ... Returned his first career kickoff at No. 21/23 North Carolina, taking it back 11 yards ... Had a 19-yard kick return at Oregon State ... Had a 15-yard kick return in the MW opener vs. UNLV ... Had the best kick return game of his career at Fresno State, returning a career-high three kicks for a career-best 67 yards (career-high 22.3 avg.) ... Included in the three returns was a career long of 33 yards ... Was back to return kicks once again at New Mexico, but did not have the chance to return any ... Started as the team's kick returner vs. Hawai`i, but did not return any kicks ... Had arguably his best outing of the year at Nevada, when he returned a career-high four kicks for a career-best 110 yards, including a career-long 45-yarder ... Also had his first career carry for 21 yards ... Finished with a game-high 131 all-purpose yards ... Returned one kickoff for 41 yards against Idaho ... Returned three kicks for 69 yards (23.0 avg.) at Boise State with a long of 36 yards ... Also carried once for a 1-yard gain ... Returned two kickoffs for 49 yards (24.5 avg.) against Air Force with a long of 28 yards ... Had a 12-yard kick return vs. San José State ... Had a solid outing vs. Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl, returning three kicks for 107 yards (35.7 avg.) ... Began the game with a 33-yard return, then added a career-long 57-yarder on his next return ... Later returned a kickoff 17 yards in the fourth quarter.
A three-time letterwinner at Norwalk High School in Norwalk, Calif. ... Rushed for 2,504 yards and 41 touchdowns on 216 carries as a senior ... Also caught 21 passes for 665 yards and 10 touchdowns ... Racked up 3,416 all-purpose yards ... Rushed for 1,872 yards and 30 touchdowns as a junior and 747 yards and nine scores as a sophomore ... Over his career, amassed 5,124 rushing yards on 496 carries (10.33 avg.) ... Scored 103 touchdowns, including 80 on the ground ... Made 68 tackles on defense as a senior and 90 overall ... Was named the Suburban League MVP as a senior, while earning first-team all-Suburban League honors his final three years ... Named first-team all-state ... Received three stars from Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN.com and 247sports.com ... Scout ranked him as the 42nd-best running back in the 2014 class, while 247sports had him 63rd ... Earned a grade of 84 by 247sports and a scout grade of 73 by ESPN.
Rashaad Armein Penny was born Feb. 2, 1996, in Norwalk, Calif. ... Son of Robert and Desiree Taplin ... Picked SDSU over offers from Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, San José State and Utah State ... Also drew interest from Alabama, Notre Dame, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA, Utah and Washington, among others ... Is majoring in interdisciplinary studies.
