MW Players of the Week: ‘Tote’ Runs Away With Rookie Honors

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Old Trapper Mountain West Football Players of the Week have been announced for Week 3. Utah State graduate quarterback Bryson Barnes has been tabbed the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week, while New Mexico junior linebacker Jaxton Eck was named MW Defensive Player of the Week.

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Hawai‘i senior placekicker Kansei Matsuzawa earned MW Special Teams Player of the Week honors and Wyoming running back Samuel Harris is the MW Freshman of the Week.

"He works hard and he deserves it," Wyoming running backs coach Gary Harrell said on Monday. "He's taking advantage of his opportunities. We're going to continue to put him in a position where you can have success. The thing about him, he helps the team. So that's the good part."

The MW awards are the second each for Barnes and Matsuzawa and the first each for Eck and Harris:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

BRYSON BARNES, UTAH STATE

Graduate, Quarterback, Milford, Utah/Utah

* Accounted for a career-high five touchdowns in Utah State’s 49-30 win over Air Force to open Mountain West play.
* Went 17-for-22 for two touchdowns and 287 yards, the second-most in his career and most in a Utah State uniform.
* Put together a passing efficiency of 216.9.
* Rushed 15 times for 44 yards and three touchdowns, becoming just the second player in program history to rush for three TDs and pass for two scores in the same game.
* Was named one of the Davey O'Brien Award's Great 8 for Week 3.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

JAXTON ECK, NEW MEXICO

Junior, Linebacker, Brookings, South Dakota/Idaho

* Recorded a game-high 11 tackles, including five solo efforts, in leading New Mexico’s defense in a 35-10 win at UCLA.
* Five of his tackles came in the fourth quarter.
* Tipped a third-and-2 pass that was intercepted in the fourth quarter, sealing the win.
* Helped the Lobos to their first win over an Autonomous 4 conference opponent since 2008 and their fewest points allowed to such an opponent since 2002.

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SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

KANSEI MATSUZAWA, HAWAI‘I

Senior, Placekicker, Tokyo, Japan/Hocking College

* Scored 11 points in Hawai‘i’s 23-3 win over Portland State, including matching his career high with three field goals.
* Converted from a career-long 44 yards on the Rainbow Warriors’ first drive of the second half.
* Extended his career-best with a 47-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Added a 35-yard field goal to cap the scoring late in the fourth quarter.

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

SAMUEL HARRIS, WYOMING

Freshman, Running Back, Cibolo, Texas/Byron P. Steele HS

* Rushed eight times for a career-best 68 yards in Wyoming’s 31-6 loss to No. 21/20 Utah.
* Had a career-long 28-yard run.
* Caught three catches for 37 yards, both career-bests.
* Finished with a career-high 105 all-purpose yards.

"Sam Harris touched the ball 11 times the other night. We had 105 yards on those 11 touches," Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel said Monday during his weekly press conference. "So, I mean, you got to look at that and you got to say, OK, if we're getting 10 yards a pop, (that's a good thing).

"... Sam Harris belonged, playing against Utah the other night. There's no doubt about that. So, we got to keep building and keep going with that."

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