COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Nine San Diego State football players earned all-Mountain West honors, the league announced Tuesday. The all-conference awards are voted on by the league's 12 head coaches and various media members from the league.
Three Aztecs made the first team in senior running back Marquez Cooper, sophomore EDGE Trey White and senior punter Tyler Pastula, while junior placekicker Gabriel Plascencia landed on the second team. SDSU also had five honorable mentions, including junior offensive lineman Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli, redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordan Napier, junior safety Eric Butler, junior cornerback Chris Johnson and sophomore linebacker Tano Letuli.
One of three San Diego State captains to earn all-conference accolades (also White and Letuli), Cooper ran for 1,274 yards and 12 touchdowns on 292 carries, while adding 20 catches for 137 yards and two more scores. Cooper, who finished his collegiate career with the 20th-most rushing yards in NCAA FBS history (5,130), is ranked 16th in FBS play this year with 106.2 rushing yards per game and 26th in all-purpose yards per game (117.58). His 1,274 yards were the 13th most in Aztec single-season history.
White, meanwhile, logged 60 tackles (40 solo), including 12 ½ sacks for 68 yards and 18 ½ tackles for loss for 102 yards. Among the NCAA FBS leaders, White is fourth in sacks per game (1.04) and fifth in tackles for loss per game (1.50). A midseason All-America selection by multiple outlets, White’s 12 ½ sacks are tied for the third most in Aztec single-season history, while the 18 ½ tackles for loss ranked 13th.
Pastula made it five consecutive years that a SDSU player made a Mountain West first or second team, joining Tanner Kuljian (second team in 2020), Matt Araiza (first team in 2021) and Jack Browning (first team in 2022, second team in 2023). Pastula, who spent his first four years at the FCS level (Delaware, 2020-21 and Albany, 2022-23), punted 58 times for 2,675 yards (46.1 avg.) with 18 landing inside the 20-yard line and 17 going for at least 50 yards. His 46.12 punt average ranked third in San Diego State single-season history and fourth in NCAA FBS play this year.
Plascencia is the lone Aztec on the second team, finishing his first season as the team’s primary kicker making 13 of 14 field goal attempts (92.9), including 12 consecutive makes to close the campaign. Plascencia leads the league and ranks ninth in the country with his 92.9 field goal percentage. Additionally, his 92.9 field goal percentage was a school single-season record, eclipsing John Baron II’s 91.3 percent mark (21-for-23) in 2016.
Napier caught 43 passes for 440 yards (10.2 avg.) and a team-high four receiving touchdowns. He also returned four kickoffs for a 25.8 average and three punts for a 9.0 average. Ulagalu-Maseuli started all 12 games and played the second-most offensive snaps (828) on the team.
Butler totaled 49 tackles (34 solo) with an interception returned for a touchdown, 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble, while Johnson came up with 66 tackles (49 solo), an interception, three forced fumbles, four pass breakups and a blocked kick. Letuli led the team with 70 tackles (38 solo), despite missing two games with an injury, to go along with 3.5 tackles for loss, an interception and a fumble recovery.
The Aztecs finished the 2024 campaign with a 3-9 record, including a 2-5 mark in MW play. It was just SDSU’s second losing season since 2009.
2024 Mountain West All-Conference Football Awards (SDSU Players Only)
First Team Offense
RB Marquez Cooper, Sr.
First Team Defense
DL Trey White, So.
P Tyler Pastula, Sr.
Second Team Offense
PK Gabe Plascencia, Jr.
Honorable Mention
DB Eric Butler, Jr.
DB Chris Johnson, Jr.
LB Tano Letuli, So.
WR Jordan Napier, RS-Fr.
OL Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli, Jr.