Pair Of Aggies Earn Mountain West Honors In Utah State Win

LOGAN, Utah – Quarterback Bishop Davenport and punter Stephen Kotsanlee have been honored by the Mountain West for the play in Utah State’s win over Colorado State on Saturday, October 15.

The Mountain West Conference announced the weekly awards on Monday, October 17.

Crazy weekend for this young man. Thursday morning Freshmen QB Bishop Davenport was putting in work with the rest of our Developmental group – Saturday Night he, unexpectedly, had to step in and lead us to a conference win on the road. #StayReadyYouDontHaveToGetReady pic.twitter.com/e8LaW1dSaV

— Paul Jackson (@CoachPJackson) October 16, 2022

Unexpectedly pressed into action after Cooper Legas left with a concussion and Levi Williams injured his right ankle, Davenport was 3-of-9 through the air for 41 yards. The true freshman quarterback finished with 29 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in his first appearance.

Anderson spoke of Davenports lack of practice reps leading up to tonight.

“To go out and to be able to do what he did says a lot about just his poise, and what really he’s capable of moving forward.”

Davenport became the first true freshman to play quarterback for Utah State since Andrew Peasley in 2018.

In a 17-13 battle, field position played a critical role and Aggie punter Stephen Kotsanlee played an important part in giving the Rams offense a long field to work with.

Punting five times in the game, Kotsanlee averaged 47.2 yards per punt with three punts going longer than 50 yards.

About Stephen Kotsanlee

A 6’1 rugby player out of Melbourne, Australia, Kotsanlee joined Utah State as a punter in 2020.

As a freshman, Kotsanlee earned all-Mountain West honorable mention while averaging 40.7 yards per punt and 37 attempts.  17 of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.

Stephen Kotsanlee (@SKotsy17) averaged 47.2 yards per punt, including three over 50 yards, in @USUFootball's win over Colorado State 🐮⁠
⁠#AtThePEAK | #MWFB | #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/5xUgcPqJEV

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) October 17, 2022

As a sophomore, his 42.5 yards per punt ranked ninth-best in school history for a single season. He finished with nine 50+ yard punts, 19 punts were downed inside the 20-yard line and and 20 resulted in a fair catch.

Kotsanlee has punted 35 times this season with a long of 60 yards coming against Alabama on September 3.

About Bishop Davenport

A 6’2 freshman out of Spring, Texas, Davenport was considered one of the jewels of
Utah State’s 2022 recruiting class.

Bishop Davenport (@bcincoo) came in off the bench to rally @USUFootball to a 17-13 win against Colorado State, scoring the game-winning TD for the Aggies 👏👏👏#AtThePEAK | #MWFB | #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/NpTY9vMRrS

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) October 17, 2022

Davenport was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was named the Texas District 14-6A co-Offensive MVP and a first-team quarterback as a prep senior in 2021.

Davenport threw for 7,433 yards during his prep career, as he was 486-of-714 (.681) passing with 77 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,667 yards on 232 carries (7.2 ypr) with 16 touchdowns as he had five 100-yard rushing games for Spring High School.

Up Next

Utah State (3-4, 2-1) head east to Laramie, Wyoming where they will face the Wyoming Cowboys (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday, October 22. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. (MST).

Every Utah State football game can be heard on the KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard and former Aggie quarterback Kevin White on the call.

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