Christian, a senior from San Diego, Calif. (Palomar JC), completed 16-of-27 passes for a career-high 296 yards and a career-high four touchdowns with no interceptions in New Mexico State's 42-28 win at New Mexico. Christian also rushed for a career-high 101 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He had 397 yards of total offense and accounted for five of the six Aggie touchdowns in the game.
Smith, a sophomore from Covina, Calif. (Covina HS), had a team-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble in San Jose State's 38-31 win at Colorado State. The forced fumble occurred in the second quarter and was returned 20 yards for a touchdown to give the Spartans a 17-7 lead. He also made two third-down tackles that resulted in punts including one late in the game when the score was tied at 31 apiece.
Hernandez, a junior from Lapwai, Idaho (Lapwai HS), blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown with 3:11 left in Idaho's game at Virginia. Idaho trailed 14-6 at the time and following the successful two-point conversion after the touchdown, the Vandals forced overtime before losing 21-20 after an unsuccessful two-point try in the extra period.
Others nominated on offense: sophomore wide receiver Jalen Saunders, Fresno State; senior wide receiver Royce Pollard, Hawai‘i; senior quarterback Matt Faulkner, San Jose State; and junior running back Robert Turbin, Utah State.
Also nominated on defense: senior linebacker Kyle Knox, Fresno State; senior safety Richard Torres, Hawai‘i; junior cornerback Aaron Grymes, Idaho; senior linebacker Brandon Marshall, Nevada; senior safety Donyae Coleman, New Mexico State; and senior linebacker Bobby Wagner, Utah State.
Other special teams nominations included: senior punt returner Devon Wylie, Fresno State; senior cornerback Tank Hopkins, Hawai‘i; junior punter Ryan Allen, Louisiana Tech; senior punter Jake Hurst, Nevada; freshman kick returner Austin Franklin, New Mexico State; sophomore punter Harrison Waid, San Jose State; and junior kick returner Kerwynn Williams, Utah State.
-WAC-
