CEDAR CITY, Utah, Sept. 12 – Southern Utah senior Austin Minefee has been named this week's National Kickoff Returner of the Week by College Football Performance Awards following his performance in the Thunderbirds' 35-14 win over No. 12 Sacramento State last Saturday.

Minefee, a running back from Cedar City's Canyon View High School, helped spark the Thunderbirds to the win with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown late in the second quarter. The score came after CSUS had put together a 16-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-10 advantage, but Minefee's return put the Thunderbirds ahead for good. Sacramento State did not score the rest of the way and SUU went on to score 25 unanswered points to claim the victory.

Minefee returned three kickoffs in the game, for a total of 121 yards and finished with 195 all-purpose yards, including 47 rushing and 27 receiving.

The CFPA bases its awards on a statistical formula which determines the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.

-- SUU --