Utah State’s Justin Rice named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week

Photo by Robert Scott

LOGAN, Utah – Justin Rice’s dominant effort in Utah State’s 48-24 home-opening win against North Dakota has earned him Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week honors, it was announced Monday by the conference office.

This is the second time the graduate senior from Modesto, California, has won the MW weekly award. He also won it during his redshirt junior season at Fresno State in 2019. Overall, this is Utah State’s second weekly honor of the season and its 36th in its ninth season in the league.

Rice intercepted two passes against the Fighting Hawks, the second leading to the Aggies’ final touchdown of the night. The 6-foot-2, 225-pound inside linebacker also had a season-high nine tackles, including 1.0 tackles for loss. He is the first Aggie to have multiple interceptions in a game since DJ Williams had a pair of picks at New Mexico in 2019.

Rice and the Aggies (2-0) return to action this weekend when they open Mountain West play at Air Force (2-0) on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 5:30 p.m. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports 2.

For Aggie football ticket information, fans can contact the USU Athletics Ticket Office over the phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or 435-797-0305 during regular hours of operation. Fans can also buy their tickets in person at the USU Ticket Office inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum or online by clicking on the “Buy Tickets” tab at www.UtahStateAggies.com.

For more information on the Utah State football program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUFootball, on Facebook at USUFootball and on Instagram at USUFootball.

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