LOGAN, Utah – Utah State passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Kyle Cefalo was announced as a nominee for the Broyles Award, the Frank and Barbara Broyles Foundation announced Monday afternoon.

The Broyles Award annually honors the nation's top college football assistant coach.

Cefalo is one of 59 nominees in this year's class, selected from approximately 1,270 assistant coaches representing 127 programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Broyles Award selection process includes the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), broadcasters, a college football hall-of-fame selection committee and current college head coaches.

Cefalo, who is in his first season with the Aggies, has coached Deven Thompkins to his best season at Utah State. The senior wide receiver was named as one of 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award on Monday. The award annually recognizes the college football season's outstanding FBS receiver.

Thompkins leads the nation in receiving (144.1 ypg) and all-purpose yards (169.9 pg), and is eighth in the nation in receptions (7.7 pg) and 16th in receiving touchdowns with eight. He also leads the nation with eight 100-yard receiving games this year, including six straight, and is the only player in the nation with five games of 170-plus receiving yards.

On the season, the 5-foot-8, 155-pound native of Fort Myers, Florida, has caught 77 passes for 1,441 yards and is just 91 yards shy of breaking Kevin Curtis' school record of 1,531 yards receiving that was set in 2001. Thompkins and Curtis currently share the school record for consecutive 100-yard receiving games, as well, with six.

Cefalo joined Utah State after spending four seasons as the wide receivers coach at Arkansas State, including serving as the special teams co-coordinator his last two years.
 
During the 2020 season, Cefalo coached the Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year in Jonathan Adams Jr., who was named an Associated Press Second-Team All-American. A Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, Adams was third in the nation in total receptions (79) and touchdown catches (12), and fifth in receiving yards (1,111) in 2020.

Utah State is averaging 467.0 yards per game to lead the Mountain West and rank 14th in the nation. The Aggies also rank second in the MW and 32nd in the nation in scoring offense (33.4 ppg), third in the MW and 15th in the nation in passing offense (315.2 ypg), third in the MW and 28th in the nation in passing efficiency (152.7), fourth in the MW and 77th in the nation in completion percentage (.603), fifth in the MW and 73rd in the nation in rushing offense (151.8 ypg), and eighth in the MW and 63rd in the nation in sacks allowed with 22 (2.20 pg).

Utah State's offense also ranks first in the MW and 18th in the nation in third down conversions at 46.1 percent (77-of-167), second in the MW and 14th in the nation in passing yards per completion (14.39), second in the MW and 15th in the nation in first downs (24.4 pg), third in the MW and 50th in the nation in fourth down conversions at 56.5 percent (13-of-23), and fifth in the MW and 44th in the nation in fumbles lost with five (0.50 pg).

A 43-member selection committee of distinguished former head coaches, broadcasters and a committee representing the FWAA will select 15 semifinalists and five finalists from the list of nominees and an overall winner.

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.

-USU-