CUSA Names UTEP’s Bryton Thompson Defensive Player of the Week Monday after Two-Touchdown Performance
DALLAS, Texas (KVIA) -- Conference USA named Bryton Thompson as the Defensive Player of the Week as announced by league officials on Monday. The weekly awards are voted on by a penal of the league’s media.
Thompson, a senior defensive end, had a big day on the defensive side of the ball, scoring two touchdowns on a pair of fumble recoveries during UTEP’s come-from-behind 42-35 victory at rival NM State in the 101st Battle of I-10 on Nov. 30.
Thompson’s first score came on a 33-yard scoop-and-score to pay dirt to put the Miners up 7-0 early in the ball game. Maurice Westmoreland hit Aggies’ quarterback Parker Awad with a blindside sack to force the fumble. The Houston product scored his second touchdown on a five-yard dash to the house, putting the Orange and Blue up 42-24 with 13:12 left in the contest. Tray Dunson forced the fumble on NM State running back PJ Johnson III for Thompson to scoop up. Thompson’s efforts helped surge a comeback during a 17-point deficit. He added four tackles against the Aggies.
Thompson was the first Miner to score two defensive touchdowns in one season since 2007, while he’s the only Miner to ever score two touchdowns on the defensive side of the ball during the modern era.
