by staff–1 Dec ’15
University of Wyoming sophomore running back Brian Hill, who rushed for 232 yards in helping lead the Wyoming Cowboys to a 35-28 home victory over UNLV last Saturday, was named the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Hill scored one touchdown rushing and also caught two passes for 18 yards, giving him 250 all-purpose yards on the day. His 232 yards rushing versus the Rebels increased his season total to 1,631 rushing yards, which set a new UW school record. Hill surpassed the previous record of 1,455 yards set by former Cowboy great Ryan Christopherson in the 1994 season. Hill becomes the first Cowboy in history to rush for over 1,500 and over 1,600 yards in a single season. He averaged 135.9 yards rushing per game, which also set a new UW single-season record, breaking Christopherson’s record of 121.3 yards per game in 1994.
Against UNLV, the Belleville, Ill., native carried a career high 35 times. His 232 yards rushing was the fourth best performance in the nation last week and was tops in the Mountain West. It was his fourth 200-yard rushing game of the season and fifth of his career, which is also a Wyoming school record. Hill averaged 6.6 yards per carry versus UNLV, and had big runs of 10, 10, 12, 15 and 72 yards. He broke the UW single-season record on his 72-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
Hill is currently ranked No. 1 in the Mountain West and No. 7 in the NCAA in total rushing yards (1,631) for the season. His per-game average of 135.9 rushing yards also leads the MW and ranks No. 8 nationally.
The 1,631 rushing yards ranks as the sixth best single-season total in Mountain West history, and ranks as the fourth best by a sophomore in MW history.
For his career, Hill has rushed for 2,427 yards and ranks No. 5 in career rushing yards in Wyoming school history.
He was one of 11 semifinalists for this year’s Doak Walker Award, presented to the premier college running back in the nation each season.
