Oct. 21, 2002

LAS VEGAS - UNLV strong safety Jamaal Brimmer has been named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week after helping his team to a 24-3 victory over BYU Saturday, the league announced Monday.

Brimmer, a 6-1, 205-pound sophomore out of Durango High School in Las Vegas, totaled nine tackles, including eight solo takedowns, vs. the Cougars, who were held to their lowest point total at home since 1971.

He was credited with one quarterback sack and leads the MWC in tackles for loss with 12. Brimmer also forced two fumbles, including a pivotal takeaway in the fourth quarter that he returned 27 yards for a touchdown to give his team a 15-3 lead before the successful two-point conversion.

Brimmer is the first Rebel safety to win the award since Jason Davis was named Big West Conference Player of the Week on Oct. 5, 1992.

He joins Rebel senior linebacker Tyrone Tucker in winning a player-of-the-week award this fall. UNLV and BYU are the only two schools to have had at least one player honored in all three categories (offense, defense and special teams) during the first three years of the league.

San Diego State senior wide receiver J.R. Tolver (7 catches for 133 yards) was named this week's offensive honoree while Colorado State punter Joey Huber (47-yard average, including a 72-yard effort) was tabbed for special teams.

UNLV (3-4) travels to San Diego State (2-5) for a key conference battle this Saturday at 4 p.m. PDT. The game will not be televised.