LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV's victory in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon on Saturday also produced two individual honors for the program as record-smashing placekicker Daniel Gutierrez earned yet another Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Week nod and safety Johnathan Baldwin was named MW Defensive Player of the Week for the first time, the league announced Monday.
Gutierrez won for the third time this season to become the first Rebel to earn four career special team conference honors. That total also tied him with former LB Beau Bell (2004-07 in the MW) and Hall of Fame QB Randall Cunningham (1982-84 in the Big West) for the most overall league weekly honors by any UNLV football player.
In his home finale, the Los Angeles native scored nine points to help the Rebels down UNR 27-22. He hit all three of his extra-point attempts to make him a perfect 34-for-34 on the season. His 33-yard field goal gave his team a 17-13 lead in the second quarter and his 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter gave UNLV a 20-16 lead and improved his season FG numbers to a stunning 18-of-19.
The most prolific kicker in school history, Gutierrez broke a tie with Hall of Famer Nick Garritano with his 54th and 55th career field goals and also extended his own school record for all-time points scored to 280. Gutierrez was previously honored by the Mountain West on Nov. 14, Oct. 3 and as a freshman in 2017.
On defense, Baldwin had a career day with eight total tackles (including seven solo stops), a defensive touchdown, his first interception of the season and two pass breakups. With the Rebels trailing 13-0, the sophomore from Houston picked up a Wolf Pack fumble and raced 55 yards to spark his team's rally. He later thwarted a UNR potential scoring drive with the pick that he returned 15 yards to midfield and finally broke up a fourth-and-goal pass attempt from the three-yard line into the end zone that preserved UNLV's thrilling victory in the in-state rivalry.
This marked the sixth and seventh time in 2022 that a Rebel was recognized by the league, which is just one short of the UNLV single-season record for most such honors in any league (eight in the MW in 2003 and eight in the Big West in 1984).
