College Update: St. Francis’ Ian Hamilton leads way for locals during bowl season

Ian Hamilton (St. Francis High, 2011) University of Texas El Paso football senior: The former All-Area first-team wide receiver with the Golden Knights will kick off the festivities as his Miners get going Saturday on the first day of the bowl season.

UTEP will face Utah State (9-4) at 11:20 a.m. (PST) in the ninth annual Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque on the campus of the University of New Mexico.

The game will be played at 37,457-person capacity University Stadium and will be aired on ESPN as the second of four bowl games that day.

For UTEP, the Miners punched their bowl ticket by finishing 7-5 overall and 5-3 in conference, which tied the team for second with Rice in the Conference USA West Division standings.

While UTEP is heading to the postseason for the 14th time in its history, this past season was historic given that the Miners finished with an above .500 record both overall and in conference for the first time since 2005.

“It feels great to be part of the senior group that was able to have the first winning season since 2005,” Hamilton said Thursday morning in New Mexico. “To be able to say that I helped accomplish that is special.”

The 6-foot-5 225-pound Pasadena City College transfer has played a prominent role with the Miners as he’s hauled in 23 receptions for a team-leading 500 yards with two touchdowns in 12 starts this season.

Hamilton has also played best against top flight competition, including when 11th-ranked Big Ten power Kansas State had trouble containing the receiver, who torched them for 112 yards and two touchdowns on five receptions, with one of those pass plays tying his career-long of 69 yards on Sept. 27 in a Wildcats’ 58-28 victory.

Hamilton also set a career-high in receiving yards with 130 on four catches in his team’s 31-13 defeat at Rice on Nov. 21.

“For me, my success this season started in the weight room last season,” said Hamilton, a Multidisciplinary Studies Major who aspires to play in the NFL. “My role in this offense also expanded because this was my second year and I had a much better understanding.

“It took me a while to get used to El Paso and the desert, but I’m proud of my decision.”

Michael Davis (Glendale High, 2013) Brigham Young University football sophomore: For a second straight year, the Cougars are bowl bound.

BYU, one of a handful of college football programs that plays independent of a conference, finished 8-4 this past season and earned a berth to the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl.

The Cougars will face American Athletic Conference tri-champion Memphis (9-3) at Marlins Park on Monday at 11 a.m. (PST) The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.

“This time, we’re looking to win our game,” said Davis on Thursday morning from Miami. “But I can’t complain so far. We’re in Miami – there’s palm trees, hot, humid weather and beautiful women all around. This beats the snow.”

Year No. 2 at BYU has Davis more comfortable in his role as defensive back, as the one-time Nitros star wide receiver played in all 12 of his team’s games with seven starts.

So far this season, Davis has tallied 35 tackles with five breakups.

“It’s been a difficult move for me to DB,” Davis said. “But I have the hang of it and the coaches have more trust with me. I’ve seen more playing time because of that.”

Perhaps Davis’ most active game, at least from a statistical standpoint, came in the Cougars’ 42-35 defeat at Nevada on Oct. 18.

In that contest, Davis led the team with nine tackles, eight of which were solo, and added two pass breakups.

Ask the sophomore, though, which game he remembers most and he’ll point to the team’s thrilling 42-35 regular-season ending victory at California on Nov. 29 in which Davis finished with seven tackles and two breakups.

“That was a great win for us,” Davis said. “We might not be at this game without that win.”

BYU is hoping for a victory after dropping last year’s Fight Hunger Bowl to Washington, 31-16.

Christopher Longo (St. Francis High, 2011) UCLA football redshirt junior: While the Bruins ultimately fell short of their goal of reaching and winning the PAC-12 championship, Longo and his teammates were still awarded a bowl game.

The Golden Knights product will continue his long-snapping duties for UCLA on Jan. 2 when the No. 14-ranked Bruins (9-3) face No. 11 Kansas State (9-3) in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be aired live on ESPN and is slated to start at 3:35 p.m. (PST)

Longo participated in all 12 of the Bruins’ game and handled punts, extra points and field goals for UCLA. Overall, the Bruins converted 16 of 20 field goal attempts and 43 of 44 extra-point tries, while UCLA punters averaged 39.6 yards per attempt.