RENO, Nev. – Junior wide receiver Ben Putman has been named the Wolf Pack Student Athlete of the Week after recording 114 receiving yards in the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl on Saturday. The former walk-on lead the team with four receptions and was instrumental in Nevada’s 16-13 overtime victory against Arkansas State.
Putman’s 114 yards were the seventh-most in Nevada bowl history, and his first reception in the contest in the second quarter was the first of his career. With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, Putman hauled in a 44-yard reception off of a flea flicker that was the fifth-longest reception in Wolf Pack bowl history.
The Clovis, Calif. native’s biggest play of the afternoon came with 1:23 remaining on the clock. Trailing 7-3, quarterback Ty Gangi found Putman alone along the sideline, who made it down to the A-State one-yard line for another 44 yard gain. Nevada would punch in the score on the ensuing play for its first lead of the day.
Following the game, head coach Jay Norvell announced that he was going to give Putman a scholarship. Nevada finished the season with eight wins, the most since winning 13 games in 2010 and won its first bowl game since 2015.
