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University of Idaho Athletics

2015 Football Roster

22 Elijhaa Penny

  • Position RB
  • Height 6-2
  • Weight 234
  • Class Senior
  • Hometown Lakewood, Calif.
  • High School Norwalk High School

Biography

2014: Continued to develop as the season progressed and wound up as the Vandals’ leading rusher ... gained 589 yards on 139 carries and scored 12 touchdowns – the most by an Idaho player since DeMaundray Woolridge had 18 in 2009 and tied for the second most since Willie Alderson had 12 in 2000 ... also caught 12 passes for 107 yards and had eight kickoff returns for 143 yards to total 839 all-purpose yards ... best game was 121 yards on 16 carries vs. Arkansas State ... had 90 or more yards in three of Idaho’s final four games.

Junior college: Penny was a standout running back at Cerritos College where he gained 1,338 yards on 199 carries as a sophomore. He averaged 6.7 yards per carry and scored a Cerritos single-season record 20 touchdowns, with a career-high four vs. Ventura. He also caught 16 passes for 94 yards to total 1,432 all-purpose yards for 7-4 Cerritos. He had seven games of 100 or more yards and a career high of 262 on 34 carries vs. Palomar. Those efforts led to his being honored as a first-team All-American as well as a first-team All-California Region IV and the Northern Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

Prior to playing at Cerritos, he spent one season at College of the Sequoias (2011) where he played in eight games and totaled 102 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. He also caught three passes for 27 yards.

High school: A graduate of Norwalk (Calif.) High School, Penny was a three-year letterman after playing at defensive end and linebacker as well as running back. He was honored throughout his high school career as an all-area selection as a junior and senior, and an all-state medium school division choice as a senior. He was the Suburban League MVP twice and an all-CIF selection. He was the Wave Newspaper East Region Player of the Year after gaining 2,005 yards and scoring 18 touchdowns as a senior. He gained 335 yards and scored six touchdowns vs. Westminster High. Defensively during his senior season, he had 29 tackles and 1.5 sacks. As a junior, he rushed for 1,569 yards and 22 touchdowns, while totaling 62 tackles, eight sacks and four interceptions.

CAREER BESTS

Rushing: Carries – 23 (at Appalachian State, Nov. 29, 2014). Yards – 121 (vs. Arkansas State, Nov. 1, 2014). Touchdowns – 3 (at Georgia Southern, Oct. 11, 2014). Long – 27 (vs. Arkansas State ).

Receiving: Receptions – 3 (at Appalachian State, Nov. 29, 2014). Yards – 25 (at Appalachian State, Nov. 29, 2014). Touchdowns – 1 (at Appalachian State, Nov. 29, 2014). Long – 20 (at Texas State, Oct. 4, 2014).

Kickoff returns: Returns – 3 (at Ohio University, Sept. 20, 2014). Yards – 63 (at Ohio University). Long – 24 (at Georgia Southern, Oct. 11, 2014).

All-purpose rushing: Plays – 26 ([23 carries, 3 receptions] at Appalachian State, Nov. 29, 2014). Yards – 131, twice ([121 rushing, 5 receiving, 5 returns] vs. Arkansas State, Nov. 1, 2014, and [56 rushing, 12 receiving, 63 returns] at Ohio University, Sept. 20, 2014).

Assists: 1 (vs. Wofford, Sept. 19, 2015)

 

Rushing                  
Year G/GS ATT Gain loss net avg. td lg avg/g
2014 11/2 139 596 7 589 4.2 12 27 53.5
2015 12/12 191 971 9 962 6.0 7 127 62.5
Totals 23/14 340 1567 16 1551 5.1 19 154 53.9
All-purpose rushing                
Year G/GS PLAYS RUSH REC KR PR TOT AVG/PLAY AVG/G
2014 11/2 159 589 107 143 0 839 5.3 76.3
2015 12/12 78 910 177 120 0 1207 6.7 60.1
Totals 23/14 237 1499 284 263 0 2046 5.0 68.2
Receiving                
Year G/GS rec yds avg. td lg avg/g    
2014 11/2 12 107 8.9 1 20 9.7    
2015 12/12 15 212 6.4 3 113 32.0    
Totals 23/14 27 319 8.2 4 133 11.6    
Kickoff returns                
Year G/GS ret yds avg td lg avg/g    
2014 11/2 8 143 17.9 0 24 13.0    
2015 12/12 6 120 20.0 0 38 60.0    
Totals 23/14 14 263 18.8 0 38 20.2    

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

There are no statistics available for this player.

Historical Player Information

  • 6

    2014Junior

    RB
    6'2" 254 lbs
    6
  • 22

    2015Senior

    RB
    6'2" 234 lbs
    22
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