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2015 Honors Candidate
5 • Joe Protheroe
Fullback • 6-0 • 225 • Sophomore • Concord, CA • Clayton Valley Charter School
Expected to challenge Jared Mohamed for starting nod at fullback this fall.
2014 -- Played in all 12 games as a true freshman reserve fullback behind Brandon Howe ... rushed for 184 yards on 29 carries (6.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns ... scored both touchdowns against Sacramento State on runs of 62 and 2 yards ... season-high 72 yards on just four carries in Sacramento State game ... added 32 yards on five trips at Idaho State ... made five tackles on special teams ... rushed seven times for 25 yards in 2015 Spring Game ... also caught one pass for 15 yards ... earned apot on 2014 Big Sky Conference All-Academic Football Team. 2013 -- Signed a National Letter of Intent in February 2013 but delayed his arrival at Cal Poly (grayshirt) and his five-year clock by one year, arriving in time for 2014 Fall Camp. High School -- Protheroe was the third-leading rusher in California in 2012 season, gaining a school-record 3,014 yards on 234 carries and scoring 34 touchdowns under head coach Tim Murphy at Clayton Valley Charter High Career Single-Game Highs School in Concord ... averaging 215.3 yards Rushes: 7 vs. Portland State, 2014 per game and 12.9 Rushing Yards: 72 vs. Sacramento State, 2014 yards per carry, he Rushing TDs: 2 vs. Sacramento State, 2014 also caught one pass Longest Rush: 62 vs. Sacramento State, 2014 0 for a touchdown and Receptions: Receiving Yards: 0 returned a kickoff 94 Receiving TDs: 0 yards against Rancho Longest Reception: 0 Cotate for another score, scoring 222 total points in his senior season ... a team captain, Protheroe surpassed the 100-yard mark in all 14 games of his senior season, leading the Eagles to a 12-2 overall mark, a Diablo Valley Athletic League title, the CIF-North Coast Section Division 2 championship -- their first section title in five tries -- and a berth in the semifinals of the California state Division II playoffs, where the Eagles fell 27-24 to Oakdale ... cracked the 200-yard mark seven times, including 427 yards on 25 carries and five touchdowns against Dublin and 306 yards on 17 trips and three scores versus Vintage ... caught nine passes for 154 yards and, as a defensive back, made 63 tackles (45 solo), intercepted four passes and broke up three others ... postseason honors include Offensive Player of the Year by the Bay Area News Group, MaxPreps All-NorCal, San Francisco Chronicle AllMetro First Team, Contra Costa Times All-East Bay Team, CIF-North Coast Section Player of the Year and Diablo Valley Athletic League MVP ... as a junior in 2011, rushed for 1,062 yards on 202 carries and scored 14 touchdowns with four 100-yard-plus games, caught 19 passes for 206 yards and two scores and notched 76 tackles and three interceptions en route to first-team All-Diablo Valley Athletic League honors as a running back and safety ... was an All-DVAL first-team running back and second-team safety as a sophomore, rushing for 510 yards and six touchdowns, catching eight passes for 102 yards and one score and garnering 29 yards and one interception on defense ... in addition to Cal Poly, Protheroe also received an offer from Sacramento State and was recruited as a walk-on by San Jose State, Fresno State, Montana State and Oregon ... chose Cal Poly because of “the coaching staff, the team, the education and the atmosphere.” Personal -- Son of Patrick Protheroe and Mary Grace Hall ... one brother, Rushing Receiving KO Returns Michael, one half-brother, John, and one half-sister, Janae ... married to Year No. Yds TD LG No. Yds TD LG No. Yds TD LG Ashley Manansala and they have one daughter, Jolene ... enjoys playing 2013 Grayshirt Pokemon ... wants to play in the NFL or start a business ... born June 20, 2014 29 184 2 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1994, in Concord, Calif. ... majors in sociology. Totals: 29 184 2 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 AGAINST THE FBS Cal Poly has played two Football Bowl Subdivision schools in a season seven times in the last 14 years, but wil play just one FBS school in 2015. In 2002 Cal Poly played two FBS (formerly Division I-A) opponents in one season for the first time in school history (Toledo and Kent State), and did it again in 2003 (UTEP and Akron), 2006 (San Jose State and San Diego State), 2008 (San Diego State and Wisconsin), 2009 (Ohio and San Jose State) and 2011 (San Diego State and Northern Illinois). Cal Poly is 4-11 in its last 15 games against FBS schools, defeating UTEP 34-13 in the 2003 opener, San Diego State 16-14 in 2006 and 3028 in 2008, and Wyoming 24-22 in 2012. The Mustangs are 5-26 against FBS schools since 1980, earning a
38-35 overtime win at New Mexico State in 1997 but falling to the Aggies in 2014. This year, Cal Poly visits Arizona State on Sept. 12. The Mustangs also are scheduled to play at Nevada in 2016 and at San Jose State in 2017. • • • AGAINST DIVISION II On the other side of the spectrum, the Mustangs have won nine straight games against Division II schools, including a 44-25 triumph against Central Oklahoma on Oct. 8, 2011, the last game Cal Poly has played against Division II opposition. The Mustangs are 23-7 against Division II schools since moving to Division I in 1994. Cal Poly is less likely to schedule a Division II foe now that the Mustangs are in the Big Sky Conference.