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2021: STATS PERFORM ALL-AMERICAN SECOND-TEAM … HERO SPORTS ALL-AMERICAN … FCS PUNTER OF THE YEAR SEMIFINALIST … ALL-BIG SKY SECOND-TEAM … Recorded a single-season record of 46.25 yards per punt … Tallied at least one punt of 60 or more yards in seven games with a long of 65 … Recorded 21 punts over 50 yards … Drilled 20 punts inside the 20 … Averaged over 50 yards per punt in three contests … Posted a season-high 55.33 yards on three punts against NAU on Nov. 6 … Also handled the kickoff duties with 37 of his 68 kicks going for touchbacks.
2021 SPRING: ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM from four organizations: Stats Perform, AFCA, HERO Sports and Phil Steele... Finalist for FCS PUNTER OF THE YEAR... ALL-BIG SKY CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM... Won team’s ROLF BENIRSCHKE AWARD as outstanding special teams player... Punted 17 times for 815 yards for a 47.9 average, tops among the Big Sky... Fell one attempt shy of qualifying for NCAA FCS leaderboard, but helped UC Davis pace the country in net punting at 43.47... Of 17 attempts, 8 pinned opponents inside the 20, 7 were for 50 yards or more, and 7 resulted in fair catches... Booted season-best 67 yarder vs. Idaho State (3/27).
2019: ALL-BIG SKY CONFERENCE THIRD TEAM by both coaches and Phil Steele’s... Made watch list for inaugural FCS Punter of the Year award... Won team’s Rolf Benirschke Award as outstanding special teams player of the year... Ranked 7th nationally, 3rd in the Big Sky at 44.07 yards per punt... Season average ranks 2nd in school history behind Colton Schmidt’s 44.48 in 2012... Drilled 17 of 57 attempts for 50 yards or more, including long of 62 vs. Lehigh (9/14) and at North Dakota (10/5)... Pinned opponents inside their 20-yard line 23 times, including six at Sacramento State (11/23)... In fact, five punts in that Causeway game stopped inside the 7, a feat that earned ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week
2018: ALL-BIG SKY HONORABLE MENTION selection… ROOT SPORTS SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK (9/10, 10/29)… Amassed 285 yards on seven punt attempts, with the longest kick traveling 58 yards vs. San Diego (9/8)… In addition to all three of those career-high figures, three of his kicks landed inside the 20… In the first half of the Aggies’ home opener against the Toreros, USD never crossed its 37-yard line, thanks to his punts… On his six punts at Montana (10/27), Whelan amassed 259 yards for a 43.2 yards per punt average, which included a long of 52 yards… Not only did he pin Montana inside the 20 on twice, one kick was downed on the Grizzlies' six-yard-line… Whelan singlehandedly handcuffed Montana's Jerry Louis-McGee; he entered Saturday's game averaging 10.4 return yards per punt, and was held to season-low total of -1 yard, which ultimately led to his second Player of the Week award… Collected his third Player of the Week award after averaging 42.8 yards per punt, pinning three inside the 20, and a log of 58 yards versus Sacramento State (11/17)… Whelan’s three Player of the Week awards are the most earned by an individual Aggie in a single season, during the program’s Big Sky era… Ranked No. 36 in punting (41.2 yards per punt) among all FCS players… Ended the 2018 season with the following Big Sky ranking: No. 8 in punting (41.2 yards per punt)… Recorded a career-high seven punts at San José State (8/30), San Diego (9/8) and at Eastern Washington (12/8)… Posted a career-high 285 punt yards vs. San Diego… Career-high 58-yard punts took place vs. San Diego and against Sacramento State (11/17)… Recorded a tackle at Stanford (9/15) and against Idaho (9/22)… Competed in all 13 games… Ended the season with a 41.1 yards per punt average by finishing with 2,756 yards, on 67 punts… Of those kicks, three resulted in a touchback, 29 were fair catches, 17 traveled 50 or more yards and 31 landed inside the 20-yard line.
2017: Saw action in five games as a true freshman... Finished with 10 punts for 440 yards... Averaged 44.0 yards per punt with two fair catches, one 50+ boot, and another four that landed inside the 20... Career-high 55-yard punt took place at Weber State (9/23)... Kicked-off five times for 314 yards, averaging 62.8 yards per strike... Kicked-off twice for 130 yards at San Diego State (9/2) and three times for 184 yards at Portland State (9/16).
RANCHO MIRAGE HS '17: Played two years of soccer before switching to football... Also earned three letters as a member of the men's tennis team... Led the football team to 11-3 record and a DeAnza League title under head coach Larry Matthews in 2016... Earned All-Southern Section, All-DeAnza League and special teams MVP both years... Added Riverside All-Star honors to his collection in 2016... Averaged 43.8 yards per punt as a senior, with 22 (of 37 total) buried inside the 20... Booted a long of 68 against San Jacinto... Hit 22 career field goals, with five of 50 yards or longer... Converted 113 of 116 PATs— a 97.4 percent success rate... Made national headlines for hitting a 72-yard field goal in practice, an attempt captured on video... Earned league MVP in tennis, going undefeated at No. 1 singles... Scored a goal with 3 assists in final season of soccer before switching to the gridiron... Held a 4.0 grade-point average, ranking among top 10 percent of his class.
PERSONAL: Born in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland... Majoring in sustainable environmental design... Originally from Dublin, Ireland area but lived in Southern California with his mother, Anne Marie, during high school... Volunteers at Galiliee Center (Indio, Calif.), providing food, gifts and time to the less fortunate.
