Fort Lewis College Athletics

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Mikel Udengwu (74) against the ThunderWolves at the CSU Pueblo Thunderbowl (Oct. 11, 2025)

Udengwu, Penney tabbed First-Team All-RMAC

11/21/2025 12:00:00 PM

By: Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fort Lewis College football standouts Mikel Udengwu and Jake Penney have both been named First-Team All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the league announced Friday morning.

Udengwu, a six-foot-three junior offensive tackle out of John Glenn High School in Norwalk, Calif., improves on his 2024 Honorable Mention All-RMAC nod, vaulting up to first-team status. Starting his last 22 games played, Udengwu has seen action in 31 total games for the Skyhawks.

This season, Udengwu helped Fort Lewis' offensive line rank eighth in rushing and passing across the conference, at 122.7 yards and 180.0 yards per game, respectively. In addition, the Skyhawks averaged 302.7 yards of total offense, marking the most by a Fort Lewis team and the first 300+ average since 2017.

Penney also improved on his previous season's accolades, making the move up to first-team after a Second-Team All-RMAC nod last season. This year, Penney became the first Skyhawks defensive player, and seventh overall since 2003, to earn Player of the Week (Oct. 28) honors from the National Football Foundation Colorado Chapter. Penney was also named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 16) for the second time in his career.

A 2024 First-Team All-NFFCC linebacker, Penney dominated another season, and as of today, Penney finished his redshirt junior season as the NCAA leader in total tackles across all four divisions of NCAA college football (DIII, DII, FCS, FBS) with 150 tackles and an average of 13.6 tackles per game. As a consistent presence in the box, Penney also finished with the eighth-most tackles for loss in the RMAC with 11.0 for 29 yards lost, and an average of one per game. Penney also made 3.5 sacks for 16 yards lost, forced two fumbles, recovered one fumble, forced one quarterback hurry, and broke up two passes.

From Sparks Nev., and Spanish Springs High School, Penney's 2025 campaign saw him etch several entries into the Fort Lewis football record book, but most notably, he now stands alone as the program's all-time leader in career solo tackles with 206. With 352 career tackles, Penney currently ranks third all-time and trails Phillip Odell's (2008-12) record by just 15 tackles. Penney's 150 tackles this season are also the third-most by a Skyhawk in a single season, and the most since 1979. Back on Oct. 25, Penney also made 21 tackles against Colorado Mesa University, which is the second-most in a game in program history.

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