COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (October 26, 2026) – Colorado State University Pueblo sophomore receiver/return specialist Nyir Jones (Camden, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas) has been named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Special Teams Football Player of the Week following his performance in the fourth-ranked ThunderWolves' 28-21 road victory over Fort Lewis on Saturday, as announced by the league office Monday afternoon.
Jones earns his first RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week accolade this season after returning the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown against the Skyhawks on a muddy and rain-soaked field at Ray Dennison Memorial Field in Durango, Colo. His return gave the ThunderWolves an early 7-0 advantage just 15 seconds into the contest and helped propel the Pack to its eighth consecutive victory.
The 89-yard kickoff return marked the second consecutive game that Jones returned a kickoff for a touchdown, as he also recorded a 91-yard kickoff return for a score in the ThunderWolves' 77-17 Homecoming victory over New Mexico Highlands on Oct. 17 at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
With his two kickoff return touchdowns this season, Jones is one of just five players in NCAA Division II to have returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season and is the only player in the RMAC with multiple kickoff return scores. His two kickoff return touchdowns are also tied for the CSU Pueblo single-season school record.
Jones' 89-yard kickoff return against Fort Lewis is the sixth-longest kickoff return in the RMAC this season and the second-longest by a CSU Pueblo player, trailing only his own 91-yard return against New Mexico Highlands.
In addition to his kickoff return touchdown against the Skyhawks, Jones returned one punt for 10 yards and caught one pass for four yards to finish the afternoon with 103 all-purpose yards. Over his last two games, Jones has accumulated 245 all-purpose yards and scored two special teams touchdowns.
Through eight games this season, Jones has returned five kickoffs for 250 yards and two touchdowns and is averaging an impressive 50.0 yards per kickoff return. He is also averaging 55.9 all-purpose yards per game on the season.
Jones becomes the second CSU Pueblo player to earn RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors this season, joining senior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College), who was recognized by the conference on Oct. 5 following the ThunderWolves' road victory over Adams State.
Behind Jones' opening kickoff return touchdown, the ThunderWolves improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the RMAC with their hard-fought seven-point victory over Fort Lewis. The victory also extended CSU Pueblo's NCAA Division II-leading conference winning streak to 31 consecutive games and its NCAA Division II-leading road winning streak to 19 straight games.
In addition to Bruzon, the league named Western Colorado fifth-year senior quarterback Josiah Roy as the Offensive Player of the Week and Chadron State senior linebacker Liam Blaser repeated as the Defensive Player of the Week.
Jones and the fourth-ranked ThunderWolves (8-0 overall, 6-0 RMAC) return home this coming Saturday, Oct. 31, when they host Black Hills State in a 1 p.m. RMAC contest at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl. The game will feature Halloween festivities, including free admission on ThunderHill for fans wearing a Halloween costume.
