KALAMAZOO – For the second time in three weeks senior running back and kick return specialist Brandon West has been named the Mid-American Conference West Division Special Teams Player of the Week.

West racked up 262 all-purpose yards and broke the NCAA Division I FBS record for kick return yards in a career.

The Brunswick, Ga., native had 142 yards on kick returns, 98 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards in the Broncos’ loss at Michigan State.

His third kick return of the afternoon, for 38 yards, moved him past Southern Methodist’s Jessie Henderson for the record. West had 2,978 career kick return yards at that point, 33 more than Henderson’s former mark, and finished the game with 3,045 with two more contests remaining.

Entering Western Michigan’s in-state showdown with Eastern Michigan this Saturday, West is 131 yards from claiming another NCAA Division I FBS record.  Currently he has 7,443 career all-purpose yards and has his sight set on DeAngleo Williams’ (Memphis) career record of 7,573 career all-purpose yards.

West is averaging 203.7 all-purpose yards per game this season, which ranks second in the nation.  He is also eight kick returns from breaking Trumaine Riley’s (Eastern Michigan) MAC and NCAA Division I FBS record of 130 in a career.

West rushed for 98 yards in the loss, including a career-long 80-yard TD run, to put him 78 yards from back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons on the ground.

He would join Jerome Persell and Robert Sanford as the only two Broncos to accomplish the feat.

West’s selection gives WMU seven total so far in 2009 and he is the only Bronco to earn three MAC West weekly nods thus far.

Western Michigan faces their final road test of the season when the Broncos travel to Ypsilanti at 1 p.m., on Saturday.