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This summer the Mountain West Connection crew is counting down the top 50 players heading into the 2014 Mountain West season. Because the criteria is objective regarding who should be considered "the best," opinions are different for each person. It naturally follows, then, that the results on this list will vary; out of the 94 players who received votes, only 17 were consensus top 50 players, receiving votes from every panel member.
The No. 44 player in our countdown is the first of three players in a row from Southern California: San Diego State linebacker Jake Fely. Prior to last season, Fely was expected to be one of the top linebackers in the conference, and he showed why in the first part of the season: he had already accumulated 20 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, and 1 pass breakup before suffering a season ending injury in the fourth game of the season. How he bounces back from that injury will certainly impact, in large measure, the performance of the SDSU defense this year. Should he be back to full form, he has a definite possibility to be one of the top linebackers in the conference this year as well.
As a positive for the Aztec faithful, Fely was granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA, meaning he will have this year and next to anchor the LB corps in San Diego.
Here is the updated list of our top 50 countdown with the current selection in bold:
| Composite | Ben Mitchum | Chris Turner | Chris Hondros | Jeremy Mauss | Matthew_K | Jacob Schildgen | BenPhillips27 | Scott Tejerian |
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| 4. | Jake Fely, LB, SDSU | |||||||
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| 16. |
Bryan Douglas, DB, Boise State |
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| 17. | David Peterson, OL, San Jose St | |||||||
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| 21. | Brett Bowers, DE, New Mexico | |||||||
| 22. |
Corey Bell, DB, Boise State |
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| 23. | Joey Iosefa, RB, Hawaii | Peni Vea, S, UNLV | ||||||
| 24. |
Kyrie Wilson, LB, Fresno State |
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| 25. | ||||||||
| 26. | Rykeem Yates, DT, Nevada | |||||||
| 27. |
Aaron Davis, LB, Colorado State |
Kendall Brock, RB, Nevada | Terry Poole, OL, San Diego State | |||||
| 28. |
Mark Nzeocha, LB, Wyoming |
Kenneth Penny, CB, UNLV | Joey Iosefa, RB, Hawaii | |||||
| 29. | Jared Roberts, K, Colorado State | Charles Washington, S, Fresno State | ||||||
| 30. | Brett Bowers, DE, New Mexico | Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State | Jonathan McNeal, LB, Nevada | |||||
| 31. | Tanner Vallejo, LB, Boise State |
Bruce 'JoJo' Natson, WR/PR, Utah State | Kyrie Wilson, LB, Fresno State | |||||
| 32. | Jarrod Lawson, RB, SJSU |
Peni Vea, S, UNLV | Tanner Vallejo, LB, Boise State | Billy Freeman, TE, SJSU |
Kendall Brock, RB, Nevada | Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State | ||
| 33. | Nick Vigil, LB, Utah State |
Jake Fely, LB, SDSU |
Joey Iosefa, RB, Hawaii | Karl Mickelsen. LB, Fresno State | ||||
| 34. | Joe Hill, RB, Utah State | Darian Thompson, S, Boise State | Bruce 'JoJo' Natson, WR/PR, Utah State | Aaron Davis, LB, Colorado State | ||||
| 35. | Donavon Lewis, LB, Fresno State | |||||||
| 36. |
Sonny Puletasi, DE, Wyoming |
Jamal Price, OL, New Mexico | Rykeem Yates, DT, Nevada | |||||
| 37. |
Tajh Hasson, CB, UNLV |
Kendall Brock, RB, Nevada | Brett Bowers, DE, New Mexico | Ben Weaver, LB, Boise State | ||||
| 38. | Jonathan McNeal, LB, Nevada |
Don Jackson, RB, Nevada |
Jonathan McNeal, LB, Nevada |
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| 39. | Jon Lee, RB, Air Force | Kendall Brock, RB, Nevada | ||||||
| 40. | Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State | Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State | Broam Hart, RB, Air Force | Joe Hill, RB, Utah State |
Mark Nzeocha, LB, Wyoming | |||
| 41. | Sonny Puletasi, DE, Wyoming | Broam Hart, RB, Air Force |
Peni Vea, S, UNLV | Kendall Brock, RB, Nevada | ||||
| 42. | Tyler Horn, DT, Boise State | Vince Buhagiar, LB, San Jose State | Jake Fely, LB, SDSU |
Brandon Swindall, WR, Utah State |
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| 43. | Ben Weaver, LB, Boise State | Joey Iosefa, RB, Hawaii | ||||||
| 44. Jake Fely, LB, San Diego State |
Jake Fely, LB, SDSU |
Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State | Mark Nzeocha, LB, Wyoming | |||||
| 45. Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State | Brett Bowers, DE, New Mexico |
Marcus Sullivan, WR, UNLV |
Peni Vea, S, UNLV | Brandon Connette, QB, Fresno State | ||||
| 46. Kendall Brock, RB, Nevada |
Richy Turner, WR, Nevada | Brian Douglas, DB, Boise State |
Cole Gautsche, QB, New Mexico | Peni Vea, S, UNLV | Dakota Cox. LB, New Mexico | |||
| 47. Joey Iosefa, RB, Hawaii | Jake Jones, OL, Wyoming | Vince Buhagiar, LB, SJSU | Brett Bowers, DE, New Mexico | Sonny Puletasi, DE, Wyoming | Jarrod Lawson, RB, SJSU |
Marteze Waller, RB, Fresno State |
Justin Northern, OL, Fresno State | |
| 48. Brett Bowers, DE, New Mexico | Darian Thompson, S, Boise State |
Scott Harding, WR/KR, Hawaii |
Nick Vigil, LB, Utah State |
Ben Clarke, OL, Hawaii | Kenneth Penny, DB, UNLV |
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| 49. Peni Vea, S, UNLV | Jake Jones, OL, Wyoming | Dasheon Frierson, CB, SJSU | Shaquille Murray-Lawrence, RB, UNLV | Kivon Cartwright, TE, Colorado State | Christian Spears, S, Air Force |
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| 50. Bruce 'JoJo' Natson, WR/PR, Utah State |
Will Conant, K, Air Force |
Jared Roberts, K, Colorado State | Vince Buhagiar, LB, SJSU | Ben Weaver, LB, Boise State | Jonathan McNeal, LB, Nevada | Jared Roberts, K, Colorado State | Darian Thompson, S, Boise State |