MWC top 50: No. 40 is New Mexico OL LaMar Bratton

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. 40 player in our countdown is the first of five offensive linemen on our list, New Mexico's LaMar Bratton. Bratton is a senior this year, and has had started in 37 consecutive games; he redshirted his freshman year, then started as a redshirt freshman and hasn't missed starting a game since. Last year, he recorded 148 knockdown blocks, leading the Lobos in the category. The past two years, he has been playing at the left guard, but this year he will resume the center post after playing in the position his redshirt freshman year. Bratton will anchor the Lobos' O-line in an effort increase their offensive performance; their run game last year was often explosive, but lacked the ability to put up very many points. Bratton and co. will attempt to change that this year.

Here is the updated list of our top 50 countdown with the current selection in bold: