Many postseason honors have already been handed out, but now that the regular season has finally come to an end and bowl season is just days away, well-know college football prognosticator Phil Steele released his yearly All-American selections.
Though the Mountain West's offensive playmakers like Donnel Pumphrey, Jeremy McNichols and Tyler Ervin surely garnered some consideration, four of Steele's seven selections from the conference played on the defensive side of the ball in 2015 and three were elite special teams contributors.
Boise State safety Darian Thompson and San Jose State punter Michael Carrizosa, in particular, led the way in being named second-team selections. Thompson, always one of the nation's best ballhawks, grabbed five interceptions in 2015, one of just 17 FBS players to reach that mark, and chipped in 63 tackles, as well.
Carrizosa, meanwhile, was one of the conference's two finalists for the Ray Guy Award, given annually to the nation's best punter, after averaging 47.7 yards per punt (with a net average of 41.8 ypp) and placing 16 of just 43 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
Hayden Hunt, the MWC's other Ray Guy finalist, landed third-team honors behind Carrizosa and Guy Award winner Tom Hackett. He averaged 46.3 yards per punt and a net average of 43.4, the latter of which ranked second nationally. San Diego State linebacker Calvin Munson was also named to the third team after leading the conference's most dominant defense with 92 tackles, a figure which includes 14 1/2 tackles for loss and nine sacks.
The Aztecs' Rashaad Penny and Damontae Kazee made the fourth team, giving them a conference-best three selections. Penny finished fourth in the FBS by averaging 30.6 yards per kickoff return, and he also returned two kicks for scores, one of just nine players to do so. Kazee, meanwhile, had an argument as the nation's top corner after grabbing seven interceptions as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. The two of them are joined by Utah State's Kyler Fackrell, who came back from injury to collect 76 tackles, 13 1/2 tackles for loss and four sacks.
Additionally, Steele also released his first, second, and third-team all-Mountain West selections. Boise State garnered eight first-team selections, the most in the conference, while SDSU had seven.
Offense
First Team | Second Team | Third Team | |
QB | Brett Rypien, Boise State | Nick Stevens, Colorado State | Kenny Potter, SJSU |
RB | Donnel Pumphrey, SDSU | Jeremy McNichols, Boise State | Jacobi Owens, Air Force |
RB | Tyler Ervin, SJSU | Don Jackson, Nevada | Paul Harris, Hawai'i |
RB | Brian Hill, Wyoming | James Butler, Nevada | Marteze Waller, Fresno State |
WR | Thomas Sperbeck, Boise State | Hunter Sharp, Utah State | Hasaan Henderson, Nevada |
WR | Rashard Higgins, Colorado State | Devonte Boyd, UNLV | Jake Maulhardt, Wyoming |
TE | Billy Freeman, SJSU | Jarred Gipson, Nevada | Jake Roh, Boise State |
C | Marcus Henry, Boise State | Nico Siragusa, SDSU | A.J. Ruechel, Air Force |
OL | Rees Odhiambo, Boise State | Alex Fifita, Fresno State | Wes Schweitzer, SJSU |
OL | Pearce Slater, SDSU | Austin Stephens, Utah State | Chase Roullier, Wyoming |
OL | Fred Zerblis, Colorado State | Jake Simonich, Utah State | Eden Mahina, New Mexico |
OL | Sevrin Remmo, Air Force | Ben Clarke, Hawai'i | Austin Corbett, Nevada |
Defense
First Team | Second Team | Third Team | |
DL | Kamalei Correa, Boise State | Alex Hansen, Air Force | Jon Sanchez, SDSU |
DL | Ian Seau, Nevada | Kennedy Tulimasealii, Hawai'i | Christian Heyward, SDSU |
DL | Alex Barrett, SDSU | Nik D'Avanzo, New Mexico | Claudell Louis, Fresno State |
DL | Eddie Yarbrough, Wyoming | Lenny Jones, Nevada | Jordan Nielsen, Utah State |
LB | Calvin Munson, SDSU | Cory James, Colorado State | Tau Lotulelei, UNLV |
LB | Kyler Fackrell, Utah State | Christian Tago, SJSU | Dakota Cox, New Mexico |
LB | Ejiro Ederaine, Fresno State | Nick Vigil, Utah State | Julian Gener, Hawai'i |
LB | Jake Fely, SDSU | Tanner Vallejo, Boise State | Jordan Dobrich, Nevada |
DB | Damontae Kazee, SDSU | Dameon Baber, Nevada | Trent Matthews, Colorado State |
DB | Darian Thompson, Boise State | Andrew Wingard, Wyoming | Malik Smith, SDSU |
DB | Donte Deayon, Boise State | J.J. Whittaker, SDSU | Cleveland Wallace III, SJSU |
OL | Weston Steelhammer, Air Force | Roland Ladipo, Air Force | Jalen Davis, Utah State |
Special Teams
First Team | Second Team | Third Team | |
K | Tyler Rausa, Boise State | Brent Zuzo, Nevada | Donny Hageman, SDSU |
P | Michael Carrazosa, SJSU | Hayden Hunt, Colorado State | Rigoberto Sanchez, Hawai'i |
KR | Rashaad Penny, SDSU | Carlos Wiggins, New Mexico | D.J. May, Wyoming |
PR | Joe Hansley, Colorado State | Andrew Rodriguez, Utah State | Nick Nelson, Hawai'i |