Mountain West Media Days Recap: Day Two

Mountain West Conference media days in Las Vegas concluded on Thursday with the media being allowed to talk with two players from each team in the league. The media spoke to the head coaches on Wednesday. You can see the recap of that here.

The conference also released their preseason all-conference teams, as well as announcing the preseason players of the year.

2021 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team

Offense

QB Carson Strong - Nevada

WR Romeo Doubs - Nevada

WR Khalil Shakir - Boise State

RB Xazavian Valladay - Wyoming

RB Ronnie Rivers - Fresno State

OL Keegan Cryder - Wyoming

OL John Ojukwu - Boise State

OL Jack Snyder - San José State

OL Zachary Thomas - San Diego State

OL Jake Stetz - Boise State

TE Cole Turner - Nevada

Defense

DL Cade Hall - San José State

DL Cameron Thomas - San Diego State

DL Scott Patchan - Colorado State

DL Viliami Fehoko - San José State

LB Chad Muma - Wyoming

LB Caden McDonald - San Diego State

LB Darius Muasau - Hawai‘i

DB Kekaula Kaniho - Boise State

DB Jerrick Reed II - New Mexico

DB Cortez Davis - Hawai‘i

DB Tre Jenkins - San José State

Specialists

P Ryan Stonehouse - Colorado State

PK Brandon Talton - Nevada

PR Calvin Turner - Hawai‘i

KR Savon Scarver - Utah State

Offensive Player of the Year: Carson Strong, QB, Nevada

No surprise here, Strong is the face of Mountain West football in 2021. Pivotal fall for Nevada and Strong, nothing short of a Mountain West championship game appearance is expected.

Defensive Player of the Year: Cade Hall, DL, San José State

Hall returns to a Spartan defensive line that should be one of the best in college football. It’s not often we see repeat winners of the player of the year award, but Hall has the ability to accomplish exactly that.

Special Teams Player of the Year: Savon Scarver, KR, Utah State

Finally, Avery Williams is gone. Scarver is an exceptional talent who might run away with this award in 2021.

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Well then, looks like Spartan quarterback Nick Starkel showed up to Mountain West media days looking to add some spice.

I’m guessing Nevada quarterback Carson Strong will be full-go, no restrictions come opening day, but this feels worth noting at the least.

Calvin Turner Jr. is incredible, adding American Sign Language to the long list of things he can do. Also, am I losing my mind or has Hawaii’s shade of green changed under Adidas?

This topic is not going away, folks. I sincerely hope this doesn’t become a serious factor in the Mountain West this fall.

Hawaii’s Calvin Turner Jr. and Cortez Davis are looking forward to something few ever thought would happen: The Warriors will play on campus. It’s exciting, they should be excited. But of course, Hawaii is playing on campus because Aloha Stadium has essentially been condemned. It’s a bad circumstance, but major kudos to Hawaii for the making the best of it.

Boise State’s Kekaula Kaniho was a finalist for the Campbell Trophy last season, a crazy impressive accomplishment (it’s essentially the “Academic Heisman”). Kaniho decided to take up the NCAA’s offer of another year of eligibility. Kaniho was announced to the preseason All-Conference team.

Is Fresno State poised to jump back into the championship scene? Running back Ronnie Rivers sure thinks so. Nevada received most of the first place votes in the preseason standings, but that division is notorious for being unpredictable. Fresno State, Hawaii, San Diego State, and San Jose State will all have something to say about that.

(prove me wrong UNLV)

Speaking of UNLV, star linebacker Jacoby Windmon is a uh, well, inside linebacker now. He was playing edge previously. Don’t often see such a position change. The Rebels will be looking to prove a lot of naysayers wrong this fall, picked to finish last in the West Division.

Wyoming stars Chad Muma and Xazavian Valladay appeared to enjoy themselves yesterday. This fall will be Wyoming Football’s 125th anniversary, and with a seemingly softish schedule, this could be the year Craig Bohl’s boys breakout.

Let’s be real: plenty of fans play the “nobody believes in us!” card this time of year. Some might be right, but most will be wrong. Air Force fans, however, have to be wondering why the 2020 season is being held against them. This team went 11-2 in 2019, then proceeded to have more than half the team opt out for the 2020 season, and are now projected to finish 4th in the Mountain Division. Beware of those Falcons. They’re a genuine sleeper.

Colorado State tight end Trey McBride might’ve been the most shocking omission from the preseason All-Conference list. Best believe this Ram will be a problem this fall.

Tell them, Lawson. The NCAA Football video game cannot return soon enough.

New Mexico safety Jerrick Reed made preseason All-Conference. Like UNLV, the Lobos will be out to prove the doubters wrong. Wins over Wyoming, Fresno State last season proved this team could be a stingy out this fall.

San Diego State was picked to finish 3rd in the West Division. The Aztecs participating in media days appeared to have fun, but you can bet this program will be looking to reestablish order after having lost out on winning the West every year since 2017. Aztecs will continue to play in Carson, California for one more season before breaking in their awesome new stadium.

More from Turner Jr. and Davis.

It’s a new era in Logan. Add the Aggies to the list of programs looking to silence the detractors this fall.