Welcome to Kickoff Week here at MWCConnection! The official all-Mountain West Conference team will be released later at Mountain West Media Days, but we are getting involved in the fun by releasing our own pre-season content anyway.

Members of our team submitted their list of votes, and we took the top vote-getters at each position to form our two teams. There are 12 players selected for both offense and defense. Since offensive formations are so different, we put 2 RBs and 2 WRs on the team, plus a FLEX, which can be either a RB or WR. Defensively, we have two defensive linemen, two edge players, then three linebackers and four defensive backs, with a FLEX added as well. For special teams, we have a kicker, a punter, a long-snapper, and a returner. That adds up to 28 players on each team, and a total of 56 players recognized. For reference, here was our post-season 2022 team.

Disclaimer: Keep in mind every voter views the process differently. Some vote for players based on who is the best entering the season. Others see it as a prediction of how players will play by the end of the season. Some include transfers new to the conference, while others don’t. There are a lot of great players in the conference and only so many spots. Arguments can be made for many guys to be mentioned or to be on a higher team. There will always be snubs. Always. The goal is that every player on this list is deserving, even if not every deserving player ended up making the list.

With that being said, here are the 2023 Mountain West Connection All-MWC Preseason First and Second Teams:

First Team:

Quarterback

• Taylen Green (Boise State)

Running Backs

• Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
• George Holani (Boise State)

Wide Receivers

• Tory Horton (Colorado State)
• Ricky White (UNLV)

Flex

• Harrison Waylee (Wyoming)

Tight End

• Mark Redman (San Diego State)

Offensive Line

• Cade Bennett (San Diego State)
• Thor Paglialong (Air Force)
• Frank Crum (Wyoming)
• Mason Randolph (Boise State)
• Cade Beresford (Boise State)

Defensive Line

• Payton Zdroik (Air Force)
• Cole Godbout (Wyoming)

Edge

• DeVonne Harris (Wyoming)
• Mohamed Kamara (Colorado State)

Linebackers

• Easton Gibbs (Wyoming)
• DJ Schramm (Boise State)
• Levelle Bailey (Fresno State)

Defensive Backs

• Cam Stone (Hawaii)
• Cam Lockridge (Fresno State)
• Jack Howell (Colorado State)
• Trey Taylor (Air Force)

Flex

• Cody Moon (San Diego State)

Kicker

• John Hoyland (Wyoming)

Punter

• Jack Browning (San Diego State)

Long Snapper

• Carson York (Wyoming)

Returner

• Christian Washington (New Mexico)

Second Team:

Quarterback

• Chevan Cordeiro (San Jose State)

Running Backs

• John Lee Eldridge III (Air Force)
• Kairee Robinson (San Jose State)

Wide Receivers

• Justin Lockhart (San Jose State)
• Stefan Cobbs (Boise State)

Flex

• Dawaiian McNeely (Wyoming)

Tight End

• Treyton Welch (Wyoming)

Offensive Line

• Wesley Ndago (Air Force)
• Adam Karas (Air Force)
• Jacob Gardner (Colorado State)
• Mose Vavao (Fresno State)
• Fernando Carmona (San Jose State)

Defensive Line

• Jordan Bertagnole (Wyoming)
• Hale Motu’apuaka (Utah State)

Edge

• Soane Toia (San Jose State)
• Braden Siders (Wyoming)

Linebackers

• Alec Mock (Air Force)
• Bryun Parham (San Jose State)
• Drue Watts (Nevada)

Defensive Backs

• Ike Larsen (Utah State)
• Donte Martin (New Mexico)
• Tre Jenkins (San Jose State)
• Peter Manuma (Hawaii)

Flex

• Camby Goff (Air Force)

Kicker

• Jonah Dalmas (Boise State)

Punter

• Aaron Rodriguez (New Mexico)

Long Snapper

• Jacob Garcia (Utah State)

Returner

• Tory Horton (Colorado State)

Breakdown by team (1st team in parenthesis):

• Wyoming: 11 (7)
• Boise State: 8 (6)
• Air Force: 8 (3)
• San Jose State: 7 (0)
• Colorado State: 5 (3)
• San Diego State: 4 (4)
• Fresno State: 3 (2)
• New Mexico: 3 (1)
• Utah State: 3 (0)
• Hawaii: 2 (1)
• UNLV: 1 (1)
• Nevada: 1 (0)

Notes:

• There were 5 unanimous selections: Tory Horton, Cade Bennet, DeVonne Harris, Easton Gibbs, and DJ Schramm. 6 others were one vote away from achieving that status.
• For the second preseason in a row, all 12 teams are represented.
• In a bit of change from the norm, the projected best teams are not necessarily possessing the most players on the two teams. In a bit of a surprise, Wyoming leads the way in both total players and players on the first team, due to their defense. Boise State and Air Force are tied with the next highest amounts, with San Jose State right behind them.
• The number of players from each team varies from the December list. Fresno State and San Diego State saw significant dropoffs, while Wyoming gained a lot of players. Boise State, Air Force, and San Jose State were roughly the same.
• Teams like San Diego State, Fresno State, and UNLV may not have had many players appear, but they made the most of it, with all or the majority of their players making the first team.
• Conversly, San Jose State had all of their players on the second team.
• The closest battle was at quarterback, with a single vote separating the first and second-team selections. Other close battles between the two teams were linebacker, kicker, and returner.
• There were a few tough battles for second-team spots. Specifically, wide receiver, offensive line, defensive line, and defensive back positions all had some tough calls, and arguments could have been made for a few others to appear on our lists.

There it is. So let’s hear it. Who did we snub? Who did we put on here that shouldn’t be? Let’s hear your feedback in the comments section.

Coming tomorrow: Our picks for Mountain West Conference awards.