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Mountain West football releases 2016 all-conference teams: San Diego State sweeps player of year awards

The 2016 all-conference awards were handed out and there are a few surprises.

NCAA Football: San Jose State at San Diego State Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

The Mountain West football regular season is over and it is now award season for the conference. This year the league was a bit odd and especially in the Mountain Division where Wyoming was projected to finish last but yet they won the division and are hosting the Mountain West title game this weekend against San Diego State.

Running back is the most loaded position in this conference with likely multiple future NFL running backs in the league so it is no surprise that the conference player of the year came from that position as San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey won the award for the second straight year.

Not only did Pumphrey win the offensive player of the year award but the defensive player of the year once against was Aztecs defensive back Damontae Kazee and Rashaad Penny was special teams player of the year.

That is quite the accomplishment and without doing the research, but it is possible that this is the first time ever this has happened in any conference, and not just the Mountain West.

As for back-to-back offensive player of the year winner the list is three other players in addition to Pumphrey. Derek Carr (Fresno State QB) Andy Dalton (TCU QB) and Bradlee Van Pelt (Colorado State QB)

Coach of the year was appropriately handed out to Wyoming’s Craig Bohl who led the Cowboys to a division title after being projected to finish last in the Mountain Division. The Cowboys also earned freshman of the year in linebacker Logan Wilson.

The big controversy — maybe more so if one is affiliated to Boise State — is that Jeremy McNichols was named second-team running back behind Wyoming’s Brian Hill and Pumphrey.

The Idaho Statesman's Dave Southorn makes an argument for McNichols to be a first-team player, and possibly even offensive player of the year.

It is almost splitting hairs between the best backs, but if you look at yards from scrimmage it is not all that close, and this also brings in Nevada’s James Butler into the conversation for the best running back in the Mountain West. If you go by the numbers it seems clear that McNichols should at the very least be a first-team pick.

One great story out of this all-conference list goes to Utah State defensive tackle Travis Seefeldt who earned second team honors. Seefeldt sat out the 2015 season after being in a car accident in June of 2015 and the injuries sustained forced him to not play at all that year. A great comeback story by a very good football player.

Here is the complete list:

2016 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
QB Brett Rypien* So. Boise State
WR Thomas Sperbeck* Sr. Boise State
WR Michael Gallup Jr. Colorado State
RB Donnel Pumphrey** Sr. San Diego State
RB Brian Hill Jr. Wyoming
TE Jacob Hollister Sr. Wyoming
OL Travis Averill Sr. Boise State
OL Mario Yakoo Sr. Boise State
OL Fred Zerblis Sr. Colorado State
OL Nico Siragusa* Sr. San Diego State
OL Chase Roullier Sr. Wyoming
PK John Baron II So. San Diego State
PR/KR Rashaad Penny* Jr. San Diego State
2016 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
DL Ryan Watson Sr. Air Force
DL Sam McCaskill Sr. Boise State
DL David Moa So. Boise State
DL Alex Barrett* Sr. San Diego State
LB Calvin Munson* Sr. San Diego State
LB Jahlani Tavai So. Hawai‘i
LB Tau Lotulelei Sr. UNLV
DB Andre Chachere Jr. San José State
DB Weston Steelhammer** Sr. Air Force
DB Andrew Wingard So. Wyoming
DB Damontae Kazee* Sr. San Diego State
P Hayden Hunt Sr. Colorado State
*--Two-Time First-Team Selection
**--Three-Time First-Team Selection
2016 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
QB Josh Allen So. Wyoming
WR Tanner Gentry Sr. Wyoming
WR Jalen Robinette Sr. Air Force
RB Jeremy McNichols* Jr. Boise State
RB Teriyon Gipson Sr. New Mexico
TE David Wells Jr. San Diego State
OL Jake Bennett Jr. Colorado State
OL Dejon Allen Jr. Hawai‘i
OL Austin Corbett Jr. Nevada
OL Reno Henderson Sr. New Mexico
OL Daniel Brunskill Sr. San Diego State
PK Luke Strebel Sr. Air Force
PR/KR D.J. May Sr. Wyoming
2016 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
DL Malik Reed So. Nevada
DL Nik D'Avanzo Sr. New Mexico
DL Garrett Hughes Jr. New Mexico
DL Travis Seefeldt Sr. Utah State
LB Ben Weaver Sr. Boise State
LB Kevin Davis Sr. Colorado State
LB Jeff Camilli Sr. Fresno State
DB Brodie Hicks Sr. Air Force
DB Chanceller James Sr. Boise State
DB Jonathan Moxey Sr. Boise State
DB Malik Smith Sr. San Diego State
P Sean Wale Sr. Boise State
*--Two-Time Second-Team Selection
**--Three-Time Second-Team Selection
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Donnel Pumphrey, Sr., RB, San Diego State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Damontae Kazee, Sr., DB, San Diego State
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rashaad Penny, Jr., KR/PR, San Diego State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Logan Wilson, Fr., LB, Wyoming
COACH OF THE YEAR
Craig Bohl, Wyoming