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College football magazine season is here with a few editions hitting the news stands this month. That also means the online versions will be releasing various portions of their season preview.
Athlon Sports released its preseason all-Mountain West selections and it goes four teams deep.
The first thing that stands out is that even though Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen has received a ton of hype surrounding him in regards to the NFL Draft, but it is Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien who is named as the first team signal-caller.
Going off of stats this seems to be the right choice as Rypien bested Allen in yards per game, total yards, competition percentage and fewer interceptions.
The rest of the quarterbacks are Nick Stevens out of Colorado State and then Dru Brown from Hawai’i. Both of these players had strong second halves to the year and ended up being in the upper tier of the conference.
The running back position was extremely loaded last year with three backs getting selected in the NFL Draft in Boise State’s Jeremy McNichols, Wyoming’ Brian Hill and San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey; plus the league lost Teriyon Gipson who was the starter for the Lobos.
The crop to replace those are pretty good but not likely up to the standards as the 2017 group. Nevada’s James Butler and San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny are the first-team backs and that is the right choice.
One interesting player on this list is Boise State’s Alexander Mattison who will be a sophomore and is going to step in and take over the role from McNichols, and he earned second team honors.
That pick might be on potential because Colorado State’s Dalyn Dawkins has nearly 1,000 yards and he is a third-team, but what is hurting the Rams chances at Dawkins being higher on these lists is because the Colorado State backfield is loaded with Izzy Matthews and also add in Marvin Kinsey, Jr. who will make his way back at some point this year as he is still recovering from a torn ACL in December.
On defense, the one thing that stands out is that San Diego State has zero players on the first team and Hawaii leads the conference with three players. However, the Aztecs have six players overall on the defensive teams, but that is second behind the Wyoming Cowboys who have seven players spread across all four teams.
Offense
| First-Team Offense | Tyrone Owens (RB) New Mexico, AP | Third-Team Offense | Fourth-Team Offense |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Team Offense | Tyrone Owens (RB) New Mexico, AP | Third-Team Offense | Fourth-Team Offense |
| Brett Rypien Boise State, QB | Josh Allen Wyoming, QB | Nick Stevens Colorado State, QB | Dru Brown Hawaii, QB |
| James Butler Nevada, RB | Alexander Mattison Boise State, RB | Dalyn Dawkins Colorado State, RB | Tonny Lindsey Utah State, RB |
| Rashaad Penny SDSU, RB | Diocemy Saint Juste Hawaii, RB | Lexington Thomas UNLV, RB | Juwan Washington SDSU, RB |
| Tim McVey Air Force, AP | Tyrone Owens (RB) New Mexico | Izzy Matthews (RB) Colorado State, AP | Richard McQuarley (RB) New Mexico, AP |
| Michael Gallup Colorado State, WR | Wyatt Demps Nevada, WR | Justin Holmes SJSU, WR | Malik Roberson (RB) SJSU, WR |
| Devonte Boyd UNLV, WR | C.J. Johnson Wyoming, WR | Ron'Quavion Tarver Utah State, WR | Kendal Keys UNLV, WR |
| Cedrick Wilson Boise State, WR | John Ursua Hawaii, WR | KeeSean Johnson Fresno State, WR | Olabisi Johnson Colorado State, WR |
| David Wells SDSU, TE | Jake Roh Boise State, TE | Metuisela 'Unga Hawaii, TE | Mikah Holder (WR) SDSU, TE |
| Jake Bennett Colorado State, C | Mason Hampton Boise State, C | Alex Norton Air Force, C | Blaise Fountain New Mexico, C |
| Austin Corbett Nevada, OL | Antonio Rosales SDSU, OL | Justin Polu UNLV, OL | Kyle Saxelid UNLV, OL |
| Zach Wallace Wyoming | Jeremiah Kolone SJSU, OL | John Wa'a Hawaii, OL | Sean Krepsz Nevada, OL |
| Dejon Allen Hawaii, OL | Nathan Jacobson UNLV, OL | Zack Golditch Colorado State, OL | Nate Velichko SJSU, OL |
| Archie Lewis Boise State, OL | Aaron Jenkins New Mexico, OL | Ryan Cummings Wyoming, OL | Avery Jordan New Mexico, OL |
Defense
| First-Team Defense | Second-Team Defense | Third-Team Defense | Fourth-Team Defense |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-Team Defense | Second-Team Defense | Third-Team Defense | Fourth-Team Defense |
| David Moa Boise State, DL | Mike Hughes UNLV, DL | Nathan Madsen Fresno State, DL | Jabril Frazier Boise State, DL |
| Malik Reed Nevada, DL | Carl Granderson Wyoming, DL | Noble Hall SDSU, DL | Sergio Phillips SDSU, DL |
| Garrett Hughes New Mexico, DL | Bryson Bridges SJSU, DL | Darnell Thompson Colorado State, DL | Santo Coppola Air Force, DL |
| Meffy Koloamatangi Hawaii, DL | Ian Togiai Utah State, DL | Kevin Prosser Wyoming, DL | Malachi Mageo Hawaii, DL |
| Jahlani Tavai Hawaii, DL | Josh Watson Colorado State, DL | Deonte Clyburn Colorado State, DL | Chase Christiansen Utah State, DL |
| Logan Wilson Wyoming, LB | Gabe Sewell Nevada, LB | Evan Colorito Colorado State, LB | Grant Ross Air Force, LB |
| Frank Ginda SJSU, LB | Ronley Lakalaka SDSU, LB | Leighton Vander Esch Boise State, LB | James Bailey Fresno State, LB |
| Tyler Horton Boise State, CB | Ron Smith SDSU, CB | Rico Gafford Wyoming, CB | Antonio Hull Wyoming, CB |
| Andre Chachere SJSU, CB | Jalen Davis Utah State, CB | Kameron Kelly SDSU, CB | Kendall Johnson Nevada, CB |
| Andrew Wingard Wyoming, S | Dallin Leavitt Utah State, S | Maurice McKnight SJSU, S | Parker Baldwin SDSU, S |
| Trayvon Henderson Hawaii, S | Asauni Rufus Nevada, S | Marcus Epps Wyoming, S | Dameon Baber Nevada, S |