Brett Rypien
The Mountain West features an intriguing group of teams vying for the league title in 2017, so it’s no surprise Wyoming, San Diego State, Boise State and Colorado State lead the way in all-conference selections. The Aztecs feature the most players selected to the All-Mountain West team with 14, followed by Wyoming and Colorado State tied for second at 12. Boise State checks in fourth with 11 selections, followed by Hawaii, Nevada and New Mexico in the next tier with 10.
Athlon Sports has released its top 25 for 2017. Now, it’s time to take a look at the best of the best and honor the top players in the Mountain West with a release of first, second, third and fourth all-conference teams for 2017.
An important note on the all-conference teams: These are based on how players will perform in 2017. Career statistics and awards matter in the evaluation, but choosing players for the 2017 all-conference team is largely based on predicting and projecting the best for the upcoming year.
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Athlon's 2017 All-Mountain West Team
| First-Team Offense | Second-Team Offense | Third-Team Offense | Fourth-Team Offense |
QB | Brett Rypien Boise State | Josh Allen | Nick Stevens Colorado State | Dru Brown Hawaii |
RB | James Butler* Nevada | Alexander Mattison Boise State | Dalyn Dawkins Colorado State | Tonny Lindsey Utah State |
RB | Rashaad Penny SDSU | Diocemy Saint Juste Hawaii | Lexington Thomas UNLV | Juwan Washington SDSU |
AP | Tim McVey Air Force | Tyrone Owens (RB) New Mexico | Izzy Matthews (RB) Colorado State | Richard McQuarley (RB) New Mexico |
WR | Michael Gallup Colorado State | Wyatt Demps Nevada | Justin Holmes SJSU | Malik Roberson (RB) SJSU |
WR | Devonte Boyd UNLV | C.J. Johnson Wyoming | Ron'Quavion Tarver Utah State | Kendal Keys UNLV |
WR | Cedrick Wilson Boise State | John Ursua Hawaii | KeeSean Johnson Fresno State | Olabisi Johnson Colorado State |
TE | David Wells SDSU | Jake Roh Boise State | Metuisela 'Unga Hawaii | Mikah Holder (WR) SDSU |
C | Jake Bennett Colorado State | Mason Hampton Boise State | Alex Norton Air Force | Blaise Fountain New Mexico |
OL | Austin Corbett Nevada | Antonio Rosales SDSU | Justin Polu UNLV | Kyle Saxelid UNLV |
OL | Zach Wallace Wyoming | Jeremiah Kolone SJSU | John Wa'a Hawaii | Sean Krepsz Nevada |
OL | Dejon Allen Hawaii | Nathan Jacobson UNLV | Zack Golditch Colorado State | Nate Velichko SJSU |
OL | Archie Lewis Boise State | Aaron Jenkins New Mexico | Ryan Cummings Wyoming | Avery Jordan New Mexico |
| First-Team Defense | Second-Team Defense | Third-Team Defense | Fourth-Team Defense |
DL | David Moa Boise State | Mike Hughes UNLV | Nathan Madsen Fresno State | Jabril Frazier Boise State |
DL | Malik Reed Nevada | Carl Granderson Wyoming | Noble Hall SDSU | Sergio Phillips SDSU |
DL | Garrett Hughes New Mexico | Bryson Bridges SJSU | Darnell Thompson Colorado State | Santo Coppola Air Force |
DL | Meffy Koloamatangi Hawaii | Ian Togiai Utah State | Kevin Prosser Wyoming | Malachi Mageo Hawaii |
LB | Jahlani Tavai Hawaii | Josh Watson Colorado State | Deonte Clyburn Colorado State | Chase Christiansen Utah State |
LB | Logan Wilson Wyoming | Gabe Sewell Nevada | Evan Colorito Colorado State | Grant Ross Air Force |
LB | Frank Ginda SJSU | Ronley Lakalaka SDSU | Leighton Vander Esch Boise State | James Bailey Fresno State |
CB | Tyler Horton Boise State | Ron Smith SDSU | Rico Gafford Wyoming | Antonio Hull Wyoming |
CB | Andre Chachere SJSU | Jalen Davis Utah State | Kameron Kelly SDSU | Kendall Johnson Nevada |
S | Andrew Wingard Wyoming | Dallin Leavitt Utah State | Maurice McKnight SJSU | Parker Baldwin SDSU |
S | Trayvon Henderson Hawaii | Asauni Rufus Nevada | Marcus Epps Wyoming | Dameon Baber Nevada |
| First-Team Specialists | Second-Team Specialists | Third-Team Specialists | Fourth-Team Specialists |
K | John Baron II SDSU | Luke Strebel Air Force | Jason Sanders New Mexico | Wyatt Bryan Colorado State |
P | Michael Carrizosa SJSU | Evan Pantels UNLV | Corey Bojorquez New Mexico | Kody Kroening (K) Fresno State |
KR | Rashaad Penny SDSU | Tim McVey Air Force | Elijah Lilly New Mexico | Cedrick Wilson Boise State |
PR | Quest Truxton SDSU | Austin Conway Wyoming | Chris Davis New Mexico | Andrew Celis Nevada |
Team-by-Team Breakdown of Athlon's 2017 All-Mountain West Team
| First | Second | Third | Fourth |
Air Force | Offense: 1 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 2 | Offense: 1 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 0 |
Boise State | Offense: 3 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 3 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 1 |
Colorado State | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 4 Defense: 3 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 1 |
Fresno State | Offense: 0 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 1 |
Hawaii | Offense: 1 Defense: 3 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 |
Nevada | Offense: 2 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 1 |
New Mexico | Offense: 0 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 4 | Offense: 3 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 |
San Diego State | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 3 | Offense: 1 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 2 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 0 |
San Jose State | Offense: 0 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 1 | Offense: 1 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 |
UNLV | Offense: 1 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 1 | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 2 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 |
Utah State | Offense: 0 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 3 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 0 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 1 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 |
Wyoming | Offense: 1 Defense: 2 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 2 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 1 | Offense: 1 Defense: 3 Special Teams: 0 | Offense: 0 Defense: 1 Special Teams: 0 |
* Butler decided to transfer from Nevada in July.
