MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE ALL-LEAGUE SELECTION 2020

The end of the college football season is a sad time, because it means that we are almost finished withfootball, and have a long cold winter (and spring) ahead of us.

But it's also a time for passing out hardware, in the form of all-league teams. 

Plenty of players had the spotlight shining on them, so it was admittedly tricky trying to find the best of the best in each league. But through careful research, and all night film sessions, our committee of three came up with what we thought were the best choices in each conference. 

These selections may not match the ones unveiled by the conferences, but that's because much of that is name recognition more than stellar play. Digging deep behind the numbers is what's needed, and that's precisely what we have done here. 

We move on to the Mountain West, which was another league that started late with an abbreviated schedule. Usual bully Boise State was supplanted by Nevada, which got great leadership from QB Carson Strong, but it was business as usual for the San Diego State defense, led by do-everything LB Caden McDonald. A gem was uncovered in Sin City as freshman wideout Kyle Williams made a huge impact for UNLV, and San Jose State boss Brent Brennan continued the improvement he showed last season by nabbing a league crown in his fourth season.

1^ST TEAM OFFENSE                                                                                   2^ND TEAM OFFENSE

QB Carson Strong/Nevada                                                                     QB Nick Starkel/San Jose State

RB Ronnie Rivers/Fresno State                                                            RB Xazavian Valladay/Wyoming

RB Greg Bell/San Diego State                                                                RB Toa Taua/Nevada

WR Romeo Doubs/Nevada                                                                     WR Calvin Turner/Hawaii

WR Khalil Shakir/Boise State                                                                WR Jalen Cropper/Fresno State

WR Bailey Gaither/San Jose State                                                       WR Kyle Williams/UNLV

TE Trey McBride/Colorado State                                                          TE Cole Turner/Nevada

OT Parker Ferguson/Air Force                                                             OT Aaron Frost/Nevada

OT Syrus Tuitele/Fresno State                                                             OT Kyle Spalding/San Diego State

OG Nolan Laufenberg/Air Force                                                           OG Elijah Johnson/Colorado State

OG Jake Stetz/Boise State                                                                    OG Logan Harris/Wyoming

 C Keegan Cryder/Wyoming                                                                  C Kyle Stapley/New Mexico                                            

1^ST TEAM DEFENSE                                                                                 2^ND TEAM DEFENSE

DE Cade Hall/San Jose State                                                                 DE Scott Patchan/Colorado State

DT Kevin Atkins/Fresno State                                                              DT Jonah Tavai/San Diego State

DT Dom Peterson/Nevada                                                                     DT Justice Tavai/Hawaii

DE Cameron Thomas/San Diego State                                               DE Viliami Fehoko/San Jose State

LB Chad Muma/Wyoming                                                                     LB Lawson Hall/Nevada

LB Kyle Harmon/San Jose State                                                          LB AJ Vongphachanh/Utah State

LB Darius Muasau/Hawaii                                                                     LB Dequan Jackson/Colorado State

LB Caden McDonald/San Diego State                                                 LB Riley Whimpey/Boise State

CB Darren Hall/San Diego State                                                           CB Tyson Williams/Nevada

CB Avery Williams/Boise State                                                           CB Cortez Davis/Hawaii

 S Tre Jenkins/San Jose State                                                             S Shaq Bond/Utah State

 S Tariq Thompson/San Diego State                                                   S Jerrick Reed II/New Mexico

1^ST TEAM SPECIALISTS                                                                          2^ND TEAM SPECIALISTS

 K Brandon Talton/Nevada                                                                      K John Hoyland/Wyoming

 P Stephen Kotsanlee/Utah State                                                          P Julian Diaz/Nevada

RS Avery Williams/Boise State                                                            RS Savon Scarver/Utah State

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Carson Strong/Nevada                       

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Caden McDonald/San Diego State    

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kyle Williams/UNLV

COACH OF THE YEAR: Brent Brennan/San Jose State

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ALL-LEAGUE SELECTIONS 2020

 

The end of the college football season is a sad time, because it means that we are almost finished withfootball, and have a long cold winter (and spring) ahead of us.

But it's also a time for passing out hardware, in the form of all-league teams. 

Plenty of players had the spotlight shining on them, so it was admittedly tricky trying to find the best of the best in each league. But through careful research, and all night film sessions, our committee of three came up with what we thought were the best choices in each conference. 

These selections may not match the ones unveiled by the conferences, but that's because much of that is name recognition more than stellar play. Digging deep behind the numbers is what's needed, and that's precisely what we have done here.

Today we take a look at the Mid-American Conference, a league that, like the Big Ten and a few others, got started later than most and played just a six game season. But in those six games we saw some real standouts, including future NFL star RB Jaret Patterson of Buffalo. Hard-hitting Ball State LB Brandon Martin was a catalyst toward a resurgence by the Cards that saw them win the league championship game, and RB Lew Nichols of Central Michigan gave flashes of things to come for next year and beyond. It was a real battle for coach of the year, with Ball State's Mike Neu just edging out Buffalo's Lance Leipold.

1^ST TEAM OFFENSE                                                                                   2^ND TEAM OFFENSE

QB Dustin Crum/Kent State                                                                    QB Kaleb Eleby/Western Michigan

RB Jaret Patterson/Buffalo                                                                     RB DeMontre Tuggle/Ohio

RB Teon Dollard/Akron                                                                           RB Bryant Koback/Toledo

WR D’Wayne Eskridge/Western Michigan                                          WR Justin Hall/Ball State

WR Isaiah McKoy/Kent State                                                                 WR Tanner Knue/Eastern Michigan

WR Tyrice Richie/Northern Illinois                                                       WR Jaylen Hall/Western Michigan

TE Bryson Cannon/Eastern Michigan                                                  TE Daniel Crawford/Northern Illinois

OT Kayode Awosika/Buffalo                                                                 OT Jaylon Moore/Western Michigan

OT Tommy Doyle/Miami Ohio                                                               OT Curtis Blackwell/Ball State

OG Jacob Gall/Buffalo                                                                            OG Sidy Sow/Eastern Michigan

OG Mike Caliendo/Western Michigan                                                OG Nate Monnin/Kent State

 C Mike Novitsky/Buffalo                                                                        C Bryce Harris/Toledo                                    

1^ST TEAM DEFENSE                                                                                 2^ND TEAM DEFENSE

DE Malcolm Koonce/Buffalo                                                                 DE Austin Conrad/Ohio

DT Ralph Holley/Western Michigan                                                    DT Eddie Wilson/Buffalo

DT Mohamed Diallo/Central Michigan                                               DT Braden Fiske/Western Michigan

DE Troy Hairston/Central Michigan                                                    DE Desjuan Johnson/Toledo

LB Bubba Arslanian/Akron                                                                 LB Terry Myrick/Eastern Michigan

LB Brandon Martin/Ball State                                                              LB George Douglas/Central Michigan

LB Troy Brown/Central Michigan                                                       LB Jaylin Thomas/Ball State

LB Anthony Ekpe/Ball State                                                                 LB Darren Anders/Bowling Green

CB Jordan Gandy/Northern Illinois                                                    CB Samuel Womack/Toledo

CB Amechi Uzodinma II/Ball State                                                      CB Dishon McNary/Central Michigan

 S Willie Reid/Central Michigan                                                            S Noski LaFleur/Eastern Michigan

 S Bryce Cosby/Ball State                                                                      S Tyrone Hill/Buffalo

1^ST TEAM SPECIALISTS                                                                          2^ND TEAM SPECIALISTS

 K Marshall Meeder/Central Michigan                                                 K Chad Ryland/Eastern Michigan

 P Dom Dzioban/Miami Ohio                                                                   P Jake Julien/Eastern Michigan

RS D’Wayne Eskridge/Western Michigan                                          RS Ron Cook Jr/Buffalo

 

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jaret Patterson/Buffalo                            

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: LB Brandon Martin/Ball State

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: RB Lew Nichols/Central Michigan

COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Neu/Ball State