It was a little ironic that the two Wyoming football players that made the first and second All-Mountain West teams were on defense.
Eddie Yarbrough
But despite having one of the worst defenses in the nation in nearly every statistical category, sophomore defensive end Eddie Yarbrough made the first team and senior safety Marqueston Huff made the second team.
Hard to argue both players’ production. Yarbrough led all MW defensive linemen with 89 tackles. He also had a team-best 12 tackles for loss and 6.5 quarterback sacks. His two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries also tied for first on the team.
Huff led all MW defensive backs with 127 tackles and 74 solo tackles. His two interceptions were tied for the most on the team with junior linebacker Jordan Stanton, who was a honorable mention
Marqueston Huff
All-MW selection. Huff also tied for team-high honors with six pass break-ups and two fumble recoveries.
All three of UW’s defensive players produced big numbers. Stanton was second in the MW with 134 tackles. But a big reason those guys were so productive was because they were on the field a lot. The defense struggled to stop anybody all season, and UW’s offense was among the worst in the nation in time of possession.
That all adds up to at least some guys putting up some impressive statistics.
Senior receiver Robert Herron and junior quarterback Brett Smith joined Stanton as honorable mention picks.
Not a bad representation of UW players. Not many guys from a 5-7 squad normally earn all-conference honors.
The voting was done by the 12 head coaches and select media. I was one of those media members, and my first and second team selections were not that much different than the one that was released Tuesday.
I had Smith, Yarbrough, Huff and Stanton all on my second team. San Jose State senior David Fales was the second team All-MW quarterback. His effort in the Spartans’ upset of Fresno State in the regular-season finale had to help his case.
I didn’t have any UW players on my first team.
What do you think of the all-MW teams and honorees?
Here is a complete list of the All-MW teams and individual awards:
All-MW First Team
OFFENSE
QB Derek Carr* Sr. Fresno State
WR Davante Adams* So. Fresno State
WR Chandler Jones Sr. San José State
RB Jay Ajayi So. Boise State
RB Kapri Bibbs So. Colorado State
TE Crockett Gillmore Sr. Colorado State
OL Charles Leno, Jr. Sr. Boise State
OL Weston Richburg Sr. Colorado State
OL Austin Wentworth* Sr. Fresno State
OL Joel Bitonio Sr. Nevada
OL Tyler Larsen Sr. Utah State
PK Jared Roberts Jr. Colorado State
PR/KR Carlos Wiggins So. New Mexico
DEFENSE
DL Demarcus Lawrence* Jr. Boise State
DL Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe Sr. Boise State
DL Brock Hekking Jr. Nevada
DL Eddie Yarbrough So. Wyoming
LB Shaquil Barrett Sr. Colorado State
LB Keith Smith Sr. San José State
LB Jake Doughty Sr. Utah State
DB Derron Smith* Jr. Fresno State
DB Nat Berhe Sr. San Diego State
DB Bené Benwikere Sr. San José State
DB Nevin Lawson Sr. Utah State
P Ben Skaer Sr. New Mexico
*–Two-Time First-Team Selection
All-MW Second Team
OFFENSE
QB David Fales Sr. San José State
WR Devante Davis Jr. UNLV
WR Josh Harper Jr. Fresno State
RB Tim Cornett Sr. UNLV
RB Kasey Carrier Sr. New Mexico
TE Marcel Jensen Sr. Fresno State
OL Matt Paradis Sr. Boise State
OL Ty Sambrailo Jr. Colorado State
OL Bryce Quigley Sr. San Diego State
OL Nicholas Kaspar Sr. San José State
OL Brett Boyko Jr. UNLV
PK Austin Lopez So. San José State
PR/KR Isaiah Burse Sr. Fresno State
DEFENSE
DL Tyeler Davison Jr. Fresno State
DL Beau Yap Jr. Hawai‘i
DL B.J. Larsen Jr. Utah State
DL AJ Pataili‘i Sr. Utah State
LB Ejiro Ederaine So. Fresno State
LB Kyler Fackrell So. Utah State
LB Zach Vigil Jr. Utah State
DB Donte Deayon So. Boise State
DB Jeremy Ioane Jr. Boise State
DB Shaq Bell Sr. Colorado State
DB Marqueston Huff Sr. Wyoming
P Chase Tenpenny Sr. Nevada
Honorable Mention
Wyoming: Robert Herron, Sr., WR; Brett Smith, Jr., QB; Jordan Stanton, Jr., LB.
Air Force: Will Conant, Jr., PK; Michael Husar, Sr., OL.
Boise State: Dan Goodale, Jr., PK; Matt Miller, Jr., WR; Shane Williams-Rhodes, So., WR/PR/KR.
Colorado State: Kivon Cartwright, Jr., TE; Max Morgan, Jr., LB.
Fresno State: Isaiah Burse, Sr., WR; L.J. Jones, Sr., DB; Karl Mickelsen, Jr., LB; Nikko Motta, Sr., DL; Garrett Swanson, So., P; Cody Wichmann, Jr., OL.
Hawai‘i: Ben Clarke, So., OL; Brenden Daley, Sr., LB; Clark Evans, Sr., TE; Scott Harding, Jr., P; John Hardy-Tuliau, Sr., DB; Art Laurel, Sr., LB; Siasau Matagiese, Sr., DL; Ne’Quan Phillips, So., DB.
Nevada: Charles Garrett, Jr., DB; Brandon Wimberly, Sr., WR.
New Mexico: Dallas Bollema, Sr., LB; Brett Bowers, Jr., DL; LaMar Bratton, Jr., OL; Dillon Farrell, Sr., OL; Darryl Johnson, Sr., OL.
San Diego State: Colin Lockett, Sr., PR/KR; Adam Muema, Jr., RB; Terry Poole, Jr., OL; Ezell Ruffin, Jr., WR; Nick Tenhaeff, Sr., LB; J.J. Whittaker, Jr., DB.
San José State: Billy Freeman, Fr., TE; Ryan Jones, Sr., OL.
UNLV: Frank Crawford, Sr., DB; Mark Garrick, Sr., DL; Cameron Jefferson, Jr., OL; Tani Maka, Sr., LB; Marcus Sullivan, Jr., PR/KR; Peni Vea, So., DB; Robert Waterman, Jr., OL.
Utah State: Maurice Alexander, Sr., DB; Joey DeMartino, Sr., RB; Nick Diaz, Jr., PK; Jamie Markosian, Sr., OL; Bruce Natson, So., PR/KR; Eric Schultz, Sr., OL; Brian Suite, Jr., DB.
Offensive Player of the Year
Derek Carr, Sr., QB, Fresno State
Defensive Player of the Year
Shaquil Barrett, Sr., LB, Colorado State
Special Teams Player of the Year
Carlos Wiggins, So., KR, New Mexico
Freshman of the Year
Tyler Winston, Fr., WR, San José State
Coach of the Year
Matt Wells, Utah State
I really thought Ruffran and Wick deserved honorable mention. Didn’t we have one of the toughest in conference schedules? Anyways I guess if your 5-7 not many voters are going to our players respect. We got to take care if business next season.
Also im counting the players from teams and Hawaii has nine selections and New Mexico eight. Wyoming only five. Interesting how the weakest teams that we beat get more players selected than we do.