Mountain West Announces 2023 Football All-Conference Teams and Individual Honors

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Mountain West announced today its 2023 All-Conference football teams and individual award winners, as chosen by the 12 head coaches and a select media panel. Boise State sophomore running back Ashton Jeanty has been honored as the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, while Colorado State defensive end Mohamed Kamara was named the MW Defensive Player of the Year. A trio of UNLV Rebels round out the individual honors, as placekicker Jose Pizano was named the MW Special Teams Player of the Year, quarterback Jayden Maiava has been selected as the MW Freshman of the Year and Barry Odom is the MW Coach of the Year.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – ASHTON JEANTY, SOPHOMORE, RB, BOISE STATE

• Third Boise State player to be named MW Offensive Player of the Year and first since quarterback Brett Rypien in 2018.
• Second straight running back to win the award and the ninth in league history.
• Ranks second in the FBS with 164.6 all-purpose yards per game.
• Has rushed 182 times for 1,109 yards and 13 touchdowns.
• Ranks 11th in the FBS with a MW-best 110.9 yards per game despite missing two games.
• Has turned in five 100-yard rushing games this season, including a pair of 200-yard games.
• Has 37 catches for 537 yards and five TDs.
• Wrapped the regular season with 107 yards rushing and a career-best 118 yards receiving against Air Force for just the sixth game with 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in program history.
• First FBS player with 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards since 2019.
• Named first-team midseason All-American by the Associated Press, ESPN and CBS Sports.
• Named to the Maxwell Award Midseason Watch List.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR – MOHAMED KAMARA, GRADUATE, DE, COLORADO STATE

• Third Colorado State player to earn MW Defensive Player of the Year honors and first since linebacker Shaquil Barrett in 2013.
• Posted 56 tackles on the season with 29 solo stops.
• Has 17 tackles for loss and 13 sacks on the season, both of which lead the MW.
• Ranks fourth in MW history in single-season sacks and second in career sacks (30.5).
• Leads the MW and ranks fourth in the FBS in sacks per game with 1.08.
• Ranks ninth in the FBS in tackles for loss per game with 1.4.
• Forced two fumbles and had one fumble recovery.
• Notched 10 quarterback hurries.
• Earned first-team Midseason All-America honors from CBS Sports and second-team honors from the Associated Press.
• Named to the Bednarik Award Midseason Watch List.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – JOSE PIZANO, SENIOR, PK, UNLV

• UNLV’s first MW Special Teams Player of the Year.
• Is 23-for-25 on field goals this season, ranking eighth in the FBS with a field-goal percentage of .920.
• Is fourth in the FBS with 23 field goals, 1.92 field goals per game and 120 total points scored.
• Ranks sixth in the FBS with 10.0 points per game.
• Had a streak of 19 consecutive made field goals this season, which is tied for the second-longest streak in MW history.
• Matched the MW record with six field goals against Colorado State on Oct. 21. Scored a total of 19 points on the day to tie for third in a game in MW history.
• Three-time MW Special Teams Player of the Week this season.
• Twice named one of the Lou Groza National Collegiate Place Kicker Award Stars of the Week and was the College Football Network Co-Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 8.
• Semifinalist for the Lou Groza National Collegiate Place Kicker Award.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – JAYDEN MAIAVA, QB, UNLV

• UNLV’s seventh MW Freshman of the Year and the third in the last four seasons.
• Earned second-team All-Mountain West honors.
• Came off the bench against Vanderbilt in Week 3 to lead UNLV to the win and started every game thereafter, fashioning a 7-2 record as a starter.
• Is 186-for-290 for 2,626 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season.
• Leads all FBS freshmen with a .641 completion percentage, a 152.0 passing efficiency, and 9.06 yards per pass attempt.
• Threw for at least 200 yards in seven consecutive games to end the regular season and eight games overall, tying him for ninth in a career in UNLV history.
• Ran for 244 yards and three touchdowns.
• Earned a record five MW Freshman of the Week citations.
• Named the College Football Network Freshman Player of the Week for Week 7 after completing a UNLV freshman-record 80 percent of his passes (20-for-25) in a win over Nevada.

COACH OF THE YEAR – BARRY ODOM, UNLV

• Earned UNLV’s second MW Coach of the Year award and first since 2000 (John Robinson).
• Has led a Rebels squad that was picked ninth in the preseason Mountain West poll to a share of its first MW regular-season title and its first appearance in the MW Championship.
• At 9-3 overall, has led UNLV to its most overall wins since 1984.
• Led the Rebels to their most MW wins in a single season with six.
• Has seen UNLV receive votes in at least one national poll for the last seven weeks of the regular season.
• Saw five players earn six All-MW first-team honors and three more claim second-team distinction.

2023 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

*Two-Time First-Team Selection

2023 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

*Two-Time Second-Team Selection

HONORABLE MENTION