COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Five Mountain West football players earned spots on ESPN’s list of the top 100 players for the 2024-25 season.

The MW’s five selections trail only the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 and account for nearly half of the 11 from non-autonomous conferences.

Boise State junior running back Ashton Jeanty paced the MW with the No. 2 spot on the list. Jeanty became just the second FBS player to eclipse 2,600 yards rushing in a season, finishing with 2,601, just 27 back of the FBS record set by Barry Sanders in 1988. He also led the FBS in total all-purpose yards (2,750), all-purpose yards per game (196.43) and rushing yards per game (185.8) and was second in rushing touchdowns (29), scoring (12.9), total points scored (180) and total touchdowns (30). Jeanty helped the Broncos to the No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff and won the Maxwell Award, the Doak Walker Award, the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and the Bobby Bowden Award in addition to claiming MW Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight season. He was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and a unanimous, consensus All-American.

Checking in at No. 24 on ESPN’s list was San José State wide receiver Nick Nash. The senior was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award and joined Jeanty in earning unanimous, consensus All-America honors. Nash became only the fourth player to earn the FBS receiving triple crown in the regular season, as he finished the regular season pacing the FBS in receptions (104), receiving yards (1,382) and receiving touchdowns (16), with his catch and TD totals both school records. He opened his season with an SJSU-record 10 straight games with a receiving touchdown. Nash is slated to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Jan. 30.

UNLV senior wide receiver Ricky White III was No. 59 on ESPN’s list of top 100 players this season. The All-American caught 71 passes for 1,041 yards to become the first Rebel with multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons. His 11 touchdown catches ranked seventh in the FBS, while his four blocked punts led the nation and led to his being named the MW Special Teams Player of the Year. White, who helped UNLV earn its first national ranking in program history this year, is also scheduled to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl.

Boise State defensive end Ahmed Hassanein finished No. 67 on ESPN’s list. The senior finished the season with 9.5 sacks and a team-best 15.5 tackles for loss and was a first-team All-MW selection for the second straight season. He helped the Broncos rank second in the FBS in sacks per game (3.93) and fifth in tackles for loss per game (7.9). Hassanein is one of three finalists for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, with the winner scheduled to be announced Feb. 12. He helped Boise State to the CFP No. 3 seed and final national rankings of No. 8 (The Associated Press) and No. 9 (US LBM Coaches Poll).

Rounding out the MW players on ESPN’s Top 100 list is UNLV linebacker Jackson Woodard. The MW Defensive Player of the Year earned All-America honors from several organizations this season and was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy. Woodard ranked 14th in the FBS in tackles per game with 9.6 and was fourth with 135 total tackles, the third-most in a season in UNLV history. He ranked 19th in the FBS with two fumbles recovered and 21st with four interceptions. Woodard, who was the Art of Sport LA Bowl Defensive MVP, helped UNLV to a No. 24 CFP ranking and spots in the final AP (23) and US LBM (24) polls as the Rebels finished a season nationally ranked for the first time in program history.

The ESPN list was compiled by the selection committee of Bill Connelly, David Hale, Chris Low, Max Olson, Adam Rittenberg and Paolo Uggetti.

-mw-