Fresno State lands two on All-Mountain West football first team, one on second team
The Fresno State Bulldogs had a down season, but linebacker Justin Rice and defensive end Mykal Walker were honored on Wednesday as first-team selections on the Mountain West all-conference team and running back Ronnie Rivers was a second-team selection.
San Jose State quarterback Josh Love is the conference offensive player of the year. Boise State swept the other top player awards: defensive end Curtis Weaver is the defensive player of the year, defensive back Avery Williams the special teams player of the year and running back George Holani the freshman of the year.
Hawaii coach Nick Rolovich is the coach of the year.
UNLV junior running back Charles Williams, a Bullard High grad, also was a first-team selection. He was the Mountain West rushing champion with 1,257 yards
Rice led the Bulldogs and is third in the conference with 112 total tackles and also tied for the league lead with four forced fumbles. He is one of only 25 players in the nation to cause at least six turnovers with the four forced fumbles, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Walker, who was a first-team selection last season, racked up 96 total tackles to rank eighth in the conference and had a team-high 9.0 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Fresno State won a lot of football games the past two seasons, but didn’t get a lot of accolades on all-conference teams.
In 2017 the Bulldogs had just one first-team selection – linebacker Jeff Allison – and they ended up 10-4 with a West Division championship and a Hawaii Bowl victory over Houston.
West rivals San Diego State had three first-team selections that season, Nevada had two and Hawaii, UNLV and San Jose State also had one.
Last season they had four first-team selections – Allison as the defensive player of the year, Walker, cornerback Tank Kelly and offensive tackle Christian Cronk – and that team finished 12-2 with a conference championship and a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Arizona State.
Boise State, the team the Bulldogs beat last season in the conference championship game, led with seven first-team selections.
Fresno State this season had three players gain honorable mention – punter Blake Cusick, defensive tackle Kevin Atkins and safety Juju Hughes.
2019 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST TEAMS
OFFENSE
First team
QB – Josh Love, Sr., San José State
WR – Warren Jackson, Jr., Colorado State
WR – Cedric Byrd II, Sr., Hawai‘i
WR – Tre Walker, Jr., San José State
RB – Charles Williams, Jr., UNLV
RB – Xazavian Valladay, So., Wyoming
TE – Trey McBride, So., Colorado State
OL – Scott Hattok, Sr., Air Force
OL – Nolan Laufenberg, Jr., Air Force
OL – Ezra Cleveland*, Jr., Boise State
OL – John Molchon*, Sr., Boise State
OL – Keith Ismael*, Jr., San Diego State
PK – Dominik Eberle, Sr., Utah State
KR – Savon Scarver*, Jr., Utah State
DEFENSE
First team
DL – Mosese Fifita, Sr., Air Force
DL – Curtis Weaver**, Jr., Boise State
DL – Dom Peterson, So., Nevada
DL – Myles Cheatum, Sr., San Diego State
DL – Cameron Thomas, Fr., San Diego State
LB – Justin Rice, Jr., Fresno State
LB – Mykal Walker*, Sr., Fresno State
LB – Kyahva Tezino*, Sr., San Diego State
LB – David Woodward, Jr., Utah State
LB – Logan Wilson, Sr., Wyoming
DB – Kekaula Kaniho, Jr., Boise State
DB – Jamal Hicks, Sr., Colorado State
DB – Luq Barcoo, Sr., San Diego State
DB – Alijah Halliburton, Sr., Wyoming
P – Ryan Stonehouse*, Jr., Colorado State
PR – Avery Williams, Jr., Boise State
SECOND TEAM
Offense
QB – Cole McDonald, Jr., Hawai‘i
WR – John Hightower, Sr., Boise State
WR – JoJo Ward, Sr., Hawai‘i
WR – Siaosi Mariner, Sr., Utah State
RB – George Holani, Fr., Boise State
RB – Ronnie Rivers, Jr., Fresno State
TE – Parker Houston, Sr., San Diego State
OL – Connor Vikupitz, Sr., Air Force
OL – Garrett Larson, Sr., Boise State
OL – Ilm Manning, So., Hawai‘i
OL – Daishawn Dixon, Sr., San Diego State
OL – Keegan Cryder, So., Wyoming
PK – Brandon Talton, Fr., Nevada
KR – John Hightower, Sr., Boise State
Defense
DL – Chase Hatada, Sr., Boise State
DL – David Moa, Sr., Boise State
DL – Keshawn Banks, So., San Diego State
DL – Tipa Galeai*, Sr., Utah State
LB – Kyle Johnson, Sr., Air Force
LB – Demonte Meeks, Jr., Air Force
LB – Riley Whimpey, Jr., Boise State
LB – Ethan Aguayo, Sr., San José State
DB – Kekoa Nawahine, Sr., Boise State
DB – Jalen Walker, Jr., Boise State
DB – Tariq Thompson**, Jr., San Diego State
DB – Jericho Flowers, Sr., UNLV
P – Tyson Dyer, Jr., New Mexico
PR – Austin Conway, Sr., Wyoming
*Two-Time First-Team Selection
**Three-Time First-Team Selection
This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 12:52 PM.