Fresno State football: Three Bulldogs on All-Mountain West first team
Fresno State defenders Tyeler Davison and Derron Smith and wide receiver Josh Harper were named Tuesday to the All-Mountain West first team, four days ahead of the Bulldogs’ return trip to the conference championship game.
Running back Marteze Waller and offensive lineman Cody Wichmann earned second-team honors. Offensive lineman Alex Fifita, linebacker Donavon Lewis and tight end Chad Olsen received honorable mention.
Smith is the 11th player in school history to be named all-conference three times in a career. The senior safety is third on the team with 80 tackles and leads with seven pass breakups. After entering the season as the active career leader in the Football Bowl Subdivision in interceptions with 14, he has managed just one this year as the leader of an oft-maligned defense that ranks 10th out of 12 league teams in total and scoring defense.
Davison, a senior nose guard, was a first-team selection in 2012 and a second-team honoree last year. A 38-game starter for the Bulldogs in his career, he has been invited to play in the 2015 East-West Shrine Game.
Harper, also a senior, was a second-team selection in 2013. He has caught 76 passes this year, 49 more than any other Bulldog, including seven for touchdowns.
With 941 yards, Harper is a near-lock to become the third receiver in program history and the third Mountain West player to top 1,000 yards receiving. He is second in the conference in per-game receiving yardage (78.4) and third in receptions (6.3).
“Our senior class did a great job of persevering through adversity and leading our team to a second consecutive Western Division Championship (game) and it is great to see these guys recognized for their efforts,” coach Tim DeRuyter said.
The All-Mountain West teams were voted on by the 12 head coaches in the conference and media covering the league.
The Bulldogs visit Boise State at 7 p.m. Saturday as they try to become the second Mountain West team (joining Texas Christian, 2009-11) to win three straight titles. As the West Division champions, they already are guaranteed a bowl bid.
2014 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE
QB Garrett Grayson Sr. Colorado State
WR Josh Harper Sr. Fresno State
WR Rashard Higgins So. Colorado State
RB Jay Ajay* Jr. Boise State
RB Donnel Pumphrey So. San Diego State
TE Steven Walker Jr. Colorado State
OL Michael Husar, Jr. Sr. Air Force
OL Marcus Henry Jr. Boise State
OL Ty Sambrailo Sr. Colorado State
OL LaMar Bratton Sr. New Mexico
OL Kevin Whimpey Jr. Utah State
PK Will Conant Sr. Air Force
PR/KR JoJo Natson Jr. Utah State
FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE
DL Kamalei Correa So. Boise State
DL Tyeler Davison* Jr. Fresno State
DL B.J. Larsen Sr. Utah State
DL Eddie Yarbrough* Jr. Wyoming
LB Dakota Cox So. New Mexico
LB Nick Vigil So. Utah State
LB Zach Vigil Sr. Utah State
DB Weston Steelhammer So. Air Force
DB Darian Thompson Jr. Boise State
DB Derron Smith** Sr. Fresno State
DB Frankie Sutera Sr. Utah State
P Scott Harding Sr. Hawaii
*Two-Time First-Team Selection
**Three-Time First-Team Selection
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB Grant Hedrick Sr. Boise State
WR Tyler Winston So. San Jose State
WR Devonte Boyd Fr. UNLV
RB Marteze Waller Jr. Fresno State
RB Dee Hart Jr. Colorado State
TE Jarred Gipson So. Nevada
OL Rees Odhiambo Jr. Boise State
OL Cody Wichmann Sr. Fresno State
OL Matt Galas Sr. Nevada
OL Terry Poole Sr. San Diego State
OL Brett Boyko Sr. UNLV
PK Nick Diaz So. Utah State
PR/KR Lloyd Mills So. San Diego State
SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE
DL Alex Hansen Jr. Air Force
DL Travis Raciti Sr. San Jose State
DL Brock Hekking Sr. Nevada
DL Ian Seau Jr. Nevada
LB Jordan Pierce Sr. Air Force
LB Tanner Vallejo So. Boise State
LB Aaron Davis Sr. Colorado State
DB Donte Deayon Jr. Boise State
DB Damontae Kazee So. San Diego State
DB J.J. Whittaker Sr. San Diego State
DB Cleveland Wallace III So. San Jose State
P Alex Boy So. Nevada
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Garrett Grayson, Sr., QB, Colorado State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Zach Vigil, LB, Utah State
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Will Conant, Sr., K/P, Air Force
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Devonte Boyd, Fr., WR, UNLV
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jim McElwain, Colorado State
HONORABLE MENTION
This story was originally published December 2, 2014 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Fresno State football: Three Bulldogs on All-Mountain West first team."