ADVERTISEMENT

Athlon Sports Names All-Mountain West Football Team

Stanley Brewster

Blue-Turf Admin
Staff
Nov 27, 2003
7,964
81
48
Boise Idaho
www.blue-turf.com
BOISE, Idaho – Boise State received 17 selections on the 2019 Athlon Sports All-Mountain West Team, including its entire offensive line. The Broncos led All-Mountain West schools in total awards.


Boise State earned four first-team honorees, led by STUD Curtis Weaver on defense. A pair of offensive linemen, Ezra Cleveland and John Molchon, along with wide receiver John Hightower garnered top billing on offense.


Weaver has produced 20.5 sacks, tied for sixth all-time at Boise State, entering his redshirt-junior season. Cleveland and Molchon were part of an offensive line that paved the way for Alexander Mattison, the Mountain West rushing champion in 2018 with 1,415 yards, and a third round selection by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2019 NFL Draft.


In 2018, Hightower produced 870 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns (six receiving/two rushing). He showed big-play ability, scoring on runs of 55 and 88 yards and hauling in four touchdown receptions of 40-plus yards.


Defensive linemen Sonatane Lui and David Moa, safety Kekaula Kaniho, corner back Avery Williams, center Garret Larson and Hightower as a kick returner were named to the second team.


Lui started 10 games last year and Moa is a three-time member of Outland Trophy Watch List. Kaniho made 40 tackles last season and led the Broncos with three interceptions. Williams has 69-career tackles and four picks in two seasons at Boise State. Larson helped provide protection for 2018 Mountain West Player of the Year Brett Rypien and a passing offense that ranked 18th in the country at 292 yards per game.


Third-team accolades went to safeties Kekoa Nawahine and DeAndre Pierce, offensive lineman Eric Quevedo and Williams as punt returner. Khalil Shakir picked up fourth-team recognition at wide receiver/all-purpose and was joined by offensive lineman John Ojukwu and linebacker Zeke Noa.


Nawahine led Boise State with 71 tackles in 2018. Five games into last season, Pierce was the Broncos’ leading tackler before an injury cost him the rest of the year. Shakir’s biggest play in 2018 came when he hauled in 49-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter of a 24-17 win over Fresno State. Last season, Noa made 34 tackles as a redshirt-freshman. Quevedo and Ojukwu combined for 17 starts in 2018 as part of the Broncos’ solid offensive line.


Athlon considers career statistics, but its all-conference team is largely based on predicting and projecting the best for 2019.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT