Mountain West Football: Five Named To Paul Hornung Award Watch List

The preseason list of college football’s most versatile players includes five from the Mountain West.

Athletes who can do it all.

Five Mountain West players were included on the Paul Hornung Award watch list this morning, the honor given annually to the nation’s most versatile and productive player.

San Diego State’s Jordan Byrd, who was recently tabbed as the Mountain West’s preseason special teams player of the year, leads the group with four seasons’ worth of contributions under his belt. 2021 may have been his best season yet, however, with 246 yards and three touchdowns on just 37 rushing attempts, an average of 27.3 yards per kick return (including one touchdown), and 7.1 yards per punt return on a conference-high 27 attempts.

Boise State’s Stefan Cobbs and New Mexico’s Luke Wysong, meanwhile, pulled double duty as wide receivers and pass catchers last year. Cobbs had 34 catches for 421 yards and five touchdowns, as well as an average of 20 yards per kick return and an 81-yard punt return score, while Wysong led the Lobos with 23 catches and 228 receiving yards, adding 20.3 yards per kick return and a punt return score of his own.

That’s also true of Fresno State’s Nikko Remigio, who transferred from Cal to the Bulldogs earlier this off-season. In four years with the Golden Bears, he caught 97 passes for 903 yards and seven touchdowns, though he also shined as the team’s primary kick returner in 2021, averaging 27.4 yards per attempt with one touchdown.

Finally, Wyoming running back Titus Swen stood out in 2021 first and foremost as a runner with 785 yards and seven touchdowns on 132 carries. He also chipped in occasionally as a kick returner, too, averaging 18.6 yards per return in ten attempts across five games.

Last year’s Paul Hornung Award winner was Houston’s Marcus Jones.

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