Category: MW Top 50

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 10 Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 10 Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State A huge leap expected? Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire An RB2 makes the top 10? No. 10 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown Boise State backup running …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 10 Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

A huge leap expected?

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire

An RB2 makes the top 10?

No. 10 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown Boise State backup running back Ashton Jeanty. Calling him a backup seems disingenuous. However, the Boise State running back group is loaded with George Holani leading the way.

Jeanty has the skill and talent to be one of the best in the conference. He will get his touches and likely be on the field a lot alongside Holani to help this Broncos offense.

Jeanty made our second-team preseason list and cracking first-team honors is not out of the question but it will be very difficult.

As a backup he had seven touchdowns and 821 yards for Boise State. Cracking 1,000 yards seems very doable.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 11 John Lee Eldridge III, RB, Air Force

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 11 John Lee Eldridge III, RB, Air Force The next great Falcons back? Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire JLEIII is gonna be good No. 11 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Air Force …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 11 John Lee Eldridge III, RB, Air Force

The next great Falcons back?

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JLEIII is gonna be good

No. 11 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Air Force running back John Lee Eldridge III. He gets his chance to be the guy running the ball for this Falcons run-option offense taking over an even bigger role from Brad Roberts.

Eldridge is expected to be one of the best backs in the league. He was named to a first-team selection by the media as well as by our staff.

He carried the ball just 99 times but he made it all worth it with his 766 yards which came out to 7.7 yards per carry. Keeping that production up will be difficult and nearly impossible on a yards per carry basis but expect him to easily surpass 1,000 yards and double-digit touchdowns.

A different type of highlight before we see some football.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 12 Trey Taylor, S, Air Force

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 12 Trey Taylor, S, Air Force Another Falcons defensive back Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire Watch out for the Falcons secondary No. 12 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Air Force …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 12 Trey Taylor, S, Air Force

Another Falcons defensive back

Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire

Watch out for the Falcons secondary

No. 12 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Air Force falcon safety Trey Taylor. As others in this list within the top 15, Taylor is a first-team selection by the media and our staff placed him on the second-team.

The Falcons are the only team within this countdown to have two players from the same team that are inside the top 20 at the defensive back position.

Taylor was all over the field with 69 tackles, two interceptions, and was a force in the backfield with 4.5 tackles for a loss and two sacks. He is capable of stepping up and assist in that rush defense as well as take on any wide receiver in the league with his six passes defended.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 13 Mohamed Kamara, DE, Colorado State

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 13 Mohamed Kamara, DE, Colorado State A Ram defender? Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire First-teamer from CSU No. 13 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Colorado State defensive end …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 13 Mohamed Kamara, DE, Colorado State

A Ram defender?

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First-teamer from CSU

No. 13 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Colorado State defensive end Mohamed Kamara. At this point in the countdown, nearly every player is either a first-team selection or will be in contention for one at the end of the season.

This Rams defender is not yet the highest from Colorado State in our top 50 lists, but he is the second-highest ranked down lineman on the list.

Kamara makes plays aggressive and is always camping out in opponents backfield with 16 tackles for a loss and 8.5 sacks. He is a legitimate defensive player of the year candidate. The only thing holding him back is the win totals for the Rams this year.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 14 Levelle Bailey, LB, Fresno State

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 14 Levelle Bailey, LB, Fresno State Bailey is a star for Fresno State Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire First-teamer No. 14 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Fresno State linebacker …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 14 Levelle Bailey, LB, Fresno State

Bailey is a star for Fresno State

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First-teamer

No. 14 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is Fresno State linebacker Levelle Bailey. While the Bulldogs and head coach Jeff Tedford are known for the offense, this year’s Fresno State defense could be the leader for this team.

One of the stars is Bailey who made our staff’s all-conference first-team due to his play last year and his consistency during his career. In his freshman year he had six sacks and since then has had 15 in 33 games and this preseason was named to the Bednarik watch list which goes to the nation’s top linebacker in the country.

Linebacker is very deep and Bailey is the sixth linebacker on our top 50 list to date.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 15 Clay Millen, QB, Colorado State

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 15 Clay Millen, QB, Colorado State Can the sophomore take the next step? Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire Can he be protected? No. 15 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is sophomore …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 15 Clay Millen, QB, Colorado State

Can the sophomore take the next step?

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Can he be protected?

No. 15 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is sophomore quarterback Clay Millen has the potential to be a really good quarterback. Despite an offensive line that was not great at protecting him by allowing 53 sacks.

Despite those hits and hurries, Millen completed 72.2% of his passes which led the Mountain West this past year. He also was second in yards per attempt at 8.2.

It does help he has one of the best wide receivers in the country in Tory Horton to haul in those catches.

Having one year of experience and being exposed to so much pressure, one can only imagine the leap he will make in Year 2 when things should slow down and be protected by a better offensive line.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 16 Cody Moon, LB, SDSU

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 16 Cody Moon, LB, SDSU New Mexico to San Diego State Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire Transfer within the league No. 16 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is new San Diego State …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 16 Cody Moon, LB, SDSU

New Mexico to San Diego State

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Transfer within the league

No. 16 on the Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown is new San Diego State linebacker Cody Moon. Moon was with New Mexico last year but decided to move within the league to help anchor a really good defense at San Diego State.

This change of scenario should help Moon get more exposure compared to playing for a New Mexico team that has struggled for years.

Playing for San Diego State could also allow him to blow up even more by not being the primary focus of a defense, despite him likely being one of the top player, if not the best for San Diego State.

Moon did make the media first-team list as well as on our staff’s first-team.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 17 Cam Stone, CB, Hawaii

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 17 Cam Stone, CB, Hawaii Wyoming to Hawaii for Stone Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire Transfer within the league The countdown rolls on with a transfer within the conference is defensive back Cam Stone …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 17 Cam Stone, CB, Hawaii

Wyoming to Hawaii for Stone

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Transfer within the league

The countdown rolls on with a transfer within the conference is defensive back Cam Stone who transferred from Wyoming to Hawaii. He clocks in at No. 17 in our Mountain West Wire top 50 player countdown.

The conference has a lot of good defenders and in this list Stone is the third-straight defensive back and deservedly so. He leaves an elite defense in Wyoming to go Hawaii, and who could blame someone just from a lifestyle standpoint.

Stone is going to be a big reason if the Warriors are going to make some noise and help up the Hawaii defense. Last year, he played a key part in Laramie with a pair of interceptions, defended 12 passes with 10 break ups.

Stone did make the media first-team list as well as on our staff’s first-team.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 18 Ike Larsen, S, Utah State

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 18 Ike Larsen, S, Utah State An Aggie DB makes the top 20 Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire Can Larsen take the next step The countdown rolls on with a defensive back from Utah State in Ike Larsen who …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 18 Ike Larsen, S, Utah State

An Aggie DB makes the top 20

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Can Larsen take the next step

The countdown rolls on with a defensive back from Utah State in Ike Larsen who is No. 18 on our Mountain West Wire Top 50 countdown.

Larsen was one of the best freshman in the country with four interceptions to go along with two passes broken up and four more defended.

As a defensive back, he also got in on stopping the run and sacking the quarterback with three tackles for a loss and two sacks.

All of those stats came with 11 games as he missed the final regular season game against Boise State and the bowl game vs. Memphis.

Gong from a freshman to sophomore year should allow for Larsen to take the next step and try to make a first-team all-conference team. Larsen did make the media first-team list as well as on our staff’s first-team.

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: No. 19 Camby Goff, S, Air Force

2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: #No. 19 Camby Goff, S, Air Force A Falcon DB makes the top 20 Contact/Follow @JeremyMauss and @MWCwire How many INT’s for Goff this year? The countdown rolls on with Air Force defensive back Camby Goff who is No. …

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2023 Mountain West Football Top 50: #No. 19 Camby Goff, S, Air Force

A Falcon DB makes the top 20

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How many INT’s for Goff this year?

The countdown rolls on with Air Force defensive back Camby Goff who is No. 19 on our Mountain West Wire Top 50 countdown.

Goff is a playmaker and one of the best safeties not just in the Mountain West but one of the better ones in college football. He made our first-team All-Mountain West selection, and is the leader of what should be a really good Falcons defense this fall.

Within the conference he was second in passes defended with 12, fifth in pass break ups with nine, and had three interceptions. One of those take aways came in the game-winning play against Army to claim the Commander-In-Chief award.

If he can take another step forward and become a ballhawk safety then look out for this Air Force defense and the team on the whole as it could possibly be a team that contends for the conference title.

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