While there’s plenty of noise coming out of Boulder, expectations have been relatively tempered for the second year of the Jay Norvell era in Fort Collins.
With his starting quarterback (sophomore Clay Millen) and one of his favorite weapons (senior receiver Tory Horton) back, Norvell’s Rams were picked to finish in the middle of the Mountain West pack in a media poll released Wednesday morning.
Old standard Boise State was declared the overwhelming favorite, receiving 28 of 37 first-place votes despite last winning the conference in 2019. The Broncos made the championship game last year, but lost to Fresno State.
Air Force was second in the poll after receiving two first-place votes as the 12-school Mountain West moves away from divisions this season. Fresno State, with five first-place votes, was picked third. Wyoming and Colorado State were picked sixth and seventh, respectively.
Underscoring the Rams’ placement in the poll was the fact that they had four selections on the preseason All-Mountain West team: Horton (at receiver and punt returner), senior defensive lineman Mohamed Kamara and junior defensive back Jack Howell.
Only three other schools had four spots on the preseason all-conference team: Air Force, San Diego State and Wyoming.
Among Air Force’s selections were senior running back John Lee Eldridge III, senior offensive lineman Thor Paglialong, junior defensive lineman Payton Zdroik and senior defensive back Trey Taylor.
Colorado State kicks off its season Sept. 2 with a home game against Washington State at 5 p.m.
Here’s the full all-conference team in addition to the media’s preseason poll:
All-Mountain West football team
Offense
| Pos. | Player | Yr. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Chevan Cordeiro ** | Sr. | San José State |
| WR | Tory Horton* | Sr. | Colorado State |
| WR | Justin Lockhart | Jr. | San José State |
| RB | John Lee Eldridge III | Sr. | Air Force |
| RB | George Holani** | Sr. | Boise State |
| OL | Thor Paglialong | Sr. | Air Force |
| OL | Cade Beresford** | Sr. | Boise State |
| OL | Mose Vavao | Sr. | Fresno State |
| OL | Cade Bennett** | Jr. | San Diego State |
| OL | Frank Crum | Sr. | Wyoming |
| TE | Mark Redman | Sr. | San Diego State |
Defense
| Pos. | Player | Yr. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| DL | Payton Zdroik | Jr. | Air Force |
| DL | Mohamed Kamara** | Sr. | Colorado State |
| DL | Devo Bridges | Sr. | Fresno State |
| DL | Jordan Bertagnole | Jr. | Wyoming |
| DL | DeVonne Harris | Jr. | Wyoming |
| LB | DJ Schramm** | Sr. | Boise State |
| LB | Cody Moon | Jr. | San Diego State |
| LB | Easton Gibbs* | Jr. | Wyoming |
| DB | Trey Taylor | Sr. | Air Force |
| DB | Jack Howell* | Jr. | Colorado State |
| DB | Cam Stone | Sr. | Hawai’i |
| DB | Ike Larsen** | So. | Utah State |
Specialists
| Pos. | Player | Yr. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | Jack Browning* | Sr. | San Diego State |
| PK | John Hoyland* | Jr. | Wyoming |
| PR | Tory Horton | Sr. | Colorado State |
| KR | Christian Washington | So. | New Mexico |
Offensive Player of the Year: Chevan Cordeiro, Sr., QB, San José State
Defensive Player of the Year: Easton Gibbs, Jr., LB, Wyoming
Special Teams Player of the Year: Jack Browning, Sr., PK/P, San Diego State
* member of the 2022 All-Mountain West first team
** member of the 2022 All-Mountain West second team
All-Mountain West preseason poll
| Rank | Team (first-place) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Boise State (28) | 433 |
| 2. | Air Force (2) | 364 |
| 3. | Fresno State (5) | 351 |
| 4. | San Diego State (1) | 338 |
| 5. | San José State | 293 |
| 6. | Wyoming | 281 |
| 7. | Colorado State | 201 |
| 8. | Utah State | 194 |
| 9. | UNLV (1) | 177 |
| 10. | Hawai’i | 102 |
| 11. | Nevada | 92 |
| 12. | New Mexico | 60 |
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