Complete All-Mountain West Teams
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Four Lobos earned postseason accolades from the Mountain West, including Aaron Jenkins and Marcus Hayes, who both earned second team honors as the 2018 All-Mountain West teams were released by the league offices on Wednesday.
Jenkins and Hayes were UNM’s only second team honorees, with Hayes earning the spot as a return specialist. Hayes was also named honorable mention at safety, along with punter Tyson Dyer and defensive lineman Aaron Blackwell.
Boise State quarterback Brett Rypien was the Offensive Player of the Year, Fresno State linebacker Jeff Allison was the Defensive Player of the Year, Wyoming kicker Cooper Rothe was the Special Teams Player of the Year, and Nevada running back Toa Taua was the Freshman of the Year. Utah State’s Matt Wells was the Coach of the Year, rounding out the major awards.
Jenkins was an honorable mention selection a year ago. He set the New Mexico record for games played (52), games started (50) and consecutive games started (50). He finished his career with the nation’s third longest active start streak among offensive linemen with 50. Jenkins finished the season with a pass blocking efficiency rating of 98.9% according to Pro Football Focus, and that was fourth in the Mountain West. For the season he allowed just seven total pressures (one sack, one hit, five hurries) in 806 snaps, third-best among all offensive linemen with 600 or more snaps (45).
Hayes led the nation in punt return average with 21.2 yards per return, as he totaled 318 yards on 15 returns. He had six returns of 25 or more yards, and he tied a school record with an 86-yard punt return for a touchdown against Boise State. That touchdown was UNM’s first punt return for a touchdown since 2002. Additionally, Hayes was named honorable mention at safety. Hayes finished the season tied for the team lead in interceptions with two, including one he brought back 60 yards for a touchdown against New Mexico State. Hayes was named Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts against the Aggies.
Also earning honorable mention honors was Aaron Blackwell at defensive line. Blackwell registered 29 tackles on the season with 4.0 TFLs for 17 yards, and two sacks for 11 yards. He also had two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup while starting all 12 games.
UNM’s final honoree was punter Tyson Dyer. Dyer finished second in the Mountain West in punting with a 44.3-yard average, the fifth-best single season average in Lobo history. Dyer had 19 punts of 50 or more yards, and 19 punts pinned inside the 20. Against Air Force, Dyer launched the longest punt in school history, an 84-yard punt that was downed at the 1-yard line and led to a Lobo touchdown on the next play. Dyer also served as the holder on UNM’s field goal unit.