Five Lobos Earn HM All-MW Honors
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Five Lobos; Tavian Combs, Jerrick Reed II, Kyle Stapley, Joey Noble and Luke Wysong were all named Honorable Mention All-Mountain West as the league’s postseason awards were announced after a vote by the league’s coaches.
The honors are the second for Noble, Stapley and Reed while Combs and Wysong were honored for a third time.
While no Lobo made the first or second team, a case can certainly be made that Noble should have been somewhere among the eight defensive linemen on the first and second teams. Noble recorded 18.5 tackles for loss which is 10th all-time at UNM and tied for second in the Mountain West. The 18.5 TFLs also is tied for fourth in the country in the FBS. His 72 tackles were the most for any defensive linemen in the Mountain West as Noble led a defense that showed tremendous statistical improvement, ranking 49th in total defense at 363.1 yards allowed per game, better than the 447.1 yards allowed in 2020 (101st) and nearly a 122-yard improvement from the 485.7 allowed in 2019 (129th).
Two UNM defensive backs were honored in Reed and Combs. Reed, who was a First Team pick in 2020 after leading the Mountain West in interceptions, led the team in tackles with 89 and in pass breakups with seven. He also recorded double-digit tackles three times including a high-water mark of 14 against Air Force and 13 against Colorado State. He picked off a pass against New Mexico State and had two breakups against both UNLV and UTEP. For Combs, who is a true sophomore but has three years remaining, he recorded 81 tackles, second on the team, and he currently ranks among the top 15 among all active FBS players in career tackles per game. A starter in every game but one over his two years, Combs had 40 solo stops mong his 81, and he had a season-best 12 tackles against Houston Baptist. He recorded two interceptions, including one at Texas A&M, and he recorded a forced fumble against Houston Baptist that led to a clinching field goal.
On offense, Kyle Stapley earned his second honor. UNM’s senior leader in terms of games played, Stapley finished his career as a starter in all 43 games that he played, including the first 40 at center. He also started games at right guard and left guard. Stapley played on 654 plays on the season and he finished his career with 2,821 career snaps. He recorded a 980 pass blocking efficiency rating according to Pro Football Focus, and in 269 pass blocking attempts, he allowed just one sack on the season. He was just one of two Mountain West linemen to record 100 snaps at all three interior line positions.
Wysong was one of just two freshmen to be named to Honorable Mention squad, joining Kekaula Kaniho of Boise State. Wysong was the league’s top freshman in terms of receptions, receiving yards, receiving yards per game, all-purpose yardage, punt returns and kickoff returns, and despite being a receiver, he was second among all freshmen behind his own teammate Aaron Dumas. He returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown against Colorado State and averaged 11.0 yards per punt return, leading a punt return unit to 21st in the country, despite having seven true freshmen starting on that unit for most of the season. He is the first true freshman to lead UNM in all-purpose yardage since 2011.
New Mexico kicks off the 2022 season by hosting Maine on September 3, and UNM also hosts UTEP on September 17. The Lobos will host San Diego State, Fresno State, Wyoming and Boise State in Mountain West action in 2022. To keep up with all things with Lobo Football, make sure you follow the socials on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Offensive Player of the Year – Carson Strong, Jr., QB, Nevada
Defensive Player of the Year – Cameron Thomas, Jr., DL, San Diego State
Special Teams Player of the Year – Matt Araiza, Jr., P/PK, San Diego State
Freshman of the Year – Cameron Friel, QB, UNLV
Coach of the Year – Brady Hoke, San Diego State
2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
QB Carson Strong Jr. Nevada
WR Khalil Shakir Sr. Boise State
WR Romeo Doubs Sr. Nevada
WR Deven Thompkins Sr. Utah State
RB Brad Roberts Jr. Air Force
RB Charles Williams Sr. UNLV
TE Trey McBride Sr. Colorado State
OL Hawk Wimmer Sr. Air Force
OL John Ojukwu Sr. Boise State
OL Alex Akingbulu Sr. Fresno State
OL William Dunkle Jr. San Diego State
OL Zachary Thomas Sr. San Diego State
PK Jonah Dalmas So. Boise State
KR Jordan Byrd Sr. San Diego State
DEFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
DL Scott Patchan Sr. Colorado State
DL Tristan Nichols Sr. Nevada
DL Cameron Thomas Jr. San Diego State
DL Viliami Fehoko Jr. San José State
LB Darius Muasau Jr. Hawai‘i
LB Caden McDonald Sr. San Diego State
LB Kyle Harmon Sr. San José State
LB Chad Muma Sr. Wyoming
DB Evan Williams Jr. Fresno State
DB Khoury Bethley Sr. Hawai‘i
DB Patrick McMorris Jr. San Diego State
DB Trenton Thompson Sr. San Diego State
P Matt Araiza Jr. San Diego State
PR Romeo Doubs Sr. Nevada
2021 ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
QB Jake Haener Sr. Fresno State
WR Jalen Cropper Jr. Fresno State
WR Calvin Turner Sr. Hawai‘i
WR Isaiah Neyor So. Wyoming
RB Greg Bell Sr. San Diego State
RB Xazavian Valladay Sr. Wyoming
TE Cole Turner Sr. Nevada
OL Ben Dooley So. Boise State
OL Jake Stetz Sr. Boise State
OL Aaron Frost Sr. Nevada
OL Jack Snyder Sr. San José State
OL Keegan Cryder Sr. Wyoming
PK Matt Araiza Jr. San Diego State
KR Savon Scarver Sr. Utah State
DEFENSE
Pos. Player Cl. Team
DL Jordan Jackson Sr. Air Force
DL Scott Matlock Jr. Boise State
DL David Perales Sr. Fresno State
DL Keshawn Banks Sr. San Diego State
LB Vince Sanford Jr. Air Force
LB Daiyan Henley Sr. Nevada
LB Jacoby Windmon Jr. UNLV
LB Justin Rice Sr. Utah State
DB JL Skinner Jr. Boise State
DB Cortez Davis Sr. Hawai‘i
DB Tayler Hawkins Sr. San Diego State
DB C.J. Coldon Jr. Wyoming
P Ryan Stonehouse Sr. Colorado State
PR Stefan Cobbs Jr. Boise State
2021 HONORABLE MENTION
Air Force: Tre Bugg III, DB; Brandon Lewis, WR; Corvan Taylor, DB.
Boise State: Octavius Evans, WR; Tyreque Jones, DB; Kekaula Kaniho, DB; Ezekiel Noa, LB; Riley Whimpey, LB.
Colorado State: Cayden Camper, PK; Cam’Ron Carter, LB; Dequan Jackson, LB; Cam Reddy, OL; Barry Wesley, OL.
Fresno State: Kevin Atkins, DL; Levelle Bailey, LB; Josh Kelly, WR; Arron Mosby, DL; Ronnie Rivers, RB.
Hawai‘i: Jonah Laulu, DL; Kohl Levao, OL; Ilm Manning, OL; Nick Mardner, WR; Micah Vanterpool, OL.
Nevada: Jamaal Bell, KR; Gray Davis, OL; Jacob Gardner, OL; Lawson Hall, LB; Sam Hammond, DL; Jermaine Ledbetter, OL; Jordan Lee, DB; Tyler Orsini, OL; Dom Peterson, DL.
New Mexico: Tavian Combs, DB; Joey Noble, DL; Jerrick Reed, DB; Kyle Stapley, OL; Luke Wysong, PR.
San Diego State: Alama Uluave, OL; Michael Shawcroft, LB; Jonah Tavai, DL.
San José State: Derek Deese Jr., TE; Cade Hall, DL; Will Hart, P; Tre Jenkins, DB; Jay Lenard, DB; Alii Matau, LB; Nehemiah Shelton, DB; Tyler Stevens, OL.
UNLV: Austin Ajiake, LB; Daniel Gutierrez, PK.
Utah State: Shaq Bond, DB; Alfred Edwards, OL; Nick Heninger, DL; Jordan Nathan, PR; Quazzel White, OL; Derek Wright, WR.
Wyoming: Garrett Crall, DL; Cole Godbout, DL; Logan Harris, OL.