This isn’t exactly news, as these teams were released a couple of weeks ago. But I always enjoy looking at preseason all-conference teams, and I just stumbled upon Phil Steele’s 2008 preseason All-Mountain West Conference teams, so I thought I’d pass them along.
No Air Force players made the first team, but junior guard Nick Charles, senior tackle Keith Williams, junior strong safety Chris Thomas and senior kicker/punter Ryan Harrison all made the second team. Senior defensive end Ryan Kemp and senior outside linebacker Hunter Altman made the third team, and senior Z receiver Ty Paffett, senior tight end Travis Dekker and senior nose guard Jared Marvin all made the fourth team.
A couple of interesting notes on the teams:
-Steele’s first-team offense was composed of six players from BYU, four from Utah and one each from UNLV and TCU.
-His first-team defense included four Utah players (including three in the secondary) and four TCU players.
-New Mexico had no first-team players and only two on the second team (senior cornerback DeAndre Wright and senior running back Rodney Ferguson).
Check out the full teams here.
Pre-season All conference teams are one thing. I’ll be more interested to see who earns the honors at the end of the season. I think several of these second teamers have the potential to be first teamers if they play to their potential, and one of the 4th teamers—Dekker—is gonna end up WAY higher than 4th team. Just my opinion. Jake, who from the AF team do YOU think has a legitimate shot at making first team All-MWC? Any potential All Americans in the bunch? This I know: Nobody—and I mean NOBODY—had Chad Hall on their All-Anything list to start last season. Academy players are always good at exceeding expectations. It’s just what they do.
Hi,
Thanks for the comment — and, yes, postseason honors are MUCH more interesting and often quite different from preseason guesses. And you make a great point about Hall. He came out of nowhere.
Here are some guys I think will contend for first-team All-MWC honors (if they stay healthy, play to their abilities, etc.)
STRONG CONTENDERS
K/P Ryan Harrison – The Sakoda kid from Utah has a leg up (thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week, please tip your waitress) on Harrison because he’s an incumbent. He has been the MWC’s first-team kicker the last two years, and sometimes the people who vote for these kinds of teams have to rely on recall of names because they don’t watch every game. They’ll recall Sakoda’s.
That said, Harrison will have a great shot. He clearly has the leg (as proved multiple times last season), he clearly has the nerves to come through in the clutch (as proved against TCU) and I think his consistency will be improved. Plus, I have a feeling he’ll get more chances this year because I think the neophyte AF offense won’t score as many touchdowns.
Plus, expect his punting to be significantly better in 2008.
If you’re looking for an All-America candidate from AF, here he is.
TE Travis Dekker. I had the same reaction to Steele’s fourth-team prediction. Fourth-team? Really? I saw Dekker today working out on the turf field at the academy, and it looks like he’s in great shape. He’s big, he can move, he’s got good hands — what else do you want in a tight end? Also, like Harrison, I think he’ll get a bunch of opportunities to shine this year. A big-target tight end is a young quarterback’s best friend.
G Nick Charles. Played some as a freshman, started all last year. He’s going to be a monster this year. Big, strong, smart and he can move – a prototype guard for AF and for the Falcons’ zone-rushing scheme.
SS Chris Thomas. Another kid who played some as a frosh and started his sophomore year. Look for Tim DeRuyter to get really creative in how he uses Thomas this season. I expect him to be coming on blitzes, be around the line of scrimmage, be in coverage — pretty much be all over the field. Remember the blindside hit he made on ND’s Jimmy Clausen? I look for him to make a bunch of those plays this year.
Thomas has a knack for being in the right place at the right time and — as his teammates will admit — he’s a little crazy, but in a good way. He loves to hit and he’s fearless. A star in the making.
DE Ryan Kemp. Emerged as a pass-rushing force last season. Great size for a DE. Had four sacks in 2007 and could have more in 2008.
OTHER CONTENDERS
OLB Hunter Altman. OLBs are supposed to be the playmakers in DeRuyter’s defense, and Altman has shown the ability to make plays — he was in on that goal line stop at Utah. The key for Altman will be consistency. He’s got to be a force game in and game out.
DE/DT Ben Garland. Great size, and he can move. The defensive line will be AF’s strongest feature this season.
DE Jake Paulson. See above.
T Keith Williams. Was on the defensive line when AF started practice last August but was moved to the offensive line and adapted quickly — probably more quickly than anyone could have reasonably expected. One of the unsung heros in last season’s surprising 9-4 campaign.
KEEP AN EYE ON
KR Reggie Rembert. With Hall gone, Rembert will have more chances to make things happen in the return game. I’ll just say this — Rembert stood out from the first day he joined the varsity last year. I immediately noticed him and asked who he was. He just has that “it,” that all special players have. You can’t really describe it exactly. With Rembert it’s his speed/quickness/athleticism — just an extra gear that makes you take notice. He’ll have a chance to make plenty of plays — on defense and offense as well as on special teams.
OLB Andre Morris, Jr. Got some playing time last year. He has all the tools to be very good (size, speed, strength, etc.). Question is how quickly he will adapt to being an every-down guy? Calhoun said he “flashed” last year. Needs to do it every down this year.
I probably left some guys off, but that’s my pre-preseason look. I’ll try to revisit it as we get closer to the season.