The MWCConnection 2023 Top 10 Players

If you haven’t been able to see the rest of our Kickoff Week coverage from this week, be sure to catch up on the content we rolled out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

There are many ways to measure the strength of a team or conference. During this week, we’ve tried to capture that from as many angles as possible. Today’s post is a simple list of what we view as the top ten players in the Mountain West Conference. Yes, it’s hard to compare different positions and sides of the ball, but it’s also hard not to make a top 10 list of best players when doing internet blogs.

Here’s our preseason list for comparison.

Without further ado, here are the top ten players in the Mountain West after the 2023 season, voted on by the MWCConnection team.

1) RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)

• 2023 stats: 1262 rushing yards, 6.2 ypa, 39 receptions for 552 yards, 19 total TDs

2) WR Ricky White III (UNLV)

• 2023 stats: 81receptions for 1386 yards, 17.1 ypc, 7 TDs

3) WR Tory Horton (Colorado State)

• 2023 stats: 96 receptions for 1136 yards, 11.6 ypc, 8 TDs

4) EDGE Mohamed Kamara (Colorado State)

• 2023 stats: 56 tackles, (29 solo), 17 TFLs, 13 sacks, 2 FF, 1 pass defended

5) RB Kairee Robinson (San Jose State)

• 2023 stats: 1127 rushing yards, 7.1 ypa, 16 receptions for 197 yards, 20 total TDs

6) LB Easton Gibbs (Wyoming)

• 2023 stats: 106 tackles (40 solo), 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 2 FF, 4 passes defended

7) LB MJ Tafisi Jr. (Utah State)

• 2023 stats: 131 tackles (50 solo), 7.5 TFL, 2 FF, 1 pass defended

8) DB Ike Larsen (Utah State)

• 2023 stats: 91 tackles (51 solo), 4.5 TFLs, 1 FF, 4 INTs, 6 passes defended

9) EDGE Ahmed Hassanein (Boise State)

• 2023 stats: 52 tackles (29 solo), 16.5 TFLs, 12.5 sacks, 2 FF

10) DB Jack Howell (Colorado State)

• 2023 stats: 114 tackles (50 solo), .5 TFL, 1 FF, 1 INT, 3 passes defended

Team Breakdown:

• Colorado State: 3
• Boise State: 2
• Utah State: 2
• San Jose State: 1
• UNLV: 1
• Wyoming: 1

Notes:

• 13 total players received votes. Those who did not crack the top 10 were: Trey Taylor, Andrew Simpson, and Dallin Holker.
• There are four players on the offensive side of the ball, which means the other six players play defense. Position-wise, there are 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, 2 edge rushers, 2 linebackers, and 2 defensive backs.
• For the first time in recent memory, no quarterbacks made the list.
• Six different teams have a representative, but Colorado State led the way with three.
• Jeanty was the unanimous choice as the top player. White III, Horton, and Kamara were mostly the consensus 2-4 in some order.
• Four players were on our preseason list (Horton, Gibbs, Kamara, and Howell).
• Jeanty came from basically #16 to ascend to the top spot. Ricky White III had a similar rise, being one spot behind him in July and then again now. Kamara also rose from 7th to 4th
• Horton, Gibbs, and Howell dropped from #2, #3, and #8 respectively, to #3, #6, and #10.
• Over half of the preseason list dropped off and five of them did so without receiving any votes, for one reason or another (Taylen Green, Cam Lockridge, DJ Schramm, George Holani, Chevan Cordeiro, Trey Taylor).

There it is. So let’s hear it. Who did we snub? Who did we put on here that shouldn’t be? Let’s hear your feedback in the comments section.