Utah State football had two players named to the 2018 Preseason All-Mountain West Team, it was announced Tuesday at the league’s annual Media Summit held at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Junior placekicker Dominik Eberle and junior tight end Dax Raymond were the two Aggies recognized.
The preseason all-conference team, as selected by members of the media, features 17 student-athletes who were all-Mountain West selections in 2017, including eight first-team honorees. The 25-member squad is comprised of 11 seniors, six juniors and eight sophomores.
Eberle, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Nuremberg, Germany, earned third-team All-America honors from Phil Steele’s Magazine and honorable mention All-America honors from SB Nation last season as he served as the team’s placekicker in all 13 games as a sophomore. He was also named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award, which is given annually to the top placekicker in college football, and garnered first-team all-MW honors as he finished the season scoring a team-best 101 points as he was a perfect 47-of-47 on extra points and 18-of-24 (.750) on field goals.
During the 2017 season, he set a single-game school record for points scored by a kicker with 19 at San José State as he was 4-for-4 (23, 52, 20, 27) on field goals and 7-for-7 on extra points. Those 19 points scored are the second-most by a kicker in MW history and the most by a non-senior. Additionally, he kicked off 73 times for 4,405 yards (60.3 ypk) with 38 touchbacks during the year.
Eberle is also a preseason second-team All-American and first-team All-Mountain West selection by Athlon Sports.
Raymond, a 6-5, 245-pounder from Provo, Utah, earned third-team all-MW honors from Phil Steele’s Magazine and honorable mention all-MW honors from the league’s coaches last year after starting 12 games at tight end and catching 41 passes for 456 yards and one touchdown. He finished the 2017 season ranked second among all tight ends in the conference in both receptions and receiving yards, as well as second on the team in both categories. Of his 41 receptions, 28 resulted in a first down, with seven of those catches being on third down. He also finished the season catching at least one pass in all 12 games he played in, including multiple receptions in 10 contests and had a streak of five or more receptions in four-straight games. He also led the Aggies in receptions five times during the year, including a career-high six catches against Colorado State.
Raymond is also a preseason first-team selection by Athlon Sports, along with being named to the John Mackay Award Watch List.
Boise State senior quarterback Brett Rypien was named Preseason MW Offensive Player of the Year, while Wyoming senior safety Andrew Wingard was named Preseason MW Defensive Player of the Year and New Mexico sophomore return man Avery Williams was selected as Preseason MW Special Teams Player of the Year.
Utah State opens the 2018 season on Friday, Aug. 31, at Michigan State and begins its home season the following weekend against New Mexico State on Saturday, Sept. 8. Mountain West play begins for USU two weekends later as it hosts Air Force on Saturday, Sept. 22.
2018 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference Team
Offense
QB Brett Rypien, Sr., Boise State
WR KeeSean Johnson, Sr., Fresno State
WR McLane Mannix, So., Nevada
RB Alexander Mattison, Jr., Boise State
RB Lexington Thomas, Sr., UNLV
OL Ezra Cleveland, So., Boise State
OL John Molchon, Jr., Boise State
OL Aron Jenkins, Sr., New Mexico
OL Keith Ismael, So., San Diego State
OL Tyler Roemer, So., San Diego State
TE Dax Raymond, Jr., Utah State
Defense
DL David Moa, Sr., Boise State
DL Curtis Weaver, So., Boise State
DL Youhanna Ghaifan, Jr., Wyoming
DL Carl Granderson, Sr., Wyoming
LB Jeffrey Allison, Jr., Fresno State
LB Jahlani Tavai, Sr., Hawaii
LB Malik Reed, Sr., Nevada
DB Tyler Horton, Sr., Boise State
DB Tariq Thompson, So., San Diego State
DB Dameon Barber, Sr., Nevada
DB Andrew Wingard, Sr., Wyoming
Specialists
P Ryan Stonehouse, So., Colorado State
PK Dominik Eberle, Jr., Utah State
Ret. Avery Williams, So., Boise State