Colorado State University Athletics
Rams Lock Down Four Preseason All-Mountain West Spots
7/19/2023 8:30:00 AM | Football
Horton on team as WR/PR; Howell and Kamara represent defense
LAS VEGAS – A trio of Colorado State players racked up four spots on the Preseason All-Mountain West team, announced Wednesday morning as the conference began media days at the Circa Resort & Casino.
The Rams tied with three other teams for the best representation on the squad, with Tory Horton named at wide receiver and punt returner, as Jack Howell (safety) and Mohamed Kamara (defensive end) represented the defense. Air Force, San Diego State and Wyoming additionally had four selections.
The team is selected by the media which cover the Mountain West. Colorado State has had at least one player selected to the preseason squad every year since 2009.
Horton and Howell were both first-team All-Mountain West selections in 2022 at their primary positions; Kamara was a second-team pick.
Horton, a junior, led the Mountain West a season ago with 1,131 receiving yards, coming off 71 receptions with eight touchdowns. He posted five 100-yard contests in 11 games played, including a season-best 196 yards against San Jose State. His catches were the 10th most in a single season at the school, while his yardage ranked eighth. As a punt returner, he averaged 15.5 yards per return on 11 attempts, notching a 72-yard scoring return. His average was the seventh best at CSU for a single season.
Howell, a junior safety, returns to the CSU secondary after leading the nation's defensive backs with 108 tackles in 2022. The figure led the team and ranked second in the conference as he posted 42 solo stops. Additionally, he tied for the team lead with three interceptions – putting together a string of three consecutive games with a pick -- broke up three other passes and forced a fumble.
Kamara comes back for a fifth season after becoming one of the most disruptive defenders in the Mountain West. With 16 tackles for loss, the defensive end ranked third in the conference by averaging 1.33 per game, while his 8.5 sacks ranked fifth in the league with a per-game tally of .71. With 28.5 career TFLs, he ranks ninth in school history, with his 17.5 sacks ranking 11th.
As the Mountain West moves to no divisions this season, the media picked the Rams to finish seventh in the 12-team league, garnering 201 points from the 37 pollsters. Boise State was picked to win the league by landing 28 first-place votes for 433 overall; Air Force was second (2, 364), followed by Fresno State third (5, 351) and San Diego State (1, 338). UNLV landed the other first-place vote and finished ninth on the list with 177 points.
2023 MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Offense
QB Chevan Cordeiro ** Sr. San José State
WR Tory Horton* Sr. Colorado State
WR Justin Lockhart Jr. San José State
RB John Lee Eldridge III Sr. Air Force
RB George Holani** Sr. Boise State
OL Thor Paglialong Sr. Air Force
OL Cade Beresford** Sr. Boise State
OL Mose Vavao Sr. Fresno State
OL Cade Bennett** Jr. San Diego State
OL Frank Crum Sr. Wyoming
TE Mark Redman Sr. San Diego State
Defense
DL Payton Zdroik Jr. Air Force
DL Mohamed Kamara** Sr. Colorado State
DL Devo Bridges Sr. Fresno State
DL Jordan Bertagnole Jr. Wyoming
DL DeVonne Harris Jr. Wyoming
LB DJ Schramm** Sr. Boise State
LB Cody Moon Jr. San Diego State
LB Easton Gibbs* Jr. Wyoming
DB Trey Taylor Sr. Air Force
DB Jack Howell* Jr. Colorado State
DB Cam Stone Sr. Hawai'i
DB Ike Larsen** So. Utah State
Specialists
P Jack Browning* Sr. San Diego State
PK John Hoyland* Jr. Wyoming
PR Tory Horton Sr. Colorado State
KR Christian Washington So. New Mexico
Offensive Player of the Year: Chevan Cordeiro, Sr., QB, San José State
Defensive Player of the Year: Easton Gibbs, Jr., LB, Wyoming
Special Teams Player of the Year: Jack Browning, Sr., PK/P, San Diego State
* - member of the 2022 All-Mountain West first team
** - member of the 2022 All-Mountain West second team
2023 Mountain West Predicted Order of Finish
Rank Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Boise State (28) 433
2. Air Force (2) 364
3. Fresno State (5) 351
4. San Diego State (1) 338
5. San José State 293
6. Wyoming 281
7. Colorado State 201
8. Utah State 194
9. UNLV (1) 177
10. Hawai'i 102
11. Nevada 92
12. New Mexico 60
The Rams tied with three other teams for the best representation on the squad, with Tory Horton named at wide receiver and punt returner, as Jack Howell (safety) and Mohamed Kamara (defensive end) represented the defense. Air Force, San Diego State and Wyoming additionally had four selections.
The team is selected by the media which cover the Mountain West. Colorado State has had at least one player selected to the preseason squad every year since 2009.
Horton and Howell were both first-team All-Mountain West selections in 2022 at their primary positions; Kamara was a second-team pick.
Horton, a junior, led the Mountain West a season ago with 1,131 receiving yards, coming off 71 receptions with eight touchdowns. He posted five 100-yard contests in 11 games played, including a season-best 196 yards against San Jose State. His catches were the 10th most in a single season at the school, while his yardage ranked eighth. As a punt returner, he averaged 15.5 yards per return on 11 attempts, notching a 72-yard scoring return. His average was the seventh best at CSU for a single season.
Howell, a junior safety, returns to the CSU secondary after leading the nation's defensive backs with 108 tackles in 2022. The figure led the team and ranked second in the conference as he posted 42 solo stops. Additionally, he tied for the team lead with three interceptions – putting together a string of three consecutive games with a pick -- broke up three other passes and forced a fumble.
Kamara comes back for a fifth season after becoming one of the most disruptive defenders in the Mountain West. With 16 tackles for loss, the defensive end ranked third in the conference by averaging 1.33 per game, while his 8.5 sacks ranked fifth in the league with a per-game tally of .71. With 28.5 career TFLs, he ranks ninth in school history, with his 17.5 sacks ranking 11th.
As the Mountain West moves to no divisions this season, the media picked the Rams to finish seventh in the 12-team league, garnering 201 points from the 37 pollsters. Boise State was picked to win the league by landing 28 first-place votes for 433 overall; Air Force was second (2, 364), followed by Fresno State third (5, 351) and San Diego State (1, 338). UNLV landed the other first-place vote and finished ninth on the list with 177 points.
2023 MOUNTAIN WEST FOOTBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Offense
QB Chevan Cordeiro ** Sr. San José State
WR Tory Horton* Sr. Colorado State
WR Justin Lockhart Jr. San José State
RB John Lee Eldridge III Sr. Air Force
RB George Holani** Sr. Boise State
OL Thor Paglialong Sr. Air Force
OL Cade Beresford** Sr. Boise State
OL Mose Vavao Sr. Fresno State
OL Cade Bennett** Jr. San Diego State
OL Frank Crum Sr. Wyoming
TE Mark Redman Sr. San Diego State
Defense
DL Payton Zdroik Jr. Air Force
DL Mohamed Kamara** Sr. Colorado State
DL Devo Bridges Sr. Fresno State
DL Jordan Bertagnole Jr. Wyoming
DL DeVonne Harris Jr. Wyoming
LB DJ Schramm** Sr. Boise State
LB Cody Moon Jr. San Diego State
LB Easton Gibbs* Jr. Wyoming
DB Trey Taylor Sr. Air Force
DB Jack Howell* Jr. Colorado State
DB Cam Stone Sr. Hawai'i
DB Ike Larsen** So. Utah State
Specialists
P Jack Browning* Sr. San Diego State
PK John Hoyland* Jr. Wyoming
PR Tory Horton Sr. Colorado State
KR Christian Washington So. New Mexico
Offensive Player of the Year: Chevan Cordeiro, Sr., QB, San José State
Defensive Player of the Year: Easton Gibbs, Jr., LB, Wyoming
Special Teams Player of the Year: Jack Browning, Sr., PK/P, San Diego State
* - member of the 2022 All-Mountain West first team
** - member of the 2022 All-Mountain West second team
2023 Mountain West Predicted Order of Finish
Rank Team (first-place votes) Points
1. Boise State (28) 433
2. Air Force (2) 364
3. Fresno State (5) 351
4. San Diego State (1) 338
5. San José State 293
6. Wyoming 281
7. Colorado State 201
8. Utah State 194
9. UNLV (1) 177
10. Hawai'i 102
11. Nevada 92
12. New Mexico 60
- STALWART -
Players Mentioned
Thursday, May 14
Monday, May 11
Friday, May 08
Tuesday, April 28