Cougars Picked by Media and Coaches as Early MWC Favorite
The BYU Cougars are the consensus favorites to win the inaugural Mountain West Conference football title, according to participants of the new conference's first-ever media day in Colorado Springs Monday. In voting by both the coaches and the media, BYU placed first followed by Air Force and San Diego State. Individual preseason honors were headlined by senior linebacker Rob Morris, who was selected as the MWC preseason Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and was described by guest speaker and ESPN analyst Lee Corso as the "best linebacker in the country." Five Cougars were voted to the preseason all-conference team, including Morris, quarterback Kevin Feterik, cornerback Brian Gray, defensive lineman Byron Frisch and placekicker Owen Pochman.
MWC Coaches' Poll
Place/Team (1st place votes) Pts.
1. BYU (5) 47
2. Air Force (3) 44
3. San Diego State 32
4. Utah 30
5. Colorado State 29
6. Wyoming 22
7. New Mexico 13
8. UNLV 7
MWC Media Poll
Place/Team (1st place votes) Pts.
1. BYU (35) 372
2. Air Force (1) 282
3. San Diego State (4) 253
4. Utah (4) 252
5. Wyoming (5) 248
6. Colorado State 206
7. New Mexico 81
8. UNLV 70
PRESEASON ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TEAM
(voted on by media)
Offense
WR Wendell Montgomery Wyoming
WR Damon Gourdine San Diego State
OL James Norman Air Force
OL Mike Malano San Diego State
OL Sam White Utah
OL Blane Saipaia Colorado State
OL Dan Delcorio Wyoming
TE Andy Kassotis Utah
QB Kevin Feterik BYU
RB Mike Anderson Utah
RB Jonas Lewis San Diego State
Defense
DL Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila San Diego State
DL John Frank Utah
DL Clark Haggans Colorado State
DL Byron Frisch BYU
LB Rob Morris BYU
LB Craig Thorstenson Air Force
LB Rick Crowell Colorado State
DB Brian Urlacher New Mexico
DB Brian Gray BYU
DB Al Rich Wyoming
DB Rico Curtis San Diego State
Specialists
K Owen Pochman BYU
P Deone Horinek Colorado State
PR Damon Gourdine San Diego State
KR Damon Gourdine San Diego State
Player of the Year
Rob Morris, BYU
Offensive Player of the Year
Mike Anderson, Utah
Defensive Player of the Year
Rob Morris, BYU
Newcomer of the Year
Jeremi Rudolph, UNLV
