LOGAN, Utah – Utah State had eight football players earn honorable mention all-Mountain West accolades, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday. 
 
Aggies that earned all-Mountain West honors include senior offensive lineman Demytrick Ali'ifua, senior safety Shaq Bond, senior defensive end Nick Heninger, senior defensive lineman Marcus Moore, senior kickoff returner Savon Scarver, sophomore offensive lineman Karter Shaw, sophomore inside linebacker AJ Vongphachanh and freshman punter Stephen Kotsanlee.
 
In all, Utah State had four defensive players, two offensive players and two special team players recognized for a total of eight all-conference awards, to rank as the seventh-most in the league. 
 
Boise State led the Mountain West with 17 all-conference honorees, followed by Nevada (16), San Diego State (16), Colorado State (12), San José State (11), Fresno State (10), Utah State (8), Hawai'i (7), Wyoming (7), New Mexico (6), Air Force (5) and UNLV (1).
 
Nevada sophomore quarterback Carson Strong was named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year, while San José State junior defensive lineman Cade Hall was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. Boise State senior return specialist Avery Williams was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year and UNLV wide receiver Kyle Williams earned Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors. The Mountain West Coach of the Year Award went to San José State's Brent Brennan.
 
Ali'ifua, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound senior offensive lineman from Hayward, Calif. (San Leandro HS), played in 312 offensive snaps this season and graded out at 87 percent as he started the first two games of the season at center and the last four at left guard. He finished the year with 18 knockdowns.
 
Bond, a 5-10, 190-pound senior safety from Decatur, Ill. (MacArthur HS/Southwestern JC), earned honorable mention all-MW honors for the second-straight season as he started all six games and finished second on the team and ninth in the MW with 7.8 tackles per game. Overall, he had 47 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for loss to rank second on the team, to go along with a team-best three pass breakups and one interception. He finished the year with three double-digit tackle games, including a season-high 12 stops against San Diego State. He also had a career-high two pass breakups against the Aztecs.
 
Heninger, a 6-2, 230-pound defensive end from South Jordan, Utah (Bingham HS/Utah), was third on the team with 42 tackles, and led the team with 3.0 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss as he started all six games at defensive end/outside linebacker. He also led the team with three forced fumbles, which tied for second in the MW and tied for fourth in the nation. He was also 10th in the MW in tackles for loss per game (1.2) and 15th in the MW in tackles per game (7.0). 
 
During his senior season, Heninger had a career-high 14 tackles against Air Force for his first-career double-digit tackle game and was named the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week following his performance against New Mexico, as he posted eight tackles, to go along with a career-high-tying 2.0 sacks and a career-high-tying 3.0 tackles for loss, while forcing a career-best two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
 
Moore, a 6-3, 280-pound senior defensive lineman from Pasadena, Calif. (Crespi HS/UCLA), started three of the five games he played in this season and finished the year with 20 tackles, including 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. He had a career-high seven tackles in his Aggie debut at Boise State and added six tackles, including a career-high 1.0 sacks, against Fresno State. He also had five tackles, including 0.5 tackles for loss, against San Diego State, to go along with a quarterback hurry.
 
Scarver, a 5-11, 180-pound senior kick returner from Las Vegas, Nev. (Centennial HS), returned 10 kickoffs for 314 yards (31.4 ypr), including a 94-yard return for touchdown against Fresno State. Of his 10 kickoff returns, three were for at least 30 yards. Overall, he was one of just four players in the MW and one of just 30 players nationally to return a kickoff for a touchdown this season and would have ranked second in the league in yards per return if he had enough returns to qualify, but played in just four games during the season.
 
Shaw, a 6-4, 305-pound sophomore offensive lineman from South Jordan, Utah (Herriman HS), played in 310 offensive snaps and graded out at 92 percent, which was the best on the team as he started all six games at right guard. He also had a team-best 23 knockdowns and did not allow a single sack all season. 
 
Vongphachanh, a 6-3, 230-pound sophomore inside linebacker from Pasco, Wash. (Chiawana HS), started five of the six games he played in this season and finished the year leading the team with 50 tackles, which included 3.0 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss, while adding one forced fumble and one safety. Overall, he ranked seventh in the MW and 65th in the nation in tackles with 8.3 per game. His best game of the season was at Nevada as he recorded a career-high 17 tackles, which included a career-high-tying 1.0 sacks and a career-high-tying 1.0 tackles for loss, that resulted in a safety. Those 17 tackles are tied for the third most in the MW this season and tied for 18th nationally. 
 
Kotsanlee, a 6-1, 205-pound freshman punter from Melbourne, Australia (Box Hill HS), finished the season punting 37 times for an average of 40.7 yards per punt with 17 of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He also had four punts of at least 50 yards on the season, including a season-long of 63 yards, and not one of his punts ended up in the end zone for a touchback. Overall, he ranked fourth in the MW and 65th in the nation with his average of 40.7 yards per punt.
 
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