UNLV Football lands three players on All-Mountain West teams

The UNLV football team ended their campaign on a high note by defeating the UNR Wolf Pack in the Battle for the Fremont Cannon. The Rebels got some good news on Tuesday, despite Marcus Arroyo being fired as their head coach on Monday. Three Rebels were named to the Mountain West’s first or second teams, and five others received an honorable mention. After a 5-7 season, let’s take a look at these Rebels’ 2022 campaigns.

LB Austin Ajiake – First Team All-Mountain West

A shaky Rebels defense was led by Ajiake in 2022. Despite the inconsistency of the Rebels defense, you ought to have always taken Ajiake’s presence into consideration. His 132 total tackles were the most for the Rebels, the conference, and ranked third in the country. Ajiake is the first Rebel linebacker to be named to the All-Mountain West First Team since 2016, and the university states that his 132 tackles rank fourth in a season in Rebel history. Ajiake also had four sacks, two interceptions, 11 tackles for loss, and one fumble recovery.

K Daniel Gutierrez – Second Team All-Mountain West

Gutierrez completed his illustrious career with the Rebels by being named to the All-Mountain West Second Team. In the conference, he finished the season with the second-most field goals made, fourth-most points scored, the second-most successful PATs, and the highest field goal percentage. In the history of the Rebels, Gutierrez finished his career with the most field goals made, the most points scored in a game, and the longest field goal streak. Gutierrez ends his career with some proper credit for being the best kicker in Rebel history.

DE Adam Plant Jr. – Second Team All-Mountain West

Plant Jr. took a big step forward in 2022 at the defensive end position, improving on his sack total of 3.5 in 2021 to 8.0 in 2022, as well as increasing his total tackles for loss from 7.5 to 13.5. Per UNLV Athletics, Plant Jr.’s eight sacks are the most a Rebel has recorded since 2004.

Honorable Mentions – QB Doug Brumfield, DT Eliel Ehimare, OL Leif Fautanu, RB Aidan Robbins, DB Nohl Williams 

Brumfield and Robbins, two standout players for the Rebels, were highlighted among the honorable mentions. Despite playing well, Brumfield’s playing time was limited by injuries in 2022.

He did, however, surpass the Rebels’ season record for pass completion percentage with a percentage of 64.6. In the conference, he finished with the second-most all-purpose yards per game and the fourth-most touchdowns.

Robbins finished sixth in the conference with 1,011 rushing yards, and he ranked third in the league with 92 rushing yards per game. Additionally, he surpassed 1,000 yards in rushing for the 10th time in Rebels history. The most rush yards gained by a Mountain West running back in a game this year was Robbins’ 227 rushing yards against North Texas.