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LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – After three years of exactly zero honorees, UNLV football set a program record Wednesday when the Rebels earned six total spots on the 2024 Preseason All-Mountain West Team, which was released to kick off the league’s annual Media Days being held at Circa Resort.
The Rebel contingent was led by Preseason Co-Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Woodard at linebacker and Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year Jacob De Jesus, who earned the nod at both punt returner and kickoff returner. Joining them on the All-MW team was senior wide receiver Ricky White III, senior offensive tackle Tiger Shanks and senior cornerback Cameron Oliver.
Woodard, a 2023 First Team All-MW selection, ranked third in the conference with 117 total tackles last fall while becoming the program’s first-ever First Team CSC Academic All-America honoree as well. He is just the second Rebel to earn the preseason player of the year honor on defense, joining UNLV Athletics Hall of Famer and NFL veteran cornerback Kevin Thomas in 2000.
De Jesus, a 2023 First Team All-MW pick at both return spots, led the nation in total return yards with 1,079. The only player to rank in the top 15 nationally in both kick returns and punt returns was a finalist for the Jet Award and named Second Team All-America by USA TODAY. The wide receiver, who also caught 60 passes as a junior, has been tabbed a 2024 Preseason Second Team All-American by Phil Steele and Third Team by Athlon Sports. He is just the second Rebel to earn preseason player of the year on special teams, joining kicker Sergio Aguayo in 2006.
White III, who was named 2024 Preseason Second Team All-America by Walter Camp, Phil Steele and Athlon Sports, is college football’s leading returning receiver after finishing with a school-record 1,483 yards last fall. He also tied the UNLV mark for receptions in a season with 88 and became the first Rebel ever to post five consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards. Shanks was a 2023 First Team All-MW honoree, the first offensive lineman to earn the honor since 2002. In the secondary, Oliver tied for sixth in the nation with five interceptions last fall and comes into the season ranked sixth in Rebel history with 10 in his career.
The previous high for UNLV players on a preseason All-MW team was four in 2001. The most recent player to earn a spot on the team before this year was running back Charles Williams in 2020.
As a team, UNLV also tied a school record by being picked to finish second in the Mountain West in the preseason media poll. The Rebels, who received four first-place votes and 471 points overall, only trailed Boise State’s 543 total points. Those same two teams played in last year’s Mountain West Championship game at Allegiant Stadium. The only other time UNLV was picked to finish as high as second was before the 2001 season after John Robinson’s Rebels downed Arkansas in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl.
Heading into 2024, Fresno State was picked third (460), Air Force fourth (384), Colorado State fifth (337), Wyoming sixth (296), Utah State seventh (285), San Diego State eighth (251), Hawai’i ninth (214), San Jose State 10th (185), New Mexico 11th (85) and UNR 12th (77).
Under the direction of 2023 Mountain West Coach of the Year Barry Odom, the Rebels will kick off their 57th season of football on August 31 by heading to Big 12 Conference member Houston at 4 p.m. PT on FS1 in the first of a school-record 11 national TV games. The home opener comes one week later when Utah Tech comes to Allegiant Stadium for a noon kickoff on September 7.
Season tickets, three-game mini-plans, and single-game tickets for the six-game 2024 home schedule are available now by visiting unlvtickets.com or calling (702) 739-FANS (3267). For information on VIP premium club seats or suites at Allegiant Stadium, contact the Premium Sales office at [email protected] or by calling (702) 895-0292.
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