San Diego State players earn major Mountain West preseason honors

Aztecs took two of the three major Mountain West preseason football honors

San Diego State Aztecs edge Trey White. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

In a sign of perhaps better things to come, San Diego State players took two of the three major Mountain West preseason football honors announced Wednesday to open media days in Las Vegas.

Junior edge Trey White was named the preseason Defensive Player of the Year and senior placekicker Gabe Plascencia nabbed the preseason Special Teams Player of the Year.

The other major honor went to Boise State junior quarterback Maddux Madsen as the Offensive Player of the Year.

Additionally, linebacker Tano Letuli joined White and Plascencia on the all-conference team. 

A year ago, no Aztecs were named to the preseason all-conference team.

In other news out of media days, the Aztecs were picked to finish eighth in the 12-team league. They finished 10th last year at 2-5, while going 3-9 overall in Sean Lewis’ first season as head coach. 

Boise State was picked as the overwhelming favorite to win the conference championship, topping the media poll for the 15th straight season. The Broncos received 35 of 39 first-place votes and 464 total points. 

White had a breakout 2024 season in his hometown Aztecs’ 4-2-5 defense and was named first-team All-Mountain West after finishing fifth nationally with 12 ½ sacks. He had 60 tackles, including 40 solo and 18 ½ for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble.

White, who played at Eastlake High in suburban Chula Vista, is the first SDSU lineman to be named preseason Defensive Player of the Year and the fourth Aztecs player overall to earn the honor. 

Plascencia was a second–team All-Mountain West pick last year, when he led the MW and ranked ninth in the FBS with a school-record 92.9 field-goal percentage. He made 13 of 14 field goal tries in his first season as the Aztecs’ primary kicker. He made his final 12 attempts, including a pair from 40-plus yards. Plascencia also converted his final 18 PATs after missing his first of the season, and recorded 23 touchbacks on kickoffs in 11 games.

Letuli led the Aztecs with 70 tackles despite missing two games with a broken hand. He was an honorable mention all-conference pick. He played at San Diego’s Cathedral Catholic High. 

The Aztecs open the season at home against Stony Brook on Aug. 28.