Boise State Football: JL Skinner Is MWwire’s 2022 Preseason Defensive Player Of The Year
Boise State’s hard-hitting safety should be a force in 2022, as he’s our staff’s pick to be the Mountain West’s top defender this fall.
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Pass catchers: You’ve been warned.
Mountain West Wire’s 2022 preseason honors:
All-Conference Teams | Offensive Player of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Special Teams Player of the Year | Freshman of the Year | Newcomer of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year
There may be fewer things in the game of football that are more viscerally satisfying than a big hit, but that’s just one reason why our staff has picked Boise State safety JL Skinner as its choice for preseason defensive player of the year.
Skinner built off of a solid 2020 season to become one of the most feared defenders anywhere in the conference last season, leading both Boise State and Mountain West safeties with 92 tackles while adding eight tackles for loss, four passes defended, and two interceptions. According to Pro Football Focus, only fellow Bronco Tyreque Jones had a better grade than Skinner in pass coverage last fall (80.2) among conference safeties with at least 300 snaps in such situations.
Oh, and Skinner knows how to hit. Man, does he know how to hit. That alone will be worth the price of admission at Albertsons Stadium on Saturdays this fall.
What a hit by @BroncoSportsFB JL Skinner on @UCF_Football qb Dylan Gabriel #BoiseStatevsUCF pic.twitter.com/0h3G7hgNWz
— George Whipple Jr. (@gwhipp) September 3, 2021
What a hit by JL Skinner! The best hit I’ve seen today. Oklahoma State & Boise State are in a tight battle late in the 3rd quarter.
OKLAHOMA STATE 21
BOISE STATE 20— Brendan Moore (@bmoorecfb) September 19, 2021
Also received votes: Viliami Fehoko, San Jose State; Easton Gibbs, Wyoming; Cole Godbout, Wyoming; Cade Hall, San Jose State; Caden McDonald, San Diego State; Dom Peterson, Nevada; Jerrick Reed II, New Mexico
Previous preseason DPofY honorees: 2021: Cade Hall, San Jose State | 2020: Tariq Thompson, San Diego State | 2019: Curtis Weaver, Boise State
