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UNLV Football: Aidan Robbins is MWwire’s 2022 Newcomer of the Year
The Louisville transfer dealt lots of punishment to Mountain West defenders and won a close vote as the conference’s top newcomer.
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A bruiser stood out.
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Mountain West Wire’s 2022 postseason 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 | Breakout Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | Coordinator of the Year
The UNLV Rebels took major steps forward on a number of fronts in 2022 and one big reason for that revolved around their replacement for the program’s all-time leading rusher, Charles Williams, who edged out a number of other worthy candidates to earn our staff’s honor as Mountain West football’s newcomer of the year.
Aidan Robbins arrived in Las Vegas from Louisville, where he’d spent three seasons before leaving the Cardinals through the transfer portal. Listed on the roster at six-foot-three and 230 pounds, the Brandon Jacobs-like physique was hard to miss but stepping in for the famed “Chuck Wagon” looked like a tall order for anyone, though Robbins announced his presence early in the year with a 227-yard, three-touchdown performance against North Texas in September.
Despite being slowed by minor injuries throughout the season, Robbins finished the year with 1,011 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 209 attempts, figures which ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, among the conference’s running backs. While it remains to be seen how the program will progress with a new head coach hire on the horizon, Robbins should remain a central figure in the running Rebels offense.
https://twitter.com/UNLVAllAccess/status/1573901317629616130?s=20&t=bQrFZ5p2KeU52TftLfh9Xg
Notable runners-up:
Nikko Remigio, WR, Fresno State (29 points)
The former Cal Golden Bear proved to be a vital piece of the Bulldogs offense in 2022, especially when injuries took their toll elsewhere among his peers. Remigio starred as both a pass catcher and a return specialist, catching 64 passes for 700 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 22.3 yards per kickoff return and 16.1 yards per punt return. That latter average included one of the plays of the year in the conference, a return touchdown against UConn.
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State (22 points)
Jeanty proved to be every bit as his recruiting ranking would have suggested in the summer, putting up 781 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns as a true freshman.
Also received votes: 18 points — Brian Cobbs, WR, Utah State | 15 points — Terrell Vaughn, WR, Utah State | 12 points — Ayden Hector, DB, Colorado State | 9 points — A.J. Haulcy, S, New Mexico | 6 points — Chigozie Anusiem, CB, Colorado State | 5 points — Justus Ross-Simmons, WR, Colorado State; MJ Tafisi, LB, Utah State | 4 points — Cade Beresford, OT, Boise State | 3 points — CJ Onyechi, DE, Colorado State | 2 points — Ricky White, WR, UNLV; Malik Hausman, DB, Hawaii | 1 point — Jacob Spomer, OT, Fresno State
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