July 25, 2017
Las Vegas, Nev.----- San Jose State University linebacker Frank Ginda, cornerback Andre Chachere and punter Michael Carrizosa were named to the preseason All-Mountain West football team in a vote by media members.
A junior from Los Banos, Ginda was the Spartans' leading tackler in 2016 with 99 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss. He shared the team lead with two forced fumbles and a pair of fumble recoveries. Ginda scored San Jose State's only defensive touchdown last season with a fumble return in the Hawaii game.
Chachere, a senior from Fresno, was named to the 2017 Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch lists earlier in the month. A year ago, the first-team All-Mountain West pick finished fourth nationally with 18 passes defended on four pass interceptions and 14 pass brak-ups.
A senior from Salinas, Calif., Carrizosa averaged 44.3 yards a punt in 2016 to earn honorable mention all-conference honors. He was 14th nationally in punting average. Carrizosa begins the 2017 season as San Jose State's career leader in yards per punt with his 43.3 average.
San Jose State was one of five schools with three players on the 25-man all-conference team. San Diego State had the most with four. Nine of the 12 schools had players voted on to the team.
The Mountain West also announced the media's preseason predictions on conference finish in football. The Spartans, who tied for third last season with a 3-5 conference record, was picked fifth in the West Division behind San Diego State, Hawaii, UNLV, and Nevada, and ahead of Fresno State. San Diego State was a unanimous choice to win the West Division and face Boise State in the conference's championship game on December 2.
Boise State received 21 of the 28 first-place votes as the preseason choice for the top team in the Mountain Division. Colorado State had six first-place votes to finish second and Wyoming had one for third. Air Force, New Mexico and Utah State round the predicted order of finish in the Mountain Division.
Home game season tickets and the three-game mini-plan are on sale now. Visit www.sjsuspartans.com for ticket information on the six-game season ticket plan or bit.ly/17sjsuminiplan for the three-game mini plan.
Practice begins Friday, July 28. And, the season opener is Saturday, August 26, vs. USF (South Florida) in CEFCU Stadium. Game time is 4:30 p.m. (PT).
2017 Mountain West Football Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
| West Division | Mountain Division |
| 1. San Diego State (28) 168 | 1. Boise State (21) 161 |
| 2. Hawaii 135 | 2. Colorado State (6) 135 |
| 3. UNLV 105 | 3. Wyoming (1) 114 |
| 4. Nevada 79 | 4. Air Force 82 |
| 5. San Jose State 54 | 5. New Mexico 68 |
| 6. Fresno State 47 | 6. Utah State 28 |
2017 Mountain West Football Preseason All-Conference team
| Offense |
| WR -- Michael Gallop, New Mexico OL -- Jake Bennett, Colorado State OL -- Austin Corbett, Nevada OL -- Dejon Allen, Hawaii OL -- Aaron Jenkins, New Mexico OL -- Mason Hampton, Boise State TE -- David Wells, San Diego State QB -- Josh Allen, Wyoming RB -- Rashaad Penny, San Diego State RB -- Tyrone Owens, New Mexico WR -- Devonte Boyd, UNLV |
| Defense |
| DL -- David Moa, Boise State DL -- Malik Reed, Nevada DL -- Garrett Hughes, New Mexico DL -- Mike Hughes, Jr., New Mexico LB -- Frank Ginda, San Jose State LB -- Jahlani Tavai, Hawaii LB -- Logan Wilson, Wyoming DB -- Andre Chachere, San Jose State DB -- Trayvon Henderson, Hawaii DB -- Tyler Horton, Boise State DB -- Andrew Wingard, Wyoming |
| Special Teams |
| P -- Michael Carrizosa, San Jose State PK -- John Baron, II, San Diego State RET -- Rashaad Penny, San Diego State |